Looking for a compact SUV that is stylish and offers a sporty performance? Look no further. Burlington Chevrolet is here for you. Come drive the new 2020 Chevrolet Trax and compare it to the 2020 Buick Encore.
Design and Style
For a compact car, the 2020 Chevrolet Trax has a surprisingly spacious interior. It seats five comfortably and has plenty of rear-seat space, even for adult passengers. It comes with cloth upholstery, a four-way adjustable driver’s seat, and a two-way adjustable passenger seat. You’ll get 18.7 cubic feet of space behind the back seat of the Trax. The second-row folds down almost completely flat to open up a maximum of 48.4 cubic feet. With the front seat folded flat, there is room for items up to eight feet long, making room for all your gear.
The 2020 Buick Encore also seats up to five people. The seats may be comfortable, but the back seats can feel tight with averaged-size adults; and it can be difficult getting in and out of the car. This doesn’t make for a comfortable ride. Similar numbers to the Trax, the Encore has 18.8 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats and a total of 48.4 cubic feet after folding down the rear seats; but it doesn’t offer the folded-down front seat for extra room.
Power, Handling, and Gas
The Chevrolet Trax is easy to drive and has just enough pep to get up and go. All models on the Chevrolet Trax feature a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a six-speed automatic transmission that makes 138 horsepower. Front-wheel drive is standard and an all-wheel drive system is available to help when road conditions are less than ideal. Trax offers an impressive 26/31 mpg on the city and highway.
The Encore’s engine is standard throughout its lineup with a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that also produces 138 horsepower and 147 pound-feet of torque and is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. The Encore gets an EPA-estimated 25/30 mpg on the city and highway, which is slightly lower than the Trax. The Buick has a gentle ride and maneuvers well around corners but the steering is overly light, keeping it from feeling sporty.
Safety, Tech, and Price
Trax is ready to help you feel safe. It comes standard with a rearview camera and ten standard airbags. Optional driver assistance features include forward collision warning, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and rear parking sensors. Trax offers the technology you need to keep you in touch. All Trax models come with the Chevrolet’s impressive user-friendly Infotainment 3 System, which is straightforward and easy to use. The 7-inch touch screen has clear graphics and an intuitive menu structure. It also includes standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration, along with a Wi-Fi hot spot. Optional features include satellite radio, remote start, proximity keyless entry, a sunroof, and a seven-speaker Bose premium stereo. The 2020 Chevrolet Trax starts at $21,300. The midlevel LT trim starts at $23,200, and the top-of-the-line Premier trim costs $27,600.
A review camera is the only standard driver assistance feature on the Encore. Available safety features include front and rear parking sensors, forward collision warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure warning, and rain-sensing windshield wipers. These safety features come standard on higher trim levels. Its infotainment system on this SUV features an 8-inch touch screen, smartphone integration, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Wi-Fi hot spot, satellite radio, a six-speaker stereo, two USB ports, and Bluetooth. The Buick Encore’s higher entry-level price starts at $23,200 and ranges to $29,300 for the Encore Essence. There are also options for upgraded packages with each model.
Overall
These two choices are similar in some ways, but the 2020 Chevrolet Trax’s quality and performance makes it a great choice.
