Buick Envision S vs. Volkswagen Explorer： Can 1.5T Really Win Over 2.0T After Hardcore Testing？

Nowadays, many car companies like to match different engine power levels according to different vehicle configurations. For example, BMW’s 2.0T is divided into three grades from 18, 20 to 28i, while Volkswagen’s 2.0T EA888 also likes to adjust different power levels to distinguish between different price points. This is the familiar 330TSI and 380TSI.

So who is more powerful between the 2.0T engine with reduced power of the 330TSI and the 1.5T turbocharged engine of the "full blood version"? In order to find out, we compare two mid-size SUVs of the same class and price this time – the new Envision S 1.5T and the Tanyue 330TSI. In the face of a series of hard core tests, which one performs more comprehensively?

The biggest difference between this new Envision S and the old model is the replacement of the Buick Avatar 1.5T engine. Although the price is similar to the Tanyue 2.0T low-power 330TSI model, from the parameter point of view, the Envision S weighs 1710kg, and the new 1.5T engine outputs 155kW power and 270Nm torque, with a general-purpose 9AT gearbox. The weight of Tanyue’s car is less than 1700kg, and the parameters of the low-power 2.0T are 137kW and 320Nm, which match the familiar DSG gearbox.

One has more power and one has more torque.

Of course, since you want to compare the two engines, you must compare them in multiple dimensions. After all, this can better reflect the hard indicators than the technical parameters.

The dimensions involved in this review include the following aspects:

100 km acceleration

● 100 kilometers braking

● Control stability

● NVH

● Fuel consumption

Driving on mountain roads

From the perspective of daily driving experience, because the new Envision S is equipped with an efficient 48V light hybrid system. Although the improvement of light mixing to power will not be too obvious, it can achieve smoother driving at medium and low speeds, and the quality of start and stop has also been greatly improved. The sense of intervention is very slight, so this STT does not need to be turned off at all during daily driving, and it is no longer a tasteless function.

The powertrain of the EA888 + DSG on Tanyue is more familiar to everyone. In fact, the Volkswagen models are very balanced in driving experience, and there will be no obvious problems. However, compared with the Avatar 1.5T + 48V combination of the Envision S, the start-stop quality of Tanyue is much worse, with large or small jitter every time.

However, the DSG transmission is still very smart. It is very easy to follow the car when driving in the urban area. It can match you with the correct gear and power output every time, and the quality of the upshift and downshift is also good. However, everyone knows that the double clutch is not good.

The driving experience of the chassis, I personally think Buick is better. In urban areas, you will often encounter some manhole covers, speed bumps, and damaged roads crushed by trucks. The Envision S can handle these shocks very well, without obvious aftershocks, and is well isolated from the sound of the impact. The sense of advanced is very good.

Although Tanyue was a Volkswagen product, its driving texture did not resemble the chassis performance of a serious European car. Under some undulating roads, the front and rear attenuation balance of Tanyue was relatively poor, and the pitch was obvious. In addition, when encountering some large impacts, Tanyue’s impact was suppressed relatively poorly, and the sound was too loud. At the same time, you could hear the resonance sound of the frame metal, and you felt that the car’s sense of precision and advanced were relatively poor.

Buick’s interior materials have always been very advantageous in the same level, Envision S is no exception, the NVH of the whole vehicle is very good, the sound insulation and quiet performance are completely worthy of this price, the front row is still double laminated glass, so when driving at high speed, in addition to the obvious wind resistance behind the B pillar, the rest like road noise and fetal noise are suppressed better.

Tan Yue’s road noise and fetal noise are slightly larger, and the wind resistance is generally controlled, and obvious wind noise can be heard above 100kph near the A pillar. At the same time, when the vehicle is driving under continuous vibration road surface and large particle asphalt road surface, the vibration and sound of the vehicle are more obvious, and the sound insulation performance of the chassis is poor. Rumbling road noise can often accompany driving.

Regarding fuel consumption, we can’t help but reveal that in the end, we traveled a total of nearly 117 kilometers throughout the day, including urban areas, national highways, highways, and mountain roads. In the end, the Envision S showed fuel consumption of 8.1L/100km, and the Tanyue 330TSI was 8.3L/100km.

And according to the final refueling situation, the actual fuel consumption is calculated, the Envision S is 8.13L/100km, and the Tanyue is 8.33L/100km. The appearance and actual fuel consumption performance of the two cars are very accurate, and the overall fuel consumption difference is not particularly large. Another difference to note is that the Tanyue 330TSI needs to add 95 #gasoline, while the Envision S only needs to add 92 #to eat coarse grains.

Driver’s summary:

Overall, the two cars have similar price and volume, and they are both models with good product power in this class. However, after switching to the Avatar 1.5T engine, the Envision S has a stronger driving texture, better handling experience, and better NVH performance than the Tanyue, and the economy is also better. As a Volkswagen brand product, I personally think that although the comprehensive product power is still very good, at least in the powertrain part, the 2.0T engine is placed in front of the Buick 1.5T engine, and the overall performance gap is regrettable.

Text | MOK