Compare the2024 Hyundai KonaVS 2024 Buick Envista

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Kona have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Buick Envista doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Kona are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Buick Envista doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The Kona offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Envista doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The Kona Limited has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Envista only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Kona has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Buick charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Envista and the Envista’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

The Kona’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Envista doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Kona and the Envista have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.

The Hyundai Kona has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Envista has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

The Kona comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Envista’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Kona 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Buick covers the Envista. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Envista ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Kona’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Envista’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kona for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Buick doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Envista.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Kona’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Envista’s camshafts. If the Envista’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Kona has a standard 150-amp alternator. The Envista’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Buick vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 1 place higher in reliability than Buick.

The Kona SE/SEL’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 10 more horsepower (147 vs. 137) than the Envista’s 1.2 turbo 3-cylinder. The Kona N Line/Limited’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 53 more horsepower (190 vs. 137) and 33 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 162) than the Envista’s 1.2 turbo 3-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kona N Line/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Buick Envista:

On the EPA test cycle the Kona gets better mileage than the Envista:

For more complete vehicle control the Kona offers optional Shiftronic, with the available convenience of an automatic transmission and the complete gear control of a manual transmission without the inconvenience of a clutch. Shiftronic allows the driver to eliminate unwanted shifts and maximize engine braking by down shifting while cornering. The Envista doesn’t offer a transmission that allows complete gear control.

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Hyundai Kona N Line/Limited, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Envista.

The Kona SE/SEL has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Envista doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better stopping power the Kona AWD/SEL/1.6T’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Envista:

The Kona stops shorter than the Envista:

For superior ride and handling, the Kona AWD has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Buick Envista has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Kona is 1.2 inches wider in the front and 1.4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Envista.

The Kona Limited AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Envista Sport Touring pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Kona Limited AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the Envista Sport Touring (27.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.5 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Kona’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Envista’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet). The Kona’s turning circle is 3.6 feet tighter than the Envista 19” Wheels’ (34.8 feet vs. 38.4 feet).

The Kona is 11.3 inches shorter than the Envista, making the Kona easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Kona has 3.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Envista (101.2 vs. 97.5).

The Kona has .5 inches more front headroom, 2 inches more front hip room, .8 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear headroom, 6.6 inches more rear hip room and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Envista.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Kona’s rear seats recline. The Envista’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Kona has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Envista with its rear seat up (25.5 vs. 20.7 cubic feet). The Kona has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Envista with its rear seat folded (63.7 vs. 42 cubic feet).

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Kona’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Envista doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Kona’s optional front power windows both open or close with one touch of the switches. The Envista’s power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

The Kona’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Pushbutton Start standard on the Envista only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Kona has a standard rear wiper. The Envista doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Kona Limited keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Envista doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Kona SEL/N Line/Limited’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Envista doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the Kona and the Envista offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Kona SEL/N Line/Limited has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Envista doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Kona (except SE)’s available GPS navigation system has a real-time traffic update feature that plots alternative routes to automatically bypass traffic problems. (Service not available in all areas.) The Envista’s available navigation system doesn’t offer real-time traffic updates.

The Kona Limited’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Envista doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Kona outsold the Buick Envista by almost six to one during 2023.