Yahoo Autos 2024 Buick Envista Avenir Is An Entry-Level Bargain
Cars have gotten ridiculously expensive over the past few years. Right now, the average new car will set you back a little bit over $47,000, according to Kelley Blue Book, and because of that, true deals and value are hard to come by. Enter the 2024 Buick Envista Avenir.
What we’ve got here is Buick’s entry-level offering, slotting below the Encore GX, Envision and Enclave. But its styling and features are anything but base level. The Envista starts at a mere $23,495 including destination, and for just $31,285 you get the Avenir with a slew of features that cars costing two or three times as much don’t always come with, all wrapped up in a wildly attractive crossover-coupe-ish package. Because of that, we’re going to delve into some of the more impressive features the Envista Avenir can be loaded with for a price that is $16,000 cheaper than the average new car.
Full Disclosure: Buick lent me this Envista Avenir with a full tank of gas to do as I please for a week. It was very sweet of GM to do.
Look At That Curve
The first thing you’re going to notice about the Envista Avenir is just how damn good it looks. Buick’s new design language works extremely well on its smaller offerings. On top of that, while this is undoubtedly the cheapest coupe-crossover you can buy, it may actually be the best looking. Its proportions are just right, and that silver sideblade thing really accentuates the lines.
LED Me
All Envistas comes with LED headlights and running lights, just like its Chevy Trax sibling. I’m not always a huge fan of running lights above a recessed headlight, but it works well in this application. Not only do they look really clean, they also provide more than enough light at night.
A Nice Place To Be
Step inside the Envista Avenir, and you find a mostly nice place to be with reasonably good material choices, a nicely sculpted dashboard, twin LCD screens and a flat-bottom steering wheel. Sporty.
It’s Small, But It Works
The 8-inch gauge cluster is not the most advanced thing in the world, but it does the job just fine. There’s some customizability to it, but this is the only screen where you can see the tachometer. It’s also a little bit laggy when switching between modes, but it’s solid for this price point.
Also, sorry for the glare. It was a very sunny day.
Real Buttons, Folks
The Envista Avenir has a very slickly laid out climate control panel that’ll surely be a welcome sight for button enthusiasts everywhere. The row of toggle switches feels very premium, but I would have liked to see a temperature control for the passenger. I know it’s a small car, but still. I suppose it’s nice that three-level heated seats are included.
As you can see, the piano black plastic does get dirty rather quickly. This is what it looked like after a week of driving. You can’t win ‘em all.
A Solid Piece Of Hardware
The 11-inch central infotainment touchscreen works very well. There aren’t exactly a ton of features, but everything you could really want to do with it is easy to access. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both hook up well either via Bluetooth or USB.
It’s very similar to units found in other GM products, so it shouldn’t be confusing to even the oldest and most tech-averse buyer. You can even control the air conditioning from the screen if you’re a bit weird and don’t want to use the buttons. Whatever floats your boat, man.
Features, Features, Features!
The two buttons on the right here really show how well-equipped the Envista Avenir is. Even though it costs just $31,285, you still get a heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel and adaptive cruise control as standard.
The adaptive cruise works really well, and it’ll even bring you down to a complete stop without issue, which is nice to see on a car this cheap. It also has some sort of lane keeping assist, but it isn’t the best system I’ve ever used, and I left it off for the most part.
We Loved Deviated Stitching
The Envista Avenir comes with pretty comfy seats for the price point. The driver’s seat has eight-way electric adjustment eight ways, and it even has two-way lumbar. Adding to the niceness is the deviated stitching, which makes up a very interesting pattern on the seats that breaks up an otherwise dark cabin space.
I also love the Avenir script sewn into the headrests. That’s class, baby.
The Wrong Lights
You see those lights up on the trunk lid? Those aren’t the taillight or the turn signals. No, sir, they’re just nighttime running lights. Annoyingly, both the brake lights and turn signals are housed in those light pods down in the bumper. I do not know why Buick decided to do this. It’s not like the higher-up lights wouldn’t meet any sort of DOT regulation. Ugh, I guess it doesn’t really matter. The Envista Avenir still looks good.
A Whole Lotta Room
On the subject of the Envista’s rear end, despite its coupe styling and relatively small footprint, this lil guy still comes with a really sizable cargo area. Buick says it has 20.7 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seats, but if you need more you can fold the second row for a downright cavernous 42 cubic feet of space. It’s a really well-packaged little car, the Envista.
Better Than You’d Think
This right here is the heart of the Envista Avenir. Like all other Envistas and the Trax, the Avenir is powered by a turbocharged 1.2-liter three-cylinder motor that puts out 136 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque through a 6-speed automatic. It isn’t exactly an inspiring powerplant, but it gets the job done. It even sounds sort of neat, like a small, angry dog.
My only issue is that because it’s so not powerful, you’ve got to really push it to get going. Over my 425-ish miles of testing, I only managed gas mileage in the middle-high 20s. That’s not awful, but it isn’t spectacular for a motor this small. Luckily, it does take regular gas, so filling up doesn’t cost very much.
Let The Outside In
This sunroof is one of the few options you can add to the Envista Avenir. For $795 you can have this small piece of glass plopped into the roof of your car. It robs a little bit of headroom, but that’s no big deal. You want the wind in your hair, don’t you?
The Ideal Wheel
The Envista is a really good looking car on its own, but these 19-inch wheels really elevate the Avenir to something entirely different. If you ask me, these are some of the best wheels in the luxury segment. They just look so nice and upscale. The new Buick logo isn’t half bad, either.
Click The Buick
The Envista Avenir’s keyfob holds even more features. Sure, none of them are groundbreaking, but there aren’t many cars this cheap that come with both remote start and an electric trunk opener. That’s the Buick difference. In another little bit of classiness, Buick has you click on the logo to lock it, just like a BMW. Nice.
Look At All That Leg Room
Despite its small size, the Envista Avenir still has plenty of room in the rear seats. I’m 6-foot-1, and I can fit behind my driver’s seat position without an issue. Aiding in that legroom is the completely flat floor, since there’s no gear tunnel to the rear wheels. Headroom is a little bit tight though, at just 54.5 inches with the sunroof. I suppose you’ve got to make some concessions to interior space if you want that sleek coupe-like profile.
In terms of amenities for rear-seat passengers, there aren’t a ton. You’ve got auto-down-only rear-window controls and a couple of USB ports (both A and C). Oh, there are some cup holders and an armrest. That’s not nothing!
Sittin’ Pretty
So, folks, that’s the Buick Envista Avenir. It’s one of those rare cars that is greater than the sum of its parts. Everything just works so well together to create something compelling that an American automaker has not sold for quite some time: a competent entry-level luxury vehicle.
What really makes the Envista Avenir worth its $31,285 price tag is a wonderful combination of a solid engine, good tech and a well-thought-out interior all wrapped in a lovely body. Put simply, the Envista Avenir is just a good car, and sometimes that’s enough.
