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2024 Buick Envista Avenir Interior Review: A real winner from Buick

The 2024 Buick Envista is the first Buick product I’ve driven in recent history thatÂ’s kept me thinking about it for much longer after handing the keys back. Much of that credit is due to Buick pricing it so low, but itÂ’s not like there arenÂ’t other cheap cars out there. The difference, of course, is that the Envista is both affordable and a really good car at the same time. You can read about how effective the tiny and frugal 1.2-liter turbo engine is in our First Drive, or get the full download about the various trims in our Buying Guide, but here IÂ’m going to focus on its impressive interior in its most exemplary form. My test Envista pictured throughout is the Avenir trim, which is the top-shelf, priciest model, and yet it still only starts at $29,695. That feels like a steal in todayÂ’s ever-expensive car market given its size and level of equipment. So, whatÂ’s the catch?  First impressions are wildly positive when I settle into the AvenirÂ’s comfortable, heated leather seats and run my hands along the soft leather of the heated flat-bottom steering wheel. Then I check out whatÂ’s in front of me and notice the dual-screen layout housed cleanly in a single slab in the dash. The 11-inch touchscreen infotainment system is barebones as it gets from a software and user interface perspective, but that simplicity is somewhat refreshing. You get wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, along with good enough hardware that everything runs fluidly and responds quickly to touches. The 8-inch digital instrument panel is verging on being too simplistic in favor of minimalism, though. Many of the typical gauges you might see in a cluster are instead tucked into a menu on the infotainment display, and customization of that cluster screen is similarly limited. ItÂ’s functional, but thereÂ’s room for improvement or at least customization. The Pebble Gray and black two-tone look of this Avenir model is rather dashing combined with the Cinnabar Metallic exterior paint, and “Avenir” being stitched into the headrests is an upper-class touch. Also appreciated is the soft dash in front of the passenger with pretty stitching and an intriguing crease-like pattern in the material. This carries through into the doors and the door armrests, which are also padded, something you donÂ’t get in the brutally hard doors of this carÂ’s platform mate, the Chevrolet Trax.

Buick Encore, Chevy Trax earn Top Safety Pick from IIHS [w/video]

The Buick Encore has been a massive sales success practically from the moment it debuted, and Buick recently decided to increase production to keep up with demand for the premium compact crossover. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently put one to the test again, and the Encore earned a Top Safety Pick award. It's the first model from the brand to score the nod since 2013, according to the IIHS, and the rating also carries over to the 2015 Chevrolet Trax. The 2015 Encore scored a Good rating in all of the IIHS' evaluations, including the 40-mile-per-hour, small overlap front crash test. That was a big improvement over the previous model the institute tested, which scored a Poor result in the overlap test. In the first test, about 13 inches of the lower door hinge pillar came into the passenger compartment, and the steering wheel airbag moved too far to protect the dummy's head. Improvements for the latest model year showed six inches of intrusion this time, and the airbags caught the dummy's head well. The dummy's sensors also indicated a low risk of injury. The two CUVs missed out on the full Top Safety Pick+ because the IIHS scored the Encore as only having a basic front crash prevention system, and there was no such equipment for the Trax. To earn the highest mark, models need at least an advanced rating by the institute for this technology. Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax earn 2015 TOP SAFETY PICK award ARLINGTON, Va. - A small SUV is the first vehicle from the Buick brand to qualify for a TOP SAFETY PICK award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety since 2013. The Buick Encore's newly introduced, lower-priced twin, the Chevrolet Trax, also qualifies for the honor. The Encore's award follows improvements to the SUV's structure for better small overlap front protection. The 2015 model earns a good rating in the small overlap test. In contrast, the 2013-14 Encore rated poor in the test. The driver's space was seriously compromised with intrusion measuring as much as 13 inches at the lower door hinge pillar. The dummy's head barely contacted the front airbag before sliding off the left side, as the steering column moved to the right. The side curtain airbag deployed too late and didn't have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head. In the latest test, the driver space was maintained reasonably well, with maximum intrusion of 6 inches at the door hinge pillar and instrument panel. The dummy's movement was well-controlled.

2024 Buick Envision reportedly delayed, stripped of Super Cruise

It appears the Chevrolet Traverse isn't the only GM product trying to climb out of production hell. Remember, Chevy had to delay the start of production for the all-new third-generation 2024 Traverse, leading to the second-gen 2023 model carrying over for a brief spell as the Traverse Limited until the all-new SUV comes off the line in real numbers. According to GM Authority, Buick is in similar straits with the 2024 Envision. The automaker showcased a range of subtle cosmetic updates and some tech enhancements for the SUV over the summer, providing enough detail to be a little more than a tease, a little less than a debut. At that time, the 2024 Envision was meant to be on sale before the end of this year. Now GMA says the market launch for the 2024 Envision has been pushed back to late 2024 for as-yet-unknown reasons. This timeline marks the third delay. Just one month after the June reveal online, GMA wrote that the original October date for the start of production had been moved to December 11. Dealers began submitting orders at the end of September in anticipation of October production. Sometime after the October deadline passed, a November update claimed production would commence in the first quarter of 2024. We imagine the late 2024 date could move again, perhaps forward; that's a year out, it's possible GM gets good news before then. What's more, GMA also reports the 2024 Envision won't come with Super Cruise. This was going to be the first Buick with GM's hands-off driving feature, but again, for undisclosed reasons, plans have changed.  What we're pretty sure we can expect whenever the refreshed Envision arrives is a new front end with a bigger grille positioned lower on the front fascia, bright trim, and the new Buick emblem on the hood. The headlights are now integrated into the bumper, LED daytime running lights replace the outgoing Envision's headlights. The revamped look brings the Envision in line with other recent additions to the Buick range, like the Encore. Because Buick released a single photo for the summer reveal, we still have no idea what the Envision's back end and interior look like. The change in plans could mean a reworked trim lineup for the holdover. According to early figures from Autodata, the 2024 Envision will only come in three all-wheel-drive trims, Preferred, Sport Touring, and Avenir. This change would eliminate all the front-wheel-drive trims available in 2023 across the Preferred, Essence, and Avenir trims.