Used 2022 Buick Encore GX

The 2022 Buick Encore GX is a crossover on the larger side of premium subcompact SUVs. With SUV/crossovers being so wildly popular, car companies are looking at ever-finer distinctions to create niches within niches. The Encore GX could be called a subcompact-plus.

If this doesn’t blur lines sufficiently, there’s also a Buick Encore. What’s the difference between the Buick Encore GX and the regular Buick Encore? The GX is slightly bigger and markedly newer. The Encore is based on the Chevy Trax, the GX on the Chevy Trailblazer. The pricing of these two Buicks is not that different.

For something with useful space and a mildly upscale vibe that doesn’t cost a huge amount, the Encore GX is worth investigating.

Neither engine in the 2022 Encore GX range is going to get pulses racing. Each has only three cylinders. One makes 137 horsepower, the other 155.

For what is supposed to be a kind-of luxurious marque, Buick really isn’t helping its case here. To make decent progress, especially in situations like getting up to freeway speeds, a heavy right foot is often needed. Which is when the engines begin to sound coarse, despite active noise cancellation fitted as standard and Buick’s usual practice of adding plenty of sound insulation.

Adding indolence to indignity is that front-drive versions have a continuously variable transmission (CVT) whose slow responses dull what little accelerative edge the engines have. Things improve with the optional all-wheel-drive system, where Buick installs a 9-speed automatic transmission.

On a more positive note, the suspension is tuned for comfort and the steering requires little effort. These attributes make the Encore GX great for towns and suburbs.

Unsurprisingly for a marque that heads uptown but only reaches halfway, the 5-passenger Buick Encore GX has a cabin that’s classier than many mainstream small crossovers, yet not quite as classy as something like an Audi or a Volvo. The plastics up front are soft to the touch, those in the back are cheaper.

It’s roomy enough for an average-sized adult to sit behind someone of the same dimensions up front. And the optional sunroof doesn’t affect headroom too much.

Those rear seats split and fold in a 60/40 arrangement. The usual luggage area is 23.5 cubic feet, expanding to 50.2 cubic feet when the rear seats are folded. The front passenger seat also folds flat, so something like an 8-foot surfboard could fit diagonally into the Encore GX.

There’s a lot of visual similarity between this 2022 Encore GX and its smaller Encore stablemate, but the GX is longer overall by about three inches with a wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles) that’s about two inches longer. These figures don’t sound like much, but they stretch the GX a little, making it look less compressed and disproportionately tall than the Encore.

A Sport Touring package is available for each trim, bringing a custom grille and bumpers with red accents, plus body-colored side moldings, and specific alloy wheels. Every Encore GX model may also come with a black roof.

New paint colors for 2022 are all metallic finishes — Cinnabar, Sapphire, Sunset Glow, and Rosewood — each costing $495.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE
Offered with the upper two trims — Select and Essence — this options bundle brings a 360-degree camera system, navigation, adaptive cruise control, rear parking sensors, and a head-up display.

DUAL-LEVEL LUGGAGE AREA
The floor behind the rear seats offers two levels. The upper level lines up to make a flat loadspace when the rear seats are folded. There’s also some underfloor storage.

In Preferred trim, the 2022 Encore GX comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, LED fog lights, heated side mirrors, keyless entry/ignition, leather-wrapped steering wheel, cloth/simulated leather upholstery, active noise cancellation, and single-zone air conditioning.

The infotainment system has an 8-inch touchscreen, plus wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration, Wi-Fi, one USB-A port, one USB-C port, satellite radio, and a 6-speaker audio setup.

Standard safety features include forward-collision warning with automatic braking and automatic high beams.

All three trims are eligible for all-wheel drive, hands-free tailgate operation, and a powered moonroof. In the next section, we address engine and transmission availability in greater detail.

The Preferred trim can also come with a remote start function, 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, roof rails, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. These are all standard in the next-up Select trim, which adds dual-zone automatic climate control and a rear center armrest.

The top Essence trim brings LED headlights/taillights, memory settings for the driver’s seat and side mirrors, heated steering wheel, 8-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, leather upholstery, self-dimming rearview mirror with garage door opener, 120-volt outlet, and a cabin air ionizer.

Select and Essence trims qualify for the above-mentioned Advanced Technology package. Essence can be further enhanced by a Convenience package (rain-sensing wipers, wireless charging, rear camera mirror, and automatic parking), as well as a 7-speaker Bose audio system.

Buick doesn’t just like to confuse matters with similar vehicles bearing similar names. It also offers similar engines in the 2022 Encore GX.

The humbler of the two is a turbocharged 1.2-liter 3-cylinder unit producing 137 horsepower. This is standard in the Preferred and Select trims when front-wheel drive (FWD) is present.

The slightly less humble engine is a turbocharged 1.3-liter 3-cylinder unit generating 155 horsepower. It’s standard in every Encore GX that has all-wheel drive (AWD), as well as the top Essence trim, and optional in the front-drive Select version.

Front-drive models (regardless of engine) all have a continuously variable transmission (CVT); those with all-wheel drive come with a 9-speed automatic transmission. Maximum towing capacity is 1,000 pounds.

Despite being turbocharged, both engines are fine with regular gasoline. As it turns out, the 1.3-liter engine returns better fuel economy figures in FWD form than the 1.2. Which makes us wonder why Buick bothers with the smaller engine at all.

1.2-liter turbocharged inline-3
137 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm
162 lb-ft of torque @ 2,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 29/31 mpg

1.3-liter turbocharged inline-3
155 horsepower @ 5,600 rpm
174 lb-ft of torque @ 1,600 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 29/32 mpg (FWD), 26/29 mpg (AWD)