2024 Buick Envista Makes an Attractive Base

A brand new car’s perceived worth usually is muddied by the tech and options it incorporates. Positive, producers are fast to tout their aggressive pricing methods, however normally solely after exhibiting you the way cool their new creation is with all its dear choices included. That is not the case with the brand new 2024 Envista, which, as the brand new entry level into the Buick model, combines good-looking design with simple packaging at a surprisingly affordable worth.

Costing a mere $23,495 to start out, the Envista is mechanically associated to the redesigned 2024 Chevrolet Trax, however you would not guess it by the previous’s sloping fastback roofline. Inside Buick’s lineup, it slots beneath the boxier and $3400 dearer Encore GX, regardless that the Envista’s sculpted strains and grander curb presence lend it a costlier vibe. In sensible phrases, the Envista has an extra 4.1 inches between its axles in comparison with the Encore GX and is 11.2 inches longer total, and that interprets to a barely bigger rear passenger compartment (46 cubic toes to the Encore GX’s 42) however with a 21-cubic-foot cargo maintain behind the rear seats that is 3 cubes smaller.

Competent Efficiency

Maybe extra essential, notably for customers within the Snowbelt, the Envista is front-wheel-drive solely—one in every of a number of concessions Buick made to maintain its worth low—whereas the Encore GX may be had with all-wheel drive. A front-drive structure additionally helps hold the Envista’s curb weight in examine. We estimate it should tip the scales at round 3200 kilos, making for a comparatively modest burden on its 136-hp turbocharged 1.2-liter inline-three. Backed by a six-speed computerized transmission, the Envista is rated by the EPA at a decent 30 mpg mixed. That is the identical estimate levied on a front-drive GX powered by both an analogous 1.2-liter base engine or an non-compulsory 155-hp 1.3-liter turbo-three (a CVT transmission is normal on each setups, although all-wheel-drive GXs come solely with the bigger engine and a nine-speed computerized).

With an estimated 60-mph time round 9 seconds, the Envista will not win any awards for its efficiency. Ample low-end torque (162 pound-feet at 2500 rpm) from its muffled three-banger helps it motor round city comfortably and attain freeway speeds by the top of most entrance ramps, however there’s not a lot left in its effectively past that. A transmission that settles into high gear on the earliest alternative—and may be considerably reluctant to downshift with prods of the accelerator—reinforces its easygoing nature.

Must you really feel the urge to toss the Envista down a twisty highway, it behaves in a properly managed method. Its construction is satisfactorily stable, its brake pedal reassuringly agency and straightforward to modulate, and what little really feel comes by the steering wheel is exact sufficient. Maybe its biggest dynamic enabler is the sense of agility introduced on by its decrease middle of gravity in comparison with the Encore GX, which stands practically three inches taller. Wheel dimension is also price noting, as the usual 17- and non-compulsory 18-inchers present a barely extra compliant trip over bumps on the expense of physique roll in corners. Conversely, the out there 19-inch wheels (non-compulsory on the midrange Sport Touring model, normal on the top-spec Avenir) trip extra firmly, but they convey a Watt’s hyperlink to the Envista’s torsion-beam rear axle, which helps self-discipline the lateral forces appearing on the chassis. The extra subtle setup does make for a barely extra planted and responsive perspective round turns, nevertheless it’s not a game-changing improve.

Rational Refinement

We think about the Envista’s styling will likely be its biggest attract showrooms. Whereas the most recent Encore GX and the bigger Envision function faces impressed by Buick’s Wildcat idea automotive, the Envista is the primary model to include that idea’s design language from nostril to tail. Upscale but unpretentious, it has smooth types, good proportions, and considerate floor particulars that assist the Envista look far richer than anticipated for a automotive that tops out round $32,000 in absolutely loaded Avenir trim. Given our aversion to bling, we would accept the Sport Touring model, which trades chrome exterior trim for stealthier black accents.

The Envista’s aura largely carries over to its inside, with good functions of brightwork, textures, and distinction stitching serving to you largely overlook you are in an economic system automotive. The woven-like materials atop the sprint, for instance, is clearly molded, nevertheless it’s efficient in drawing your eyes away from the uninspired arduous plastics that dot the remainder of the cabin. Normal consolation ranges are excessive, and the centerpiece is an info show that integrates an 8.0-inch digital readout for the driving force and an 11.0-inch middle touchscreen underneath a single pane of glass. The lodging are extra rudimentary in again, with the Envista’s aft quarters that includes fewer adornments on their door panels and no climate-control vents behind the middle console. This five-foot-11 writer had loads of house when sitting behind his personal driving place, however taller riders who sit greater within the saddle might really feel confined by the encroaching roofline.

Although removed from sporty and never as polished as Buick’s grander fashions, the Envista’s shortcomings are largely attenuated by its stylishness and compelling pricing. A heated steering wheel and entrance seats may be had on all trims, and auto high-beams, lane-keep help, lane-departure warning, and computerized emergency braking with pedestrian detection are all normal. Because the Buick model strikes to modernize its picture with a newly redesigned emblem, the Envista makes for a pleasantly reasonably priced basis.

Technical Editor

Mike Sutton is an editor, author, check driver, and common automotive nerd who has contributed to Automobile and Driver‘s reverent and irreverent ardour for the auto since 2008. A local Michigander from suburban Detroit, he enjoys the outside and complaining in regards to the climate, has an affection for off-road autos, and believes in federal safety for naturally aspirated engines.