Wouldn’t you rather have a Buick?Matthew DeBord/BI
- The 2018 Regal GS is a made-mostly-in-Germany sport sedan with the soul of a Buck.
- That means it combines value, practicality, style, and performance.
- It’s a compelling alternative to the competition from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes — but it shouldn’t be completely defined against those brands.
I am — and always have been — an unapologetic Buick fan. And, in particular, a Buick Regal fan.
I got through high school behind the wheel of a lovely Regal two-door, powered by a V6 engine and outfitted in an elegant brown velour interior.
As a car writer, I’ve richly enjoyed pretty much every single Buick I’ve sampled — and even pressed a LaCrosse and its heated seats with lumbar support into service to treat an ailing lower back.
But I reserve a special place in my heart for the Buick Regal GS, a version of the car that once actually claimed the General Motors top-speed title from Corvette, however briefly (I speak of the legendary turbocharged GNX). My last crack at the Regal found me relishing the Opel-based previous generation, but some notable changes have arrived for the 2018 edition, also a rebadged Opel Insignia manufactured in Germany.
That’s right, the Buick Regal GS is a German car, for the most part — but it offers an intriguing alternative to vehicles from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, at a lower price point and with much, much better infotainment technology than what the Teutons have on offer.
My tester arrived in a dashing Sport Red paint job and tipped the cost scales at a well-optioned $44,115 (the base is about $40,000). I drove it around for a week. And as is typically the case with Buick sedans, I didn’t want to give it back. Yes, Im showing my hand here, but the Regal is still my kind of car.
Here’s why:
And now for the verdict!
Well, you already knew that I loved the car, right?
Did I love it as much as the previous generation Regal GS? No. Not quite. But I still thought the latest gen was a fine automobile and a great value relative to the competition. (The previous-gen was peppier, more of a pure sport sedan.)
Some might say the Regal GS is underpowered for a sport sedan, with those mere 310 ponies. But the power delivery of the 3.6-liter V6 is linear rather than turboed herky-jerky, so once you grow accustomed to modulating the throttle in your preferred drive mode, you can engage in some smoothly spirited driving. (And if the horsepower complaints keep coming, Buick can always slap a turbo on the 3.6-liter six banger and call it a Regal GSX.)
At stoplights, the auto start-stop engages by default and can’t be switched off. This will annoy some drivers to no end, but I’ve now experienced it in several Buicks and can report that one gets used to it quickly, thanks to its unobtrusive operation. It cuts down on emissions and improves fuel economy as well.
What’s really great about the Regal GS is that it’s just as compelling as a long-range cruiser as it is a short-range fun machine. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have a more difficult time on this front because their customers demands a crisp sporting presence no matter what. Softness is weakness.
In Standard mode, the Regal GS, by contrast, feels classically Buick: pliable and easygoing. In Sport, it perks up, and in GS mode, it snarls. This makes it the ideal all-purpose sport sedan, and with that very nice sub-$50,00o sticker price, an authentic value proposition. I like bimmers and Benzes as much as the next guy, but if I’m going to drive a car seven days a week, I’d rather have the Buick.
OK, sure, I’m a bit of an oldster and therefore primed to prefer the Regal to an Audi. But who cares? It’s nice to know that Buick has my needs in mind and can leave the youthful pleasures to those who are required to serve them up.
The breeze-to-use infotainment system clinches the deal for me. While the Regal GS is more near-luxury than true luxury, its infotainment setup handily beats out what’s on offer from Mercedes and BMW and challenges Audi’s (our two-years-running Infotainment System of the Year). For the most part, it works better, with an interface that’s intuitive and a pleasing lack of intricate Germanic decision trees, beloved by engineers and detested by people who aren’t engineers.
Remember, too, that the Regal GS is at base a German ride. But it represents a hybrid of American thinking about interface design and European ideas about how an automobile should perform.
That’s called the best of both worlds, and it’s why the Regal GS is a winner.
