Buick has finally pulled the covers off
the GL8 Avenir, a China-only luxury MPV poised to take on the Toyota
Alphard-based Lexus LM. Like its Japanese rival, it’s available as a
seven-seater and as an ultra-luxurious four-seater, but the Avenir adds a
halfway-house six-seater option with two rows of captain’s chair seats.
As expected, the car is very similar to
last year’s concept, with some of the chrome trim slightly dialled down for
production. You still get a fairly ordinary MPV body, festooned with a large
diamond-cut grille (complete with a chrome surround that almost bisects the
sweptback matrix LED headlights), twin shoulder lines leading towards the
L-shaped tail lights, and arching side windows.
Inside, the Avenir features a sweeping
dashboard with a large display panel bearing twin 12.3-inch displays for the
instruments and infotainment, along with a low stowage console with the
gearlever instead being placed high on the dash itself. The seats are
upholstered in leather with “custom perforation”, and you also get picnic
tables with the six-seater version.
But it’s the four-seater model that really
impresses with its business class-style rear seats and armrest consoles (with
their own built-in displays) and brogued leather. The Avenir also comes with
the latest eConnect 3.0 infotainment and connectivity services, and gets 100 GB
of OnStar 4G LTE data as standard every month.
It’s also the first Buick to come with the
company’s advanced driver assistance systems, including adaptive cruise control
with stop and go and lane centring assist. Other features include exterior
projection lighting, a head-up display, 10-point massage seats and an ambient
lighting system with a whopping 128 colours! No technical details just yet but
Buick claims that the Avenir features “GM’s smart propulsion technology, which
enhances fuel economy and driving performance.”
