Buick’s gamble on SUVs is paying off with the brand reporting record sales and demand for its lineup of utilities. That includes the Buick Encore GX which not only got revamped for the 2024 model year but also newly promoted up a rung in the model ladder with the release of the entry-level focused (albeit very stylish) Buick Envista. But does the 2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir wear its new clothes well enough to still stand out? or are there a few rough edges remaining in the final product?
Wildcat Cues Don’t Translate Well
Before we dive into many of the things the GX does right, we might as well focus on the biggest elephant in the room, its exterior styling. When Buick first released the Wildcat coupe concept several years ago, the brand promised that it would herald a new design language for Buick with expressive design being at the forefront once again. While the new look has worked well for the Envista, the GX has seemingly taken a step backward in this regard.
That’s mainly due to the proportions of the SUV, with the front-end styling feeling like it was a tacked-on afterthought especially as you make your way to the rear of the GX which gets light changes but is otherwise roughly the same as it was in 2023. This makes the design feel off-balance and the 2024 model would appear it was designed in two separate rooms within GM’s sprawling tech center.
That’s a shame because if it weren’t for the jumbled styling, some of the little things that the Encore GX brings to the table would have shined better in the spotlight. The Avenir trim is a new addition to the lineup for 2024 and we like how its splashes of chrome are done in a tasteful manner especially the larger chrome wheels and some of the exterior’s chrome accents. In addition to the Avenir, the Encore GX also gets a new Sport Touring trim (ST) which replaces the outgoing Select trim which gives it sportier styling to contrast the Avenir’s elegant focused personality.
Avenir Trim Makes Interior Shine
Slip inside the interior of the Avenir model and you’ll find an interior that’s handsome and well composed. Buick has always straddled the line between luxury and mainstream when it comes to the GX and while the fit and finish here will not make Audi lose sleep anytime soon, it is a step up over the Subaru Crosstrek and the Nissan Kicks.
The Avenir trim is supposed to be the most luxurious in the family and that’s reflected in some of its appointments with the front leather seats in our tester featuring good amounts of support and comfort with Avenir branding on the headrests as well as a trim exclusive pattern on the seatbacks. The front passenger seat can be folded down flat to help load longer items and that works well with the folding rear seats. The rear seats are best folded down anyway since room back there is tight for taller occupants.
All Encore GX models get an 11-inch touchscreen infotainment system with a smaller 8.0-inch screen serving as the instrument cluster. The bigger screen gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard with the Android side of the equation working well with our mobile device. Load times are also pretty good but we did have an instance where a software glitch infused the home screen with the image being projected by the 360-degree rear backup camera. This only happened once during its stay with us and we assume it was a one-time-only fluke.
Avenir Performance Focuses on Fuel Economy
Performance for the 2024 Buick Avenir comes from a pair of turbocharged three-cylinder engines with lower trim levels getting a 1.2-liter turbo three that makes 137 horsepower. A bigger 1.3-liter three-cylinder that makes 155 hp is also available with Avenir’s like our example getting it standard alongside the ST model (the base Preferred gets it as an option.) The main difference here is the transmission with the CVT coming standard on all front-wheel drive models while the optional all-wheel drive system swaps it out for a nine-speed automatic.
Our tester arrived with AWD, the bigger engine, and the nine-speed but while the specs promise spunky performance, our tester preferred to focus on fuel economy with acceleration feeling like a stale bag of pop rocks and the handling having less spice than a cup of vanilla pudding. While those characteristics will not please those wanting a sharper driving experience, look for that to not matter much for average buyers with the GX’s size allowing it to squeeze through city traffic with ease.
Fuel economy is ultimately the star of the show here and ironically, the bigger 1.3-liter is the more fuel efficent engine offering with the EPA saying it can achieve 31 mpg when equipped with front-wheel drive and the CVT. Adding the 1.2-liter instead drops that figure down slightly to 30 mpg while the 1.3-liter, nine-speed, and the AWD system cause it to dip to 29 mpg on the freeway.
Value Quotient
Pricing for the 2024 Buick Encore GX starts at $26,895 for the base Preferred model when equipped with FWD with all-wheel drive adding $2000 to the sticker price. The mid-range ST model starts at $28,095 with the Avenir starting at $33,195. Our tester arrived with AWD and that caused the base sticker to go up to $34,795. An optional tech package helped push the sticker price to a final as-tested total of $37,485.
This pricing is within segment norms but the Encore GX lacks some of the compelling DNA that defines some of its rivals. The Mazda CX-30 for example has better exterior styling and an interior that has less compromises in interior quality and technology. The Toyota Corolla Cross on the other hand focuses on fuel economy and its powertrain manages to outshine the Encore in this regard despite the interior being a step behind the Buick’s.
At the end of the day, the 2024 Buick Encore GX is an improvement over the outgoing model with the brand doing a good job improving the packaging and the feature content that the model is known for. However, while that might please the pool of loyalists that love the Encore’s small size and equipment packaging, it’s still not enough to make the model stand out from the crowd. That’s even more important since the entry-level Buick Envista threatens to cannibalize sales from within despite not having AWD.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.