It’s no secret that for the last few years, Buick has been trying to make their cars appeal more to younger buyers. For example, the Enclave got a stylish makeover in 2022. And the Encore GX is aimed directly at millennials rather than baby boomers. Now they’ve introduced the very stylish 2024 Envista. So is this a car that will appeal to the younger crowd or the older crowd?
Performance
Engine – This 2024 Buick Envista shares a lot of its internal components with the Chevrolet Trax, including the engine. It is a 1.2L turbocharged 3-cylinder engine that produces 137 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque (98 kW & 220 Nm). It’s not a fast crossover SUV but it does have some pep in its step. Peak torque is reached quickly and it doesn’t feel as though it’s “huffing and puffing” to get up a steep hill at speed or accelerating onto a highway. But don’t be surprised if you see the rpm needle hit the 4,000 mark under those situations. In everyday city driving, you never really notice it. The engine may be small but it has enough punch for a city car like this.
Fuel Economy – The 2024 Buick Envista is rated for 8.4 L/100km (28 MPG) in a city and 7.4 L/100km (31.8 MPG) on a highway. Those numbers are Ok but I was expecting them to be a bit better considering the size of the engine. Granted, on highways, it is possible to achieve better fuel economy numbers that what it’s rated for. I noticed around 6.8 or 6.9 L/100km while taking highway trips. However, in a city, I found it difficult to get near the rated city fuel economy numbers. Admittedly, the temperatures around Vancouver during my week with the Envista were hovering around the 0°C mark and I left the car running for a few minutes while the windshield defrosted. But even so, I was only able to average 8.9 L/100km (26.4 MPG) during my time with the 2024 Envista. I noticed the same city/highway fuel consumption in the 2024 Chevy Trax.
Transmission – The 1.2L engine is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. This is a smooth shifting transmission which is first and foremost, the most important aspect for a transmission in a vehicle such as this. You can take over controls of the shifting by using the buttons on the side of the gear selector but be a bit patient with them as they are not quick to react.
Braking – With its relatively light weight, the 2024 Buick Envista stops very quickly. I also like the firm feeling brake pedal that inspires confidence whenever you push it. Thankfully the brakes don’t act as on/off switches and they’re quite easy to modulate as well for smooth stops.
Handling – The 2024 Buick Envista feels spritely on its wheels. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as enjoyable to toss through corners like a Hyundai Kona N but the steering is direct and responsive. It’s also light so it doesn’t transfer much road feel through the steering wheel to your fingertips. However, this makes it easy to maneuver around city traffic, the natural environment for a vehicle such as this.
With the 2024 Envista being based on the 2024 Trax, it is only available with FWD. At least for the time being. That may change in the future. But while I had this car on demo, it snowed, about a foot, here in Vancouver. But even with the deep snow, I did not get stuck once with the Envista. Granted, the car had snow tires and I did avoid steep hills to improve my chances of getting around. However, if you live in a part of the world that sees a few feet of snow every few days in the winter, it may be prudent to consider a crossover with AWD, in addition to snow tires and a little bit of common sense.
Comfort
Ride Comfort – The ride of the 2024 Buick Envista is quite comfortable. Small to moderate sized bumps in the road are absorbed well by the suspension with only the deepest of potholes upsetting the ride quality. The seats provide good support for your back and there’s just enough padding for long-ish journeys. A little bit more would’ve been nice for those long family road trips.
Interior Space – Although the Envista is a small crossover, it is anything but on the inside. Front occupants are treated to a lot of headroom and legroom, even taller adults like me at 6’4”. Sitting behind my taller than average driving position is pretty good too. I have just enough legroom and just enough headroom as well with my hair gently brushing against the headliner. In the back seats, the cupholders are in the center armrest and it has a completely flat floor like an EV. Visibility out of the front and sides is good with visibility out of the back being ok. The roof design and the rear seat headrests hamper a bit of the mirror visibility but at least the headrests can fold down a bit. As for those door armrests that were just pieces of plastic in the Chevy Trax? Well in this Buick Envista, there’s a thin layer of leather but there still isn’t any padding underneath it. That means your elbows will feel numb after a few minutes.
Behind the seats, the Buick Envista can hold 586 L (20.7 cu-ft) of cargo space. That’s a decent amount but something like the Acura Integra can hold more behind the rear seats. Additionally, you can’t put anything too tall in the trunk due to the sloping rear hatch design. With the 60/40 rear seats folded, cargo capacity increases to 1,189 L (42 cu-ft) and the Envista does have a spare wheel under the floor.
Noise, Vibration, & Harshness – The Buick Envista is generally a quiet crossover. All trim levels are equipped with Buick’s QuietTuning technology which helps reduce unwanted tire and wind noise from entering the cabin. The engine is also reasonably quiet under normal driving conditions. It’s only when accelerating up a steep hill or onto a highway that it becomes much more noticeable.
As for vibrations, the engine shakes a lot at idle if you look at it under the hood. But those vibrations do not get transferred into the cabin. It’s only when you start moving that you feel a few of the engine vibrations.
Odds and Ends
Pricing – If you wanted to get into a coupe-SUV, then normally it would mean spending a lot of money on something like the BMW X2, the Mercedes GLC Coupe or the Infiniti QX55. But with the introduction of the 2024 Buick Envista, you don’t need to spend luxury levels of money. This car starts at $26,999 CAD ($23,495 USD) while this top spec Avenir trim starts at just $31,899 CAD ($29,695 USD).
Gadgets – So for such little money, do you get any gadgets? Yes, you do. But not quite as many as you’d find in the aforementioned luxury cars. However, this 2024 Buick Envista Avenir has all the right features which include leather upholstery, heated front seats along with a heated steering wheel (unfortunately no heated rear seats), a standard sunroof, power liftgate, wireless phone charging, the standard dual screen layout with an 8” driver display and 11” infotainment touchscreen, 8-way power driver’s seat, single-zone automatic climate control, and keyless entry with push button start.
The infotainment system is straightforward and simple to use. Just like the Trax, it doesn’t have too many features & functions for you to play around with like in the GMC Canyon. But it has the essentials; WiFi, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, Media, and settings. Unfortunately it’s not customizable like some other infotainment systems but I have not had any issues while using it.
One thing I like about this infotainment in this Buick over the Chevrolet version is that the darker graphics hide the screen edges very well. Particularly in the day time and for the driver display. Sadly at night, you can clearly see where the screen ends and where the gloss black surround begins. In my opinion, the large amount of black surround, especially around the driver display, is too much and a waste of space.
Interior Design – The Buick Envista has a design language that is on par with other current Buick vehicles. There are simple physical controls for the climate, simple controls on the steering wheel, and a simple to use traditional gear selector. Everything is simple! Most of the materials that you touch feel nice on your fingertips with the lower portions of the cabin being made out of harder plastics to withstand hard knocks.
Exterior Design – The Envista definitely looks the part of a modern day Buick. It wears the new Buick logo and has the trendy “upside down” headlight design. As in, the low and high-beam headlights are underneath the LED daytime running lights. This same trend continues to the back but I don’t think it works as well as the front. There’s something odd about how low the brake lights are compared to the standard tail lights. But overall, there’s no denying that this is a stylish coupe crossover SUV.
Safety – The 2024 Buick Envista has a long list of safety features. In fact, every safety & driver aid that is available on this car is standard equipment regardless of the trim. Additionally, this being a GM product, it is also equipped with GM specific features such as OnStar, Teen Driver, and Buckle to Drive. The latter of which prevents the driver from temporarily shifting out of Park unless they’ve buckled up.
Warranty – The 2024 Buick Envista is covered by a 3 year / 60,000 km new vehicle basic and 5 year / 100,000 km powertrain warranties.
Conclusion – Overall, the 2024 Buick Envista is a pretty good crossover SUV. It is very stylish, spacious for its size, decently fuel efficient on highways, and pretty cheap for a premium product. So will this new car entice younger buyers? Well, I’m the wrong person to ask because I personally don’t like this coupe-suv design trend. If I wanted something stylish, I’d go for a sports car. If I wanted something practical, I’d go for a more traditional crossover or SUV or a wagon. But if you do like this design trend, this Buick Envista is an inexpensive way to get a stylish premium crossover.
Thank you to Buick Canada for providing the vehicle. www.Buick.ca
2024 Buick Envista Avenir Gallery
