The SUV market in America is booming, and automakers are giving customers a lot of options. Buick has many horses in this race, as it offers great SUVs such as the more compact Encore or the larger Enclave. In between these two SUVs, though, is the Buick Envision, but don’t be fooled by its good looks.

The Buick Envision seems good at first

Consumer Reports’ initial perception of the Buick Envision was mostly positive. It looks good from both the outside and on the inside, and its numbers are also pretty decent too. As Consumer Reports said, every Envision comes standard with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that’s not only good but also very easy to use. 

Additionally, Buick offers two engines in the Envision – a standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder that gets 197 hp and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that gets 252 hp. While all-wheel drive is an option for the standard engine, Consumer Reports says that the upgraded engine only comes with all-wheel drive, which is a great thing for owners to have. 

Consumer Reports said that the 2020 Envision’s engines are powerful enough, and its fuel economy of 14 mpg in the city, 31 mpg on highways, and 21 mpg combined is decent as well. However, after driving the Buick Envision around for a while, Consumer Reports found that the Envision’s looks are deceiving.

The Buick Envision just isn’t that comfortable

Consumer Reports says that ride comfort, as well as seat comfort, aren’t that great on the 2020 Buick Envision. The front seats are fancy and spacious, and they even come with an eight-way power adjusting capability. But Consumer Reports says that the actual seats themselves just don’t do enough to support a person throughout their ride.

Not only that, but Consumer Reports said that the suspension system of the Envision was not great. Whenever the Envision went over a bumpy road, Consumer Reports thought that the suspension system didn’t do enough to reduce those impacts. Indeed, Consumer Reports even said that this issue could cause a lot of nausea for the driver and their passengers. 

Additionally, while Consumer Reports said that the Envision has a nice interior, Consumer Reports followed that statement by saying that the Envision’s interior is more similar to a non-luxury SUV than the luxury SUVs that it’s competing with. Essentially, the way that everything is placed and designed makes it look more like a slightly fancy SUV than an actual luxury SUV, to begin with.

It’s just not worth it

Another issue that Consumer Reports had with the 2020 Buick Envision was its value as a car. Consumer Reports said that the latest Envision starts at $32,000, and its price tag can increase to $43,600 with the most expensive trims and options. However, you don’t get too much for the price you’re paying for it.

For example, the Buick Envision doesn’t come with much standard smart safety features. Neither forward-collision warning nor automatic emergency braking is standard on the Envision. They are available, but you’ll have to pay a lot of money to get access to those safety technologies. Many other SUVs in its class, such as the Lexus NX, come with those smart safety features as standard.

The 2020 Buick Envision had other flaws that Consumer Reports found worth mentioning too. For example, it doesn’t really handle too well, which makes driving it less fun than it could be. That said, it’s not a terrible car. Consumer Reports gave it an overall score of 65 out of 100, which makes it the 10th-best SUV in its class. There are definitely better cars out there, though, such as the Porsche Macan or the BMW X3.