In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Envision are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Model Y doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Envision. But it costs extra on the Model Y.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Envision’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model Y doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Envision has standard OnStar®, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model Y doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Envision and the Model Y have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and available front parking sensors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Buick Envision is safer than the Tesla Model Y:
|
|
Envision |
Model Y |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Neck Injury Risk |
21.3% |
25% |
| Neck Stress |
195 lbs. |
210 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
25 lbs. |
68 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
153/386 lbs. |
298/427 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Neck Injury Risk |
23.1% |
28% |
| Neck Stress |
111 lbs. |
165 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
61 lbs. |
189 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Buick Envision is safer than the Tesla Model Y:
|
|
Envision |
Model Y |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Abdominal Force |
139 lbs. |
145 lbs. |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
311 |
358 |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
249 |
283 |
| Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
39 G’s |
| Hip Force |
313 lbs. |
682 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

