The 2024 Buick Encore GX was revealed at the 2023 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto on Thursday, February 16. It is displayed in front of the Buick Wildcat EV concept.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Buick revealed its new Encore GX at the 2023 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto on Thursday. The refresh of the small crossover introduces the brand’s new tri-shield logo and is the first production vehicle to feature the brand’s new design language for the front end. That same look will be remade on other Buick models in the future.
The move by Buick signifies a rare coup for the Toronto show, which rarely features global debuts.
The 2024 Buick Encore GX is the first production vehicle with the brand’s new tri-shield logo.The Globe and Mail
The 2024 Encore GX will feature the first application of Buick’s new 19-inch Virtual Cockpit System and it will be available in new trim grades, including a max-luxe Avenir grade. Buick says that on the Enclave and Envision, which already offer an Avenir trim, the number of buyers who pick that top trim is 45 and 49 per cent respectively.
First seen on the Buick Wildcat EV concept, the new design language features a forward-leaning front-end incorporating an updated grille, new signature winged LED headlamps and the new tri-shield badge. LED taillamps are standard on the Avenir and on the also-new ST trim.
Buick’s design manager, Kevin Nougarede, was on hand at the show to help translate the brand’s new design language. “The new face of Buick is what we call high lamp, low grille, and the shark nose that gives us a lot of sculpture to the front of the car,” he told The Globe and Mail.
Pointing to the Wildcat concept car alongside the new Encore, he said “You can see how we stay very consistent with our design strategy and how that face is translated. It’s always pleasant to work on sports cars that are wide and low, but you can see how the face translates really well on a higher vehicle.”
The Buick Wildcat EV concept on display at the 2023 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.Jordan Chittley/The Globe and Mail
Buick calls the signature LED daytime running lights, “the check” he said. “It may seem the DRLs are higher, but everything else got lower actually so it makes the car look more planted. The DRLs are perfectly aligned with the flow of the car and the front mouth got lower so it makes the car look more sporty.”
The trapezoidal shape of the grille is “part of the cue,” Nougarede said. “The high lamp, the low grille that’s a trapezoidal shape, surrounded by beautiful chrome, this is what we do.”
Meanwhile the headlamps, which for long have been a key automotive design element, are now intentionally subdued, so as not to distract from the main design cues. “We always talk in design about having the first reading, the second reading and the third reading. So, from afar, what we want to see is those three elements, and the headlamp looks more subdued, almost like aero pockets.”
A minor additional element of the new design language is a new “font” for the BUICK lettering name on the tailgate. As for the new tri-shield logo, Nougarede said that came about almost by a happy accident. A designer was noodling an idea with three lines and the red, white and blue, and showed it to Mark Reuss, president of General Motors. Reuss really liked it, “So Bob Boniface, our director, said ‘hey guys, keep sketching around that idea.’ And it took life and we introduced it on Wildcat.”
The digital gauge cluster on the 2024 Buick Encore GX. This is the first application for Buick’s new 19-inch Virtual Cockpit System.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
The Virtual Cockpit features 19 inches diagonal of screen – an 11-inch infotainment touchscreen and a configurable eight-inch digital gauge cluster all under a single pane. Also featured are soft-touch materials and different stitching patterns. The ST gets a flat-bottom steering wheel while Avenir cues include a heated steering wheel, leather upholstery and Whisper Beige and Jet Black colour themes.
The sole engine offering is now the 1.3-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine (the previous base 1.2-litre is gone), though, as before, the transmission is a continuously variable transmission on front-wheel-drive models and a nine-speed automatic with all-wheel drive. The engine is rated at 155 horsepower and 175 lb.-ft. of torque.
The 2024 Encore GX is on display now at the Toronto show (February 17-26) and will go on sale this spring. Buick has yet to announce pricing for the new Encore GX, but the current model starts at a suggested price of $28,748 before freight, pre-delivery inspection and taxes.
The 2024 Encore GX was revealed at the 2023 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto on Thursday, February 16.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
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