2018 Regal Sportback feels like a Buick again
Flashback to 2009: Despite offering just two sleepy sedans and one three-row crossover, Buick survived General Motors’ bankruptcy-related restructuring wherein the company euthanized nearly half of its brand portfolio. Buick was then charged with expanding into new segments to fill the chasm between Chevrolet and Cadillac products, an endeavor that occasionally prompts Buick to engage its global partners to achieve — including the 2011 Regal, a mid-size sedan based on the Opel Insignia. The Regal/ Insignia was a lovely enough thing, if not exactly what Americans expected in a Buick, what with its taut European suspension, four-cylinder-only engine lineup, and small rear seat. It was remarkably fun to drive, especially in the turbocharged Regal Turbo and GS models that would come later, but they felt about as Buick-like as a BMX bike.
So when Buick revealed its redesigned 2018 Regal as — clutch chest — hatchback (Sportback) and high-riding wagon (TourX) models, with no sedan at all for the United States, we wondered if that meant that Buick had doubled down on the Regal’s Europeanness or if, despite its Eurocentric body styles, the Regal would actually feel like a Buick this time. Now that we’ve gotten a taste of the new Regal Sportback, first in the form of an Opel Insignia and now in Buick livery, we can say that the new Regal Sportback is every inch a Buick — a Buick that has been to finishing school in Europe, yes, but still a proper Buick.
ZERO-EDGE STYLING
It sure looks like a Buick, all curvy and pretty and sleek but about as aggressive looking as a freshly groomed Weimaraner at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Yes, it’s a hatchback, and its Sportback moniker ambitiously invites comparison to the sexy Audi A5 Sportback, but it’s a hatchback styled to look like a sedan, and hence it will ruffle no feathers from traditionalists.
All Sportbacks (that aren’t the goosed GS model, anyway) look more or less the same; the only visual differences between the
$25,915 base model and the $32,655 Essence version involve the Essence’s 18-inch machined wheels (versus 17-inch five-spokers) and standard fog lamps, both of which are included in the Preferred II option package ($2065) available on the $4065-less-costly Preferred trim level. The Regals we drove (including our silver photo car) were all Essence models equipped with the $1580 Driver Confidence package, which includes self-leveling LED headlamps as well as cornering lamps, plus many other things you can’t see from the outside. Spending another $1950 for the allwheel-drive version is also unannounced visually, save for a discreet AWD badge on the decklid.
SEEMINGLY LARGER IN FRONT, ACTUALLY LARGER IN BACK
The new Regal is 2.7 inches longer than the outgoing model. It’s not much wider (just 0.2 inch), but from the plain-looking and remarkably supportive driver’s seat, where one faces a sweeping, horizontally oriented dashboard and where massive pockets carved into the lower doors visually open up space, it feels as wide as the bigger LaCrosse. And in the rear seat, where nearly two additional inches of hip room have appeared, one would swear it has expanded by a foot.
Ergonomically, the Regal has joined this decade, with its flushmounted touchscreen infotainment system measuring 7.0 inches in lower-spec models, upgraded to 8.0 inches in the cars we drove. The app-like presentation of the various systems required little time to learn, and the presence of a physical volume knob, track up/down buttons, a back button, and a home-screen button were all used and appreciated. Unfortunately, while Buick’s fastidious “QuietTuning” efforts place insulation and padded materials in many places, several hard plastic surfaces remain, such as on the center console, lower door panels, and parts of the dashboard. Those are most evident, we found, with the all-black interior, where hard plastics tend to shine a little more than adjacent softtouch materials; they are much better masked in the lighter Shale interior.
Where the Regal has definitely grown larger is in the cargo area, with 32 cubic feet of space behind the Sportback’s rear seats, more than double the 14 cubes contained in the outgoing Regal sedan’s trunk. Folding forward those 60/40 or 40/20/40 seats (depending on trim level) nearly doubles that usable space to 61 cubic feet, more than enough to fit a bicycle without removing the front tire. Or, as your five-foot-10inch author discovered, enough for an adult male of average height to stretch out and lie flat for a catnap. Pack a pillow.
CALM, QUIET, QUICK
Buick claims that the Regal has lost 188 pounds of mass, a believable assertion given that the new Regal feels surprising lithe in corners and is capable of accelerating with real vigor. Buick doesn’t usually make acceleration claims, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect this car to come close to the outgoing Regal Turbo’s midsix-second zero-to-60-mph time. The 250-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four exhibits little turbo lag and has plenty of midrange grunt for passing, although we found it reluctant to rev unless the driver buries the accelerator and pushes through the pedal’s kickdown switch. The all-wheel-drive model is tuned to deliver an additional 35 lb-ft of torque, which gives it a bit more authority during acceleration, although the front-driver’s nine-speed automatic shifts a bit more crisply than the AWD model’s eight-cog unit. With the Buick’s lack of both a sport shift mode and paddle shifters, we found ourselves reaching for the shifter to manually select gears and keep the engine speed where we wanted it for our spirited hustle along the Texas Hill Country’s wonderful roads.
Steering is light but direct, and the all-wheel-drive model’s rear axle can produce a torque-vectoring effect, helping the car rotate in corners and minimizing understeer—at least in the dry. Turn-in could be crisper, but ultimate grip is impressive in both models: Push it a little in corners, and it sticks. Push it a little more, and it keeps sticking, with minimal, if any, protest from the 245/45R-18 Continental ProContact TX tires as they help the Regal hustle around corners at speeds one would never, ever attempt in Grandpa’s Lucerne. We were surprised by how unobtrusively the lane-keeping-assist system functioned when we clipped apexes. Another surprise was how reassuring and communicative the brakes felt. Seriously, they’re great.
LESS OF AN ANOMALY
Few Regal buyers are likely to explore the outer reaches of its performance envelope, though. For them, the quietness and suppleness of its ride will be the dynamic aspect they’ll appreciate most. And indeed, the Regal is always quiet — especially considering that it’s a hatchback, lacking the insulating benefits of a fixed rear bulkhead.
While the new Regal is not quite as sharp as the outgoing model — nor, for that matter, the new Honda Accord, which we consider the benchmark in this price range — it is remarkably composed and still quite mannerly. As such, it is less of an anomaly within the Buick lineup than was the outgoing Regal, and we expect it will be well received.