The 2025 Buick Envista is making waves as a stylish and affordable small SUV. For prospective buyers, safety is a paramount concern. This review delves into the 2025 Buick Envista safety ratings, providing a comprehensive analysis based on the rigorous crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Understanding these ratings is crucial for anyone considering the Envista as their next vehicle.
Small Overlap Front Crash Test: Driver and Passenger Side
The small overlap front test simulates a challenging real-world scenario where the vehicle impacts a narrow object like a tree or pole on either the driver or passenger side.
Driver-Side Small Overlap Front
The 2025 Buick Envista earned a “Good” rating in the driver-side small overlap front test. This top rating indicates excellent protection for the driver in this type of severe frontal crash. Key findings include:
- Structure and Safety Cage: Rated “Good”, signifying that the Envista’s structure effectively maintained its integrity, protecting the occupant space.
- Driver Injury Measures: All injury measures for the head/neck, chest, hip/thigh, and lower leg/foot were rated “Good”, demonstrating a low risk of significant injuries to the driver in a small overlap frontal crash.
- Driver Restraints and Dummy Kinematics: Also rated “Good”, indicating that the seat belts and airbags worked effectively to control the driver dummy’s movement during the crash, minimizing potential injuries.
Alt text: 2025 Buick Envista driver-side small overlap crash test, showcasing a ‘Good’ rating with minimal cabin intrusion.
Technical measurements further support the “Good” rating, showing minimal intrusion into the driver’s side occupant compartment. For instance, the maximum intrusion at the lower hinge pillar was only 2 cm, and in most other areas, intrusion was 1 cm or less. Injury measures were also very low, with negligible risk indicated across all body regions.
Passenger-Side Small Overlap Front
Mirroring its driver-side performance, the 2025 Buick Envista also achieved a “Good” rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. This ensures a similar high level of protection for the front passenger. The results align closely with the driver-side test, with “Good” ratings across all categories:
- Overall Passenger-Side Evaluation: “Good”
- Structure and Safety Cage: “Good”
- Passenger Injury Measures (Head/Neck, Chest, Hip/Thigh, Lower Leg/Foot): “Good”
- Passenger Restraints and Dummy Kinematics: “Good”
Alt text: Buick Envista 2025 passenger-side small overlap test, demonstrating ‘Good’ safety performance and passenger protection.
However, it’s noteworthy that technical measurements reveal slightly more occupant compartment intrusion on the passenger side compared to the driver side. For example, the lower hinge pillar maximum intrusion was 8 cm on the passenger side versus 2 cm on the driver side. Similarly, footrest intrusion was 6 cm compared to 1 cm. While these intrusions are higher, they are still within acceptable limits to achieve a “Good” rating, and injury measures for the passenger dummy remained low.
Moderate Overlap Front Crash Test: Original and Updated
The moderate overlap front test simulates what happens in a typical head-on collision between two vehicles. The IIHS conducts two versions of this test: the original and an updated version.
Original Moderate Overlap Front Test
In the original moderate overlap front test, the 2025 Buick Envista again demonstrated excellent performance, earning a “Good” overall rating.
- Overall Evaluation: “Good”
- Structure and Safety Cage: “Good”
- Driver Injury Measures (Head/Neck, Chest, Leg/Foot): “Good”
- Driver Restraints and Dummy Kinematics: “Good”
Alt text: 2025 Envista moderate overlap front crash, original test, highlighting ‘Good’ rating and minimal driver compartment intrusion.
The test results indicated minimal intrusion into the driver’s space, and all injury measures were low. Measurements showed footwell intrusion ranging from 3 to 7 cm and minimal rearward movement of the instrument panel and A-pillar. This “Good” rating in the original test confirms strong frontal crash protection for the driver in a moderate overlap scenario.
Updated Moderate Overlap Front Test
The updated moderate overlap front test is more challenging, as it evaluates protection for both front and rear seat occupants. In this more stringent test, the 2025 Buick Envista received a lower “Poor” overall rating. While driver protection remained strong, rear passenger protection was flagged as a concern.
- Overall Evaluation: “Poor”
- Structure and Safety Cage: “Good” (Structure remains strong)
- Driver Injury Measures: “Good” (Driver protection is still excellent)
- Rear Passenger Injury Measures:
- Head/Neck: “Poor”
- Chest: “Marginal”
- Thigh: “Good”
- Rear Passenger Restraints and Dummy Kinematics: “Good”
Alt text: 2025 Buick Envista updated moderate overlap test, ‘Poor’ overall rating due to rear passenger head/neck and chest injury risk.
The “Poor” rating is primarily driven by the rear passenger injury measures, specifically for the head/neck and chest. While the structure held up well and driver protection was maintained, the rear passenger dummy experienced higher injury risks in this test. Technical measurements indicated a concerning neck tension of 3.7 kN and a chest index of 37 for the rear passenger. This “Poor” rating in the updated moderate overlap test is an important consideration for families who frequently have rear passengers.
Side Crash Test: Updated Version
The side crash test simulates a side impact from another vehicle. The IIHS updated its side crash test to be more demanding. In this updated side crash test, the 2025 Buick Envista earned an “Acceptable” overall rating.
- Overall Evaluation: “Acceptable”
- Structure and Safety Cage: “Acceptable”
- Driver Injury Measures:
- Head/Neck: “Good”
- Torso: “Acceptable”
- Pelvis: “Marginal”
- Driver Head Protection: “Acceptable”
- Rear Passenger Injury Measures:
- Head/Neck: “Good”
- Torso: “Acceptable”
- Pelvis: “Good”
- Rear Passenger Head Protection: “Good”
Alt text: 2025 Envista side crash test, ‘Acceptable’ rating, highlighting mixed driver and rear passenger protection levels.
While the Envista provided “Good” protection for the head and neck for both driver and rear passenger, torso protection was “Acceptable” for both, and pelvis protection was “Marginal” for the driver. The B-pillar intrusion measurement was -15.5 cm, indicating that the structural crush stopped short of the driver’s seat centerline, which is a positive aspect. However, the “Marginal” pelvis protection for the driver contributed to the “Acceptable” overall rating.
Headlight Rating
Headlight performance is a critical safety feature, especially for nighttime driving. The 2025 Buick Envista’s headlights received a “Marginal” overall rating from the IIHS. This rating applies to all trim levels, as they all use the same LED projector headlights.
- Overall Rating: “Marginal”
- Low-beam headlight type: LED projector
- High-beam headlight type: LED projector
- Curve-adaptive?: No
- High-beam assist?: Yes
Alt text: 2025 Buick Envista headlight performance, ‘Marginal’ rating indicating areas for improvement in illumination distance and curve visibility.
The low beams were rated as fair on the left side of the road straightaway but inadequate on the right. On curves, visibility ranged from good to inadequate depending on the curve type. High beams were generally rated as inadequate on straightaways and fair to inadequate on curves. While the Envista has high-beam assist, which compensates for some low-beam limitations, the “Marginal” headlight rating suggests that nighttime visibility could be better compared to vehicles with “Good” or “Acceptable” headlight ratings.
Conclusion: 2025 Buick Envista Safety Performance
The 2025 Buick Envista demonstrates a mixed safety performance based on IIHS crash tests. It excels in small overlap and original moderate overlap frontal crash tests, providing “Good” protection for front occupants. However, the “Poor” rating in the updated moderate overlap test, primarily due to rear passenger safety concerns, and the “Acceptable” rating in the updated side crash test are points to consider. The “Marginal” headlight rating is another area where improvements could be made.
For those prioritizing driver and front passenger safety in typical frontal and severe small overlap crashes, the Envista performs well. However, families who regularly transport rear passengers should carefully weigh the “Poor” rear passenger protection rating in the updated moderate overlap test. Similarly, the “Acceptable” side crash rating and “Marginal” headlight rating suggest that while the Envista offers a certain level of safety, there are areas where it falls short compared to top safety performers in the small SUV class. Prospective buyers should consider these 2025 Buick Envista Reviews and safety ratings in their decision-making process.
