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Buick’s new $23,495 entry-level crossover leans hard on design and value.
A new vehicle's perceived value often is muddied by the tech and features it incorporates. Sure, manufacturers are quick to tout their competitive pricing strategies, but usually only after showing you how cool their new creation is with all its pricey options included. That's not the case with the new 2024 Envista, which, as the new entry point into the Buick brand, combines handsome design with straightforward packaging at a surprisingly reasonable price.
Costing a mere $23,495 to start, the Envista is mechanically related to the redesigned 2024 Chevrolet Trax, but you wouldn't guess it by the former's sloping fastback roofline. Within Buick's lineup, it slots below the boxier and $3400 dearer Encore GX, even though the Envista's sculpted lines and grander curb presence lend it a more expensive vibe. In practical terms, the Envista has an additional 4.1 inches between its axles compared to the Encore GX and is 11.2 inches longer overall, and that translates to a slightly larger rear passenger compartment (46 cubic feet to the Encore GX's 42) but with a 21-cubic-foot cargo hold behind the rear seats that's 3 cubes smaller.
Perhaps more important, particularly for shoppers in the Snowbelt, the Envista is front-wheel-drive only—one of several concessions Buick made to keep its price low—whereas the Encore GX can be had with all-wheel drive. A front-drive layout also helps keep the Envista's curb weight in check. We estimate it will tip the scales at around 3200 pounds, making for a relatively modest burden on its 136-hp turbocharged 1.2-liter inline-three. Backed by a six-speed automatic transmission, the Envista is rated by the EPA at a respectable 30 mpg combined. That's the same estimate levied on a front-drive GX powered by either a similar 1.2-liter base engine or an optional 155-hp 1.3-liter turbo-three (a CVT transmission is standard on both setups, though all-wheel-drive GXs come only with the larger engine and a nine-speed automatic). Read more.
A new vehicle's perceived value often is muddied by the tech and features it incorporates. Sure, manufacturers are quick to tout their competitive pricing strategies, but usually only after showing you how cool their new creation is with all its pricey options included. That's not the case with the new 2024 Envista, which, as the new entry point into the Buick brand, combines handsome design with straightforward packaging at a surprisingly reasonable price.
Costing a mere $23,495 to start, the Envista is mechanically related to the redesigned 2024 Chevrolet Trax, but you wouldn't guess it by the former's sloping fastback roofline. Within Buick's lineup, it slots below the boxier and $3400 dearer Encore GX, even though the Envista's sculpted lines and grander curb presence lend it a more expensive vibe. In practical terms, the Envista has an additional 4.1 inches between its axles compared to the Encore GX and is 11.2 inches longer overall, and that translates to a slightly larger rear passenger compartment (46 cubic feet to the Encore GX's 42) but with a 21-cubic-foot cargo hold behind the rear seats that's 3 cubes smaller.
Perhaps more important, particularly for shoppers in the Snowbelt, the Envista is front-wheel-drive only—one of several concessions Buick made to keep its price low—whereas the Encore GX can be had with all-wheel drive. A front-drive layout also helps keep the Envista's curb weight in check. We estimate it will tip the scales at around 3200 pounds, making for a relatively modest burden on its 136-hp turbocharged 1.2-liter inline-three. Backed by a six-speed automatic transmission, the Envista is rated by the EPA at a respectable 30 mpg combined. That's the same estimate levied on a front-drive GX powered by either a similar 1.2-liter base engine or an optional 155-hp 1.3-liter turbo-three (a CVT transmission is standard on both setups, though all-wheel-drive GXs come only with the larger engine and a nine-speed automatic). Read more.
