Perhaps America could use a strategic reserve of Buick Envistas for when new cars get too expensive and inflation begins to rise, because for under $30,000 this is a lot of car. I spent a week with an Envista Avenir, which is the top trim of the Envista, and it’s full of the stuff I’m used to on nicer cars; nothing about it feels like a penalty or a trick. It’s just nice. And cheap. And, again, nice. Good deals aren’t dead, my friends — they’re just wearing a Buick badge.
There’s a gimmick with new cars where the base price is something absurdly low, but it’s for a car that’s almost impossible to find because dealers don’t order a lot of stripper cars these days, and also most people probably don’t want it, anyway. This is also generally true of press cars handed out to journalists; an automotive journalist might be happy to tell you about how great the Fleegal Warrior is, even though they’ve only driven the Fleegal Warrior XST, and not the penalty-trim Warrior DX.
I asked for an Envista, but was given an Envista Avenir and, at first, I was disappointed. “That’s not the base, $24,000-ish one!” I thought, assuming I’d end up with a car that was optioned all the way up into the high $30k range. Then I looked at the window sticker they sent me and saw that with basically all the options this thing was just $29,395 (or $30,490 with the destination charge).
Maybe this could work…
Why This Car Exists
Did you know that Buick was America’s fastest-growing car brand last year? By a huge margin, Buick is picking itself up and finding new customers. How is it doing this? In America, Buick only sells relatively affordable, reasonably nice crossovers. Two of those vehicles (the Envista and Encore GX) are built in South Korea, one (the Envision) is built in China, and one (the Enclave) is built in Michigan, which is the South Korea of the Midwest. [Ed Note: Huh? Detroit barbecue isn’t nearly good enough; Slows can only carry so much on its back. -DT].
Confusingly, Buick used to build the very cheap and generally mediocre Encore. At one point, Buick simultaneously sold the base Encore and the nicer Encore GX (a different model, and one still available). Slotting into the spot once held by the non-GX Buick Encore is the Buick Envista. Consistent with the brand’s history, the Envista is just a nicer version of the also surprisingly nice 2024 Chevy Trax. But the Trax and Envista, while essentially the same underneath, aren’t exactly the same; parent company General Motors has done a good job in giving consumers two distinctly different cars at a low price, which is not consistent with the old Chevy-with-chrome-trim days of yore.
Am I more inclined personally to get a Chevy Trax Activ in Nitro Yellow Metallic optioned up to $27k? Yes. The Trax is a little more my style, even though the Buick is a little more my lifestyle.
[Full disclosure: Buick let me borrow the car for a week and gave me a full tank of gas. I intended to return it with a full tank of gas so I filled it up. Then I kept the car for two more days so it was like 3/4ths full.]
The Basics
Price: $29,395 ($30,490 Delivered)
Engine: 1.2-liter turbo inline-three
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Drivetrain: FWD
Horsepower: 137 horsepower at 5,000 rpm.
Torque: 162 lb.-ft. of torque at 2,500-4,000 rpm.
Fuel Economy: 28 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, 30 mpg combined.
Body Style: five-seat crossover
Curb Weight: 3,115 pounds
How Does It Look?
I don’t mean this pejoratively, but the Envista looks like it was designed for a global audience. Often “global design” means watering down a car until it looks approximately like everything else so it can be sold everywhere.
In the case of the Envista, the car’s designers did an admirable job of creating a new global face that is just simple enough to work to many people, but that also has what they call a “forward-leaning nose” that feels like the more arresting Buicks of the pre-Malaise period. In profile, the car becomes a little more anonymous and gives into aerodynamic sculpting.
My photos are of the Avenir, which includes some chrome-like details that feel very old Buick in a good way. Again, stylistically this is not me. The above ST trim is painted in the same Cinnabar Metallic color but has the blacked-out trim and I think that looks more me, but Buick has, for the first time in a long time, managed to differentiate its designs from Chevy and internally from itself.
Both the headlamps and taillights use Buick’s “wing lighting” and it is distinct in a good way. Compare this to the old entry-level Encore, which just looked like a little turd-shaped economy car:
This is a stratospheric jump in visual presence.
How About The Inside?
There is nothing particularly cheap feeling about the Envista, although this is technically an entry-level model. The plastics aren’t noticeably bad, the steering wheel feels good as a driver, and the Avenir’s seats even have “Avenir” stitched into the headrests for some reason.
If anything, the biggest challenge of this car is that it almost feels like a luxury car, which it isn’t. When viewed as a luxury car none of it is quite nice enough. This isn’t a car that’s worth $40-50k and, having jumped out of an Alpina XB7 into this, all those little details were fairly obvious.
Here’s a good example of what I mean:
In Avenir trim you get two decent and responsive screens that provide all the details you need and good access to Apple CarPlay. To give the impression that this is one big screen, Buick uses a dark black plastic that gives off a screen-like shine to hide the fact that it’s two screens.
Unfortunately, when the sun is at the right level it makes the Potemkin-like quality of the screens almost comically obvious. Given that it works fine 90% of the time this is a reasonable trade-off. Sometimes “attainable” luxury just means faking it a little, and that’s ok because…
There’s a lot of backseat here! You can see that my daughter has moved into the Envista and made it her car immediately. Buick says the Envista has 38.7 inches of rear legroom! To put that in comparison, my theoretically luxury 5-series BMW has 34.2 inches of legroom. From hip-to-hip a fifth person is a tight squeeze and Buick has tried to recess the buckles to achieve that little fifth seat, which makes buckling in harder, but that’s a minor quibble.
The hatch area is also spacious and usable with a low load-in and room for at least one sports bag and one glove. Also, now I know where that glove went…
How Does It Drive?
The motor in this thing is tiny and it’s not quick. What’s the opposite of quick? Slow. It’s slow. Car And Driver tested it, and it only took them about 6.7 seconds to get to 50 mph. That’s not terrible. To get to 60 mph? It took them another 2.6 seconds. This is the reality of gearing set up for economy and low-speed zip, and it’s completely livable around town, which is where this thing will live for most people.
Did you notice the special word in there? Gearing! This thing has an honest-to-goodness six-speed torque-converter automatic transmission and not a damn CVT. As someone who has logged more miles on CVT-equipped cars than just about anything else for the last year or so it’s a revelation to me to have a real automatic. I thought I’d eventually just get used to CVTs, but like hemorrhoids, the jerk of a CVT is a feeling that’s better to eliminate than acclimate to.
In ST and Avenir trim, the big upgrade is the available watts link suspension out back, which allows for a smoother and stabler ride. This video does a good job of explaining how this works:
I live in a bumpy part of the world, made worse by winter, and the Avenir felt almost luxury car smooth. The steering also felt crisper than most economy cars and more in line with my BMW than even some more expensive premium crossovers I’ve tested. As long as you’re not trying to go fast, the Envista is a great place to be.
It’s a FWD car and it will always be a FWD car. One of the ways Buick keeps the costs down and differentiates it from the rest of the lineup is that it’s only able to spin the front wheels. Oh well.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap Some People Want?
It’s got keyless start, Bluetooth audio for two devices simultaneously, wireless charging, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Audio, active noise cancellation, six speakers, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, a high-def rear camera, automatic emergency braking… basically all the things.
Do all of those things work well? The sound system is average, the wireless charging is average, and the phone sound quality is also average. The rear camera is quite nice and better than many way more expensive cars. I apologize to everyone on the Taconic Parkway at 5:00 am who experienced the auto high beams when the Buick, possibly due to sensor placement, decided to blind them.
If you put 10 pounds of sausage into five pounds of sausage casing some of it’s going to end up on the floor.
Three Things To Know About The 2024 Buick Envista Avenir:
- It gets precisely the fuel economy that it promised, no more no less.
- It still has a physical hood prop.
- It is trying to make Avenir happen.
Does It Fulfill Its Purpose?
Oh my, yes. The last car to do as good of a job of doing what it says on the tin was probably the WWII Jeep. There’s this weird concept that Costco has with its house brand Kirkland (I think I’m wearing Kirkland boxer briefs right now, come to think of it) where it has the makers of the product create a copy that’s 1% better.
I have always found this confusing. How does Bombay make a gin that is 1% better? I can understand a battery lasting 1% longer, but how does a thing taste 1% better?
Driving the Envista Avenir for a little more than a week made the Kirkland brand concept a little more comprehensible. Except for maybe a Ford Maverick, if you want a crossover-y type thing with good rear legroom and all the car features any human needs I don’t think you can do 1% better than the Envista for the price. In fact, I think you can only do 1% worse.
I’d probably skip the Avenir trim, though, and get the lower-trim ST. I loaded one up with the advanced safety package and it’s a whopping $26,285 delivered. Damn.
Now, if only they could fix the absolutely horrid brakelight setup.
This thing would be about perfect with a hybrid setup using a small motor on the rear axle. GM, are you listening?!
Man, imagine if this was a PHEV for a few grand more. As much as I want a new Prius Prime, it’s unobtainium.
Personally, I would rather have a KIA Soul. No faux luxury and a CVT, but the engine has four cylinders and no turbo, so my bet is it will be trouble-free a lot longer, and adequately equipped (LX + Tech Pkg) it’s *$9K* cheaper. This doesn’t do anything better other than look very superficially fancier.
Bought one for my mother, so I put my money where my mouth is. It’s all the car anyone actually needs.
The Soul is a good value for sure and I’d favor its engine for reliability too, but that’s a base model vs. the top trim here. The price gap is much narrower on a base Envista, about $2k more than a Soul (and its Trax twin is a hundred or two less to start). Either way, good that we have more roomy sub-$25k options.
I know nothing about Buick’s but I can think of a few cars I’d prefer for the local equivalent of US$30,000 (which is AU$45,000).
the base Envista is well equipped (dual displays, all active safety suite, 6 speaker sound system with wireless Carplay and AA, cloth/leatherette seats, the same turbo engine as the top trim reviewed here, among other goodies, all for less than $24K (around AU $36K).
Even at that price, it’s up against some stiff competition from Toyota, Hyundai and Kia. And that’s before we consider the even cheaper or one size class up Chinese made offerings.
38.7 inches of rear leg room!? It’s only 2.7 inches less than the rear leg room in my Lucerne!! And my Lucerne is a full size sedan! That is very impressive! (What’s not impressive is that over stressed Turbo 3 cylinder trying to haul around a ton and a half of crossover; makes my old Aveo look like a rocket ship in comparison!)
I don’t get this FWD-only CUV garbage. Isn’t half the appeal of crossovers in “all-weather” capability?
It’s just a way to get people to buy hatchbacks, which is an efficient way to travel.
I think we’ve reached a point where the smallest crossovers are now just hatchbacks that with like a 3″ higher ride height. I mean considering the slope on this one, it’s just a fat liftback. The CUV has started to “return to monke”.
The appeal is the perceived capability.
Why a watts link on a front drive car?
What problem is it solving? And what happened to Mr. Watt’s apostrophe? I know he’s memorized many places but still…
It is a very good compromise between a cheap torsion beam suspension and a much more expensive multi-link setup – you get a torsion beam and add the watts link to control lateral motion through the suspension travel. From what I have experienced first-hand in European applications of GM products (Opel Astra) it really makes a difference in handling versus a simple torsion beam.
Gee, I would think that a Panhard rod would do just fine.
The appliance value proposition is admittedly solid and so I guess it’s all fine … except for its insipid name. It’s Envelope, right? Envelop?
Buick’s naming convention makes me irrationally irritated for some reason, but then after a second or two, I remind myself that it doesn’t matter … I take a beat, reset and just ignore it all.
So wait, what were we talking about about?
You’re just envious because you didn’t envision an environment where a Buick could envelop its passengers in style for a reasonable price.
Ha ha yep, that’s it. Nice. Also, we need a Buick Envy. A Sin Wagon, if you will, but also not a wagon ‘cos America.
Huh, so that’s how a decent-looking X6 might have looked.
This seems like what I’d expect for an entry level Buick. Nicer than the Chevy in both styling and equipment; more of a “value luxury” option. My grandparents loved Buicks. My grandpa had every model of Riviera except for the one in the 80’s with the touchscreen CRT, and he kept coming back to them because they felt like a luxury car to the driver and occupants, but didn’t project the “I have a Cadillac/Lincoln” image to others. I just wish Buick had some sedans to add to its lineup, otherwise it seems like they’re making some nice vehicles these days.
They still have the Verano and LaCrosse in China (the latter has been pretty nicely updated), and also the Velite, which is a PHEV or EV station wagon that they maybe try to pretend isn’t a station wagon but is
They’d have to pay a licensing fee, but Buick really should inteoduce a LaCroix model with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as spokespeople.
Not really their style, is it though? Jaguar or Alfa Romeo, sure.
I’d just like to hear Eddy caw, “LaCroix! LaCroix!” as she gestures in the vague direction of the parking valet before he takes the wheel and drives off with Patsy hanging out of the door all entangled in the seatbelt with her bottle of Bolly and her beehive undamaged as they drag along the pavement.
And get in and mutter something about how cars don’t have cigarette lighters anymore
Dude, I live like 2 miles from the TSP, up near the top. Cool.
With a growing step-family, we bought a slightly used Buick LeSabre back in the mid-90s. That thing was one tough car, took all kind of abuse and just kept going. Rented several through the decades and was usually pleasantly surprised. So I’m not scared of Buick like some may be. The price is right for this one, the styling and interior are nice for what it is, but I can’t get past the 3 cylinder. I just can’t.
It was hard enough going from 8 to 6 cylinders, then to 4, but I’m not going any lower than that unless it’s a hybrid. Yeah I’m older and seen a lot come and go, but I love new technology, only after it proves itself. Has this configuration done that yet? Doesn’t look like it to me. Just my 2 bits.
I agree. I was happy to see the weight not much over 3k lbs until I saw the 3 cylinder.
Saw a survivor Geo yesterday and feel a 3 cylinder will only have longevity in a car under 2k lbs.
-I will happily eat those words when/if these are viable for the 3rd or 4th owner at 170k miles—but I won’t hold my breath.
I’m confused. For most of my life, Buick has been in the weird space where they’re nice enough to be above mass market Chevy and GMC but still noticably below luxury Cadillac. Now they’re moving *down* market? Doesn’t that mean competing with their own brands?
I think in this case they’re actually fulfilling that space pretty well – it’s just that this is a nicer version of a VERY affordable Chevy that’s still pretty affordable by extension. (GMC has been the “Working Man’s” (cough*pavementprincessusedforshowingoff*cough) premium brand for a while now, basically a Cadillac for people who don’t want to look “soft”.
My guess is GM is betting that people will buy small vehicles from them only if they’re (quasi) luxury-oriented. I get it, but just has the effect of reminding me that there once was Saturn…
The Trax would be more my preference as well, but a non-Avenir Envista still represents a solid value and it seems like it’s only the styling bits that separate the trims, you can get most of the equipment on a base Preferred. Such an example with power seat, moonroof, power liftgate, and the safety pack stickers for $27k, much less than other small cars (sedan or crossover) with those features.
That said, it seems like discounts are thinner on these compared to other Buicks, so it probably isn’t hard to find an Encore GX or even Envision for the same coin or less especially against an Avenir. Buick will just be happy to have you in the showroom.
However, part of the reason the Envista caught my eye the first time I saw one: the brake lights and signals are bumper level…
I feel like this is a good example of Buick doing something that Buick has traditionally intended to do, but not always done well – look, feel, and otherwise be slightly nicer than a (in this case pretty competent) Chevy, be slightly more money than that Chevy, but not so much so that it makes the driver look like they’re TOO well off.
Perfect thing for a professional to drive that wants to look well-enough off without making people think they’re paying them too much.
The Avenir trim is one cylinder and 40hp short from being taken seriously. Any brand calling itself premium could’ve certainly provided an upgraded powertrain even if it raises the MSRP a couple of grand. Heck, even the Equinox’s middling 1.5T would’ve made the Envista Avenir into sort of a semi-burner.
Then again, Buick must knows its target market prioritizes the surface level luxury of gee-wiz tech features at an price point over performance.
To be fair, Buick has one of those that they’d be happy to sell you. Just not this car. I think by keeping the power train choices to exactly one, they’re able to keep their costs down.
Honestly? Performance doesn’t actually matter. Not to most people, and not in general. People who read and comment on car sites are a small group of enthusiasts, which is not a representative sample of the general population.
(For whatever reason, the commentariat on C&D seem to be wealthy men who think that anything south of a hundred grand isn’t worth much.)
Hell, this thing isn’t any slower than my old 2010 Honda Fit auto in the 0-60 sprint, and I had no issues with its performance – and I’m more of an enthusiast than the average person!
It’s plenty of performance for 99% of people who would be looking at a crossover.
Wait the GM photo is from Dozer coffee / HOMES in Ann Arbor!
I fail to see basically anything that would make me opt for this instead of a Trax.
Slightly nicer interior, slightly nicer dealership experience, slightly nicer ride quality & NVH for slightly higher price.
It’s basically just different flavortext. Would you like ‘luxury’ or ‘sporty’ for your three-cylinder shitbox?
I sat in both back to back. I like the Trax, but there is a lot of cheap feeling hard plastic in there. The Buick seemed like a much nicer place to spend some time.
While it is slow, I will say this: most of the driving public will not use the last 50% of accelerator pedal. I’ve even encountered multiple people who believed revving their engine too high will cause damage. (I mean, it can, but an automatic transmission won’t let you do that). While it may seem slow to some of us, it’s probably perfectly acceptable to a lot of people. It’s not a lot slower than, say the previous gen RAV4 that does 0-60 in 8.6 seconds. While I thought it to be slow on the occasions I’ve driven one, clearly a ton of people didn’t mind and bought it anyway. If this thing is relatively peppy around town, I think that’ll be more of a selling point than 0-60.
What remains to be seen is how that engine will hold up over time. Those little three cylinder turbocharged engines sound like they have to work pretty hard.
I had a friend in college who would get super upset if anyone driving her car got the rpms up to 3000. She was certain it was going to destroy the car. That was probably the least insane thing about her.
I’m sure it feels fine around town. What I’m curious about is how it feels out on the highway. Is it a total dog that struggles to pass anything, or is it fine?
In a review like this, might be useful to at least briefly mention who the competitors are and how it compares. Based on my reading, it completes with the Corolla Cross, the Forester, and other hatchbacks/small SUVs. Is that right? Does it do a better job than they do? In what ways? In isolation, almost any car sold new in 2024 seems great, especially when compared with the Buicks of yesteryear. So, keeping the review in isolation fails to give sufficient information about how the vehicle stands up compared to the competitors of today.
All of which have a rear wiper IIRC
Base Corolla Cross doesn’t, actually! The only vehicle I think that still has it on just some trims, rather than with or without completely.
It’s a bit of a tweener. Sizewise, this is closer in length to the RAV4 or Forester class, but priced more in accordance with the smaller Corolla Cross and that’s the segment where it gets lined up against.
This!
I think this is more like a Nissan Kicks, Jeep Renegade, Mazda CX-30 and Hyundai Kona competitor. It might be better equipped, roomier and more comfortable than most of those but it sacrifices on powertrain and capability (no AWD available)
Sat in one at the Milwaukee Auto Show this weekend and was pleasantly surprised. The wife, however, sat there with her nose in the air saying “That’s so you!” over and over.
You clearly liked the car and it does sound like a solid value, so I’ll keep my jeering down to a single sentence.
It’s a tall-ish compact hatchback with middling performance that will also struggle to average 30mpg.
This thing does look nice I gotta hand it to them. However, it looks like you need to add several packages to get all the goodies in the Sport Touring trim. This brings the price to 29k. For that, I’d get a Preferred trim Mazda CX-30 for around 1k more with all the same major features (not to mention the battle-tested engine as opposed to this tiny 3 banger which gives me pause)
That’s what I was thinking. The CX-30 would be noticeably quicker and has standard all-wheel-drive but probably is somewhat noisier (there’s nothing in the review about interior noise, but even the Encore was notably quiet.) The Mazda has a couple inches less rear leg room but about eight inches more hip room (odd, since the Buick has an inch more shoulder room.) Pricing is very close, as you only have to pay $1,000 more for the CX-30 Carbon Edition if you really want to touch that leather (and here’s the N entirely SFW video with the bouncing bum (sic) in the background if you’re up for that.)
My Mom just bought a 2024 Carbon edition CX30. The 2.5L, 4 CYL engine makes 190HP and I’ve driven it several times and I am impressed, it’s a good value.
The CX-5 is in the same ballpark pricewise too, plus with the Mazdas you can get AWD.
The engine is a 1.2L, 3 Cylinder and 137 HP ? In an SUV? crazy!
You’ll have mediocre early ’90s era acceleration and you’ll get it in an undersized engine that will likely have the lifespan of a malaise era Dodge except far more expensive to replace if it tiptoes through the inevitable minefield of TSBs, but at least you’ll get mid ’00s slightly warm hatchback mileage and it (somehow) runs on regular. It’s almost like a trip through recent automotive history—what’s the opposite of a Greatest Hits album? Well, maybe not quite the opposite, maybe “early versions of forgotten B-sides from a poorly setup studio”.
I can’t even imagine, driving through the mountains with a full passenger load, how slow this vehicle would be! ヽ(冫、)ﾉ
If this car is an SUV, then I’m the King of Finland.
It’s barely a CUV.
You’re right, it’s an CUV, an under powered one.
It’s only 3100 lbs, though. I’m sure it’s pokey but it’s probably enough for a lot of people’s needs.
That engine it not going to last.
is not
I’m late to this, but at least in Trax form, it’s perfectly adequate (on track, even!). It’s going to set absolutely nobody’s hair on fire, but I also suspect drivers looking for an abundance of PAH! weren’t shopping small, cheap FWD GM crossovers. Like Matt alluded to, it’s geared for decent around town acceleration (just ride the wave of acceptable turbo torque).
I’ve literally just taken delivery of a brand new 7-seat estate car with a 1.0 3-cylinder and 110hp. It’s not quick but it’s brisk enough on the motorways.
And yes, it’s manual and (according to the registration document) it’s brown.
You may all doff your caps now…
Doffed as is your due—and happy to hear such still exists even if not available on this side.
Good on you.
Petrol costs are much higher across the pond (and you have taxes on engine displacement and HP, which we do not) So this accounts for smaller power plants.
It’s got ~5 horsepower more than my 2012 Prius v (combined EV + ICE), which is also ~400 pounds heavier. Obviously these kinds of reviews can’t track long-term reliability, but so long as it was reasonably reliable/durable I don’t see any reason it couldn’t work.
That’s because you have abundant torque available from your electric propulsion motor(s).
I thought turbo motors tended to provide more torque than their NA equivalents?
They do, but at HIGHER RPMS.
That’s a whole lot of crushable black plastic ahead of the front crossmember – including the radiator.
There’s nothing behind the tailgate at all.
How much extra are bumpers?
Unless my eyes deceive me, I’m struck by how the hatch is very car-like lift-back rather than SUV vertical. Is this becoming a thing?
And if it’s what “global design” means, I’m liking it.
Seems like all SUVs/CUVs have very sloped rear glass now. Trying and failing to think of one that is mostly vertical. I don’t like the trend because why get a SUV if you immediately give away a bunch of cargo volume?
But not this raked seemingly. I’m not talking oldschool Toyota Land Cruiser / Lexus LX or anything, but most SUVs still seem to have a more vertically-oriented, more slightly sloped setup, like the old Encore pic in the piece.
In any event, I like it, as in an ideal world, I’d rather have a hatchback car than an SUV if I had minor hauling needs. Plus, I love that profile.