In this line of work, we’re supposed to be impartial and cast aside our biases. The problem is that the task of evaluating cars is often pretty subjective, and it’s damn near impossible to entirely eliminate bias from the process of forming an opinion — but we try. This process gets further muddied when trying to balance it against the curse of knowledge, where the things I’ve learned tend to create or amplify biases. Sometimes I’m in the very awkward position of not knowing how to separate knowledge from bias from inherent merit, or lack thereof. Case in point, the 2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir.

The Encore GX is the first step of a two-pronged strategy to revamp the historic Buick brand. A new logo and some serious rhinoplasty lays the groundwork for Buick’s new corporate fascia that’s also shared with all-new subcompact Envista crossover, which also debuts this year. The new look follows the modern trend of separated elements, with a large trapezoidal grille being flanked by small headlights, capped with LED daytime running lights acting as eyebrows.

Whether or not this refreshed Encore GX is better-looking than the last one is up to you, but it’s certainly sharper and more contemporary, and I think the style is helped out hugely by the added brightwork and body-colored cladding on our loaded Avenir tester. Said body colour is Ocean Blue metallic, which compliments the bright nickel 19-inch wheels very well. The whole thing ends up looking considerably nicer than it actually is.

Here’s where the curse of knowledge comes in: I know it’s not actually that nice. The Encore GX a tiny commuter car that’s been tarted up; a dandelion gilded like a daisy. Historically, GM has really struggled with being competitive in this segment, so much so that most of the engineering and assembly of their compacts is farmed out to GM South Korea — formerly known as Daewoo — who recently pulled out of the European market due to slow sales. They are first and foremost designed to be affordable, sold in Pacific and South American markets, and here.

The Encore GX shares a platform with the Chevy Trailblazer and Trax, and shares the same tiny three-cylinder engines that are favored in Pacific markets for their frugality. They’re developed in partnership with Opel, MG, and Shanghai Automotive, and built in Mexico before being shipped over to Korea for final assembly. The fact that it’s a tiny three cylinder doesn’t mean it’s inherently bad, but it does give me some concern about longevity — as seen with Ford and Nissan’s three-cylinder engines lately. It gives me pause that’s hard to put aside.

Now, I’ll acknowledge my bias: lots of cars are designed to cut costs, sharing components with numerous other models to make them more accessible for more markets. This is just good business. Everyone does it. Similarly, lots of luxury automakers take a relatively basic, economy-oriented platform and powertrain combo, and pretty it up to serve as a premium product. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, either. Lexus and Lincoln are masters of the craft. Similarly, previous failings of three-cylinder engines don’t necessarily mean the same will be the case here, and we haven’t (as of this writing) seen any persistent issues affecting them since their introduction in 2020. Odds are an Encore GX will get through the warranty period without much headache.

Then we have the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the Encore itself. I picked up a friend for dinner and she liked it. She isn’t a car person, she doesn’t know anything about it other than that it’s blue, and she thought it was “cute” and that it “coulda fooled me, I thought it was nice.” While I may know the Encore has been dressed up to look and feel a lot nicer than it actually is, that doesn’t mean it isn’t nice at all. The exterior design, particularly on this top-trim Avenir, is pretty successful at making it look a notch or three more upscale than its counterparts. It looks more at-home at a golf course than, say, a Subaru Crosstrek, or even the Encore’s Chevy stablemates.

The powertrain similarly has been gone over with a fine-tooth comb to feel smoother than it actually is. The Encore employs lots of firewall insulation, active noise cancelling, and beefier engine mounts to hide the inherently clattery nature of the direct-injected 1.3-litre turbo-three. It’s still more than a little on the loud side, perhaps unbecoming of a Buick, but it’s generally inoffensive. The real point of contention I have is that the throttle feels pretty jumpy on tip-in, no doubt to make the 155-horsepower mill feel more powerful than it actually is. It’s a little too much for my liking, as it feels non-linear and lurchy.

That relatively scant stable of ponies is hugely aided by a smart nine-speed automatic transmission, which is a significant step up over the CVTs in most of its competitors, and a big step over the dated six-speed autobox hooked up to the 1.2L version of the same engine in the Trax and Envista. It also boasts the addition of all wheel drive, a differentiating boon over those same stablemates, though it’s worth highlighting it’s the first all wheel drive system I’ve seen in a long time that’s not automatic. It’s manually activated via a button on the centre console.

The Encore’s interior space isn’t odd at all, and is quite successful at continuing the theme of appearing to be more than it actually is, if you don’t look too closely. It’s generally pretty nice, with Buick’s typically subdued design ethos making use of complementary shapes and soft touch surfaces, tied together with faux French “stitching” and metallic trim. The big highlight in the cabin for 2024 is the newly revised infotainment, which is clean, crisp, and refreshingly simple.

Said infotainment is displayed on a large trapezoidal ultrawide frame that spans most of the dash and incorporates a digital gauge cluster, as that’s what all the cool kids are doing. This is where you’ll probably look a little too closely first, as you’re liable to notice that the “19-inch digital dashboard” is actually two eight- and 11-inch displays, which are rather far apart and considerably smaller than the frame that houses them. The massive trapezoidal bezel in which they float is no doubt designed to make the screen space look bigger than it actually is.

Buick’s done a good job making the cabin space feel quite a bit bigger than it actually is, and that’s only a good thing. The Encore is a tiny little thing, but its tall greenhouse and clever use of space helps it feel bright, airy, and spacious, with excellent ingress and egress up front, decent headroom and legroom in the rear, a fairly commodious cargo hold, and good visibility all around. Between the tastefully reserved aesthetic, comfy quilted leather seats, and easy to use infotainment, the Encore GX is a nice enough place to be. But again, if you look closely, you’ll notice the piano black centre console and lower door and cargo area plastics scuff very easily, calling its longevity into question and undermining the things it gets right.

That’s the thing that holds me back from the little Encore. For the large part, it’s a nice, well-executed, posh-looking, and efficient little people mover that’s easy to live with. It drives and rides well enough for what it is, and it’s generally inoffensive. The trouble is that for the $36,579 as-tested our loaded tester asks for, it makes a lot of minor mistakes and cost-cutting compromises that the rest of its fiercely competitive rivals don’t. Its three-cylinder engine is marginally more efficient in real-world use than a handful of its competitors — we averaged 8.8 L/100 kilometres — but it gives up a lot of performance, refinement, and (bias-driven) perceived longevity in doing so. The Encore GX is practical enough, but for similar money, the Honda HR-V and Kia Seltos offer a meaningful step up in usable space and build quality at the same price. The Encore GX is pretty enough, but for similar money, the Kia Niro is more hip — and a hybrid! The Encore GX feels premium enough inside, but for similar money, the Mazda CX-30 feels like it’s in a different league altogether.

I’m able to put my biases aside and see its merits, but my curse of knowledge forbids me from saying I like the 2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir. I know it falls short of its competitors on a lot of fronts; it’ll probably keep selling well thanks to GM’s strong brand loyalty and its smart style, but I’m afraid that I can’t think of much else to merit wanting one.