Buick is in the midst of a product changeover. The company, under the General Motors banner, has revealed five new vehicles in the past 18 months including the new Encore GX and Wildcat EV concept, the latter of which inspired the design for its latest new vehicle: the 2024 Buick Envista.
The new Envista uses the front-end design of the Wildcat EV with slim head and taillights, while LED checkmark lamps rest above. It will be a partner for the company's new Encore GX. Where the GX is a little taller and offers all-wheel drive for colder climates, the Envista has a 4-inch longer wheelbase and an 11-inch longer body. It only comes in front-wheel drive.
It arrives in three trims, mirroring the rest of the lineup, including Preferred, Sport Touring and Avenir. That final trim completes the luxurious Avenir subtrim across Buick's lineup. That top trim features more chrome than the others along with body-color lower moldings. The Sport Touring model wears black wheels and looks a bit more youthful. All wear the company's new tri-shield badge.
The 2024 Envista (at dealerships later this month) has massive group of competitors, many of which from above considering the premium Buick Envista's starting price of just $23,495. That undercuts even the Encore GX, which starts at $26,895. Competition in the non-premium arena comes from the Hyundai Kona ($22,140) and less-expensive Chevrolet Trax ($20,400), as well as the Mazda CX-30 at $22,950. Premium buyers might also consider the luxury Lexus UX at $35,340 or the new Volvo XC40 at $36,350. Compared to those vehicles the Buick Envista is a deal.
The cabin of the Envista features 19 inches of combined LCD displays with an 11-inch infotainment touchscreen and an 8-inch driver information cluster under one piece of continuous glass angled toward the driver. It can be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot while wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available as is wireless phone charging.
The Envista's interior is roomier than expected with space for 6-footers in both front and back, which is surprising because of the lower roof height in back. The doors and dash feature textured plastic, adding a little bit of style to a mainly boring surface. There is only a little bit of piano black trim, which does reflect the sun into the driver's eyes around midday.
The seats are perforated and comfortable, if a little narrow, and visibility is good out of the front and sides. Like many of these coupe-shaped SUVs, the back window is slim forcing the driver to move their head around to get the full view.
The trunk is surprisingly big too with more than 20 cubic feet of storage space in addition to a little hidden area under the floor. With the rear seats folded the Envista has 42 cubic feet of space.
Powering the Envista is a pint-sized, 1.2-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine making 136 horsepower (hp) and 162 pound-feet (lb-ft) of torque with a six-speed automatic transmission. In practice it reacts like a four-cylinder engine, not speeding away from a stop but never feeling annoyingly slow. The three-cylinder also brings with it a deeper, angrier engine noise than its even-number-cylinder competitors.
The Buick Envista has no problem getting up to or keeping freeway speeds, and when pushed for passing, the six-speed will quietly downshift and give the driver plenty of power. The added bonus of the tiny engine is the fuel economy, which is estimated to be more than 30 miles per gallon (mpg) combined.
With a Watts Link rear suspension, the Buick Envista is fun to drive, holding the road around corners even when not at screaming speeds. A Watts Link connects the rear suspension in a way that keeps the vehicle more squarely in position over its wheels.
The steering is medium weight and electrically powered. It's easy to work with little effort in parking lots, though it does seem to firm up at speed. The softer suspension sucked up any potholes the Michigan roads could throw at it.
The 2024 Envista comes standard with the Buick Driver Confidence Package including Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Front Pedestrian Braking, Forward Collision Alert, Following Distance Indicator and IntelliBeam auto high beams. Buyers looking for more can specify Adaptive Cruise Control, Rear Park Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert and automatic front wipers.
The Buick Envista is solidifying the company's entrance back into the mainstream. Buick's design was in a questionable area for a generation or two, but the company homed in on the essence of premium design. It also sees a white space in its price range, with executives noting that in 2019, 40 percent of brands sold cars under $30,000. That was down to just 19 percent in 2022.
As for its competitors, it might be the most handsome of the bunch. For buyers that don't need all wheel drive, the Envista should be on their test drive list. The Hyundai Kona and Kia Seltos are both excellent options in the category too, and both have more features standard, but less of a premium feel.
Those that do want all-wheel drive can still start at the Buick dealership with the Encore, then check out the Mazda CX-30. Either way it's a great time for inexpensive vehicles.
