mmarshall

Recently, I did a static-examination/review of some Buick Envision samples when they first started arriving in the U.S. I wanted to see how well Chinese automotive plants could actually assemble a modern vehicle. The Envision, of course, is the first mass-produced vehicle to be produced in China and exported to the U.S. as a mainstream product....so I had an especially curious desire to see if the assembly quality and fit/finish could hold up to what the Koreans have perfected in the last decade, and the Japanese did in the 1970s and 80s. I found the static-samples I looked at to be quite well-assembled (definitely better than I expected), with only two flaws (neither of which are necessarily the fault of the plant or workers)...somewhat smaller front seats than would be ideal for big American frames, and a rather odd smell inside that was not quite what you expect from a typical new-car aroma.


(I'll include the prior static-review here for reference).

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-envision.html

Since I didn't do a formal test-drive that day, I figured it was time to get caught up on that...at a different dealership, somewhat further away from D.C., where the traffic wasn't quite so bad (traffic in most of this area, in general, is second only to L.A. and Southern California) and I could get a better test-drive. Like at the previous dealership, the only Envisions in stock here had company price-stickers that lacked the actual pricing information...but the details, prices, and specs were all listed on the dealer-website, despite the fact that the factory window-stickers all specifically said that they were not for sale. I test-drove a white 2016 AWD Premium-1 Package model with a 2.0L turbocharged four. The web site, however, listed this vehicle at $42,995, which was also listed as the asking price (apparently no discount). Frankly, I think that all the dealership did was feed in the base prices off of Buick's official website for that Premium-1 package, without breaking down each individual option on the vehicle.

http://www.buick.com/previous-year/e...own.html#/trim

For 2017, some lower-priced versions, with non-turbo engines, will also be offered, starting in the low-to-mid-30s.

http://www.buick.com/suvs/envision-s...own.html#/trim

Anyhow, I didn't really concern myself too much with that, or ask a lot of questions, since I wasn't there to buy one or negotiate any sales-deal, but simply to sample one. So, sample one I did....and I got a pretty good test-drive, without a whole lot of traffic.

Its overall road manners were much like the those of the nice Jeep Grand Cherokee I sampled last week, though with a slightly smoother ride over bumps and a hair more sound-insulation (after all, it IS a Buick). As with the (previous) static inspection, the Chinese plant and assembly-line workers seem to have done their jobs, as I didn't detect any squeaks/rattles, defects in the drivetrain, left/right pulling or drifting from bad wheel alignment, bad seals/insulation, etc.... though the tires might have had some borderline flat-spotting from sitting on the lot. The turbo four was smooth, quiet and and refined at lower RPMs (because it was a brand-new engine, of course, I didn't push it on the tach), and it had enough power for the fairly light overall load that I was carrying. The 6-speed automatic transmission, in typical Buick fashion (but not all Buicks), shifted seamlessly......as I can still remember from the mid-1960s, when automatic transmissions in big Buicks shifted more smoothly than in Cadillacs, which still seems to be the case today. I liked the traditional GM fore-aft shifter much more than the newer E-shifter that Cadillac uses on the new 2017 XT5 and Buick on its own new 2017 LaCrosse.

The chassis, as I mentioned a moment ago, is a fair amount of traditional Buick....clearly more oriented towards comfort than sport or responsiveness. Most bumps are well-absorbed by the suspension and 55-series all-season tires, but without the excessive floatiness and wallowing of, say old Buick Roadmasters, Electras, and LeSabres. The front seats on the ones I previously static-reviewed seemed too small for big American butts/torsos like mine, but the ones in today/s test-car, for some reason, felt a little more comfortable (it could have been a different front-seating-package, but, without a formal price sticker, I couldn't verify that). Wind noise was very well-controlled, and some faint road noise was present, but generally well-muted. Along with the generally smooth ride, there was a very faint hint (but not much) of the typical fore/aft proposing often seen in high-stance SUVs. Steering response from the electric power-steering was somewhat on the slow side by today's standards, with some body roll, as one would more or less expect from a mid-size SUV like this, especially one with the Buick name on it. And, speaking of the logo, Buick did not use the red/white/blue shield on the 2016 Envision...only the chrome-border tri-shield. The traditional triple-color shield DID return on the 2017 LaCrosse.....we'll see if it comes back with the new 2017 Envision as well. On the road, I noticed that the electronic center-gauge for the speedometer can be programmed for either a digital readout for speed or a electronically-simulated sweep-needle analog gauge pattern. I chose the analog, of course, as I find that much easier, at a glance, to read, than continually-flashing digits. The smaller, non-electronic -secondary gauges on either side of the large central one were done, BMW-style, with all-analog circles, easy simple digits, and chrome rings around the circles. Last, the brakes were generally effective, and the brake pedal was mounted in a decent (but not ideal) position for my big size-15 shoes to go from gas to brake without getting hung up on the rim of the brake pedal.


VERDICT:

The new Envision is ideal as a comfort-oriented SUV for families, and, IMO, generally competes very well against others in this class in the driving department, though short-term reliability could be a question-mark unitl Consumer Reports and J.D. Power get more information from actual use into their data bases. Dealers don't seem to have some of the needed paperwork with their Envisions in stock, either, though my test-car had a folded-up document, printed in Chinese, in the glove compartment, that appeared to be an inspection-list from the factory. But none of the Envisions I looked at, in stock, anywhere, had official pricing-stickers on them, so you may (?) have to play somewhat of a guessing-game with the dealers on what you are actually getting, and how much you are paying for it. The factory-stickers tell you what the model and trim-line it is, but little else. Still, from what is on the official Buick Web-site, and what the dealers post on their inventory-web-sites, expect to pay somewhere in the low 40s (maybe a little lower) until the new, lower-priced 2017 models arrive with the 2.5L non-turbo engines.

And, as always..........Happy Car Shopping.

MM

dseag2

Thanks for the review! Interior looks great. Exterior, boring.

mmarshall

Glad you enjoyed it. I probably should have done it all at once (with the static-review), but I was tired that day, and recovering from knee surgery.

That's more or less (now) typical for Buick. Recently, they have been doing some nice interiors on some rather conservative body-designs.

Conservative body designs, though on SUVs, can actually be an advantage. Boxy, squarish designs often help with not only interior space-efficiency/headroom and cargo volume, but also with outward visibility through the windows. Those are areas, of course, where the ultra-conservative Subaru Forester really shines.

NormV

The $299 lease deal is unmatch by the X1, Q3, GLC, or the Japanese right now. Looks like it is worthy of a test ride even though the exterior is very muted, unfortunately just like the competition.

Car &Driver's review was similar to yours over all.