Payne: Cute utes: Buick Encore vs. Mercedes GLA

Posted by hpayne on March 12, 2015

The 2015 Buick Encore is a front-engine, front or all-wheel

Buick and Mercedes are slumming down segment for the same reason: To attract new buyers to their upscale brands. But their small ute solutions are different to suit different brand reputations.

Buick’s Encore is an affordable cutie because young buyers think Buicks are overpriced boringmobiles driven by their grandmothers to bridge games. Merc’s GLA250 is sporty eye candy because young professionals think Mercs are sleds the length of 5th Avenue driven by Park Avenue billionaires.

The result is a pair of segment-busting new toys.

These new toys come courtesy of an all-new segment that is blooming in front of our eyes: The subcompact SUV. Once upon a not very long ago, the world was split into orderly halves. Small, egg-shaped sedans were for youngsters. Big, boxy SUVs for when they got kids to haul around. But as SUVs take over the world they are poaching on small sedan territory.

The death of the sedan could mean the rebirth of Buick.

Buick has been making some pretty nifty sedans of late like the elegant LaCrosse and nimble Regal. But let’s face it. Buick has defined dog sedans for so long that consumers only see the LeBoring and Beagle. But what happens if Buick pioneered a new crossover segment?

Like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir suddenly cutting a hip-hop album. Or Shoney’s debuting a menu of Skuna Bay Salmon with roasted couscous. Buick SUV? Duuuuude. Cool.

The 2015 Encore is not only hip but easy on the hip pocket with a starting price at just $24,990. A Buick ad has cleverly captured this new direction with an embarrassed 20-something hopping into the wrong car thinking it’s her friend’s stuffy Buick. “Wow,” she exclaims when she finally finds the Encore. Yeah, it’s that different.

At 4 grand north of its engaging Chevy Trax stablemate, however, the Encore will lose some millennials to budget considerations. But with sharper styling, European vibe, and a suite-full of digital goo-gaws, the middle-aged empty nester may find the Encore irresistible.

Take Mrs. Payne’s friend, Julie, an active, post-soccer mom who could star in her own ad.

Buick was not her first premium choice. But both Cadillac and Lincoln are AWOL in the subcompact ute segment. BMW and Merc are present, but — determined to Buy American — Julie kept walking to Buick.

She was smitten with the Encore at first sight. “It’s adorable,” she says. But adorable is more than skin deep. With all-wheel drive, fold flat seats, sunroof, and nav, the Encore is bejeweled with amenities once found only in large luxe offerings. Throw in 4G LTE Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth phone capability, remote start, blind-spot assist, and she was sold. You had her at “4G LTE WiFi.”

With Julie’s 24/7 job demands, the rolling, Wi-Fi hot spot allows her to work from anywhere, anytime when she and her husband are on the road. Had she considered a Chevy Trax? Yes, but the Encore is more sophisticated. A Chevy Sonic (which shares the Encore’s platform)? She’s never heard of it (did I mention sedans are dead?).

Out the door, Julie will pay just $32,000 for her loaded Encore — the price at which the 2015 Mercedes GLA250 enters the fray.

The Merc earns its higher price tag with typical Teutonic swagger.

This is the hottest looking ute in the segment. While not as seductive as its sedan sibling, the S-Class-inspired CLA250, the GLA (in Merc alphabet soup, C is for sedan, G is for SUV. Got it?) is as sporty-looking as utes come. By comparison, it makes the boxy GLK — Mercedes’ bigger, compact ute entry — look as sexy as a shoebox.

What distinguishes the GLA beyond the signature, tri-star grille is a squashed greenhouse. This ute looks like it was formed in a giant Panini maker. Or as the bastard love child of a GLK and Hyundai Veloster. The result is a chopped ute with attitude. Indeed, the GLA’s low, bullet-like shape contradicts the norm of high-riding utes with commanding visibility.

This Panini is loaded with meat. Two liters of 208-horsepower, turbocharged schnitzel to be exact.

The AWD GLA will leave the 138-horse, 1.4-liter Encore choking on dust. Opt for the GLA’s $49k, AMG45 sport version — with its insane, 355-hp power plant — and you’ll be picking Buick Regals out of your teeth.

But if handling and horsepower aren’t on your subcompact shopping list — then the GLA’s sticker price is hard to swallow. A fully-loaded GLA will top the charts at $45,000 yet feel cheap next to the $32K Encore’s richer amenities.

American manufacturers make more livable consoles than their German counterparts. Despite elegant touches like wood accents and pin-wheel climate vents, the Merc’s knob-controlled, tacked-on console screen will drive you mad to operate.

Interestingly, Buick has mimicked the Mercedes rotary dial to appear more European. I cringed when I first saw it. But in placing the dial in the middle of the dash (not out of sight by the armrest) surrounded by complementary buttons, the Buick system avoids the worst aspects of the German system. Encore instrumentation is intuitive and safe.

And — despite its gerbil-driven power plant — the Encore is more fun than expected thanks to AWD. Adorable the Encore may be, but it doesn’t mind getting dirty. I whipped it hard on California mountain roads this winter. Dirt trails. Motor bike country. The Encore had a ball. What’s more, JD Power has awarded it Mercedes-like reliability with a 2014 Best-in-Class Initial Quality Study rating.

Like spam vs. steak, the little Yank starts at the opposite end of the brand respectability scale from Merc. But its price point and utility demand recognition.The Encore has a hit on its hands because it has exploited a void in the market: The affordable, premium small SUV.

The Mercedes is sexy, sporty. But its price pushes it into competition with not just the BMW X1 but also the Audi Q3 and Lincoln MKC. At the mainstream end of the sub ute segment, the Chevy Trax has its own mirrors full of the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX3 and Jeep Renegade.

The Enclave stands alone, straddling the bridge between luxe and bargain.

America craves small utes and the Encore and GLA are talented entrees on a new menu. Heck, Buick could even learn a new recipe from the talented German. How about a sporty, 200-plus horsepower version of the Encore?

2015 Buick Encore

Vehicle type: Front-engine, front or all-wheel drive, five-passenger sport ute

Price: $24,990 base ($32,595 AWD as tested)

Power plant: 1.4-liter, turbocharged, inline 4-cylinder

Power: 138 horsepower, 148 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: six-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 10.0 seconds (Car & Driver)

Weight: 3,358 pounds (AWD)

Fuel economy: EPA 23 mpg city/30 mpg highway/26 mpg combined

Report card

Highs: Loaded with tech; not your grandma’s Buick

Lows: Narrow interior; glacial acceleration

Overall:★★★

Comments are closed.