The Buick Encore GX is a compact SUV that offers a smooth and comfortable driving experience. Its plush and quiet cabin also makes the ride relaxing. Also, the SUV prioritizes the safety of all occupants, which is a key consideration when buying any vehicle. That’s not all! The Buick Encore GX is also competitively priced, so it might just be the right choice for older adults looking for an affordable yet reliable SUV in 2024.

Comfortable cabin
The Buick Encore GX for seniors comes with a luxurious and practical interior. Buyers can choose between multiple trim colors and materials for the cabin before they put down their money on the vehicle. Additionally, this small crossover SUV is better equipped regarding safety and convenience features than many of its market rivals. All the controls one would use in the vehicle frequently are placed within comfortable reach of its occupants.

While the seats are comfortable enough, some users may find the padding in them a bit hard and the incline a little too upright for their liking. Regardless of that, most seniors are likely to appreciate the quiet ambiance and solidly-built nature of this cabin – two attributes that make the Buick Encore GX a good long-distance companion to have.

Large and roomy interiors
Apart from ambiance, this car performs well in terms of space too. Some taller occupants may complain about the slightly cramped rear seats. Nonetheless, the cabin is very roomy regarding headroom (39.7 inches in the first row; 38.1 inches in the second row), legroom (40.9 inches; 36 inches), shoulder room (55.4 inches; 53.6 inches), and hip room (51.9 inches; 47.5 inches).

The overall degree of comfort this vehicle provides is a huge advantage in making the Encore GX a solid buying choice for seniors.

Powerful and economical engine
The engines are decent, although seniors who prefer steady cruising power over outright speed and performance might like the Encore GX’s engines. This vehicle offers two engine choices, both turbocharged. The base version is a 1.2-liter engine that makes 137 hp, while the more-powerful variant comes with a 1.3-liter 155 hp engine. In terms of the gearbox, the cars can be bought with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) for easy shifts or a nine-speed automatic system for the more pricey all-wheel drive variants.

As implied earlier, the Encore GX is not extremely fast. The 1.3-liter engine (a larger, four-cylinder one that comes with the all-wheel drive variant) gets the vehicle from 0 to 60 mph in 9.3 seconds. This performance is not necessarily a drawback on the vehicle as it feels peppy to drive in the real world. Moreover, seniors are likely to appreciate its laidback performance. Also, what the car may lack in supposed performance is made up when one discusses its fuel economy.

The more economical Encore GX variant provides about 29 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on highways, bringing the combined figure to 30 mpg. As expected, the automatic and bigger-engined variants are slightly less fuel efficient than the smaller 1.3-liter ones. While some market rivals may perform better, the overall balance of smooth performance and steady economy make the Encore GX a good SUV for seniors who want a steady urban cruiser and also wish to save on gas.

Solid ride and handling
The Encore GX’s suspension is finely tuned to give the vehicle a steady and pliant ride, even on less-than-perfect road surfaces. The car handles competently, if not sportingly. The steering responds to little inputs, and the car is relatively neat in movement in heavy traffic. For senior buyers, the best aspect of the car’s suspension and cabin is that road noise is filtered out and does not get into the cabin much. These factors make the Encore GX a comfortable urban vehicle for seniors.

Various convenience and infotainment features
The Buick Encore GX is a premium SUV, and its convenience-based features list reflects that feature further. A very truncated list of technology and features available in this vehicle’s interiors are a ten-way electrically-adjustable driver’s seat, eight-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, heated front seats, heated steering wheel that is wrapped in rich leather, a 4.2-inch driver information center, dual-zone automatic climate control, a six-speaker audio system (or an optional seven-speaker Bose® audio system), keyless open and start, rear vision camera, Buick’s state-of-the-art infotainment system with an 8-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility, a heads-up display, wireless charging, and Wi-Fi hotspot capability.

Stellar safety equipment list
Safety ranks very high on the list of priorities when seniors are shortlisting vehicles to buy. Fortunately, the Buick Encore GX for seniors offers all the safety equipment they could ask for. A shortened list of this vehicle’s safety features includes a lane departure warning accident avoidance system, lane keep assist, pre- and post-collision safety system, dual front and dual rear side-mounted airbags, front and rear head airbags, passenger airbag occupant sensing deactivation, traction control, stability control, 4-wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), dusk sensing headlamps, and ventilated front disc/solid rear disc brakes.

Reasonable prices
There are six variants of the Buick Encore GX. The Buick Encore GX prices start from $25,900 and go up to $32,100. However, it is pertinent to note that these prices are subject to change.