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10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Buick Envista Keeps Kia Sportage at a Safe Distance

buick envista 2024 exterior dynamic red 52 scaled jpg 2024 Buick Envista | Cars.com photo by Steven Pham

The 2024 Buick Envista is the latest addition to the SUV lineup of GM’s premium brand, offering room for five, swoopy exterior styling and hatchback handiness in a subcompact package. And while the Envista invited some positive feedback from our reviewers, the latest doesn’t exclusively mean the greatest — and there are indeed some things we liked better than others. In one of Cars.com’s most popular news stories of the past week, we give small SUV shoppers a rapid-fire rundown on the Envista’s assets and liabilities.

Related: 10 Biggest News Stories of the Month: Toyotas on Top as Camry, Grand Highlander, Prius Pop

To the Envista’s credit are good outward visibility courtesy of its low beltline and high seating position; surprisingly good headroom and legroom for such a small vehicle; well-calibrated acceleration (also surprisingly) from its 137-horsepower, turbocharged 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine; a quiet, well-controlled driving experience; and affordable pricing starting around $23,000 and topping out at about $31,000. To its detriment are unimpressive infotainment displays; some cheap-looking plastic undermining cabin quality; and no all-wheel-drive option (a Cars.com prerequisite to earn full SUV credentials).

For further details on the pros and cons of the 2024 Buick Envista, follow the link below to the No. 2 news story of the week.

In other small SUV news, the compact Kia Sportage made a crashworthiness comeback with the 2024 model earning the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s highest honor, Top Safety Pick+. The redesigned-for-2023 Sportage managed only a Top Safety Pick, but improvements to the 2024 version’s structure to improve side impact performance put it over the top for the new model year.

For the full details on the 2024 Kia Sportage’s newly earned Top Safety Pick+ rating — including how it needed to score in each evaluation in order to earn the honor — follow the link below to the No. 4 news story on this week’s countdown of most-read articles.

Beyond that, we’ve got headlines on the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Toyota Tacoma, BMW X5 plug-in hybrid, Lexus RX 450h+ and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:

1. 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Disappoints in IIHS Crash-Testing

2. Is the 2024 Buick Envista a Good SUV? 5 Pros, 4 Cons

3. Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy

4. 2024 Kia Sportage Receives Top Safety Award

5. 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI, Golf R: Last Call for a Manual

6. Is the 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport a Good Luxury SUV? 5 Pros and 5 Cons

7. 2024 Toyota Tacoma Review: The Tastier Taco You’ve Been Demanding for Years

8. 2024 BMW X5 Plug-In Hybrid EV Range: How Far Can It Go on Electricity Alone?

9. Electric Cars With the Longest Range

10. 2024 Lexus RX 450h+ PHEV Quick Spin: When You’re Not Ready for a Full EV

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.

Matt Schmitz
Former Assistant Managing Editor-News Matt Schmitz is a veteran Chicago journalist indulging his curiosity for all things auto while helping to inform car shoppers.
Email Matt Schmitz

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