Napleton News Review: Is that a Buick?

The new 2024 Buick Envista Avenir is a subcompact SUV that borrows from the legacy and profile of the BMW X6 and Mercedes GLC. Just with a lot less power and for a lot less money. Here at Napleton News, we always enjoy saving a few bucks. However, is it worth spending them on a Buick? Hop in as we find out.

What’s under the hood of the Buick Envista Avenir?

It’s small, and almost mighty. We’re talking about GM’s Mexican-built 1.2-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder engine. This relatively tiny engine delivers 136-hp and 162-lb-ft of torque. It’s not a lot but it’s not nothing either. Power is sent to the front wheels by a six-speed automatic transmission. But there is no all-wheel drive availability.

What does the Napleton team think of the Envista Avenir’s looks?

Imagine a fastback, non-boxy shaped subcompact SUV. With a lot of blinginess around the sweptback roofline and greenhouse, the Avenir looks larger than it really is. Which is a good thing. The front is a successful swipe from the Buick Wildcat concept that appeared a few years ago. Overall, it seems Buick’s intent was to attract younger buyers with a more accessible vehicle. We think they have succeeded.

The exterior of the Envista features a sculpted visage that blends in with a distinctly European look that pips many of the SUVs on the road today in North America. Squint and the grille almost looks like one that belongs on a Lamborghini Urus, but for a lot less money.

Since our tester was painted black metallic, or in Buick-speak, “Ebony Twilight Metallic,” it was the perfect candidate for the chrome accent trim around the body. It helped to set the Envista apart from other blacked-out models.

What about inside the ride?

The interior of the Buick Envista Avenir features a sharp looking set of features with all the technology you would expect today. These include a 11.0-inch diagonal touchscreen display, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and wireless Qi smartphone charging. A Bose premium audio system pumps out the decibels, but if the outside ambient sound gets to be too much, Buick’s QuietTuning with active noise cancellation will engage to cancel out any road noise that may try to find its way inside. Think of this system as a larger-than-life set of Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones.

The seats are comfortable for a cross-country escapade, and they would only be better with the addition of ventilation to keep things cool in sunny South Florida. There’s plenty of headroom in the front seat but the sloping roofline in back may complicate things for taller members of the population. Cargo space behind the second row measures up at 20.7 cubic feet with the seat up. Fold them forward and that space increases to more than 42 cubic feet. Speaking of the cargo area, the Avenir includes an automatic liftgate with footswipe control. Just wave your foot underneath and the liftgate will go up on its own.

The one thing that hurts the Envista Avenir and almost every other GM vehicle is their use of substandard plastics. After a while, the plastic will begin to gum up or deteriorate in other ways.

Napleton get’s behind the wheel of the Buick Envista Avenir

The Envista Avenir is a front-drive SUV that is quite agile cutting through traffic and around seasonal visitors to South Florida. Did we mention it’s Season yet? Yep, it is! But that’s ok. We need the local revenue!

That means there are plenty of amateur drivers on the road once again. It’s okay, for the most part, because the Envista is quite agile in moving in and out of gaps around slower moving traffic. Under the hood of the Envista Avenir is the little engine that could. It seems tiny, checking in as a 1.2-liter three-cylinder. Think of that: It’s like half the size of a V6 engine. With half the cylinders, too!

It is surprisingly peppy for such a tiny mill, and it does let you know when it’s giving its all but the bottom line is it’s the perfect engine for this type of vehicle. And it most definitely isn’t your father’s Buick.

Buick Envista Avenir Specifications