2016 Buick Envision Starts Around $43,000
CARS.COM — Buick’s new two-row SUV will go on sale in June but only the top trim levels will be available. The all-wheel-drive 2016 Buick Envision in Premium and Premium II trims will start at $42,995 and $45,635, respectively (all prices include destination).
Related: 2016 Buick Envision Video
This fall, the model-year 2017 version of the premium SUV will go on sale with a starting price of $36,795 — more in line with its size and place in the lineup between the subcompact Encore and three-row Enclave. Come October, the 2017 Envision will have five trim levels: base, Preferred, Essence, Premium and Premium II. Front-wheel drive is standard, with all-wheel drive optional.
The 2016 models will be well-equipped. Both versions come with a 252-horsepower, turbocharged four-cylinder and will include power front seats, seat heaters for both rows, leather upholstery, tri-zone automatic climate control and an 8-inch multimedia system with a backup camera. A pile of standard technology includes blind spot warning, lane departure warning with lane-keeping steering and a forward collision warning system, though automatic emergency braking comes only with adaptive cruise control, which is optional on the Premium II.
The Premium II also adds cooled front seats, adaptive headlights, a head-up display, automatic parking assist and a navigation system. Other options include a panoramic moonroof, surround-view cameras, and the adaptive cruise control and auto-braking. Check all the boxes, and the 2016 Envision tops out in the low $50,000s — still well below the stratosphere a Lexus RX 350 or Lincoln MKX can reach.
The 2017 Envision will start much cheaper. The front-drive base model begins at $36,795, a price that downgrades to a normally aspirated four-cylinder engine with 197 hp, but it still has heated and power front seats, leatherette-and-cloth upholstery, a power tailgate and dual-zone automatic climate control. You still can get the turbo four-cylinder and all those other options if you climb up the 2017 trims.
Technophiles may want to wait for 2017, as all trim levels will add a faster multimedia system (still with an 8-inch screen) that incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Note that if you buy a 2016 Envision, you can’t upgrade: Its multimedia system, which already is in production, has older hardware that lacks the processing and touch-screen speed to support CarPlay and Android Auto, Buick spokesman Stuart Fowle told us.
