Buick is one of General Motors' original brands. The company was founded in 1899, and Buick was a founding member of the GM company in 1908. The automotive world has gone through many evolutions in the 125 years since Buick was founded, but today the brand is producing attractive and affordable SUVs that deserve your consideration.
Leading the pack is the 2024 Buick Envista. This is a small-compact crossover SUV with a fastback coupe profile and audacious modern styling that's up to the minute with the latest trends. It's a good-looking vehicle that also offers spacious, comfortable seating and good utility. The best part is, you can easily get an Envista into your garage for about $25,000. Or for about $30,000, you can get the top of the line Avenir trim with a long list of luxury features.
The heart of the Envista is a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine. Before you dismiss that, let me say that I did not look at the spec sheet before driving the Envista, and I would have guessed that it had a lot more than the horsepower figures on paper. The Envista has plenty of power and a smooth-shifting 6-speed automatic transmission.
This SUV is offered only with front-wheel drive, but the truth is, with modern traction and stability controls, all-wheel drive really doesn't do much for you in most settings any more. A good set of winter tires will carry the Envista almost anywhere an AWD SUV can go.
When you get into the Envista, the interior will really sell you on this Buick. The seats are comfortable and in the mid-level Sport Touring trim, they're made of a material that appears and feels like leather. Our test vehicle had the optional heated front seats, part of a convenience package that adds $1,195 to the price. But you also get a heated steering wheel, power lumbar support for the driver, and power seats, so it's well worth the additional expense. Oh, you also get 42 cubic feet of cargo capacity, which is great for this class of SUV.
The tech package is also the latest and greatest. There's a single glass structure on the dash, and it includes an 11-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and an 8-inch screen-based driver information display. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both wireless. The basic driver assistance package includes automatic high beams along with all the usual safety features. An optional advanced safety package at $595 adds adaptive cruise control and lane assistance.
On the road, the Envista feels just right. It's a great size for urban maneuverability, but it's not so small that you feel overwhelmed by the great number of much larger SUVs and trucks around you. The Envista is nimble and quick, and Buick has delivered its legendary QuietTuning technology to make this SUV very peaceful inside compared to competing vehicles of the same size.
The bottom line is that the Buick Envista was a pleasant surprise to me. I enjoyed my week driving it on all my errands and it did everything I needed. This is a vehicle I would cheerfully drive every day, and you can get one for well under $30,000. In a world of ever-more-expensive vehicles, that's a great reason to stop by the Buick dealer and see that you don't have to break your bank to drive a nice new SUV.
2024 Buick Envista Sport Touring
Base price: $24,100
Price as tested: $27,480
Type: Compact SUV
Engine: 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder (136 hp, 162 lbs-ft)
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
EPA estimated mileage: 28/32
Overall length: 182.6 inches
Curb weight: 3,137 pounds
Final assembly: Bupyeong, Korea
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