Is the Buick Encore Becoming Sportier?

A new Buick Encore has been spotted wrapped in camouflage on the roads in Germany. Buick’s compact SUV offering, the Encore has been popular both in the US and in Europe under its local names: Opel Mokka on the continent and Vauxhall Mokka in Britain. However, since being introduced to the US in 2013, the Encore has not had a new design or many other improvements. So what’s new with the Buick Encore?

A New Look
The rear and sides of the car remain rather similar to the current model. However, sources within GM say that there will be a new rear bumper and tail-light design – possibly including LEDs – for the next model year as well. However, the prototype spotted was not equipped with those improvements just yet. The big changes on the Encore are happening in the heavily-camouflaged part of the car between the top of the hood and the bottom of the front bumper. A front-end redesign could alter the entire character of a car’s look, and the changes on the new Encore do just that.

Leaner and Meaner
While the front of the car was camouflaged, it was possible to see the changes in the car’s lines and get a sense for the overall new design direction of the car. Buick narrowed the sides of the headlight enclosures for a more streamlined look. They also narrowed and lowered the front grill, giving the car a more aggressive appearance. This allowed the whole front bumper to be pulled back a bit, getting rid of the current Encore’s “underbite” look. The fog light openings were reworked together with the bumper and seem deeper than before. This suggests the circular fog light housings have been replaced with something more angular. Again, LEDs are a distinct possibility. The whole front end of the car seems more angular and looks to be less downwardly-sloped that the current model.

Other Changes
So other than a new look, what new changes could enthusiasts expect from the next Encore? Another thing the spy shots reveal is that there is slightly less space between the wheel and the wheel arch in both the front and the rear of the car. While it could simply be a new larger wheel option, it is more likely that Buick has reworked the Encore’s suspension. Together with the aggressive look the new design suggests, Buick could be looking to up the Encore’s performance chops. If that is the case, then stealing some power-train options from its European cousin the Mokka might not be out of question. It would be a very pleasant surprise to see either Opel’s new high-performance diesel or a six-speed manual transmission on the options sheet for a US Encore.

Because Buick has such a compact lineup, any new rumored changes are a cause for excitement. Given the Buick’s direction so far, any changes to the new Buick Encore are bound to please the fans.