Compare the2024 Hyundai TucsonVS 2024 Buick Envista

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Tucson have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Buick Envista doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Tucson 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Tucson Limited has standard Reverse Collision-Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Envista doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

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

The Tucson Limited has a standard Around 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 Tucson 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 Tucson’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 Tucson 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 Tucson achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Envista has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

The Tucson 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 Tucson 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 Tucson’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 Tucson 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 Tucson’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 Tucson 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 Tucson’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 50 more horsepower (187 vs. 137) and 16 lbs.-ft. more torque (178 vs. 162) than the Envista’s 1.2 turbo 3-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Tucson is faster than the Buick Envista:

The Tucson has 1.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Envista (14.3 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For more complete vehicle control the Tucson has a manually controlled automatic, with the available convenience of an automatic transmission and the complete gear control of a manual transmission without the inconvenience of a clutch. A manually controlled automatic 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 Tucson, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Envista.

For better stopping power the Tucson’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Envista:

The Tucson stops shorter than the Envista:

For better traction, the Tucson has larger tires than the Envista (235/65R17 vs. 225/60R17).

For superior ride and handling, the Hyundai Tucson 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 rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Tucson’s wheelbase is 2.5 inches longer than on the Envista (108.5 inches vs. 106 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Tucson is 2.4 inches wider in the front and 2.4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Envista.

The Tucson Limited AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Envista Sport Touring pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Tucson Limited AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Envista Sport Touring (27.4 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.5 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Tucson has 10.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Envista (108.2 vs. 97.5).

The Tucson has .7 inches more front headroom, 2.2 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, 2.2 inches more rear headroom, 2.6 inches more rear legroom, 8.1 inches more rear hip room and 1.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Envista.

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

The Tucson has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Envista with its rear seat up (38.7 vs. 20.7 cubic feet). The Tucson has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Envista with its rear seat folded (74.8 vs. 42 cubic feet).

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Tucson’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 Tucson has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The Envista has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Tucson uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Envista doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

When two different drivers share the Tucson Limited, the memory seats make it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position. The Envista doesn’t offer memory seats.

The Tucson SEL/XRT/Limited’s 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.

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

Both the Tucson and the Envista offer available heated front seats. The Tucson Limited also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Envista.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Tucson 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 Tucson SEL/XRT/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 Tucson and the Envista offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Tucson SEL/XRT/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 Tucson (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 Tucson Limited’s Remote Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Park 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.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Tucson, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Hyundai Tucson outsold the Buick Envista by almost 16 to one during 2023.