- There’s another Buick crossover in the stable as of Monday: the ‘Envista’.
- Taking the same Wildcat EV-based styling cues as the revamped 2024 Encore GX, the Envista brings some added style for a surprisingly low entry price.
- The 2024 Buick Envista starts at $23,495 for the base ‘Preferred’ trim, with the ‘ST’ and ‘Avenir’ rounding out the lineup.
- Underneath, the new Envista shares its mechanical components with the nearly-as-new Chevy Trax.
- Like the Trax, there’s only one powertrain available powering the front wheels — there’s no all-wheel drive option here.
- Order books for the Envista open this summer.
What do you think of Buick’s latest Envista model?
That name has been kicking around for a little while now, but here we have a model that etches a new entry point for the crossover-only brand. General Motors spent the past few months revamping its small SUV offerings, including the Chevy Trailblazer, Trax and the Buick Encore GX. Now, the Envista brings in another option with a for the “coupe-like” fans out there, based on the Trax’s underpinnings.
Under the hood, the 2024 Buick Envista gets a 1.2-liter turbocharged engine putting out 136 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. Like the Chevy Trax, that powertrain sends its power through a 6-speed automatic transmission to the front wheels. Official EPA figures are not available just yet, but we suspect this car will manage a similar figure to the Trax’s 28 City / 32 Highway / 30 Combined mpg.
The exterior styling obviously sets the new Envista apart from both its Chevrolet-branded counterpart and the rest of Buick’s crossover lineup. This car carries a bit of a longer profile than the Encore GX, thanks to the sloping roofline. Up front, though, it still has the same angry-looking grille and daytime running light design borrowed from the Wildcat EV concept.
Inside, the 2024 Buick Envista unsurpringly shares its layout and switchgear with its closest Buick sibling, the Encore GX. Mind you, that does still mean you get a dual-screen configuration with an 8-inch gauge cluster paired to an 11-inch infotainment screen. While the trimmings are broadly similar, you will naturally sacrifice some practicality going for this coupe-styled model. Cargo volume, for example, drops to 20.7 cubic feet with the seats in place and 42 cubic feet with them folded (compared to 23.5/50.2 cubic feet in the Encore GX).
Even at the top end, Buick’s newest model isn’t terribly expensive
The new Envista will arrive this summer in three trim levels: Preferred, ST and Avenir. The Preferred kicks off the range with a remarkably decent $23,495 price tag. That is $2,000 more than the Trax, but it’s also $3,400 less than Buick’s own Encore GX. The ST kicks the price up to $25,495, while the Avenir tops out the lineup at $29,695.
At each level, the 2024 Buick Envista more or less fills the pricing gap between Chevy’s offering and the rest of Buick’s range.