Buick has long been one of those brands that confuses me. It’s a brand without an identity, with a product strategy best defined as “throw something at the wall and see what sticks.” And sure, Buick has some absolute bangers in its portfolio—especially the GSX, GNX and my personal favorite, the Regal TourX—but these are notable because they simply focused on being awesome rather than conform to brand norms.
Throughout my lifetime, Buick has been positioned as a near-luxury brand. An intermediate step between Chevy and Cadillac. But in my personal experience, Buick never quite managed to hit that mark. At best the vehicles delivered a Temu-like take on luxury, with odd design choices, so-so materials and haphazard fit and finish. Luxury cars should feel like a reward; most Buicks felt like a Chevy dealer’s castoffs.
Buick is still trying to find its footing, but it seems like it has finally settled on a brand direction—one focused on style. And perhaps the best-looking vehicle of the lineup is also the brand’s cheapest: the Buick Envista. Buick was kind enough to lend me its mid-grade trim, the Envista Sport Touring, so let’s see what this compact crossover is all about.
Its small size caught me off guard
Maybe I need to get my eyes checked, or maybe I need to do more research prior to receiving a vehicle, but the first thing I noticed about the Envista was its size. I was expecting a vehicle sized similarly to a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V. Instead, I received something the size of a Toyota Corolla sedan.
But good things come in small packages, I guess. From the lighting to the profile to the rear, the Envista is just sleek—in the best way possible. It’s a design that’s bold in all the right ways, and it can—nay, should—define what Buick can be.
I’m finding myself doing double takes (in a good way) every time I see another Envista on the road, all while wondering what kind of car it may be, all while behind the wheel of the very Envista you see here. This lack of brand recognition is a huge problem Buick still needs to overcome. But if handled right, leaning in to designs like this can present Buick with a huge opportunity to convert everyday consumers into fans of the brand.
Speaking of GM, let’s talk about the cabin
Two words have defined the cabin of every GM vehicle of the past 30-40 years: hard. plastics. And while GM has been improving things—the new Chevrolets are quite nice inside—this Envista proves old habits die hard.
Everything looks good, and I have no issues with the design itself. But hard plastics are everywhere—especially at the touchpoints. Those door cards look nice, for example, but there’s just a couple of millimeters of faux leather separating the hard parts of your elbow from some even harder plastic. The center console juts out just enough to be a convenient place to rest my knee and is hard enough to ensure that repeated use will put some orthopedic surgeon’s kid through college. It’s not bad around town, but taller drivers on longer road trips will surely be stopping for some sort of stick-on foam pad at the first Buc-ee’s they see.
As for the rest of the cabin? I like it. The seats themselves are comfortable both front and rear, and all the switchgear is physical and nice to use. All key interior controls can be found and adjusted using touch alone, and I’m grateful that this compact crossover eschews current GM trends to include a physical light switch and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility. And despite the exterior’s fastback design, there’s a hair over 20 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seats, allowing this crossover to swallow a whole bunch of stuff.
A drive that’s more hatchback than SUV
The Envista shares a platform with the Chevrolet’s compact Trax, so it should come as no surprise that this Buick drives more like a compact hatch than a luxury SUV. Power comes from a 1.2-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder engine rated at 137 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. Transmission is a 6-speed auto, and you can send power to any of the Envista’s wheels as long as they’re the ones up front. (What I’m trying to say is, is that this crossover is front-wheel drive.)
These numbers may not be impressive on paper (or screen), but in practice this Buick is quite nice to drive. Power delivery is more than adequate for driving around town, merging onto the freeway or passing slower traffic. The steering is sharp upon turn in yet relaxed during high-speed freeway runs. And its small exterior size makes it a pleasure to maneuver through tight city streets. But again, I happen to particularly love small cars, so your own personal experience with the Envista’s size may vary.
That said, there areas where this drive could be improved. The suspension is hatchback-like as well and can feel unwelcomingly stiff over things like freeway expansion joints. And while power delivery is okay, I’d love to see its 6-speed auto get some sort of manual-shift option. This is the Sport Touring trim after all—let’s give it a bit of sport.
Final Thoughts
My confusion with Buick initially made it hard for me to summarize my feelings about this vehicle. On one hand, it’s nice to drive—and I love the styling. But if I were to look at it through the lens of “near luxury” or “premium”—Buick’s “traditional” brand positioning—I’d say that it wildly misses the mark simply due to the stiff ride and all those hard plastics in the cabin.
On the other hand: this Buick Envista ST starts at a mere $25,195. That’s low-grade Corolla money, so this price point makes it incredibly easy to overlook what essentially are just a few minor quibbles in a well-equipped car. And hopefully for Buick, this Envista can launch a new era for the brand, one where everyone knows what the brand is, and what the brand should be.
Justin Kaehler has been covering all things automotive for 20 years, and has been an active part of the car scene for much longer than that. Though he’s grown to love all cars, he’s still particularly fond of the ’80s and ’90s Japanese metal he grew up on. And for those of you who grew up playing The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift game for the PS2 and PSP, yes, he’s also that JDM Justin.