Yahoo Autos Tested: 2021 Buick Envision Poses as A Luxury SUV
In the classic sci-fi film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, aliens come down to Earth and essentially start producing emotionless human duplicates. A similar, albeit much less sinister, scenario is happening with Buick, a brand that has now abandoned cars entirely and replaced them all with crossover SUVs such as the new 2021 Envision, which unconvincingly mimics more premium nameplates.
It's not that the completely redesigned, second-generation Envision isn't visually appealing or packed with popular features. That's true on both counts. But beyond those basic prerequisites, the Envision lacks the driving joy and refinement that might help it transcend its position as a compact luxury SUV poseur.
Top-Tier Avenir Fails to Impress
To showcase Buick's latest effort, our Envision was a top-of-the-line Avenir trim. It's dressed up with an exclusive mesh grille design and shiny 20-inch rims. Inside, it has quilted leather-appointed seats and standard features not found on the lesser Preferred and Essence models. These include a driver's seat massage function, ventilated front seats, heated rear outboard seats, and wireless charging. It's also the only Envision available with adaptive cruise control, a camera-fed rearview mirror, and self-parking assist. Our fully loaded, all-wheel-drive Envision Avenir cost $47,105. That's at least less money than the priciest Lincoln Corsair and Infiniti QX50, both of which can approach $60,000 when optioned lavishly.
Unfortunately, the Avenir's interior materials undermine Buick's luxury aspirations. There are some ergonomic gripes too. The new electronic shifter allows useful storage space under the center console, but the shifter's push/pull buttons aren't nearly as intuitive as a traditional lever. The plastic piano-black center console collects dust and smudges and isn't convincing anyone that it's 10 coats of lacquer on wood.
