Built in China and tested in the US of A, the 2017 Buick Envision has managed to score a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
This is actually the first Chinese-built vehicle evaluated by the IIHS as part of their consumer ratings, and it did well, with a ‘good’ overall classification in the five tests, but in order to qualify for the highest award, the SUV needed an ‘advanced’ or ‘superior’ rating for the front crash prevention system.
Available with the Front Automatic Braking as an option on the 2016 and 2017 MY vehicles, and featuring a forward collision component that meets the NHTSA criteria, it successfully avoided a collision in the 12 mph (19 km/h) track test, while in the 25 mph (40 km/h) test, the impact speed was reduced by 9 mph (14 km/h).
The Front Automatic Braking was rated as ‘advanced’, while the Forward Collision Alert, which is standard on all 2016MY cars not equipped with autobrake and optional on 2017MY, received a ‘basic’ rating.
A rival to Acura’s RDX, the Buick Envision carries a base price tag of $42,995 in the States where it takes its power from a 2.0-liter, four-pot turbocharged gasoline engine, developing 252 HP and 260 pound-feet (353 Nm) of torque.
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