We drive the 2024 Buick Envista to find out if it's the BEST budget crossover you can buy?

This is the 2024 Buick Envista and it’s one of the nicest and most stylish premium crossovers I’ve seen this year, in fact for a very long time. It’s a compelling proposition, has a very appealing price, and is made in Korea, so today I’m going to test it and see what it’s like.

The Envista slots below the Buick Encore GX, filling a gap created by the discontinuation of the entry-level, Encore, which wasn’t a great car, its short wheelbase made for jiggly progress wherever you went. . This one is not an Encore successor, because the upgraded looks and better driving dynamics make it a brand-new car.

Size wise it's nearly a foot longer than the Encore GX and rides on a 106.3-inch wheelbase, which is 4.1 inches longer than the Encore's providing a decent 97 cubic feet of passenger space.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:27 Exterior
1:51 Engine and Transmission
2:47 Cargo Space
3:48 Pricing and Options
4:47 Cabin
5:52 Interior and Tech
9:33 Driving
16:06 Verdict

Under The Hood

Now for the bad news, all Envistas drive their front wheels only using GM’s turbo 1.2-liter with three-cylinders, it makes 137 hp and 162 pound-feet of torque through a six-speed auto. The good news is it’s fairly fuel-efficient offering 32 mpg on the highway, the bad news is it's slow taking a yawn-inducing 9+ seconds to get to sixty.

It seems odd that they didn't use the 1.3 liter instead which has more power and torque and is a lot less pedestrian. I can only think Buick is saving that for a more sporty model. Hmm.

The driver has two screens, directly ahead is an 8.0-inch digital cluster that can be configured using a scrolling control on the steering wheel. You can choose from two different views and also access MPG, range, and other ancillary gauges.

The touch screen in the center is connected to the driver display as one single pane and is an 11.0-inch unit that responds well and has cool graphics with an easy-to-decipher menu structure. The dash materials are decent and are of a textured nature with blue stitching, but below that, there's plenty of hard plastic but nothing you wouldn't get in a car costing thousands more.

The heated seats are some of the best, in fact on more than one occasion I had to turn them down because they were too hot. There's also a charging icon on the main screen that shows you if your phone is charging or not, a nice feature.

2024 Buick Envista Sport Touring Numbers

BASE PRICE: $24,100
PRICE AS TESTED: $29,070
VEHICLE LAYOUT: Front-engine, front-wheel drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback
ENGINE: Turbocharged DOHC 12-valve inline-3
POWER: 137 hp @ 5,000 rpm
TORQUE: 162 lb-ft @ 2,500 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 3,120 lb
0-60 MPH: 9.3 seconds
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 28/32/30 mpg
OUR OBSERVED FUEL ECONOMY 25.4 mpg
CARGO SPACE: 21 cubic feet, 41 cubic feet with rear seats folded
PROS: On-road refinement, incredible price, nice interior
CONS: Needs more power, some inferior interior plastics