(Briefly) checked out the new 2018 Buick Regal Tour-X Wagon

[mmcartalk]

QUICK VERDICT: Impressive, solid, and well-built, but it has one serious (for me) deal-breaker.

I was up at my Chevy/Buick/GMC dealer today (time to pick up those free auto show tickets), and they had a nice dark gray 2018 Tour-X-Wagon sitting outside the showroom in the front lot...first one to arrive at that dealership, and possibly (?) the first one delivered in the D.C. area. It was an Essence version, listing for over 41K. So, while I was there (though I had not planned on it), I did a more or less thorough static review, inside and out. OMG, what a nice car....beats the pants off of its Subaru Outback competition in general hardware/materials and fit/finish (once again, its Opel heritage shows), though it's a safe bet to say that the Outback probably has a better (Symmetrical) AWD system, which is something that Subaru has excelled in for decades. The Outback also has more ground clearance for deep snow than the Tour-X Wagon. My salesman (the guy I bought both my Verano and Lacrosse from) told me he's got another one on order that a guy is actually going to trade an Outback for when it arrives. He tossed me the ignition fob for the one sitting on the lot and said "Take it out for a spin if you want"...but I declined a test-drive today, for two reasons. First, I had other things to do after my static-review (I can do a test-drive later), and, second, my own personal policy is that I often don't like to take the only sample of a vehicle that a dealership has in stock out on the road if I am not actually buying it. I myself am a careful driver, but the traffic level in the D.C. area is horrendous, and heaven forbid, if some other Bozo plows into it, I don't want to have the only one in stock damaged or wrecked on my watch. I'll have plenty of time later for a test-drive..in fact, I'll be back at the dealership next week when some more show tickets come in.

OK...now to the car. This, and the upcoming 2018 Regal Sportback (essentially a sedan-styled liftback version of the wagon), sad to say, may (?) be the last of the Opel-derived/Opel-rebadged Buicks in the American market. Rebadged Opel products gave us a line of very well-built, solid, reliable vehicles sold under the Buick name, such as the Verano, Cascada, Regal, and Encore. They were (primarily) the reason for Buick's well-above-average reliability reputation in recent surveys. But, GM, in their ever-so-wise marketing practices (NOT) decided to sell off the Opel Euro-division that has done so much for them...just like the cutting off of the also-impressive GM Australian Holden products. So, one can probably say good-bye to any more Opel/Buicks.

But, while it lasts, this is going to be once nice product. I won't go into all the details right now (I plan a full-review of a Tour-X later, and will do a full write-up then)...but I'll do a brief description. Outside, same solid construction we saw on the last Opel-based Regal, with even better fit-and-finish. I especially liked the way they integrated the big red/white/blue Buick tri-shield emblem on the front grille...the emblem is actually part of, and set behind, a very tough, clear circle of plexiglass, smoothly-polished to perfection, and integrated with the trim-wing in the grille....makes it much easier to wash and clean than the contour-ridges ones on the Lacrosse. The relatively heavy doors also close very solidly.....but not quite as solid as on the bank-vault-like Kia Stinger I sampled recently. Paint, trim, and chrome work are all done to a very high level of fit/finish. Inside, the same nice-quality hardware and fit/finish found on the last Regal, with an even better level of fit/finish, although headroom in the rear seat, under the sunroof housing, was marginal for people my size. I liked most of the dash and gauges, although the circular speedometer was a little small for my taste, and crowded the numbers together a little. I didn't care much for the look of the gray wood-tone trim (with the black interior). The shifter, due to the Opel design, was a nice conventional fore/aft lever, not the quirky, BMW-type E-shifter found in some other GM vehicles.

But there was one major problem inside for people my size.....and, for me, it would be a deal-breaker. The flat part of the front seat cushions, between the two side-bolsters, is firm, only about 13 inches wide or so (I'm estimating......didn't actually measure it), and the side-bolsters are actually sharper than they look in pictures. Buick, with this car, clearly did not do what they did with the (former) Verano and the Lacrosse.....put in a real seat for big Americans. I'm not making excuses for the fact that I am 6' 2" and somewhat overweight, but, if one is going to sell a car in America to people like this, one has to plan for it in the design stage. I saw the same problem, to a lesser extent, in the Chinese-built Buick Envision SUV that debuted here last year......seats that were simply too small for me, though not to the same extent as with the new wagon. No matter how I adjusted the seats in this car, squirmed up, down, sideways....you name it., I could not get comfortable, and the narrow side bolsters pressed into my butt and lower-back. The height of the seat back and headrests was also a little too low, overall, for me. Several hundred miles of that, on a long trip, would probably drive me batty. So, no question I did the right thing by getting a Lacrosse and not waiting for the new Regal....but small-to-medium size adults shouldn't have any problem.

But, a great job on almost everything else...just toss out those butt-achers and put the last-generation Verano's seats in (maybe they will do that in the mid-cycle update?), and we'll be all set.

 

[spwolf]

So what happens with Buick now that Opel is out? Who is going to do these cars?

Yeah, you are right about seats being germanic, never understood why they have to be so hard in german vehicles.

 

[mmcartalk]

So what happens with Buick now that Opel is out? Who is going to do these cars?

Good question. Holden in Australia is also on the way out, so there goes any chance of their nice RWD platforms. My guess is that GM will simply use (and adapt) more of their own in-house platforms....or perhaps jointly co-develop some with Ford, as they recently did with transmissions. In fact, a number of manufacturers, not just GM, are now designing adjustable-platforms that can be easily stretched or shrunk as needed for planned new vehicles.

Yeah, you are right about seats being germanic, never understood why they have to be so hard in german vehicles.

In the new Regal (as with some other sport-oriented vehicles I've seen), it's not so much the firm seat cushions themselves as the (for me) too-narrow side bolsters.

 

[spwolf]

Good question. Holden in Australia is also on the way out, so there goes any chance of their nice RWD platforms. My guess is that GM will simply use (and adapt) more of their own in-house platforms....or perhaps jointly co-develop some with Ford, as they recently did with transmissions. In fact, a number of manufacturers, not just GM, are now designing adjustable-platforms that can be easily stretched or shrunk as needed for planned new vehicles.



In the new Regal (as with some other sport-oriented vehicles I've seen), it's not so much the firm seat cushions themselves as the (for me) too-narrow side bolsters.

Question is how well will GM do this without Opel.

As to the seats, yeah, this is usually the problem, very firm and lifted up side bolsters dig into your sides way too hard. They can do it without them being so firm, and it is not a race car anyway.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

http://www.autonews.com/article/20180129/RETAIL01/180129777/buick-raises-forecasts-for-regal-wagon

Buick raises forecasts for Regal wagon

SEDONA, Ariz. — In a marketplace that's tiring of "old-man sedans," can a station wagon really be the answer?

That's what Buick is hoping with the 2018 Regal TourX, its first wagon in more than 20 years. Buick now expects that the TourX could account for as much as 50 percent of Regal sales in the normally wagon-averse U.S., up from earlier expectations of 30 percent, now the projected low end of the range.

"We're pretty realistic about where the car market's at, but we're getting some pretty good feedback on it," Phil Brook, U.S. vice president of marketing for Buick and GMC, told Automotive News during a media drive here last week. "We're flexible enough that we can flex things up and down. That's not a problem."

Brook's optimism follows Buick's repositioning of the Regal from a sedan to sportback and wagon models for the 2018 model year. The shift is an attempt to make Buick stand out in the crowded, yet declining, midsize car segment, where Japan's big three automakers set the pace, and the Regal brings up the rear. Regal sales fell 42 percent in 2017 to 11,559 vehicles, while the midsize car segment shrank 16 percent, according to the Automotive News Data Center.

Buick expects the TourX to attract buyers from the likes of Subaru, Audi and Volvo. Brook also sees owners of discontinued wagons such as Saabs considering the TourX. In early cross-shopping results, Edmunds reports consumers are considering the TourX alongside vehicles such as the Subaru Outback, Mazda CX-5 and the Regal's own Sportback counterpart.

"It really is a head-turner," Brook said. "We're not an old-man sedan brand anymore. We're very much a cutting-edge SUV brand with some really good sedans to back that up."

Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of industry analysis, said Buick faces a difficult challenge, noting the dismal record of wagonlike variants in the U.S., which have included such bombs as the Chevy Malibu Maxx and Ford Taurus X.

"The successful ones have been a European entry into the U.S.," she said, citing Audi as a prime example.

The TourX does have European roots: It's produced in Germany by Opel, the European arm that General Motors sold last year to France's PSA Group. But for the small fraternity of wagon lovers, the Buick brand doesn't necessarily have the cachet of European marques.

Buick also must combat lingering perceptions of the station wagon — and a Buick one, at that — as a dowdy vestige of the 1970s. That's why the brand is referring to the all-wheel-drive TourX as a "crossover in the truest sense of the word," citing its carlike handling along with the versatility and cargo space of a utility vehicle.

"We just want people to look at it for what it is, consider it and not pigeonhole it," Brook said. "And not think of 'The Brady Bunch' when you say, 'wagon.' "

The TourX is arriving in dealer showrooms starting at $29,995, including shipping. That's roughly $4,000 more than the starting price of a Regal Sportback, which went on sale late last year.

The TourX comes standard with 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine with 250 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque; awd system with active twin-clutch; and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Brook said the company has no plans to offer a diesel powertrain or six-cylinder engine such as the 3.6-liter in the coming 2018 Buick Regal GS.

The TourX "rounds out their lineup," said Paul Waatti, analyst for consulting firm AutoPacific. "It's definitely not going to take away from the Sportback sales."

Buick's U.S. sales last year declined 4.5 percent, as its 51 percent drop in car sales offset its 23 percent gain in crossovers.

 

[mmcartalk]

In a marketplace that's tiring of "old-man sedans,"

That line is B.S. I get irked when I read nonsense like that. (I'm not blaming you, Tragic.....I'm blaming the article). Sedans are not necessarily for old people. When I myself was young and in college, my favorite cars were big luxury American sedans.....Olds 98, Buick Electra, Cadillac, Lincoln, Chrysler/Imperial, etc.... Same with some of my best friends.

Yes...the marketplace IS moving away from sedans...but that's because of a wholesale shift away from sedans to SUVs (particularly crossovers), not because of any age factor associated with sedans.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

That line is B.S. I get irked when I read nonsense like that. (I'm not blaming you, Tragic.....I'm blaming the article). Sedans are not necessarily for old people. When I myself was young and in college, my favorite cars were big luxury American sedans.....Olds 98, Buick Electra, Cadillac, Lincoln, Chrysler/Imperial, etc.... Same with some of my best friends.

Yes...the marketplace IS moving away from sedans...but that's because of a wholesale shift away from sedans to SUVs (particularly crossovers), not because of any age factor associated with sedans.

Perhaps that line seems like a cheapshot, but you have to realize that Buick knows the stigma their brand carries still so they are trying to do whatever to shed that. Those sedans you mentioned, the people who would still buy them skew older rather than young, and were a status of middle class working professionals. But with competition from the imports, tastes of younger buyers then favored BMWs and the like. The culture has changed.

 

[mmcartalk]

Perhaps that line seems like a cheapshot, but you have to realize that Buick knows the stigma their brand carries still so they are trying to do whatever to shed that. Those sedans you mentioned, the people who would still buy them skew older rather than young, and were a status of middle class working professionals. But with competition from the imports, tastes of younger buyers then favored BMWs and the like. The culture has changed.

Oh, I agree there's an old-person stigma (it's real, not imagined), not only with Buick, but with Lincoln, Cadillac, Mercedes, and the (former) Mercury and Oldsmobile nameplates before they were discontinued...and even wth Toyota, to some extent. But I disagree with the reason for the stigma, and much of the public ignorance that goes with it....a belief that these nameplates turn off young people simply by the logo on the hood.

A similar (but unrelated) stigma has been in effect for years, fueled, to a great extent, by the automotive press....the nonsensical idea that "real" men can't own or drive minivans, even if those vehicles are the best and most practical purchases (as they often are) for their families.

 

[IS-SV]

Stigma or not the facts are what they are based on vehicle registration data. In recent years Lincoln and Buick (in that order) have the oldest buyers of all automotive brands in US. And I won’t be dwelling on stereotypes here.

 

[mmcartalk]

Stigma or not the facts are what they are based on vehicle registration data. In recent years Lincoln and Buick (in that order) have the oldest buyers of all automotive brands in US. And I won’t be dwelling on stereotypes here.

True, but Buick has shown more of a downward trend than Lincoln. I think that is because, recently, Lincoln has been focusing on comfort and plushness paramount, which still appeals to older folks....and even some younger ones. Buick has clearly been courting younger buyers.....a typical 85-year-old, for instance, is not going to be buying a Cascada LOL.

 

[IS-SV]

True, but Buick has shown more of a downward trend than Lincoln. I think that is because, recently, Lincoln has been focusing on comfort and plushness paramount, which still appeals to older folks....and even some younger ones. Buick has clearly been courting younger buyers.....a typical 85-year-old, for instance, is not going to be buying a Cascada LOL.

LOL but I doubt few under the average age for a Buick buyer (60 plus) will buy the Cascada In fact the doggy Cascada isn’t selling well to any age group.

 

[IS-SV]

Perhaps that line seems like a cheapshot, but you have to realize that Buick knows the stigma their brand carries still so they are trying to do whatever to shed that. Those sedans you mentioned, the people who would still buy them skew older rather than young, and were a status of middle class working professionals. But with competition from the imports, tastes of younger buyers then favored BMWs and the like. The culture has changed.

The Buick sedans today have faded to near insignificance at retail level, therefore 81% of 2017 Buick US sales were crossovers/SUVs. GM and Buick have done a very good job at selling into high growth crossover market.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

The Buick sedans today have faded to near insignificance at retail level, therefore 81% of 2017 Buick US sales were crossovers/SUVs. GM and Buick have done a very good job at selling into high growth crossover market.

Yeah, my cousin has an Enclave and he's in his 40s. The last Regal was suppose to the appeal to a younger buyer base (GS model with a 6 MT), but they didn't sell that well.

LOL but I doubt few under the average age for a Buick buyer (60 plus) will buy the Cascada In fact the doggy Cascada isn’t selling well to any age group.

Its almost forgotten. And I don't think I've ever seen it in a rental fleet.

 

[mikeavelli]

Nicely done, thanks Mike. I love wagons. Shame I feel a lot of people will pass just based on the badge. This seems like a great option out there.

 

[mmcartalk]

Nicely done, thanks Mike. I love wagons. Shame I feel a lot of people will pass just based on the badge. This seems like a great option out there.

Buick didn't even bother to bring one (or the new Regal GS) to the D.C. Show. They did bring a couple of lower-line Regal Sportbacks with the 2.0T. The ironic thing is that the Tour-X wagon is now on sale at local dealerships...although supply is still quite limited, and they are just trickling in.

Cadillac and Mercedes skipped the show entirely (Go figure?) ...but that's another story, for another thread.