When General Motors announced that the Buick Envision will be exclusively manufactured in China by SAIC GM, a helluva lot of people expressed outrage due to the vehicle’s origin. Be that as it may, U.S. sales of the Envision have proved them wrong.
In August 2016, for example, the 2016 Buick Envision moved 1,531 units in the United States. That’s not nearly as much as the Encore, which sold 5,843 units, but still, lest we forget the Encore starts at $24,065. The model year 2016 Envision, which is classified as a mid-size crossover, is $42,070.
But even though sales are good and prospective buyers finally got over the China-built stigma, there’s something wrong that hampers down the Buick model’s appeal. As you can see in the featured pic and video, the IIHS small overlap test reveals how little protection offer the driver’s restraints offer.
Despite the fact the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded the Buick Envision the much-coveted Top Safety Pick+ rating, the truth of the matter is the Envision doesn’t deserve it. Here’s a very telling excerpt from the IIHS:
“The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward structure. Additionally, the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy’s head and torso to the extent the head hit the steering wheel rim. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects.”
Due to the injuries the driver could sustain in such a scenario, the IIHS rated the Envision’s restraints and dummy kinematics “acceptable.” Everything else, including the safety cage's resistance and roof's strength, were rated “good.”
When the Envision is equipped with the optional front automatic braking feature and optional Driver Confidence Package, the mid-size luxury crossover is rated 4 out of a possible total of 6 points. That’s because impact speed was reduced by 9 mph in the 25 mph high-speed autobrake test. By comparison, the 2017 Cadillac XT5 reduced it by 24 mph, hence the 2-point difference.
These results apply for both the 2016 and 2017 model years of the Buick Envision, which are priced from $42,070 and $34,065, respectively.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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