The Buick Envision compact crossover recently launched on the Chinese market will reportedly arrive in the United States in the third quarter of 2015.
The plans were disclosed by an industry insider with knowledge of the matter, who also said the SUV will be available with mild hybrid technology. Measuring 4,667mm (183.7in) in length, the Buick Envision is larger than the Buick Encore but smaller than the Enclave.
The Envision’s mild hybrid system turns the engine off when the car is coasting, braking or stopped, then quickly restarts it when the accelerator is depressed. The Buick Envision debuted in China on August 1, but General Motors has not confirmed whether the crossover will be available in the US as well.
“We can’t confirm anything, but clearly it is a very nicely designed and executed product that is very much a Buick,” Duncan Aldred, vice president of Buick-GMC sales, told Edmunds. For now, that’s as close as one gets to an official confirmation, as the executive added that the Envision would fit into “a big segment in the US.”
Aldred acknowledged that the company is currently looking at the possibility of bringing the Envision to the US market. If it arrives in the United States, the Envision should be offered with front- and all-wheel drive versions, while power would come from a four-cylinder engine.
In China, the Envision is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder producing 256hp and 353Nm (260lb-ft) of torque, mated to a 6-speed automatic and an electronically controlled AWD system. The engine allows the Envision to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds, with a combined fuel consumption of 8.8 l/100 km (26.7 mpg US).
The Buick Envision would land in a very competitive segment, populated by SUVs like the Acura RDX, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Lexus NX, Lincoln MKC and Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class, to name only the most significant competitors.
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