Buick shakes up small SUV segment
Envista focuses on affordability, fuel economy, comfort.
“This is not your average small SUV.” That almost throw-away line from the press information on the Buick Envista encapsulates this new nameplate.
The Envista is a brandnew vehicle from Buick.
Buick needed a new product; and since it’s part of General Motors, it was able to build the Envista on the same platform as the Chevy Trax, which is a small, affordable SUV.
In a world with hybrids,
EVs and overpriced SUVs, the Envista is a fresh face on the market. With the noble Buick name and all that comes with that higher-end, more mature brand, the Envista does feel different.
My tester was in a color called Copper Ice, which is on the orange pallet. Think burnt umber and you’re close to what this squatty, curvaceous little SUV looked like. The Envista is the first of what Buick is calling the “new face of Buick.” As evidence with the low-profile silhouette and forward-leaning nose. There’s a new Buick emblem that is now mounted on the body, directly above a sleek, intricate grille design.
Sharon Gauci, executive director of Buick design who proclaimed this was not your average small SUV also said: “With its unique proportions, modern stance and sleek form, the Envista takes Buick’s sculptural beauty to the next level.”
Another area where the Envista is not like other SUVs is in the displacement (engine size). The tiny 1.2-liter engine does have a turbocharger to give it a little giddy-up; but with only 137 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque, it’s still rather pedestrian. 0-60 times tested by other outlets have the Envista at achieving 60 mph in 9 seconds. That’s obviously less-than-exhilarating but shows the focus is on fuel efficiency.
A drawback in the fuel efficiency seems to be the sixspeed automatic transmission. For a new powertrain, it feels as though it could’ve used a couple of more gears and thus there is some noticeable turbo lag. Some fuel efficiency is recouped by only offering the Envista in frontwheel drive.
If the horsepower seems too low, consider that the new 1.2-liter engine weighs far less than older iterations of this engine offered by GM in the past. The Envista’s total curb weight is just over 3,000 pounds.
The Envista walks a fine line between remaining budget aware and also upholding the Buick reputation for quality and refinement. If the Chevy Trax is bare-boned, the Envista has some meat on the bones. The flat-bottomed steering wheel has a great
Envista
feel. Color stitching on the seats is a nice complement and ties the overall design together.
There’s 38.7 inches of rear legroom to go along with 37.3 inches of headroom. The rear seats were actually spacious, considering the sloping roofline and cute styling of the Envista. For a small SUV, it was high on comfort.
The Envista has a new infotainment system that if GM will incorporate in other vehicles will be a big success. It’s called Ultrawide Infotainment Display. It has 19 diagonal inches of combined LCD screens that work together in harmony. The Infotainment screen itself is 11 inches. Somehow, the designers made it work so that it doesn’t overpower the dashboard and it all looks perfectly flowing together.
There’s 20.7 cubic feet of cargo room, which can expand to 42 cubic feet with 60/40 folding rear seats. There is a power liftgate available.
With an emphasis on fuel economy, the Envista accomplishes that with an average fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon. It has an EPA rating of 28 mpg/city and 32 mpg/highway. For a non-hybrid, those are pretty decent numbers.
One thing I always hear from readers is that I only review cars that are too expensive. Here’s the 2024 Buick Envista with its MSRP of $24,100, making it one of the most affordable SUVs I’ve reviewed in quite a while. My tester, which was the Sport Touring trim, had a couple of add-on packages that took the final price to just under $30,000.
With a stand-out color, an impressive price tag and just enough features and comfort, the new Buick Envista is anything but average.