Open Letter to Buick - How I'd Improve the Envision

[Sal Collaziano]

Buick executives have been watching this community for years. They've also made improvements to their vehicles based upon what they've read here. They are listening to you.

This discussion will serve as a quick and easy way for Buick executives to gauge interest and help make decisions moving forward.

As an Envision driver, you should state exactly what you'd like to see enhanced, added, and/or omitted from your Buick Envision.

Any posts that don't stick to the subject matter will be moved elsewhere.

 

[afireinside7710]

I LOVE my Envision Avenir, but here is what I would change:

1) The LSY needs more power. The power/tuning of my 2014 Regal GS was great, I'd love the same power band in the Envision.
2) The transmission shouldn't skip gears like it does, may times I am lightly accelerating and it will skip 2-4 gears at a time and there will be a noticeable drag/buck/loss of power during the time the transmission is skipping those gears.
3) Sport mode should have more punch. My wife's Ford Edge in sport mode (with 87 octane!) has a better punch in sport mode than the Envision in sport mode.
4) Suspension is wrong for a car of this size (needs to be a little more stiff).
5) (Nit-pick) more of the surfaces should be the faux leather/soft plastic rather than the harder plastic (like around the front middle vents, 'handle bar' thing to the left of the passenger).

Fit and finish is great, most of the materials are great, tech is great and responsive, seats are comfortable.

 

[2021 Envision Essence]

We have the 2021 Essence with the non-adjustable suspension and it does not have enough damping. Way too much suspension movement over undulating roads. Very busy ride, although not harsh, inducing almost "sea-sickness" at times. I realize this is a Chinese car, and perhaps their customer base there likes this, but this car needs more suspension damping. I find the power in the LSY to be adequate for most tasks, but I think they should have stayed with the previous 2 liter engine, which provided about 25 hp more. A small thing but the sounds that the LSY makes are very unrefined. And one more thing - I HATE fake exhaust outlets out the back. Come On, Buick, make them functional!!! As an aside in this forum, my $60k-plus 23 Enclave also has the fake exhaust outlets. Give me a break!! It's ALWAYS about saving a buck.

 

[Gregger]

1. The Envision should handle at least 3500 lbs towing like the Caddy XT4 (which has the same engine). It is only rated for 1500 lbs now which is why I will not keep mine or purchase another unless this is upped to the XT4 spec.
2. The towing package is more expensive than the Caddy even though the Caddy's towing package includes heavy duty cooling?
3. Buick should ensure that the info they post in their owners manual is correct before publishing. I purchased my 2021 Envision based on the info provided. It stated the car could handle 1500 lbs towing, along with a tongue weight of 350 lbs and a total combined vehicle/trailer weight of 7900 lbs. Last year Buick sent a correction stating this was wrong and lowered everything???? This leaves the owner out on a limb.

 

[dpennett]

Do not remove the feature where you disable "engine shut off" when parking for long periods.

Do change the "engine shutdown when idling in gear at stop signs" - make it an option to accept this feature; not an option to disable.

Make it easier whose cell phone to key accessory features to. It is a battle in the 2023 model.

Add forward and rear OEM dashcams w/removable SD cards, and rechargeable battery packs for 24/record; and 360 coverage.

Add power port for aftermarket dashcams to get rid of the power cord spaghetti. It should be easy enough to place a port at the rear of the mirror or in the headliner or overhead console. Same for the rear; place a power port in the window brake light assembly ornin the headliner. Aging Add option for remote rechargeable battery's to allow the dashbcam to function 24/7.

 

[Rathmullan]

I would like to see a passenger power seat option for both the Preferred and ST trims.

 

[dpennett]

Buick executives have been watching this community for years. They've also made improvements to their vehicles based upon what they've read here. They are listening to you.

This discussion will serve as a quick and easy way for Buick executives to gauge interest and help make decisions moving forward.

As an Envision driver, you should state exactly what you'd like to see enhanced, added, and/or omitted from your Buick Envision.

Any posts that don't stick to the subject matter will be moved elsewhere.

Do not force us to accept the auto engine off at short stops. The option should be to opt into it; not out of it! !

Do not force us to accept the auto engine shut down at long periods of parking. There are many reasons this is not desired. Let this be an option to set with other setup features.

 

[2021 Envision Essence]

I believe that in this country (USA), Buick can only claim the "improved" gas mileage for EPA testing if the stop/start is on by default. Every little improvement in gas mileage helps them meet the EPA average MPG requirements for that company. It's called CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy). I know that on some of the German brands, one can turn it off and it will stay off. I don't know how they get away with that, though.

 

[G-885462]

2020 Buick Envision Essence The warranty needs to be improved from 3 years to 6 years. The infotainment needs improvement. Mine keeps going completely out.

 

[2021 Envision Essence]

I was under the impression that until around 2021, all Buicks had a 4 year 50,000 mile warranty, then they went back to 3 years 36,000 miles. My 2023 is 3/36 and I was really pissed about the downgraded warranty, but bought the car anyway.

 

[Rathmullan]

Two things:
1) Please no more fake dual exhaust. We're all grown ups here. We understand that things have changed since the 1990's and these days no compact suv is powered by a V-6. Save twin fake exhaust outlets for the Enclave owners and charge them for it.
2) I don't understand this wishy washy stance on octane recommendation. The Envision is powered by an engine that is both GDI and turbo charged. Is 87 octane okay (sort of) because it will probably get you through the 5 Year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty? Will premium fuel ensure rated h.p. and torque, lower maitenance cost and extend the life of the engine? What about midgrade?

 

[shs92645]

I have recently test driven a 2021,2023 and 2024 Avenir. I thought that the cabins were very nice prior to the recent refresh. The new dash bothers me as there is too much info and I am not fond of touchscreens when driving.
My biggest dislike, however, is that the engine sounds like it is vastly underpowered when initially accelerating.
Maybe those of us who drive a Regal GS find two less cylinders bothersome.

 

[2021 Envision Essence]

It really has decent power at low-end (around town). One can feel the abundant torque, but top end is weakish, but most people drive around town anyway, I think. It just sounds bad, though. Very "agricultural" sound.

 

[shs92645]

If you read my previous post on this thread, I test drove 3 Envisions and was not sold. However, at the end of October my Regal was scheduled for service and I arranged to retest the 2024 Avenir. This time around, I was impressed enough to buy it and I have been driving it for about 3 months and I absolutely love it. There was a learning curve for the technology but it is now very familiar. So far, the only thing I’m not crazy about is the wiper stalk. The single wipe and wash function is fine but the adjustment for intermittent/lo/hi isn’t great. I’m finding the engine/transmission to be surprisingly good and the car is indeed very adequately powered.
I think that what I have come to really appreciate is the fact that this is a totally modern vehicle in a size that is very spacious yet is not large. I’ve received many compliments on the looks and the quality of the cabin. This vehicle could teach the Germans a thing or two about quality and value.

 

[Tony Smith]

I have recently test driven a 2021,2023 and 2024 Avenir. I thought that the cabins were very nice prior to the recent refresh. The new dash bothers me as there is too much info and I am not fond of touchscreens when driving.
My biggest dislike, however, is that the engine sounds like it is vastly underpowered when initially accelerating.
Maybe those of us who drive a Regal GS find two less cylinders bothersome.

I have just come from a V6 and all of my previous cars were also a V6. This is my first 4 cylinder and I have to say,, on the 2024 Envision, I feel it's very nimble and can really get up and go! That turbo does it's job and is tuned to take regular gas. Its quiet and a smooth ride, so no problem with performance. As for the Big touch screen. I happen to LOVE it and it's one of the reasons I bought it over all the competition. I test drove a Mazda CX-50 a week ago and it was too loud and rough riding copaired to this one... that said, it has the MOST basic dials and old school dash than might be more to your liking. I'll keep all the luxury of the Buick and just enjoy all the comfort it provides.

If you read my previous post on this thread, I test drove 3 Envisions and was not sold. However, at the end of October my Regal was scheduled for service and I arranged to retest the 2024 Avenir. This time around, I was impressed enough to buy it and I have been driving it for about 3 months and I absolutely love it. There was a learning curve for the technology but it is now very familiar. So far, the only thing I’m not crazy about is the wiper stalk. The single wipe and wash function is fine but the adjustment for intermittent/lo/hi isn’t great. I’m finding the engine/transmission to be surprisingly good and the car is indeed very adequately powered.
I think that what I have come to really appreciate is the fact that this is a totally modern vehicle in a size that is very spacious yet is not large. I’ve received many compliments on the looks and the quality of the cabin. This vehicle could teach the Germans a thing or two about quality and value.

I have to agree with everything you just said. The lack of rain sensing wipers is a miss on their part... but I will adjust. I have read on many sites and in the manual that it has the Enhanced Automatic Parking Assist feature (parks itself 2 ways) but cannot locate the "P" symbol anywhere on the SUV. I've seen videos of it on the 23 model and younger. That's also a huge Miss on Buick's part to leave it out. I have the Avenir trim level, so there's no reason it should be ommited. Other than that, I love the SUV.

 

[cekkk]

2023 Envision Avenir. We've moved from Colorado where we navigated 5 miles of mountain roads in order to get to the highway. So with three 80 pound dogs and ranch trailers for towing we needed large 4 wheel drive vehicles. Stepping down from Expeditions and trucks to the Lincoln Corsair and now the Envision has been quite an adjustment. I've gotten comfortable with it but DW insists on keeping her big King Ranch model Ford Expedition, which is now 12 years old but perfect condition. I tend to compare these little "luxury" cars to it.

3/36 warranty on a supposed luxury car?

They fail in most of the important features and exceed in some minor ones. Sticking with the Buick,where is the control for the collapsing sideview mirrors? No? Seriously? No engine option leaves it as underpowered as the Expedition. I'd echo start/stop comments while lamenting CAFE standards since I briefly worked on them 50 years ago.

Since we now have cameras everywhere, why not front sensing cameras as my wife's twelve year old expedition has? But a seat jiggle is better than nothing. And I wonder how much I paid for this parking assistance? All I know about it is from the commercials. I see where it assists parallel parking, which pretty much disappeared forty-five or fifty years ago, when people quit going downtown to shop at Macy's and had to parallel park on the street.

We are now located in the desert and air conditioning is something we use more than many, and so the fact that it is difficult to find that correct positioning of the air vents so that I'm getting sufficient cooling without having too much cold air blowing on my face is difficult.

And the height of the door window makes it very difficult to operate an ATM from inside the car. And I'm six feet tall. Pretty sure most shorter people couldn't do it. Finally, is Buick ashamed of this vehicle? The only way I know it's a Buick is to check my registration!

There are some things I like though. Maybe I'll make a separate post of those items.