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Refreshed 2019 Buick Envision gets sharper edges, optional nine-speed transmission

After 18 months on the market in the United States, the Buick Envision took its place as the third-best-selling vehicle among Buick's eight models, slotting in behind the Encore and Enclave. January sales this year jumped 13.7-percent year-over-year, just a few hundred behind the Enclave. Now, the Chinese-made compact SUV gets a modest makeover, but buyers of the 2019 Buick Envision will need to reach up into the upper trims to access the best of what's new. The big mechanical upgrade comes with the option of GM's Hydra-Matic 9T50 nine-speed automatic instead of standard the six-speed. However, that appears to be limited to just two of the five available Envision trims: Premium I and Premium II. The base, Preferred, and Essence models stick with the six-speed only. Design changes center around the front and rear fascias. The grille motif switches to a be-winged Buick emblem - in tri-color spec, not monochrome - over the previous waterfall, matching that of the sibling crossovers. The lower front fascia gets redrawn, with the fog lights at the edges now sitting in square recesses with reworked chrome trim and sharper edges on the bumper. Premium trims move up from HID projectors to bi-LED headlights, while the other three trims shed their composite halogens for HID lights. According to the 2019 order guide, Ebony seats with Dark Plum interior accents leave the menu, replaced by Dark Galvanized leather seats with Ebony trim. White interior lighting will illuminate the instrument panel and door trim, replacing Ice Blue, and comfort/convenience tweaks come in the form of wireless phone charging, an cabin air ionizer and a button to shut off the stop-start system. The latter would be a noteworthy upgrade as it's been a common complaint logged against so-equipped GM vehicles. In back, design elements get sharper edges, and the taillights switch to slimmer LED units. Designers have hidden the single exhaust outlet on the lower three trims with the base, 197-horsepower 2.5-liter engine. It appears that choosing the optional, 252-hp 2.0-liter engine will be identified by dual rectangular exhaust finishers instead of the round tips of previous years. Exterior colors hold steady at six, but Midnight Amethyst Metallic gives way to Satin Steel Gray Metallic, and the current 19-inch wheels get replaced with two new designs. The 2019 Buick Envision has already gone on sale in China, and should reach U.S. dealers in April. Related Video:

Buick Encore, Chevy Trax earn Top Safety Pick from IIHS [w/video]

The Buick Encore has been a massive sales success practically from the moment it debuted, and Buick recently decided to increase production to keep up with demand for the premium compact crossover. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently put one to the test again, and the Encore earned a Top Safety Pick award. It's the first model from the brand to score the nod since 2013, according to the IIHS, and the rating also carries over to the 2015 Chevrolet Trax. The 2015 Encore scored a Good rating in all of the IIHS' evaluations, including the 40-mile-per-hour, small overlap front crash test. That was a big improvement over the previous model the institute tested, which scored a Poor result in the overlap test. In the first test, about 13 inches of the lower door hinge pillar came into the passenger compartment, and the steering wheel airbag moved too far to protect the dummy's head. Improvements for the latest model year showed six inches of intrusion this time, and the airbags caught the dummy's head well. The dummy's sensors also indicated a low risk of injury. The two CUVs missed out on the full Top Safety Pick+ because the IIHS scored the Encore as only having a basic front crash prevention system, and there was no such equipment for the Trax. To earn the highest mark, models need at least an advanced rating by the institute for this technology. Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax earn 2015 TOP SAFETY PICK award ARLINGTON, Va. - A small SUV is the first vehicle from the Buick brand to qualify for a TOP SAFETY PICK award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety since 2013. The Buick Encore's newly introduced, lower-priced twin, the Chevrolet Trax, also qualifies for the honor. The Encore's award follows improvements to the SUV's structure for better small overlap front protection. The 2015 model earns a good rating in the small overlap test. In contrast, the 2013-14 Encore rated poor in the test. The driver's space was seriously compromised with intrusion measuring as much as 13 inches at the lower door hinge pillar. The dummy's head barely contacted the front airbag before sliding off the left side, as the steering column moved to the right. The side curtain airbag deployed too late and didn't have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head. In the latest test, the driver space was maintained reasonably well, with maximum intrusion of 6 inches at the door hinge pillar and instrument panel. The dummy's movement was well-controlled.

2018 Buick Enclave: How engineers made it larger, lighter, more sophisticated

Buick used the unveiling of the 2018 Enclave at the New York Auto Show to introduce its new range-topping Avenir sub-brand to the world. With fancier interior finishes and exterior details, it's Buick's latest effort to make itself a proper luxury brand (or perhaps re-establish itself as such). However, lost in the Avenir song and dance is the fact that the 2018 Buick Enclave is a (very) long-awaited all-new model regardless of the trim level one selects. Like the Chevrolet Traverse upon which it is based, the new Enclave is bigger than the vehicle it replaces but considerably lighter, by about 400 pounds. "We told every engineer, 'get your job done, but then take the weight out,'" said engineer Rick Spina as we hovered next to his larger yet lighter creation. His team therefore set about taking a little bit of weight out from just about everywhere, from using additional aluminum in the suspension to varying the thickness of the frame (thicker in places that needed to be stronger, thinner and therefore lighter in places that didn't). Only about 100 pounds came out of the body with the rest coming from elsewhere. Not only will the reduced weight improve fuel economy (Buick-estimated at 19 mpg combined with FWD versus 18 for the 2017 model) and presumably the old Enclave's rather ponderous handling, but it should only make things easier for the new powertrain: General Motors' now-familiar 3.6-liter V6 and its latest nine-speed automatic. With 302 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, Buick says the new engine will need 7.2 seconds to reach 60 mph with FWD or 7.5 seconds with AWD. That's a second quicker than before. Besides acceleration, towing is also bumped up by 500 pounds to 5,000. For those models with all-wheel drive, the Enclave has the same basic system featured on range-topping versions of the Buick LaCrosse. Besides power being sent front and rear, it can also differ from right to left in the back, although Spina is quick to point out that capability is for traction-enhancing purposes rather than sporty, handling-enhancing torque-vectoring ones. Buick owners already appreciated the Enclave for its quietness so the engineers decided to take it that much further. This included altering the exhaust, improving body sealing (there are triple door seals), including active sound deadening and utilizing advanced materials that absorb sound as opposed to simply being thick, dense and heavy enough to keep it out.