Compare the2022 Buick EncoreVS 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the Buick Encore are height-adjustable, and the rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

The Buick Encore has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Encore has standard OnStar®, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Encore and the Outlander Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Buick Encore is safer than the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport:

	Encore	Outlander Sport
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	122	208
Neck Injury Risk	26%	29%
Neck Stress	298 lbs.	412 lbs.
Neck Compression	12 lbs.	90 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	363/313 lbs.	334/511 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	207	251
Chest Compression	.3 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	38%	43%
Neck Stress	122 lbs.	221 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	249/289 lbs.	394/494 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Buick Encore is safer than the Outlander Sport:

	Encore	Outlander Sport
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Restraints	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Neck Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Peak Head Forces	0 G’s	0 G’s
Chest Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Max Chest Compression	25 cm	28 cm
Hip & Thigh Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L	1%/0%	1%/0%
Lower Leg Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Tibia index R/L	.53/.33	.68/.36
Tibia forces R/L	1.8/.6 kN	1.9/1.9 kN

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Buick Encore is safer than the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport:

	Encore	Outlander Sport
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	73	163
Abdominal Force	120 G’s	163 G’s
Hip Force	388 lbs.	518 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	100	349
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	47 G’s
Hip Force	672 lbs.	794 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	17 inches
Hip Force	707 lbs.	807 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Encore the rating of “Top Pick” for 2016, a rating granted to only 221 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Outlander Sport is not a “Top Pick” for 2016.

The Buick Encore has a better fatality history. The Encore was involved in fatal accidents at a rate 8.2% lower per vehicle registered than the Outlander Sport, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Warranty

There are over 6 times as many Buick dealers as there are Mitsubishi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Encore’s warranty.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Encore’s reliability 48 points higher than the Outlander Sport.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Mitsubishi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick fifth in reliability, above the industry average. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mitsubishi is ranked 13th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Mitsubishi vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Buick fourth in reliability. Mitsubishi is ranked 20th.

Engine

The Encore’s 1.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 7 more horsepower (155 vs. 148) and 32 lbs.-ft. more torque (177 vs. 145) than the Outlander Sport ES/LE/SE’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Encore’s 1.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 10 lbs.-ft. more torque (177 vs. 167) than the Outlander Sport GT’s standard 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Encore gets better fuel mileage than the Outlander Sport:

			MPG
Encore
	2WD	1.4 Turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/32 hwy
	4WD	1.4 Turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
Outlander Sport
	2WD	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
	4WD	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/29 hwy
		2.4 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/28 hwy

The Encore has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Encore’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Outlander Sport:

	Encore	Outlander Sport
Front Rotors	11.8 inches	11.6 inches

The Encore stops much shorter than the Outlander Sport:

	Encore	Outlander Sport
70 to 0 MPH	175 feet	184 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	113 feet	125 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	134 feet	143 feet	Consumer Reports

Suspension and Handling

The Encore has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Outlander Sport’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Encore has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Encore handles at .82 G’s, while the Outlander Sport SE 4WD pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Encore AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Outlander Sport SE 4WD (28.2 seconds @ .58 average G’s vs. 29 seconds @ .55 average G’s).

Chassis

The Encore is 3.5 inches shorter than the Outlander Sport, making the Encore easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Encore has liquid-filled engine mounts. The liquid helps further dampen engine harshness. The Outlander Sport uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

The Encore uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Encore has .2 inches more front headroom and .9 inches more rear headroom than the Outlander Sport.

Ergonomics

The power windows standard on both the Encore and the Outlander Sport have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Encore is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Outlander Sport prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Encore’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Outlander Sport’s passenger windows don’t open automatically.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Encore has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Outlander Sport only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Encore has standard extendable sun visors. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Encore offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Encore owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Encore will cost $275 to $1890 less than the Outlander Sport over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Encore is less expensive to operate than the Outlander Sport because it costs $73 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Encore than the Outlander Sport, including $171 less for a water pump, $254 less for a starter, $252 less for fuel injection, $266 less for a fuel pump, $77 less for front struts and $512 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

The Buick Encore has won recognition from these important consumer publications:

	Encore	Outlander Sport
Consumer Reports® Recommends	TRUE	FALSE
Car Book “Best Bet”	TRUE	FALSE