Buick Adds All-new 2017 Envision Crossover (from China)

Gorehamj · January 21, 2016

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
1/21/2016

Cars have jumped the shark, and no automaker could be more happy about that than General Motors. GM's car sales have been slowing while its truck, SUV and crossover sales have been going straight up. To date, GM's crossovers, in general, have been true to the old GM formula - sold by weight. GM's offerings in every class are bigger and heavier than the competition. For example, the biggest sales category now is compact crossovers the size of the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. Yet, Chevy enters this mix with the Equinox, which is larger and heavier by far, and which does not come close to matching the fuel economy of these two segment leaders. In the premium compact segment, the leaders are the Audi Q5 and Lexus NX 200t. General Motors has had nothing to sell against these high-volume premium vehicles. Until now. Welcome, the 2017 Buick Envision.

Buick cannot decide on if the Envision is a 2016 model or 2017. On its information page, it calls it both. We do know it will go on sale in the middle of 2016. The Envision will have nearly identical dimensions to the Acura RDX, Audi Q5, and Lincoln MKC. Interestingly, Buick does not list the Lexus NX as a competitor, despite the Lexus having the second most sales in the segment. Could this perhaps mean that a Cadillac version of the Envision is coming soon?

In addition to matching the dimensions of the competitors in the premium compact crossover segment, Buick is also matching the engine specifications almost exactly. Like all the top sellers in the segment, it will use a 2.0-liter turbo with 252 hp. This will mean that the Envision should match the fuel economy of the other competitors, most of whom use premium unleaded fuel. On the Buick specification sheet is mentions the fuel type, saying "Premium recommended, but not required." That alone will save owners about 10% on fuel costs.

If there is any doubt which model Buick is modeling the Envision after let us share a few specifications:

Lexus NX 200t Buick Envision

Length 182.3" 183.7"

Width 73.6" 72.4"

Height 64.8" 66.8"

Weight 4047 lb 4050 lb

Torque 258 ft-lb 260 ft-lb

According to the Detroit News General Motors will import the new Envision from China. This could be why the Envision does not have the same dimensions as any other GM crossover.