With the average price of a new car at just under $50,000, good, affordable cars, especially SUVs, are hard to come by these days.
But they are out there.
One example is the Buick Envista, which is all-new for 2024. It’s not only the most affordable of the brand’s quartet of near-luxury crossover SUVs; it’s one of the lowest-priced offerings in the General Motors portfolio.
I recently reviewed a 2024 Buick Envista Sport Touring (ST) with an as-tested value of $29,070. I was inspired by the Envista’s elegant design, its strangely upscale interior, and its smart fuel economy.
Here are 14 features that make the Envista a wonderful small SUV on a budget.
The front design of the Envista is ambitious and elegant. The Envista’s front trim is heavily inspired by Buick’s recent Wildcat EV concept car and features slim, wing-shaped LED lights flanking the brand’s newly redesigned Tri-Shield logo.
Its sloping rear roof line fits perfectly with the overall design of the vehicle. Unlike many contemporaries, the Envista doesn’t look like an SUV with part of the roof ripped off.
The base Buick Envista in Preferred trim starts at $22,400, while the Avenir model starts at $28,600.
My mid-range Envista Sport Touring starts at $24,100. Freight costs, premium features and upgraded Moonstone Grey Metallic paint boosted the proven value of the Korean-made crossover beyond the $29,000 mark.
All Envistas are powered by a 1. 2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder direct-injection engine that produces 137 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque.
The turbo three, shared with the Chevrolet Trax, is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and drives only the front wheels. The small engine is the toughest engine on the market and can seem outmatched when the Envista is loaded with passengers and cargo.
However, it provides solid fuel economy. My Envista ST test car posted EPA fuel economy figures of 28 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, and 30 mpg combined. I was able to easily achieve 30 mpg in combined driving with the Buick.
The Envista’s cabin is well designed with solid, quality materials. The Envista’s cabin is masterfully elegant, delivering a premium experience on a budget. Buick obviously stored where it could, with hard plastics dominating the lower interior quantities and a single-zone climate formula rather than a multi-zone unit.
But they didn’t cheap out for the high contact areas. The armrests and the steering are covered in soft-touch faux leather. There are different patterns and designs to break up the visual monotony of a black plastic cabin.
As a result, its economy has not harmed the user experience.
The Envista stands out with an eight-inch virtual data display from a classic gauge cluster, a rarity for cars in this price range.
Heated black leatherette front seats, Santorini Blue accents and “ST” branding on the headrests.
Every Envista comes with an 11-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
In front of the driver is a stylish flat-bottom steering wheel. As with other recent GM products, there are handy audio controls on the back of the steering wheel.
The Envista’s engine can be controlled remotely by pressing the “curved arrow” on the Buick’s key fob.
Remote start component of a $1,195 convenience package that also included heated forced seats, keyless entry and a heated steering wheel.
The Envista’s rear cabin offers a lot for a vehicle of its size. With 38. 7 inches of legroom, the Envista offers 2. 5 inches more than its rival Mazda CX-30 and six inches more than the Toyota Corolla Cross.
Even with the sloping roofline, the headroom is more than enough for a maximum of adults.
The Envista comes with a special mode for teens that, when activated, can restrict the vehicle’s maximum speed, include warnings when exceeding a preset speed, restrict audio volume on embedded and paired devices, and prevent the vehicle from exiting Parking mode for 20 seconds when seat belts are not fastened.
Open the rear hatch and locate a 20. 7-cubic-foot forged shipping area behind the rear seats. The Envista’s 60/40 split rear seats fold flat to increase shipping capacity to 42 cubic feet.
Today, replacement tires are becoming less common, especially on less expensive cars, where the manufacturer tries to keep their value under control. So I’m glad Buick/GM is sticking with them instead of giving us a repair box.
The Envista ST comes popular with the Buick Driver Confidence Package, which includes IntelliBeam headlights, following distance indicator, forward collision warning, lane keeping assist with lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, and forward pedestrian braking. .
To add adaptive cruise control, lane change alert with side blind zone alert, and rear cross-traffic alert, you’ll have to spend $595 on the Advanced Safety Package.
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