What's Wrong With This Picture: I Believe I Asked For A Small Mokka Edition
At first glance, it’s fairly obvious that there’s something not quite right with this picture. Better than most photoshops or renderings, but not quite convincing as a real picture, this car seems trapped in the Uncanny Valley, as if it were photographed undergoing winter testing on the set of the film The Polar Express. In any case, this little Corsa-based CUV (allegedly to be named “Mokka”) will debut at the Geneva Auto Show, and will take on such B-segment crossovers as the Nissan Juke, Suzuki SX4 and Ford’s forthcoming new Ecosport.
Meanwhile, GM’s American-market interpretation of a B-segment CUV is likely to be quite different from these little rough-and-ready softroaders [Ed: Or, not]. Buick is slow-strip-teasing its forthcoming Encore on Facebook, and it’s already looking like the Baby Enclave rumors were well-founded in terms of its exterior design. On the other hand, this isn’t a wildly detailed photo, so who knows? Either way, both the Mokka and the Encore are based on a jacked-up version of the Gamma II subcompact platform, and based on a video of what appears to be some relatively early chassis testing, the short-wheelbase and tall suspension took a little taming. Hit the jump to see for yourself…
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Are they going to make a sedan named the Alliance to go with it?
Windshield in photo looks crooked. SX4, vibe, matrix all look better.
Based on the teasers, you can tell that the Encore is the same vehicle, save for a more Buick-y grille. I figured that it would be another Theta rebadge,a Saturn Vue with different trim. Turns out its even worse. I don't have words for how ridiculous this is. I thought Buick was supposed to be a premium brand. There's nothing premium about this stumpy little crossover. I can't see how there's any market for this vehicle, let alone with a Buick badge.
Looking at the "photo" there, it looks like it's the Gamma crossover developed by GM Brazil (it even has the trademark huge lights). There's going to be a Chevrolet version of this crossover for South America, the market where you can sell anything (specially a mini crossover). I bet this will send like candy.