But it’s only that, because the hard plastics used on the interior and meh interior design ethos aren’t even trying to creep onto Audi turf. With the Buick, unlike Subaru or Hyundai, there’s some pretense of luxury. You might want the option to downshift for driving in snow, too. Manually shifting the nine-speed gives you just a hair more giddyup for quicker passing. The right recipe? Get the 1.3-liter because that’s mated to all-wheel drive (AWD) and a nine-speed automatic that’s more responsive than the non-shiftable continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). It can be had with either a 155 horsepower 1.3-liter three-cylinder or a 137 horsepower 1.2-liter three-cylinder. While it’d be a stretch to call any of those vehicles, apart from the CX-30 turbo and Kona N, exciting, the Encore GX is sedate in both of its forms. The optional Sport Touring (ST) appearance package gives it monochrome trim and a body kit, but you won’t mistake it for a Hyundai Kona N. The 2023 Buick Encore GX is handsome but a bit indistinct.

But the Encore GX also competes with everything from the Soul to the Subaru Crosstrek, Hyundai Kona and Mazda’s CX-30 to higher-end small-fries like the Mini Countryman and Lexus UX, though it costs much less than they do. It hasn’t changed since 2021, and 2023 will be its final outing. For one thing, there’s another Encore, the non-GX, that Buick is still selling nearly a decade after it first hit the streets. Yes, it is, and the market for vehicles like the Encore GX is quite crowded. He shrugged and said, “That’s still a thing?”

To a late 20s-ish buyer it probably already has asking my nephew, an avowed car nut, what he thought of Buick. Were it not for overseas markets Buick would’ve gone the way of Pontiac or Plymouth.

In fact, this vehicle is majority built not in the U.S.A., where Buick once stood as a shorthand for “social climber,” but in South Korea. While the Koreans are building big loyalty here, Buick still exists in this country because of its huge success in China. Buick’s claim to fame is a fancier aesthetic, but brands like Hyundai and Kia are clearly busting their tails to create compelling design language and backing it up with quality, while Buick seems to be phoning it in. It’s not going to make any near-luxury competitor (like Acura or Volvo) sweat with worry and you could easily make the case rivals like Kia’s Soul can be had for less dough and are just as pragmatic for urban use with an edge in interior design. The argument stands that the 2023 Buick Encore GX is neither fish nor fowl.

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