Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

2013 Buick Encore nets strong IIHS, NHTSA safety scores

After being crushed from every which way and rolled over like a labrador, the 2013 Buick Encore has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. To earn the accolade, a vehicle must achieve the highest rating of "Good" in each of the institute's four main crash tests: Front Moderate Overlap, Side, Rollover and Rear. The Encore aced those four tests with "Good" ratings, but missed out on the coveted Top Safety Pick+ designation by receiving a Poor rating in the institute's new Front Small Overlap test. To be named a Top Safety Pick+, the Encore would need to score at least an "Acceptable" rating in the new test, as well as "Good" in all four original crash tests.

Despite the miss, the Encore joins the Enclave, LaCrosse, Verano and Regal as Top Safety Picks all. If you count only the Encore with all-wheel drive, then all five Buicks have also earned five-star overall ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration, making Buick one of the few manufacturers to offer a full lineup with high scores from both safety rating organizations.

The front-wheel-drive Encore, despite performing equally as well as the all-wheel-drive version in NHTSA's crash tests, only earned four stars overall. As far as we can tell, the discrepancy between the two is because some safety equipment, like Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Assist, are optional features on the FWD Encore and standard on the AWD model.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/06/05/2...safety-scores/

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

really nice cuv. tiny engine though.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

^^ really just a nice city ute. Not much use for big suburban families

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

methinks it's not aimed at big suburban families. at least not in the u.s.

mmarshall

That's at least partly because three of the newer Buicks (Regal, Verano, Encore), are primarily derived from German (Opel), not American-designed platforms, where safety has long been an issue. Of course, having said that, American-designed vehicles themselves are paying more attention to quality, frame-rigidity, safety, crumple-zones, etc... than in the past. In addition, the Enclave has a lot of physical size and weight going for it, which helps it somewhat in the crash-tests...the LaCrosse, somewhat less so.

LexFather

Just get an escape or Rav-4... This isn't even super fuel efficient. Not for me or anyone I know.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Safer than a Smart though

My0gr81

I think I saw a video somewhere of a Smart getting hit by a truck, and the driver survived. They claimed that the shell around the passenger compartment is designed to absorb the impact and protect the occupants like a coccoon.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I've heard something like that, as well as seen the commercial where they put a Ford Excursion onto of it. Doesn't change the fact that it's confined, rough, severely down on power, and gives the driver no confidence. We just took one in trade, and I took it up the road and say no no no and headed back to the dealer

Megafast13

Thought the attached pic's resolution/sizing was distorted, but realized it was the car lol

mmarshall

While I wouldn't consider it a piece of junk by any means, I basically have to agree....I'm not terribly impessed with the Encore either, especially after the excellent Verano. It repeats one of the few mistakes that were made on the Verano (such as an awkward manual seat-rake where the rest of the seat-adjustments are power). And the designers, IMO, clearly should have used the Verano's N/A 2.4 (or 2.0T) engines instead of the toy-like 1.6T. In addition, the Encore, IMO, is awkward-looking, with too-short front and rear overhangs.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Buick struggling to keep up with Encore demand

Buick is having a hard time keeping up with demand for its all-new Encore mini-CUV, according to a report from Automotive News. The stylish, lifted five-door went on sale in January, but dealers have reported that supplies have dwindled after the initial high demand, taking the proverbial "wind out of the sails."

General Motors admits that it underestimated demand for the diminutive Buick, which is built in Korea and sold as the Opel Mokka in Europe, where it's also seen success. Buick spokesperson Nick Richards told AN, "We increased production, so there have been a lot more landing within the last month."

Buick has done a booming business, though, even with its limited supply of Encores. With over 12,000 units sold in the first half of 2013, the small CUV is on pace to annihilate industry analysts' estimates, which predicted no more than 18,500 units in 2013. We're not entirely surprised. When Autoblog first drove the Encore late last year, we professed that we had no idea how sales would turn out, as the Encore wasn't really entering into an established segment. Even so, wefound a surprising amount to like in the Encore, enough that we "wouldn't bet against it" being a major success.

As Automotive News points out, though, Buick won't be alone in this oddball, subcompact, premium CUV segment for long – Audi, Lexus, Lincoln and even corporate sibling Cadillac are expected to bring competitors to market in the next few years.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/06/b...encore-demand/

mmarshall

Lower-priced versions are also sold in Britain as the Vauxhall Mokka and Chevrolet Trax. I saw a Trax here locally a few weeks ago (D.C. area) with Ontario/Canada license-plates, but neither the Trax or Mokka versions are marketed in the U.S.

I simply don't understand the high demand for the Buick version here, though. Though the interior is nicely done, it's simply too short, too narrow, and too tall to be a true Buick SUV, even by compact/subcompact standards. In addition, they used a too-small and too-highly stressed 1.6L turbo powerplant instead of a more-sensible, larger four like what is found in the Verano and Regal. I don't consider the Encore to be particularly well-designed...but apparantly a number of people don't agree with me.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

the encore success proves what i've said for years... more and more people want taller vehicles which are much easier to get in and out of and offer more utility vs. sedans which offer neither. between this, the soul, the small hyundai/kia/mazda cuvs, even the rav4, rdx, and on... the market is changing and will change further.

sedans are about image, sportiness, fuel economy, or because "that's what i've always bought".

mmarshall

Problem is.....the Encore is markedly narrower and taller in relation to its very narrow width than the other CUVs you mention. And, unlike them (or at least their American-market versions), the Encore also uses a very small, highly-stressed engine that is most un-Buick-like in its manners.

Perhaps the Encore's buyers are simply disregarding those factors...but, to me, it still doesn't make sense. GM has indeed come out with some home runs lately...but despite the Encore's (admitted) success, I just don't see it as one.