It’s OK. 2024 Buick Envista Review

I'm Yuri. I'm Jacob. And we're going bird drive. 2024 Buick Envista. Avenir with no launch control. Go ahead, Gabe. That doesn't help, Yuri. It's kind of slow. It's pretty slow. Horsepower and torque. 137 horsepower, 162 pound feet of torque from a 1.2 liter turbo three cylinder. And why did we switch roles there? Jacob did not want to review a Buick. I did, so I am in charge of all of the stats for once. I didn't want to research anything. Not that I didn't want to review it. I just didn't want to look anything up. I'm here as a passenger, like a viewer, where I'm going to be asking the questions that you guys want to know. So Yuri. So you're playing Yuri's role. Yes, exactly. So clueless all the time. This is our first Buick ever out of like over 600 car reviews. Our first new Buick. So congratulations Buick for getting us this. Yep. For the embargo. This is a front wheel drive. Little SUV, front wheel drive only. And it has the new design style of Buick. I'm shocked that this doesn't have all wheel drive as an option. That is the main thing of this car. And you know what? Are you equally shocked that this doesn't have all wheel drive? I'm happy that it only has front wheel drive. But more importantly, let's start with the looks. Do you like the front end? It is supposed to look like the Buick Wildcat EV concept, which I thought looked cool. You thought it looked cool. I mean, the front end of this looks great. Like there's, I got no issue with it. Looks like a shark. It does. It looks like baby shark. And we saw it at the auto show and we thought it was awesome. At least I did. But I saw it in the ST version first because this is the Avenir, which is like the more luxurious one. The ST has more blacked out trim everywhere. Okay, but the headlights, do you like them? Yeah. I mean, nothing about the front end looks bad. Do you like the new Buick logo? It's okay. I love it. I think it looks awesome. But I don't know how this would look with a front plate. So far, I've only seen them without front plates. And from the side profile, I, an avid Coupe SUV hater, I really don't like this. I think it looks cool as a Coupe. And then the Buick Encore GX that's coming as this front end as well. And that is a normal SUV and slightly bigger and all wheel drive. That's my jam. There we go. And speaking of the Encore, whoever at Buick is in charge of naming everything, starting with an EN, should be fired. Cause I hate it. I'm confused. I don't know what's what. There's an Invista, Avenir, Enclave, Envision. Avenir is a trim level. You're just, whatever. You're just making your whole brand more confusing. I think I figured out why they did it. It's so that they can never bring back the Grand National. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's no chance if it doesn't start with EN. Okay. Side view, we have very, very nice body lines on this. Yes, this is a boring silver color, but there are more fun colors in non Avenir trims. And if it was the ST, you'd get gloss black instead of painted fenders and everything. And then if it was the bottom, bottom trim, it would just be like regular black. And then we have pretty cool looking Avenir chromies on here. Well, not like full chrome. They're not chrome at all. They're just like silver. They're nice satin wheels. They're okay. They make sense for like old people spec Buick. Yes, when I wish they were full chrome. And then what would be the Continental recommended tire for the Buick Invista Avenir? You tell me. The Continental Pro Contact. Oh, shout out Continental. Shout out Buick. And to link that to your, oh, I suspected it to be all wheel drive. What do we say about like every Civic, people getting SUVs, going to the cottage, you're fine with front wheel drive in the winter, get some Viking Contact 7s, some good Continental winter tires, and you'd be fine in this, right? I would be. Everyone would be. But that's the thing. Consumers want all wheel drive. They don't know why they want it, but they want it. And I'm acting as a consumer. No, you're not. I am. A viewer is a consumer. No, they're not. Some of them are. They're just for entertainment. No, they all go to tsp.truecar.com. They shop for vehicles all the time. Yeah, for Buicks? Yeah. Well, they will now. You think that's kind of crash shop specific? No. A little bit, because it's like a hatch. It's all front wheel drive. Automatic. Okay, back to the looks. In this one, we got a little chrome strip around the coupe lift back. Do you like it, or would you rather have the ST with the black trim? I wish they had more chrome as an avenue at consumer. Okay, and when you pop the trunk, it is power, which I guess probably not everything in this segment would probably have. That is nice. Except there's no hard button to lock when you walk away, only a button to drop it. Yeah, and you keep saying Civic, but there's like CX-30 and like little SUVs like that. In my head, this is Civic enough. It's a little taller hatch, and instead of a four-cylinder turbo with a CVT, this has a three-cylinder turbo with an automatic six-speed. An automatic six-speed in here. Which is, you know, like that is a good compromise. Floor it. No. Floor it. Back to the back end. Floor it! No, back end. I'm a consumer! Back to the back end. Do you like the looks at all? No. Not the back end looks? I absolutely hate the back end. It also has like a little butthole at the bottom in the center of the bumper. For the parking sensor? Yeah. The back end does look a little bit like a Hulk Hogan receding hairline to me. Yeah, there's something like that going on back there. But I still think it looks kind of cool. We got like a little lip on the trunk lid, and then this has all body color matching at the bottom. No exhaust tips showing. I do like the tail lights, how they're like light pinkish and solid, but not like full deep red. Well, that's what bothers me. I'm like, tail lights should be red, not pink. But what I don't like is that the brake lights and the turn signals are at the very bottom. Oh yeah, that's weird. And then let's listen to it from the outside. And if I put it in neutral right now, it'll only let me rev up to 4,000. And it is quiet, and I have noticed that there's no vibrations, which is actually a pretty good feat of engineering for a three-cylinder engine. All right, now cliche corner. I would turn my traction off, but I need to be parked for that. Whoa. It is not the worst. Also not the best. I wish there was more bolstering, but hey, it's not that type of car. And traction will cut you off very severely when you're ripping through here. Not the worst, definitely not the best. So to finish off with the looks, I know I'm like kind of going on about that a lot, but that's like the biggest thing about this. How sick would this front end look on like an AE86 or like a BRZ or a Camaro? Really sick. If they made this on front of a Camaro, brought back the Grand National? Or if they just made the Wildcat as a real thing? No, they would never do that. Or if they just made the Wildcat as a real thing with a V8? Never, no chance. All right, your turn to launch it. I have not launched this car for the record, so I'm excited. No cooled seats is what I've noticed already. Did you brake boost it? Yeah. Tire squeal, we like that. A little bit laggy off the line, but we did get tire squeal. It is a very small motor. Yes it is, 1.2 liters. But that doesn't feel quiet in here. It does actually. There is some kind of active noise cancellation that I saw on the website that it has. And it is really nice. The auto did a really good job of shifting. Like I didn't notice any real perceptive gear changes, but like better than a CVT. There's no weird rubber bandiness or anything like that. Yeah, and there's no paddles, but there is a gear limiter on the shifter, which is very GM. But like, you know, four cylinder CVT versus three cylinder auto, like that is a good comparison. Yeah, okay, let's see. Cliche corner the opposite way that we normally like to take. And yeah, definitely a little body rolly, quite body rolly. The steering is kind of oddly weighted. It's like, it's light, but not at the same time. It does have some weight to it. I can feel traction just, yeah, reeling me in. Well actually traction's off, that was ESC. Yeah, yeah, it's reeling me back in. Isn't it not hilarious that there's like a full on like traction button on the left at all times? Hey, shout out Buick for that. Like, not that anyone's ever really gonna need that or use it, but like, it's nice that you can do that. I mean, with probably no drive, you might get stuck. Okay, so this is all full Google infotainment? It looks like it. It does look like it. Hey Buick. No, there is some voice controls that they advertise. Okay. Press when parking to get it. Okay, so it only works with a phone. Yeah, I guess. Okay, well, it looks like we have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so that's nice. Yeah, wireless or wired, that's nice. This does have SiriusXM. Wait, first of all, this whole infotainment, we gotta show what it looks like. It's this cool shape. They're bragging about how big it is, but it's just two screens in there, so whatever. It does look impressive when it's off like that. I mean, I think it looks cool. It looks funky. Wow, is this the new Buick? Yes, it is the new Buick. Thanks for asking, my two-year-old. Okay, so the problem I have with it is that this one has the world's largest bezels around it because it's cool that it looks like it's all integrated in one massive thing, but it's not, and the one in front of the driver is just so small. And you can't change the gauge cluster at all. It just is what it is, but it's nice. So you can't customize this, even when we look at this. But I don't need to change anything. No, no, I know, it's just we've got accustomed to being able to do that. Back to the right screen, we have only a volume knob. Yes. No tuning knob, and in their description of this car, they say, the latest Buick infotainment system has been optimized to provide enhanced user interface, design, voice recognition, and multimedia applications, making driver interactions easier and more intuitive. So not having a tuning knob, less intuitive. Couldn't give voice to work, not as intuitive. Cannot rewind satellite radio, where I feel like every single fricking GM in the world lets you rewind up until I drive this. Yeah. Probably because it's a stupid Android thing. Yeah, it's just crazy, like. Or Google, Google, Google thing. I just can't believe there's no voice control without anything. Yeah, but it advertised that there is, so. Hey, Buick, directions to Margaritaville. I don't even think this has navigation. Oh, because it's, that honestly, that kind of makes sense. I appreciate them for deleting navigation because it's always terrible, so you're forced to rely on Google Maps and Android Auto. Well, like if it was a, or Apple CarPlay, if it was a Corolla Cross, which is a competitor for this. Yeah. You would need to be paying subscription to have their dumb built-in navigation. Yes. So it's like, yeah, I'm not gonna use it anyway, so don't throw it in there. Yep. And the sound system's pretty okay. Like, you can't complain. And then we do have hard physical buttons for our climate, which is also really nice. It is all gloss black, and then it all just disappears when you turn off the car. And then I did notice that it's only single zone climate as well. Yeah, lots of, this is like budget, man. That's what I'm saying. Like, compared to a Civic, right? Yeah. Because like, not everything's crazy. Okay. But a Civic has dual zone. Yeah, but I'm sure some Civics don't. They just don't give us those Civics. But the priced ones, like this one. Yeah, but. Okay, so. But what? Buick is like the luxury version of the track. This, that's what this is, right? But you gotta think of less of a jump from a full Acura from a Civic. So it's like in between that, right? It's not quite what a Lexus would be to a Toyota. Yes. And then, okay, these materials in here. You see this? Apparently, this is to like mimic the look of a handbag instead of like carbon fiber or something. It looks like fake leather as plastic. It's kind of impressive, actually. And feel the one right here on your like, right here. Oh yeah, it's nice and soft. It's a little soft. Everything else is like kind of hard plastic. It's all that scratchy kind of GM plastic everywhere else. You're expecting out of this. We got a silver carbon fiber or something. I don't know. Silver carbon-ish, and it's around the shifter as well. And moving the shifter back and forth. It moves a lot. Yeah, it moves like a lot, which is kind of fun. I don't know, I just, I don't mind it. Yeah. There's so much good, normal car stuff in here. We even have a wireless charger as well. Yeah, but we have wired with USB and USB-C for your car plate, which is what I prefer. Ah, and then what about the cup holders? Yo, bro, look at that. It fits fine. Actually, it moves a lot. It moves a lot. We have one with liquid, and it's not bad. There's much worse. It feels like octagonal shape. I'd give it a fail. I'm not trying to defend this car for like- You kind of are. I'm just saying, like, I do enjoy my time in this. Okay, how about the visors? This will settle it. Three, two, one. Oh! Out the window, Yuri. Trash. Everything you just said. Okay, seat comfort. Really good. Except I wish there was more bolstering, but not this type of car. This is like a grandma car, except it's marketed at like 35-year-olds. And apparently, like, people that are current sedan owners, like in like Jettas and stuff, they want them to go up to this, which is an interesting proposition. Okay, well, how much seat room do you have here? Are you comfortable up in the front? Very comfortable. Am I comfortable up at the front? I assume so. Were you comfortable in the passenger seat? Yeah. With my child seat behind me? Yeah. Are you comfortable behind yourself at 61 1⁄2? I am. Headroom and legroom? Yeah, and this is like a coupe SUV, so that is impressive. And are we sacrificing trunk space because of the legroom? I guess not. No, we might be sacrificing some for the coupe shape, but it's also not the worst. Like you could probably fit a bunch in there. And then there's a ton of room underneath there where the spare tire is. So if you needed to like hack your way into going camping and you needed more stuff, just take that out and load it in. Yeah, and then just call CAA or AAA. For what? For if you needed an extra tire. No, you still just put it over the tire. Like between the tire and the load thing, there's like a ton of room. Got it. And with the baby seat in the back, if you get out of the car, it does give you an audible warning to double check, which I think is nice if you have a kid. And you know what would actually kind of match this cool material up on the dash and on the side pretty nicely? I know exactly what it would be. Is that a tux mat? Absolutely, it would be. Go to tuxmat.com slash the straight pipes to see what they have available for your car. Should I special request them to change their pattern for the Buick and Vista to this? For this one? Yeah. Or for the Grand National, it should just be the Grand National logo. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have that little Turbo 6 logo? Yeah, yeah. The Turbo 6 or whatever it was? And as for the buttons throughout this interior, it's like classic GM. It's like the same stuff that you get in like Chevys and Silverados and things that we just got out of. So it's just, it's funny to see that, but it's also nice. Yeah, I mean, like, I don't think Buick is like Cadillac. No, but I'm kind of in my head, they kind of are. Maybe back in the day. Well, yeah, I'm still back in the day, Buick. I actually grew up in a Buick Skylark. Yeah, 89. I love it. In the late 80s. Boxy front wheel drive is like, this is exactly what you want, bro. I mean, this isn't boxy. Front wheel drive. Front wheel drive Buicks, you're jammed. I mean, I've always liked Buicks, like even the front wheel drive, like 3.8 supercharged ones from the 90s. Like I thought those were sick. Yeah. The Rivi. Buick Century. I almost bought a Buick Century. Yeah, but my family, we had a Cutlass Supreme plastic front wheel drive, so that was pretty dope. Exactly. Obviously. 3.8. Yeah. Hey, one complaint. Put it in reverse. Ooh. Yeah, it's got a cool animation for that. Yeah, yeah. It's not the highest res, but it's also not super wide. You know how for my driveway, I have like a full like 180 degrees. It feels like it is pretty wide though. But it's not like 180 degree wide. Yeah. But no 360 camera, which would be nice, but I understand why. Not for this, no. But it would be nice. Yeah. Like the amount of money the 360 camera must cost to just manufacture, and that they don't include it until you spend like $60,000 on a freaking car. It drives me bonkers. Yeah. And for just for fun, let's floor it one more time. That is slow. There we go. It's a slow car. Yeah. But it's, for some reason. This is not a CVT. It doesn't feel as bad as that Corolla Cross, like the non-hybrid. It's because it's not a CVT, bro. Probably. Like how many times in like a faster powered Subaru do I mention that I feel like sketched out when I need to go around a track? And this like, I know I'm going to feel sketched out. So I anticipate it because it's a slow motor, but the six speed kind of helps me through that. So this three banger should probably get pretty good fuel economy then. I didn't look it up because I'm not interested in that stuff. So here's the number right there. Let me know what you think. That sounds pretty good from seeing it on the screen. And I want to know in the comments, do you like the looks of this or not? Yes, absolutely. Let me know as the consumer. So I feel like we've covered a little too much about this car. Should we get to the price? Absolutely, Yuri. Let's get to the price. This one starts at $28,999. Canadian. And at the Avenir trim, this one is $33,899. So like compared to a Civic, right? Yeah, it's a Civic Touring. Yeah. I would rather have a Civic Touring hatch. But if you couldn't get the Civic in time and you needed something quicker, maybe the Buicks are easier to get. This is not a bad car by any stretch. Like everything's just, it's car. It's fine, it's good. It's not the best in any way that I don't find. They might advertise as having the largest screens. I don't know if that's true. They have the largest bezels that I can see possibly. There's a lot of good normal stuff in this. And I think the fact that at least for the first year, these looks are going to be fresh compared to everything else that's out there. Yes. That is like a solid reason to get this right away. And we'll see where the rest of the lineup goes. If those rest of the cars like hold up and look cool, you know what I mean? And I'm very okay with this front end being the new Buick front end. So let us know in the comments below, is Buick coming back? Is this a good thing? Should they put this front end on the Camaro and call it a GNX? They should, they're not going to. Yes. And while you're at it, bring Pontiac back. No, but Buick never died. They were always still around. I know, I just want one. I'd rather have Pontiac, Oldsmobile, or Saturn back. Pontiac? Yeah, I'm old. No, I actually kind of like Pontiac. Pontiac was sick. I kind of like old. Well, why do you need old to get Buick? I think that's the same thing. Pontiac had a G8.