Buick has reconfigured its 2024 Encore GX to compensate for its solitary letdown: a premium price tag. The new Encore GX’s revamped styling elicits a double-take from the crowded mini SUV segment. It now has dignified styling cues to make you forget its predecessor’s dorky silhouette.
Moreover, the 2024 Buick Encore GX receives the brand’s highly digitized Virtual Cockpit System, which features an 11-inch infotainment touchscreen and an eight-inch instrument display.
2024 Buick Encore GX: What’s New?
The new Encore GX’s sleek, futuristic styling gives justice to its upscale MSRP. It reminds us of the 2024 Chevy Trailblazer’s mug, but the Buick is more refined and less rugged. Rounding out the styling changes are redesigned front and rear bumpers, slim headlights, a new front grille, and Buick’s brand-spanking new logo front and center.
“The new Encore GX delivers a sleek, sporty, sophisticated presence,” said Bob Boniface, director of global Buick design. “It’s inherently functional, yet the new exterior design creates a more stylish and modern persona that is unique in today’s small SUV segment.”
Meanwhile, the reworked cabin is near-identical to the outgoing variant but with relocated air vents and a new digital driver’s display and infotainment screen.
Same Powertrain Options
It would have been nice if the 2024 Buick Encore GX received more pep under the hood, but we reckon most would buy it for how it looks and rides rather than how it goes. The standard engine is a 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with 137 horsepower and 162 lb-ft. of torque. It mates to a CVT automatic and a front-wheel drivetrain.
If you need the sure-footed grip of an all-wheel drivetrain, the Encore GX delivers with a more potent 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a nine-speed automatic gearbox. It has 155 horsepower and 174 lb-ft. of torque. Those are decent numbers, but there’s no replacement for displacement, is all we’re saying.
Tech-Savvy Interior
The 2024 Buick Encore GX is the first to adopt the brand’s Virtual Cockpit System. It comprises an 11-inch infotainment touchscreen and an eight-inch digital instrument cluster to give Mercedes-Benz and its MBUX Hyperscreen a run for its money. In addition, Buick claims a sleek layout, a customizable home screen, and a fun-to-use experience awaits potential drivers, while wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto further sweeten the pot.
“It’s rare to get such an elevated, tech-forward interior in a vehicle at this starting price,” Boniface added. “We wanted to uplift every aspect of the Encore GX and put the entire small SUV segment on notice.”
In addition, Buick ensures a more comfortable ride with the brand’s QuietTuning system that filters unwanted ambient noise and tire roar from intruding the cabin. The premium theme continues with more soft-touch materials and groovy stitching patterns.
2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir
Buick ditched the range-topping Essence trim and replaced it with the more premium-sounding Avenir. Naturally, the Avenir gets genuine cowhide upholstery, a 10-way power driver’s seat, embroidered Avenir logos, an air ionizer, a heated tiller, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and custom door sills.
Outside, the Encore Avenir GX has a custom front grille, clear lens LED taillights, model-specific 19-inch wheels, more chrome, and black carbon metallic side moldings. However, lesser-endowed models of the Encore GX are pricier than most Japanese rivals (Subaru Crosstrek and Mazda CX-30, for example), but it undercuts German offerings like the Mercedes-Benz GLA and BMW X1.
2024 Encore GX Safety Features
Buick’s Driver Confidence Package is standard for the 2024 Encore GX. It includes a comprehensive array of advanced safety kits like automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, lane departure warning, automatic high beams, and more.
At the time of this writing, safety ratings from NHTSA are not yet available for the 2024 Encore GX, although the 2023 model has a five-star overall safety rating.
2024 Buick Encore GX: Pricing & Availability
Buick is opening the order books for its 2024 Encore GX in May. The MSRP starts at $26,895 for the base Encore GX Preferred, $28,095 for the Encore GX Sport Touring, and $33,195 for the top-level Avenir. Our free and easy search tools* will show which Buick dealerships have the best deals in your area.
Alvin Reyes is an Automoblog feature columnist and an expert in sports and performance cars. He studied civil aviation, aeronautics, and accountancy in his younger years and is still very much smitten to his former Lancer GSR and Galant SS. He also likes fried chicken, music, and herbal medicine.
Photos & Source: Buick.
*Although always free for you, Automoblog and its partners may receive a commission when you use the services provided through that link. MSRP figures are subject to change.
