2013 Buick Encore

We admit it. We have no earthly idea how this whole thing is going to shake out.

Typically, after driving a new car or truck, we come away prepared to hazard a guess as to whether said model has a good chance of being a sales success. We've amassed enough time watching the industry, scrutinizing the competitors, and so on, to make a reasonably educated bet. Yet here we are, days removed from driving the new 2013 Buick Encore, and we still have no bloody idea.

To be fair, we're in good company. Buick's perfectly capable public relations and marketing teams don't appear to entirely know what to expect from the Encore, either. They've had to strain to even find remote competitors to match their new baby against. BMW X1? Volkswagen Tiguan? Mini Countryman? All kinda-sorta-maybe rivals from our vantage point. Yet we can't necessarily provide better ones for this tiny semi-premium crossover, either. Fiscal cliff-discount Land Rover Range Rover Evoque? Uppity Hyundai Tucson? Nissan Juke ravished by Vilner? It's really rather hard to say what plays here. The above panoply of would-be rivals only hints at just how small the Encore is. At 168.5 inches long, it's the shortest Buick in memory – stubbier, remarkably, than such past Trishield outliers as the Skyhawk, Somerset and Reatta.

Yet none of this size discussion or the lack of a clearly defined competitive set is to say that the Encore won't be a resounding success. Early signs from dealers – whose initial orders have been six times company estimates – are more than positive, and certainly Buick could do with another crossover underneath its much larger Enclave.

Back to the size thing for a moment. Seeing the Encore away from the bright lights of its 2012 Detroit Auto Show reveal and on the street improved our initial impressions. When seen in its proper element, the city, the Encore's scale and proportions start to make a lot more sense, and standard 18-inch alloys do wonders for its presence. Even so, there's no doubt that traditional Buick hallmarks like the Encore's waterfall grille and hood-mounted Ventiports simply look better on larger-scale canvases. There's a faint whiff of children's dress-up here – the baby of the family wearing mom or dad's jewelry, trying to act all grown up. Making a form this small look upscale is no easy task, however, and Buick's stylists have done an admirable job overall.

The same goes for the interior, which, at least in full-house spec with optional niceties like leather and navigation, certainly looks the part. Oh, we could debate the merits of the glassy faux wood trim, the occasionally hokey-looking iconography on the seven-inch Intellilink infotainment screen and Buick's continued obsession with a carpet of center stack buttons, but overall, it's a comfortable, upscale place to be, particularly in our tester's saddle motif. In fact, allow us to take a moment to underline "comfortable" – the packaging here is pretty impressive. Despite being sandwiched in between a 100.5-inch wheelbase, we found plenty of space up front, with the power height-adjustable seats affording dining-chair like height and a surprisingly commanding view without grazing the headliner. The back seat is a bit narrow, but more accommodating than one might think – we even had an occasion where we had four full-size adults riding in relative comfort for a while.

Buick still has the market cornered on quiet – it has stuffed a ton of sound deadening in the Encore's nether reaches, added an acoustic-laminated windshield and thicker-than-normal side glass, along with a sound-absorbing headliner and whispering low-rolling resistance Continental rubber to keep things tranquil. Going one step beyond, the Encore also receives standard Bose Active Noise Cancellation, essentially a white noise generator that relies on three headliner-mounted microphones to detect and counter interior din. This is Buick's first application of the technology, but General Motors has employed ANC previously on the Chevrolet Equinox. Make no mistake, this isn't an indulgently scaled luxury sedan or SUV, but it's still a very civilized place in which to weather one's morning commute.

Forward visibility is good, and the aforementioned seat height helps the driver to see eye-to-eye with larger crossovers, furthering the illusion that the Encore is larger than it is. Rear visibility is less convincing, with thick C-pillars and a smallish rear window crimping one's view. At least there's a standard rearview camera, along with 10 airbags if you still fail to see something.

It's at this point in the program where the driving enthusiasts among you will probably want to tap out. Said plainly, while competent, this is not an entertaining vehicle to drive. Buick should offer no apologies for this reality, however – it's not the Encore's raison d'être. This cute ute's sole powertrain is the same 1.4-liter Ecotec turbocharged four cylinder found in the Chevrolet Sonic economy car. In truth, the two vehicles are only tangentially related, with the budget Bowtie riding atop GM's Gamma architecture and the Encore relying on the Gamma II underpinnings it shares with its twins the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka and Chevrolet Trax. The Sonic and the Encore don't actually share much underskin material, notes James Danahy, chief engineer on the Encore program. In fact, Danahy was quick to clarify that this Buick shares little beyond powertrain and seat frames with the Chevy, though "learnings" on things like crash energy dissipation have informed this crossover's development.

Like it is in the 2,700-pound Sonic, the 1.4 turbo is tuned to deliver 138 horsepower at 4,900 rpm and 148 pound-feet of torque at 1,850 rpm. While that's enough to make the humble Sonic a fun car, it's not exactly a groundswell of muscle for the heavier Encore, which starts at 3,190 pounds for a front-drive model like our tester. Informal acceleration runs on our part generated a best 0-60 time of 10.0 seconds with two aboard – we're guessing the official time will end up being somewhere in the high nines. More ominously, colleagues from other outlets reported 12-second times with three people and a bit of gear aboard an all-wheel-drive example. In either case, that means you'll be staring at the taillights of every other vehicle we've mentioned to this point – if indeed you're lucky enough to even see the taillights of the far costlier X1 at all; BMW says a base sDrive28i will do the job in 6.2 seconds (and it's usually conservative with its numbers). For further reference, the cheaper Hyundai Tucson will do the deed in about eight seconds. You're as likely as not to be in a dead heat with that hipster driving a Nissan Cube in the next lane. The Encore is not quick, friends.

Thank goodness it's smooth, then. The six-speed Hydramatic is an agreeable partner, and there's even a bit of innovation happening in the $1,500 optional Active-On-Demand AWD system. Unlike most such systems that funnel torque to the wheels when slippage is detected, AOD uses a magnetically actuated clutch to pre-load the rear wheels with torque at every stop, automatically disengaging if no loss of traction is detected. The Borg Warner-developed system is said to be lighter and quicker acting than traditional AWD setups. With 6.2 inches of ground clearance front and rear, the Encore won't be up for much more than the occasional muddy field or curb hopping, but that's probably all that will ever be asked of it.

We disembarked from the Encore's seemingly native habitat, Atlanta's posh Centennial Park outdoor mall, negotiated area traffic and headed out on the highway, intent on sampling Georgia's network of beautiful rolling country roads. Once up to speed on the superslab, the Encore was again pleasingly hushed in the Grand Buick Tradition, but merging onto the freeway and passing with any measure of authority required dropping down a cog or two, bringing with it the unmistakable auditory intrusion of four-cylinder strain. We weren't really put off by the Encore's highway comportment (in all honesty, it rides very well considering its short wheelbase), but we were less thrilled when it came to those bucolic two lanes. There are lots of hills in north central Georgia, and burdened by the Encore's luxury lashings, the Ecotec just ain't country strong. Combine a lack of power with this CUV's stubby dimensions, high center of gravity and precise-but-unengaging electric power steering, and there wasn't much incentive to press on.

Read more by Chris Paukert at Autoblog.com

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2013 Buick Verano Turbo

Those of you who still think of the Buick Verano as some sort of callously badge-engineered, gussied up version of the Chevrolet Cruze ("Why would anyone spend that much money on Buick's Cruze?" you may have been heard to mutter) have got the wrong idea. Entirely. Even in its most modest form, the Verano turns out to be a sedan that is feature-rich, insulated from wind and road noise in proper luxury car fashion, pretty good to drive and not bad to look at in the new school of high-nosed pedestrian-impact-regulated fashion. In a less modest form then, one that attaches the word "Turbo" to the moniker and plops a force-fed 2.0-liter four-cylinder under the hood, the Verano is downright interesting.

Of course, "interesting" is rarely a descriptor that fills one with lust – and so it goes with this example. There are two competing forces within this near-premium subcompact sedan, and the balance struck between them must resonate with any potential customer before the Verano Turbo can become a serious purchase consideration.

The first, and arguably most potent of these forces, is the overarching "new Buick" tuning and vibe that percolates through the Verano. The interior is clad in soft but not particularly rich leather; the seats are quite comfortable but a long way from sporting or very supportive in dynamic situations; the car is whisper quiet pretty much all of the time, even under full-throttle acceleration; and the sound system offers clear and bright audio, without an overabundance of power or depth. Everywhere we look and feel in the Verano, we're met by materials and workmanship that offer a clear cut above the average, without ever being truly exceptional.

The other force evident in the Turbo is headlined by the eponymous 2.0T engine, and to a lesser extent, in the case of our test car, the six-speed manual gearbox that manages its power. In the accessible, forceful thrust of this 250-horsepower, 260-pound-feet four-cylinder engine, we feel something that is pretty un-Buick-like – at least in terms of existing brand stereotypes. The company lists a 0-60 miles per hour time of 6.2 seconds, and we'd believe it if someone told us that a few tenths quicker than that is easily possible. And the run up to 60 mph is hardly the point with this mill. The real fun is had by way of its broad torque curve, at mid-range speeds (say, 50-70 mph), where just a few degrees of throttle has the Verano Turbo doing its best Mazdaspeed3 impression. Yes, that means it's pretty quick.

The aforementioned 6MT may not be a standout in the increasingly small world of do-it-yourself transmissions, but it's pretty slick. The short throws and positive, light action of the gear lever are bolstered by a clutch that is progressive with an easy-to-find take-up point. There's a fair amount of slop in the wide shift gates, but not so much that the overall shifting experience is spoiled for us. The engine and trans work well together, delivering a feeling of accessible enthusiasm with all of the sharp edges sanded down.

That elusive third pedal in this manual-trans sedan is also, we should say, the best of the trio in terms of feel. We were initially put off by the spongy feel of the brake pedal in slow-speed stopping situations, and grew to be legitimately annoyed by it when we starting hauling the Buick down from higher speeds. Outright stopping power wasn't the issue, the standard issue 16-inch units front/rear got the job done, but the rate at which we felt the initial bite of the brakes was disappointing. Similarly, the throttle response at low-revs was pretty lackluster for an engine this torquey – due in no small part to the long-travel of the unsporting gas pedal.

The car certainly benefits from having a well-tuned basic chassis to start with, especially because Buick hasn't really touched the underpinnings of the Verano for this go-fast iteration. The Turbo doesn't offer the same torque-steer reducing HiPer Struts of its big brother, the Regal GS, but its independently sprung MacPherson units still manage to keep the nose headed quickly in the requested direction. And, critically, they offer a smoothly modulated ride over bumps, swales and potholes. The Verano, as ever, feels particularly well balanced for a front-wheel-drive vehicle when moving from corner to corner, though the Turbo certainly does nothing to break new ground in the sport handling department.

By now, we'd be surprised if you weren't catching on to the head-scratching ambivalence that this small, quick Buick generated in us. At heart, it's a perfectly nice car in almost every area, fitted with a potent engine/transmission combination for this class, but without any trace of the involving character that would engender passion in someone who cares about driving for pleasure.

Part of the problem, we can't help thinking, is that, pushed in the "sport" direction, the Verano Turbo could be one hell of a Chevy Cruze SS. Stiffen the springs, quicken the steering, bolt on a throatier exhaust and tweak the throttle mapping a bit (don't forget bigger brakes), and you've got a hot-hatch-like sedan that would give every GTI, GLI, Speed3 and Focus ST a real scare if you also brought it down to Chevy-scale pricing.

Pushed towards the true luxury buyer, the Verano might shine brighter as well. We've mentioned that we do like the car's overall cabin design and suite of technology, but the truth is that a few more dollars spent on metal, leather and real wood (if you must) in the cabin would make it more of a credible premium space. A slightly glitzier center stack in place of the dull, button-heavy unit there now could potentially net Audi comparisons. Don't misunderstand – the Verano Turbo's insides offer quite a good luxury-like value, but that's a different thing than being luxurious.

Even as it stands now, though, the Turbo is a dominating competitor for cars that make very little noise in the US market like the Acura ILX 2.4 and the Audi A3 2.0T. In terms of both performance and specification, the Buick easily outpaces the few other quasi-luxury players in the country. In fact, the competitors that feel most closely aligned with the Verano Turbo in terms of size and performance are entry-lux stalwarts like the BMW 328i and the Audi A4 2.0T.

But the Buick brand is still so poorly defined and badly regarded by young, hip premium car buyers that we might be considered optimistic if we said the Verano is a "few generations" away from having the reputational chops to dice with those traditional luxury marques. And, as Acura has learned over the years, front-drive luxury cars are always going to be stigmatized as being somewhat second-rate compared to rear-drive and all-wheel-drive competitors.

The Verano Turbo, like the Regal GS introduced before it, will likely be pointed to as an example of Buick turning the corner, if, years from now, General Motors' most ill-understood brand can start to build a reputation for itself again amongst youngish American shoppers. Dual-natured though it may be, the high-po Verano is, quite honestly, entertaining to drive, and priced and spec'd very well against a pretty weak set of direct competitors. But that future is both uncertain and likely to be pretty far off.

As a proposition for buyers in the here and now, then, the confusing messages abound: Buick's core values have never really included having cars that are small, tech-laden, quick and fashion-forward – at least not all of those, all at once. (To both members of the Buick Reatta Fan Club, you have our sincerest apologies.) A semi-sporting, near-luxury subcompact Buick sedan (with optional manual transmission, don't forget) is anything but run of the mill, but it may not be the car that turns buyers out in droves, either.

Read more by Seyth Miersma at Autoblog.com

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