Twin to the Chevrolet Trax, the new Envista replaces the very compact Encore as Buick’s least expensive car. It’s considerably larger, with a 140 mm (5.5 inch) longer wheelbase, and is 361 mm (14.2 inches) longer. Buick has effectively abandoned the successful micro-crossover segment the Encore thrived in with the new model.

The Envista is the first production Buick to reflect Buick’s new styling that saw the light of day on the Wildcat concept car that debuted at major auto shows during 2023. The front features very slim headlights which are located above a large, low-mounted grille, flanked by indents in the front fascia that contain fog lights and some small decorative embellishments. The rear end, like the front, features very slim lighting units and very nice detailing. Like many new vehicles, there are no conventional gauges inside but there is a vertically-shallow and wide computer tablet. On premium trims, climate is controlled via a multi-buttoned panel, with lesser trims employing buttons and knobs. The rest of the cabin looks clean, relying more on shape and colour than applied ornamentation. With its size transition from the micro to the compact segment, cabin space has increased significantly, so much so that the Envista is now essentially the same size as the Encore GX, which should eventually make the latter redundant.

Like the related Chevrolet Trax, the new Encore is powered exclusively by a 1.2L turbo triple that is rated at 136 horsepower, 19 less than the 1.4L turbo four that powered the Encore. A very small and complex turbo engine makes sense in jurisdictions where cars are taxed on engine size or CO2 output, but it is a bizarre engine choice for North America. The related 1.3L turbo triple powering the Buick Encore GX is not particularly quick or economical, and also sounds too much like a motorboat to be suitable for what has become a very expensive, luxury vehicle. Power reaches the wheels via a conventional six-speed automatic transmission.

A full active safety suite, including forward collision warning, lane departure, blind spot and rear cross traffic warnings, a lane keeping assist system and active cruise control, is standard.