2024 Buick Envista vs 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The 2024 Buick Envista, while sharing its platform with the Chevy Trax, took a distinct styling path. Its sloping roofline gave it a "crossover coupe" appearance, reminiscent of more upscale models like the BMW X2, X4, and X6. Although a more traditional roofline might have enhanced rear visibility, the design was deemed acceptable. The Envista's front-end styling, inspired by the Buick Wildcat EV concept, featured a split lighting design with thin daytime running lights above and real headlights positioned vertically beside the grille. This sleek design was a first for Buick, setting the Envista apart from its siblings, the Envision and Encore GX, which adopted similar styling in their mid-cycle refreshes. The ST grade boasted black exterior trim and 18-inch wheels, while the top-tier Avenir featured bright trim and standard 19-inch wheels. Inside, the Envista's cabin, though similar to the Trax, offered a more streamlined look with softer materials, albeit with a somewhat artificial texture. The interior was a step up from the Trax, aligning with its entry-level status.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport emphasized its sporty SUV identity within the Range Rover family. Its taller stance, shorter wheelbase, and chopped top contributed to a more athletic appearance compared to the traditional Range Rover. Large front air intakes and faux vents enhanced its sporty look, though from certain angles, it appeared a bit too tall and narrow. The SV Edition Two, the highest-performance model, featured 23-inch carbon-fibre wheels and a carbon-fibre hood. Despite its subtle exterior, the interior was adorned with red leather upholstery, sport seats with illuminated inserts, and a minimalist dashboard interrupted only by a touchscreen, shifter, and start button. The high console, dash, and door panels created a cockpit-like feel, though it made the front seats feel slightly cramped. Material quality met luxury standards, but the use of reflective piano black plastic was excessive.

The 2024 Buick Envista was powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine, producing 137 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque, paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. This powertrain, shared with the Trax, delivered a refined performance, offering smooth power delivery akin to a larger engine. Unlike its predecessor, the Buick Encore, the Envista did not offer an all-wheel-drive option, distinguishing it from the Encore GX. The base models featured a torsion-beam rear suspension, while models with 19-inch wheels had a Buick-exclusive Watts Link rear suspension, enhancing ride quality. The front suspension was a MacPherson strut setup with Buick-specific tuning for a quieter ride. On test routes, the Envista handled bumps well but felt unsettled on imperfect straightaways. Despite this, it accelerated with urgency and offered a quieter, more comfortable ride than the Trax.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered multiple powertrain options, all with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive. The base Dynamic SE model featured a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six engine with 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. A plug-in hybrid variant increased output to 454 hp and 487 lb-ft. The Autobiography model offered a more powerful plug-in hybrid with 543 hp and 590 lb-ft. A BMW-sourced twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8, producing 523 hp and 553 lb-ft, was available for Dynamic SE and Autobiography models. The SV Edition Two used the same V8, tuned to 626 hp, making it the most powerful Range Rover ever. It accelerated from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, with a top speed of 290 km/h. The Range Rover Sport excelled in handling, with sport-tuned air suspension, four-wheel steering, and brake-based torque vectoring. It maintained a luxurious ride and offered impressive off-road capabilities with its Terrain Response system and adjustable air suspension.

The 2024 Buick Envista, 36 cm longer than the outgoing Encore, featured a 14.5 cm wheelbase stretch, enhancing its fashion-forward design and interior space. Rear-seat legroom increased by 7.6 cm, and shoulder room grew by 5 cm, creating a more spacious feel. However, headroom decreased slightly, especially in the second row, due to the coupe-like roofline. The seats were comfortable for the price point, and a power moonroof was optional on Sport Touring and standard on Avenir. The Envista's car-like design offered good visibility and maneuverability, but cargo space was limited. With 586 litres behind the rear seats and 1,189 litres with them folded, it offered less space than the Trax and other competitors.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, positioned between the Velar and full-size Range Rover, offered more room than the Velar while remaining a midsize SUV. It was a two-row, five-seater, with front-seat headroom comparable to other midsize luxury SUVs. Rear-seat headroom was slightly less than competitors, but reclining rear seats and 20-way power-adjustable front seats provided comfort. The Sport offered 835 litres of cargo space behind the second row and 1,860 litres with the seats folded. While lacking a split tailgate, power operation and an "access height" setting facilitated loading. The Sport's towing capacity was 3,500 kg for turbo-six and V8 models, and 3,000 kg for plug-in hybrids, surpassing some rivals.

The 2024 Buick Envista featured an 11-inch touchscreen and 8-inch digital instrument cluster as standard, along with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, and Wi-Fi connectivity. The user interface was similar to the Trax, with easy-to-use controls, though the centre stack's tilt made it less accessible for passengers. While lacking advanced tech options like a head-up display, the Envista offered a commendable amount of features for its price range, including a digital instrument cluster not typically found in entry-level crossovers.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport shared its screen setup with the larger Range Rover, featuring a 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.1-inch touchscreen for infotainment. Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa integration were standard. The screens looked impressive, but the minimalist design limited physical controls, requiring screen widgets for functions like climate control. Steering wheel controls offered limited alternatives, but the Pivi Pro infotainment system was responsive, with natural-language voice recognition. The SV Edition Two featured "Body and Soul Seats" with embedded transducers, providing a unique, albeit slightly gimmicky, experience.

The 2024 Buick Envista's crash-test ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were unavailable at the time of publication. Standard driver-assist features included automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane-keep assist, and lane-departure warning. In Canada, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and rear park assist were also standard, aligning with typical offerings for its price range.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport included standard driver-assist features such as automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and blind-spot monitoring. A 360-degree camera system and digital rearview mirror aided parking, though parking sensors were overly sensitive. Safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available for the current-generation model.