What a joy it is to spend time with a really nice, luxury SUV that most people can afford. Some compact luxury SUVs are topping $60,000 and this beauty is about half of that, AND it looks great. Introducing one of the hottest sellers on the market today, and you’ll see why! This is the 2024 Buick Envista. I am really liking the style direction Buick is taking of late.
Exterior
This is a very attractive SUV, it has sharp lines, I love the overall unusual shape, it has super-attractive 19” wheels, LED headlights and taillights, a new diamond-patterned grill, a hatchback-style electric tailgate with a huge back glass, a sloping roofline, and this is the first Buick with all-new Buick logo in the front and rear.
Under the hood sits a 1.2-liter inline 3-cylinder engine that is turbocharged, putting out 137-horses, which sounds low, but the Envista only weighs a little over 3,000-pounds, which is pretty light. With the turbo you’ll get 162-pound feet of torque which gets the SUV moving with ease. I must remark that the engine is incredibly smooth and quiet, not something you can say often with the very small engines. It is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission that I wish was a 9-speed, but oh well. The best part is the torque really picks up steam when you get to about 2200 RPM, very nice when you start to get up on the freeway, you’ll have no trouble at all.
My tester is the Avenir, which is the top-of-the-line and most expensive trim package. You can drop down to the Sport Touring, and down farther to the Preferred trim. As you enter the cabin, you notice a well-laid-out interior. At this price point you wouldn’t expect the interior to be this attractive. It features leather seats with a very attractive stitching pattern. The seats are comfortable, and they are heated. The driver gets a power seat with power lumbar, and the passenger gets a manual-adjusting seat.
There is an 8” color driver information screen that is easy to read, but not colorful. You can configure the information from the flat-bottomed heated steering wheel. Center dash is an 11” touchscreen that houses the navigation system, rear camera, runs the wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, the 6-speaker sound system, the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi hotspot, and SiriusXM. You also get a USB-C, USB-A, and a 12-volt power plug. Below that are your air-conditioning controls, heated seats, and heated steering wheel buttons. Continuing down to the center console, you get the gear shifter, wireless cell charger, a couple of cupholders, and a switch to turn off the start/stop system.
A huge surprise for me was the back seat leg and headroom. You could seat three adults if needed, but two would be very comfortable. Back seat passengers get two USB-C ports, but there are no air vents, but you do get a fold down armrest with cupholders.
Cargo area is good with 20.7-cubic feet of cargo that is covered, and the cover raises when you lift the tailgate. You can lower the back seats in a 60/40 configuration and increase the cargo area to 42-cubic feet of storage. You even get a spare tire!
On the safety front, you get forward collision alert and automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist and lane departure warning. This Envista has the $795 Advanced Safety package which gives you rear cross traffic alert, lane change alert with blind spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control. That is the only extra charge option on this SUV.
Everything else you see comes as standard equipment and includes keyless entry, remote start, heated front seats, power windows, power locks, and power outside mirrors, the 19” wheels, LED headlights and running lamps, an HD rearview camera, back seat reminder, and a rear spoiler.
Ride and Drive
The Envista drives and rides really well, and is surprisingly quiet thanks to Buick’s Active Sound Cancellation system. The handling is really good, and acceleration is more than ample, even with my heavy foot. Fuel economy is rated at 28 city, 32 highway, and 30 overall, but as you will see from one of my pictures, at one point I was topping 40-miles per gallon.
I saved the best for last which is the price. This top trim Envista Avenir comes in at a total MSRP of $30,490. By today’s standards, this is just an incredible value for a luxury SUV. The 2024 Envista has been a huge hit for Buick and its dealers, and demand has far exceeded supply, so far. It’s easy to see why.
To view larger photos see the slideshow below on CarPro.com.