Meet the newest Buick nameplate: the Envista

Buick's all-new Envista small SUV introduced Monday will be used by the historic brand to pull in customers looking for premium features at an attractive price.

The new nameplate is arriving after Buick ditched the Encore, another small SUV, last year. The Envista, hitting dealerships this summer, has the cargo space of an SUV with a sedan-like feel and starts at $23,495. Buick is hoping to use the new product to attract sedan owners, young professionals and small families to the brand.

The Envista is part of Buick transformational journey that started with the Wildcat EV concept revealed last year. It's one of five new models the brand will unveil over the next 18 months for North America. Some of those will be mid-cycle enhancements and some will be completely redone models. One of those will be Buick's debut EV coming next year. In February, Buick revealed the refreshed Encore GX, the first Buick in North America to sport the brand’s new tri-shield logo and front-end styling first seen on the Wildcat.

“Buick helped define the small SUV segment in 2012, and we’ve continued to make our offerings even more competitive since. The all-new Envista is going to shake up that segment once again,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president, Buick-GMC, in a statement. “When you consider all the Envista has to offer, from its stunning design to abundant technology and safety features, it’s going to be hard to find a better package in that area of the market.”

The 2024 Envista is expected to enter production in Korea next month. The Envista Preferred trim starts at $23,495. A Sport Touring trim starts at $25,195 and the high-end Avenir trim starts at $29,695.

Customers can find the Envista on dealer lots or build and order online starting this summer.

"It is a replacement for the Encore in their lineup so it maintains the number of models that they have," said Stephanie Brinley, associate director AutoIntelligence at S&P Global Mobility.

"What's interesting is the the design of it is an interesting blend between crossover and kind of sportback sedan and it's meant to expand some of its appeal. I also think that it's going to come to market at a really good time relative to consumer demand and vehicle affordability."

Wildcat-inspired design

The Envista is the first model in Buick's lineup to fully incorporate the design cues from the Wildcat concept. This new face of Buick features a low-profile silhouette and forward-leaning nose. Buick's new emblem is now mounted on the body above a sleek grille design.

The headlamps and taillamps create signature wing lighting. LED checkmark lamps are mounted high on the fascia and other functional lighting is lower on the body for a refined, layered look.

All-black 18-inch wheels are standard on the Sport Touring trim, with 19-inch wheels available. Bespoke pearl nickel 19-inch wheels are standard on the higher-end Avenir. Preferred has standard 17-inch wheels with available 18-inch.

The Envista offers a spacious interior with more legroom than any prior Buick small SUV. It's 11 inches longer than the Encore GX in total, with a 4-inch-longer wheelbase.

The SUV's display screens cover 19 diagonal inches with an 8-inch driver display screen and 11-inch infotainment screen, which come standard on all trims.

There's attention to detail throughout the Envista with colorful stitching on the seats, Avenir and ST logos embroidered on the head restraints for those trims and a flat-bottom steering wheel that's standard across all trims.

Buick’s QuietTuning system helps prevent unwanted road noise for more relaxed driving.

A 40/60-split folding second row enables storage of up to 7.5 feet long. The Envista provides 20.7 cubic feet of space behind the rear seat and 42 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down. A power liftgate is available for customers to easily access the cargo area.

Safety technology and power

The 2024 Envista comes standard with the Buick Driver Confidence package, which has six active safety and driver assistance technologies, including: automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist with lane departure warning and IntelliBeam auto high beams. A high-definition rear vision camera is also standard.

The Envista also will have lane-change alert with side blind zone alert, adaptive cruise control and rear cross-traffic alert.

Under the hood, the Envista has a high-performance 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine with a six-speed automatic transmission for 136 horsepower with 162 pound-feet of torque.

“Compared to previous generations of our 1.2T engine, this version is lighter and uses fewer parts, which reduces the overall vehicle weight, increases efficiency and creates nimble ride and handling,” said Scott McLane, lead development engineer, Buick Envista, in a statement.

The Envista is expected to offer a GM-estimated 30 miles per gallon.

khall@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @bykaleahall