2011 Buick Regal: What's It Like to Live With?
Read the latest updates in our long-term road test of the 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo as our editors live with this car for a year.
What do you want to know about?
- Introduction
- First Impressions: Part 2
- The Unbearable Lightness of Steering
- Infotainment Overload
- Bachelor Party No. 2
- Ironically Cramped for Golf
- Nonsensical Electronics Controls
- A Macro Look at Interior Materials
- OnStar Hands-Free 1, Bluetooth 0
- Now With No-Effort Steering
- Central Locking. Literally.
- Visibility
- Not Very Supportive
- Track Tested
- Cargo Action
- Disappearing Redline
- Touring Tryptophan
- First Impressions
- Bye-Bye, Booster
- I'm Getting Too Old for This...
- Better Than the TSX. Maybe
- Reglyphics
- Steering Needs a Bump Stop
- Honda Accord Comparison
- Drives Good?
- Turbo. Buick. Manual?
- Does the Bike Fit?
- FAV and Tire Pressures
- Pop-Out USB Port
- Like the LEDs
- 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo vs Lexus IS 250
- Could Use a Rearview Camera
- The Big Biceps Factor
- Parking Brake
- Short Cut
- Feels Good at 144 MPH
- 5,000 Miles
- Audio Review
- Serious Range
- Would 'Blind Tasting' Help?
- Rear Window Slit
- Now That's an Air Conditioner
- Wayward Floor Mats
- Wheeeeeze
- Et Tu, Regal?
- Buick-Sized Glove Box
- Three Things I Like
- Flirtatious Keys
- Buy a Lacrosse Instead
- Buckle Up Like It's 1987
- Chance Music
- Nice Interior Details
- Blends In
- Not an Old Man's Car
- I Pressed Tour
- Road Trip to Vegas
- 50 More Horsepower Works for Me
- Road Trip Fuel Economy
- Our Favorite Caption
- You Write the Caption
- Road Trip Comfort
- Voice Control Saves the Day
- It's a Regal. Regal. Regal.
- The Young and the Converted
- Santa Rosa and Back
- Santa Rosa and Back, Part 2
- Very Cool Tradition
- Bring in the Wagon
- Console Mirror
- Doing It the Old-Fashioned Way
- That Left a Mark
- Ends an Era
- That'll Buff Right Out
- Cabin After Dark
- For Both of Us
- Screen Graphics
- The China Syndrome
- Truth in Advertising
- We Did It!
- Wrap-Up
Introduction
One of our friends is a life-long Buick nut. There's still a 1951 Buick Riviera in his garage and when we first met a number of years ago, he was driving a 1998 Riviera, the eighth and final generation that Buick made. Yet after a lamentable rendezvous with a Buick Rendezvous SUV, he found himself with no choice but to abandon the brand. He's now in his 60s, but even he couldn't stomach life with a Lucerne or the last LaCrosse. Today he drives a Hyundai Tucson.
When our friend discovered Inside Line would be taking a 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo into its garage, his eyes opened a little wider and there was no escaping the excitement in his voice. "Oh man, could you bring it by some time? I'd love to check it out." For him, this wasn't just another shiny new car to ogle. This was a potential savior for a once-beloved brand he had left for dead. The new Regal has been engineered in Europe as the Opel Insignia, it looks good as we discovered in our test of the 2011 Buick Regal CXL, and it can be had with a turbocharged engine just like a Buick Grand National (the Buick we can't forget).
Of course history is filled with saviors that didn't pan out. Is the Regal Turbo really the car to make Buick relevant again and bring back former loyalists like our friend? More important, can it attract new, younger buyers who remember Buick only as that bland, old barge with the gold package that Grandma used to drive around Sun City? Well, we have six months to find out.
What We Got
You read that right, this 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo will be with us for six months rather than the usual 12. GM mostly took a break from the long-term loan business during its recent economic unpleasantness, and the Regal is the first we've received since our 2008 Buick Enclave, so we agreed to the shorter time frame.
We got a Regal CXL Turbo, the more expensive of two available trim levels. Beyond its turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 that produces 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, the Turbo trim adds rear parking sensors and a power passenger seat. Other standard equipment includes leather upholstery, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control and Bluetooth.
Our tester arrived with the eloquently named T07 Equipment package which adds rear side airbags, a sunroof, HID headlamps, a navigation system and a nine-speaker premium sound system. There's also Buick's Interactive Drive Control System with Standard, Sport and Tour modes that alter suspension and stability settings, throttle response, shift response and steering effort. The total for our Quicksilver Metallic Regal Turbo with the Ebony interior was $35,185.
By now, though, you're no doubt asking yourself two questions. Yes, our Regal was assembled in Germany rather than being one of the first to roll off the line in Oshawa, Ontario. And no, we did not get the available six-speed manual. A row-your-own Buick doesn't exactly sound like a volume seller and we'd probably be the only people in the world to have one. Six-speed automatic it is, then.
Why We Got It
We're not going to pretend that the 2011 Buick Regal Turbo is somehow the second coming of the Grand National just because they both utilize forced induction. We put that to bed when we matched one up with a 1987 Buick Regal Grand National. Instead, this midsize sedan is really aimed at entry-level luxury buyers who would otherwise check out an Acura TSX or Audi A4. On paper, the similar engines, feature content and prices would certainly put them in the same league.
But there's more to a luxury car than just the specs and features on a comparator spreadsheet. How will its adaptive suspension handle thousands of miles of summer road trips? And will its cabin design and functionality hold up to our nitpicking? At least we're pretty sure the 2.0-liter turbo will leave a better impression than the 182-hp Buick Regal CXL, a weakling that hits 60 mph in 9.8 seconds.
Perhaps most important, we have the 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo as a measurement of the Buick brand itself. Will people at gas stations stop us to ask about our handsome new luxury sedan, or will they just see the badge and automatically wonder where the Landau roof went? Perception is paramount in the luxury game, and if this rebadged Opel Insignia can indeed convince Americans (and our editors) that it can hang with the establishment, then Buick could very well earn its place in the garages of an entirely new generation of loyalists.
Follow our long-term road test blog for six months and 10,000 miles to see what the future holds.
Current Odometer: 1,029
Best Fuel Economy: 19.9
Worst Fuel Economy: 18.9
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 19.4
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Am I lazy for using a shot from the intro of our Buick Regal long termer? Yes. Am I completely justified in doing so since I drove for this particular shoot? Yes again.
And what do I think about this new Regal?
The Good: Turbo engine feels suitably powerful and refined. No, this car is not fast. In fact, you'll get cooked by any number of V6 family haulers from a stoplight. But more importantly, the engine is quiet and remains that way throughout its powerband. For a turbocharged four-cylinder, it feels pretty solid.
The suspension isn't bad either. Put it in Sport mode and the car will whip around turns like the one pictured above with considerable speed. It doesn't sway or flop around either, so if you really want to make time down a twisty road this Regal would not embarrass itself.
The Bad: Numb steering. It's overly light at slow speeds and doesn't really stiffen up or deliver much feedback in Sport mode either.
It could use some better seats too. They're not uncomfortable, they just don't have any contouring to them. I wasn't expecting Recaros here, but I like to feel something, anything.
Drove the Buick Regal for the first time last night. Miraculously, the freeway was clear. Don't know what was up with that, but I got to actually drive this thing at highways speeds.
It smoothly gets up to speed. Not too much effort, not too much noise from the engine. The throttle is easy. But I have to agree with Ed about the overly light steering. It is too light for this turbocharged car. Driving around city streets, it feels really light. And when you jump on the highway, it gets super light and provides no feedback to the driver. It's definitely this car's weakest attribute.
Nice looking car, though. I know some of you think it's bland, but I like its styling inside and out.
I haven't been this daunted by prep materials since I studied for the SATs.
No, we didn't take a third car on my bachelor party. This past weekend I ventured to another one for my buddy Chris (the blond guy in aviators), this time taking our long-term Buick Regal.
Unlike the smooth sailing we enjoyed to Vegas for mine, this time around, Mother Nature had the audacity to rain us, turning our Friday night drive into a living hell. With the added thanks of a blown-out traffic light, it took us an hour and a half just to get from Los Feliz to East Pasadena, a trip that should normally take 22 minutes. From there, I had to deal with driving rain, poor drainage in I-210's carpool lane (I consequently did not observe that double yellow), traffic up I-15 through clouds, massive wind and other motorists. We arrived in Vegas at 12:30 six hours after we left ... it sucked.
As for the Regal, I thought it handled it well. I left the car in Sport to maximize my control in such crap conditions. The steering is never as tactile as I'd prefer, but it's firmness on center is at least reassuring. There is also a noticeable difference in the suspension settings — to appease the hungover bachelor on the drive home, I left it in Tour, which does a spot-on job of smoothing out junk pavement without float.
I was also pleased with the engine. It's not going to put up stellar numbers at the track, but its torquey, turbocharged power delivery makes it quite strong on the freeway when passing left-lane dawdlers. Turbocharging also makes it a champ as elevations rise.
The Regal is no Equus when it comes to bachelor party transportation, but it was hard to flaw the way it drove. It does have other issues, however, which I'll get into tomorrow. For now, I'm going to stop writing/thinking. I'm zonked.
Calm down, this isn't my only gripe (more later), but it was the one that seemed the most ironic during my weekend trip to Vegas. The Regal's pinched rear end may look handsome, but it makes storing golf clubs a bit difficult. I know Buick's going for a younger demo these days, but young people still golf, and they'll find a trunk that struggles to hold more than one golf bag.
The trunk mouth is wide enough, so that's nice, but one bag just barely fits. To add a second, you have to place it horizontally (pictured), or if you need to carry other stuff (say, to a bachelor party) and your second golf bag is crappy/small enough (as the one pictured is), then you can cram it in widthwise with the knowledge that you might damage your clubs.
Do they fit? Yes. Do they fit well? No. Good thing Tiger Woods isn't shilling for Buick any more (for more reasons than this, mind you).
Also, it would make storing Takahashi back there a bit difficult.
The Regal's electronics interface is just wrong, period. This isn't a matter of preference. If someone would like to tell me that they prefer the Regal's absolutely nonsensical array of buttons, knobs and screen, they've apparently never used anything else.
Let's see if I can properly described its ridiculousness.
That screen looks like a touchscreen, it's within reach like a touchscreen and it uses the EXACT SAME graphics and button-like icons as the touchscreens found in newer GM products. But no, it is not a touchscreen. Instead, you control it with all those buttons, the central dash-mounted knob and/or an iDrive-like console-mounted knob.
Now, knobs versus touchscreen can be a preference thing if both are done well. This isn't a case of that. Here are the problems.
Not entirely redundant knobs: The two knobs both rotate, meaning they can both operate functions that require rotation — say scanning through menus. You can also "click" things using both. You click the center of the iDrive knob (1) and click the outer ring of the other, dash-mounted knob (2). However, only #2 has a multi-directional pad that is useful when scanning around a map or in other instances (see next entry). Audi's navigation-equipped MMI and iDrive both have the functionality of the multi-directional pad on the center console.
(I will say that non-navigation-equipped Audi's have MMI mounted on the dash and that's irritating as well)
Non touchscreen touchscreen: The GM navigation system and the graphics for it are designed with a touchscreen in mind — when entering in a destination, there is a recreation of a keyboard that allows you to punch in your letters and numbers. But, you can't do that in the Regal.
So, Option 1: Use the clickable iDrive knob that falls more readily at hand. You can click the individual letter icons, but going through them takes FOREVER because you're scanning one letter at a time across a keyboard icon. Audi and BMW both display the alphabet around a circle, which makes it quicker to program and easier to decipher.
Or, Option 2: Use the dash knob: This allows you to either rotate through the keyboard or move around it up, down and laterally using the multi-directional pad. Better than option 1, but the knob's placement is less convenient.
Or, Option 3: Forget the knobs altogether and use the voice controls. This works, though it takes a very long time (the playback prompts don't help) and for some reason, when I tried to use them, it didn't ask me for an address number. Instead, I only had the option of going to some indiscriminate point on Flamingo Road.
Can't Click on Things: Once you've finally managed to enter in your address, you'll be presented with the usual "Fastest Route," "Easiest Route," and "Start Route" options. In other cars, you'd highlight and click one of those options using one of the knobs, but you can't. Instead, they are numbered 1-6 and you need to press the radio preset button (3) that corresponds since you can't just touch the screen as the software intended.
Radio Presets: If the screen is showing the navigation system map, the radio preset buttons do not work. You first have to press the audio button on the center console (4) or the Radio/Band button on the dash (5). This is probably the most irritating item on a regular basis, since no other car I can think of (other than our similarly challenged Chevy Cruze) has this problem. Another issue is that those presets are closer to the passenger, while the corresponding Favorites button (a great GM feature that allows you to mix and match radio presets on pages amongst AM, FM and XM) is even further and buried amongst a bunch of infrequently used buttons like the oh-so-useful REC, DEL and AS 1/2.
Much of this absolutely mind-numbing electronics interface is the unfortunate result of American GM software combining with European GM hardware. So there's a reason — it's just not a good reason, and frankly, if someone wants their car to have a navigation system (which is in fact quite a few people), the Regal's set-up would be a major detractor. It is confusing to figure out and annoying once you finally do — the system sans navigation isn't exactly fantastic, either.
Compared to our Acura TSX Wagon or departed Cadillac CTS, the Regal's electronics interface seems like someone just didn't try. When a brand is trying to convince people it deserves to be considered amongst luxury brands, it's details like these that make a car stand above. The Genesis and Equus seem like (and are) luxury cars because Hyundai went all in.
I like oh-so-much about the Regal, but this electronics interface kills me. With a few changes, it could be perfectly usable and even quite good, but for now, wrong wrong wrong.
Here are some macro shots of our 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo's interior. Our car cost $35,185 (base MSRP $29,495). What do you think, does the interior material match the price? You like?
Again, for those who couldn't hear in the back, "macro" is photography lingo for "close-up."
Over the weekend I had our 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo as my ride. I wanted to hook up my iPhone so I could make hands-free phone calls and just for giggles was going to see if I could figure it out on my own with no help from the owner's manual.
Turns out no I couldn't. I pressed the "Push To Talk" steering wheel button and asked for phone help. But then the Voice Recognition System "hung up" on me. Trying again I figured I'd ask to pair a phone, as other cars with similar Bluetooth systems have this as a standard request, but it didn't recognize that command. And asking for a list of commands didn't turn up anything having to do with phone help, pairing phones, etc.
So long story short, somehow I got to a menu where I could make a hands-free call via OnStar. Since I couldn't pair my phone via Bluetooth, I had to just ask the car to dial a number by reciting the phone number I wanted it to call. I was nervous about proceeding because I wasn't sure if I (read: Edmunds) would be charged extra for this. But in the name of research I went ahead.
The phone call went through but my friend whom I was calling was reluctant to take my call because she didn't recognize the number which started with "313." "Where the heck is '313,'" she asked. "Detroit, baby!" I replied.
Anyway, back at the office I cracked open the owner's manual to figure out how to pair my phone via Bluetooth. Turns out it doesn't involve the Voice Recognition System at all.
Here are the steps:
1. Press the "Config" button.
2. Select "Phone Settings."
3. Select "Bluetooth."
4. Select "Pair Device." A four-digit PIN appears on the display.
5. Start the pairing process on your phone. Locate the device named "General Motors" or "Your Vehicle" in the list and follow the instructions on your phone to enter the PIN.
6. Name the phone.
7. The system informs you that your phone has successfully been paired.
Now With No-Effort Steering
It's the first thing I noticed as significant when I jumped in the Regal two nights ago for my commute home. This thing has no steering effort. Even at Speed. None.
Remarkably, there's a conventional belt-driven power steering pump providing hydraulic assist to the rack. And according to GM's specs, the 2.0-liter turbo version even gets variable effort. If it's variable it's imperceptibly so.
I'll admit that one-fingering the steering while sitting in my driveway is a gratuitous demonstration of my point. And, let's face it, this is a Buick. But come on. This is a car which hasn't ignored the idea that people like to drive in both its styling and its chassis tuning. So why do so when it comes to steering?
The Regal's door lock/unlock button is centrally located on the dash — something that was once a European standard. Yes, I know, the thing is an Opel, built in Germany, blah, blah, blah.
Doesn't really matter. Point is, is this the best place for the button?
I'm rather indifferent. I can deal with it wherever I find it. Found it quick in the
BOpel
Regal.
You?
What do you think about the mirrors, pillars, etc.?
Clearly, that is not the seat of our 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo. That, friends is the seat on the Opel Insignia OPC. And I'm not suggesting they should be in our Buck, they shouldn't. They're made by Recaro, sit on the same base as our Buick's seats but have one necessary, every-day difference that makes them far superior to the seats we get...
...thigh support. In the case of the OPC pictured, there's an extendable cushion. Thigh support is one of those things where you don't realize you need it until it's lacking. And boy is it ever lacking in the Regal.
It doesn't look bad in that shot (damned professional photographers), but the bottom cushion is short and amazingly flat. Not flat in that they don't have any give — they're squishy — it's just that they're, even when tipped all the way back, still at a nearly 0-degree angle. And then there's the shortness, with my butt scooted all the way back into the seats, the bottom cushion ends just at mid thigh. It's very much like driving from a barstool. It fits me in such an uncomfortable way that I don't think I could own one. My leg cramps up from the angle and the pressure-poit of the seat cushion after only a few minutes...if the shoe doesn't fit...
Fix that, and the Regal Turbo would be a plush, comfy cruiser suitable for stress-free cross-country travel. Well, unless you had to steer it. The other editors weren't kidding or exaggerating, the steering here is Novocain + Valium numb.
Okay, okay, we've heard enough about the super-light steering on our 2011 Buick Regal CXL turbo when it's on the street. It's time to find out what that steering does when the conditions are right for us to open up the taps and chuck our long term Buick around the test track.
Reminder: The Buick CXL Turbo makes 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque and puts that to the ground via the front tires through a six-speed automatic.
Follow the jump for the full specs and results including 0-60, quarter mile, slalom and skidpad...
Vehicle: 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo
Odometer: 1,706
Date: 2/22/11
Driver: Chris Walton
Price: $35,185
Specifications:
Drive Type: Front-engine, front-wheel drive
Transmission Type: six-speed automatic
Engine Type: Turbocharged 2.0-liter direct-injection I4
Displacement (cc/cu-in): 1,998/122
Redline (rpm): 7,000
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 220 @ 5,300
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm): 258 @ 2,000
Brake Type (front): 12.6-inch ventilated with single-piston calipers
Brake Type (rear): 12.4-inch ventilated with single-piston fixed calipers
Steering System: Hydraulic-assist, speed-proportional, rack-and-pinion power steering
Suspension Type (front): Independent MacPherson struts with dual lower ball joints, coil springs, driver-adjustable 3-mode variable dampers, stabilizer bar
Suspension Type (rear): Hydraulic-assist, speed-proportional, rack-and-pinion power steering
Tire Size (front): P245/40R19 94W
Tire Size (rear): P245/40R19 94W
Tire Brand: Goodyear
Tire Model: Eagle RSA
Tire Type: All Season
Wheel size: 19-by-9.6 inches
Wheel material (front/rear): Painted alloy
As tested Curb Weight (lb): 3,759
Test Results:
0-30 (sec): 3.3 (3.4 with t/c off)
0-45 (sec): 5.4 (5.5 with t/c off)
0-60 (sec): 8.2 (8.4 with t/c off)
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 7.8 (7.8 with t/c off)
0-75 (sec): 11.5 (11.8 with t/c off)
1/4-Mile (sec @ mph): 15.9 @ 90.0 (16.1 @ 89.4 with t/c off)
Braking
30-0 (ft): 32
60-0 (ft): 125
Handling
Slalom (mph): 65.8 (65.0 with t/c on)
Skid Pad Lateral acceleration (g): 0.83 (0.79 with t/c on)
Sound
Db @ Idle: 44.9
Db @ Full Throttle: 69.5
Db @ 70 mph Cruise: 63.6
RPM @ 70: 2,100
Acceleration: Absolutely refuses to leave the line with any verve. Refuses / punishes pedal overlap so best launch was "slap'n'go" first run. Power is at first meager then builds at @3,500 rpm all the way to redline. Got some time back from the bad launches by manually shifting as drive short-shifts 500 rpm shy of redline (half-hearted rev-matching).
Braking: Good pedal feel, aggressive jump-in and minor (but progressive) fade. First stop was shortest. Zero ABS hum/flutter and straight as an arrow. Slight odor.
Handling: Skidpad: In "sport" with ESC "off" there's good balance right up to the point when understeer begins to creep in. Surprisingly grippy. Springy steering doesn't provide any feel of the tires. In normal with ESC on, the throttle goes away first, then the brakes begin to pulse. Slalom: Remarkable balance that doesn't threaten to spear in a straight line or spin (in sport w/esc off). Crisp turn-in but little feel of what happens next makes it more of a rhythm exercise than a probing-the-limits one. With ESC on, slow-in fast out with a tight line nearly matched best ESC off pass. Good ESC w/minimal intrusion.
My regular camera is busted so I have to make videos of everything for a little while. Here, I popped the trunk of the Buick Regal with the button on the key fob to reveal my cargo.
I bought two plastic storage carts at Target. They were on clearance so they had no boxes. I just plucked them off the shelf. Although very lightweight, they were awkward to lift. But I had no problems getting them into the trunk of the Buick Regal. The opening is not too high and it is a large enough opening to be able to put the carts in with ease.
Earlier in the day, the little cargo net in front held smaller items for me. You have to close the trunk by hand but the trunk lid itself is very lightweight. No problems.
Quick! What's the rediline on our 2011 Buick Regal CXL turbo? Don't Sherlock Holmes this photo or enlarge the shot. Allow yourself nothing more than the same half-second (or less) glance you'd take if you were consulting the tach before your next upshift.
Like a blowtorch, the glowing red tach needle emits a beam of red light that sets the surrounding area aglow. Looks OK here at idle, but it royally messes up the view of the redline at the precise moment you'll be taking that pre-upshift glance.
We can debate the merits of driving a Buick to redline in the first place, but that's not really the point. I found this without looking for it; I was playing with the Regal's manual mode "because it's there".
If a car's transmission offers a manual mode, if it has a tachometer, if that tach has a redline and, most importantly, if that car is powered by a turbo engine that revs freely up to said redline, then all of it had better work. This redline doesn't work...at night, at least.
Perhaps someone somewhere needs to consider a tiny dab of paint on the tip of the needle to kill the reflection.
The surface icons on these buttons are appropriate to their function.
Sport: checkered flag motif. Bit of an exaggeration, but really the only mode this car can be driven in.
Touring: two flat bars. That's about right; flat. Times two.
There's the default Standard mode as well, about as sleepy and lazy as Touring. Similar balky shifting that plagues our Cruze, although not as pronounced and the transmissions are produced oceans apart (HydraMatic in our Cruze, Aisin in the Regal). Sport reminds you there's a car underneath, not just a fuel saving machine. Pushing it past about 2,000 in sixth lets loose a satisfying turbo whine, quiet and imperceptible unless the radio's off. Dipping into it when the lanes open is pretty addicting.
We've talked about the featherweight steering, Audi-like center stack and control illogic, and stubby front seats already. The Regal's got some flaws relative to the company it wants to join. But the cabin's nice. The leather is smooth and the thoughtful stitching adds a premium look. The doors offer a solid thunk when closed and offer some auditory confidence in the chassis.
Buick lists the Acura TSX and Volvo S60 as the Regal's target competitors. Both sticker for $3k-5k more than the Regal - and not without reason. Buick might covet that elusive young, hip professional buyer, but the Regal still trails the TSX's dynamics (sleepy though it has increasingly become) and the Volvo's interior. Gonna be hard to lure that buyer without some incentive, perhaps a lifetime supply of Ed Hardy denim disasters.
My first whirl behind the wheel of our longterm 2011 Buick Regal came this weekend, and the impressions arrived in my cerebral cortex in convenient bullet point format.
- It's quiet
- It's got quite a stiff chassis. Feels very solid; bodes well for upcoming performance-oriented variants
- Dynamically, there's no one home
- The overall ride quality has been well exectued — compliant without resorting to numbing softness. The stiff chassis helps here.
- There is some unnecessary busy-ness that I attribute to the very short tire sidewalls
- Or perhaps it could be heavy wheels. Sometimes it's discern to tell the difference between sidewall impact harshness and 'heavy wheel feel'.
- The steering is quick
- Yup, real quiet
- Looks pretty sharp, especially in the front three-quarters view
That's it, after nearly 11 years of lugging my daughter's carseat from test-car to test-car, she has finally graduated out of her last child safety seat.
I took her Recaro booster for a farewell ride this morning, happily tucking it into the Buick Regal's trunk instead of strapping it in the backseat.
Had to twist the box to fit it into the opening.
I'm not the target demographic for the Buick brand. I like ridiculous modes of transportation that are either inconvenient, dangerous or both. Say what you will about Buick's push for a more youthful audience, but I think the brand will always appeal more to the older folks. I think that driver places performance and driver engagement low on their priorities — well below comfort and ease of use.
Last night, however, I was that driver.
It's been a busy couple of days. I was drained. The rain was coming down and traffic was backed up for miles. I just wanted to get home to my girl, my cat and my TV. I didn't want to be entertained by slick-road powerslides or a roaring exhaust — my ears were still ringing from the last motorcycle I rode. I was tired, probably on the edge of being annoyed. I looked at the Regal and said, "Don't try to impress me, just get me home, ok?"
In the process, the Regal did manage to impress me, because it was just what I needed. It didn't keep me busy, or demand anything past the basics of driving skills. It was quiet, allowing me to just relax. The ride was smooth and the steering was featherlight. Nobody hassled me by trying to get me to drag race them at a signal, I just anonymously faded into the background. Perfect.
My complaints were few, which was surprising, since I was on the verge of being cranky when I left the office. I forgot my iPod cable on my desk and the Regal doesn't have streaming Bluetooth. Oh well. Parking in my backyard requires some sharp maneuvers in very cramped quarters and there's no backup camera. Rear visibility is pretty poor, but the parking sensors did their job just fine.
While there's no such thing as a perfect car, the Regal was perfect for me — at least it was last night. I'm hoping to get the bounce back in my step real soon.
Having spent successive evening and morning commutes with both fine automobiles, here's why the Buick Regal is cooler than the TSX wagon:
-Mini iDrive-style dial controller falls right to hand fore of the armrest. The TSX's graphic user interface offers better color, contrast and larger font, but you have to lean to the center stack to use the dial. Longer periods of wandering the sat radio stations, or working the phone functions, necessitate dropping your shoulder and resting your elbow on your knee.
-On the same theme: scanning through the sat radio stations displays not only channel name, but current artist playing. Great for restless DJ'ing.
-Phonebook loads automatically on pairing. Easy to scroll through the phonebook and see who you can road dial.
-Regal sounds cooler than any alphanumeric name.
-Let’s not use the f-word (ffff…..floaty…sorry), but the Regal, intentionally or otherwise, keeps the road at a distance. If you're an old dude like Takahashi, that may be exactly what you want.
-Boost whistle is fun!
-Made for Americans by Germans.
Now, why the TSX wagon owns the Regal:
-Tighter chassis. Bushings, shock valving, spring rates, unibody "hoop" structure - whatever's responsible, the TSX is just tighter, more responsive and offers better relationship with the road. For some - perhaps the legacy Buick buyer - the TSX will be too stiff. For others, it's welcome and invigorating.
-More refined transmission. The TSX hangs onto revs better, and isn't as eager to shift as the Regal. Factor in the Regal's turbo lag - not unusual or excessive - and you end up bogging in sixth coming out of a hot corner more often than not. Caveat: this applies to standard D mode in both cars, but you can instantly grab a paddle for a downshift in the TSX in D-mode. Yes, I know you can grab the Regal's shifter, yank it into "manual" mode and push up for a downshift. TSX wins on simplicity.
-Better armrest than the Regal's sliver of support, impeded by two cupholders. So when I sweep my arm distractedly while talking to my agent about the meager percentage he negotiated, I can also knock my venti latte all over my leather passenger seat.
-TSX looks similar to Mazda6 wagon. Regal looks like Acura RL. Almost a tie, but decision goes to TSX for better inspiration.
-Bluetooth streaming.
-Made for Europeans by Japanese, and now a test case to see if Americans like the taste.
How not to sell a German-made American car to Americans: use cryptic icons instead of English.
Suggestion: "Cruise On." "Cruise Off." Drop the Audi thumbwheel in the middle. And play tracks from my elderly iPhone 3G. Regal infailtainment system loads up the tracks, artists and playlists fine from USB connection. Just doesn't actually play them (seriously).
I've encountered this on various cars before and it's annoying every time. I'm referring to steering systems that aren't damped when you get to the end of their travel. Seems trivial until you parallel park something a few times. Nothing worse than feeling — and hearing — that hollow pop.
The Regal does this and I'm not sure why. Most cars in this class have damped glove box doors. The least the Regal could have is a steering wheel that doesn't feel like it's hitting a racket ball every time you turn full lock. See what I mean in the video after the jump.
So I’m just getting into the traffic, anticipating the next 90 minutes it'll take to get there, and I spot a nicely equipped Honda Accord EX-L V6 in front of me. It starts at, what, $29,400?
And I say to myself, “Well, at least I’m not in that.”
I couldn’t believe I said it. The words just came right out of my mouth.
Times have changed, eh?
One time in a previous life I had to come up with an on-the-spot video standup for a Bentley Continental GT Speed. One of my colleagues at the time stared at the car, and offered: "Hmm...looks good, goes good, drives good. There you go." Gee, thanks a lot for the help, knucklehead.
Obviously the Bentley deserves more hyperbole than just "goes good."
I was reminded of this exchange as I drove the Buick home yesterday. "Looks good, goes good, drives good" is a pretty apt description of the Regal Turbo. And I don't mean that in a negative way in the least.
Looks good: Okay, this is a pretty subjective category. But in my humble opinion the Regal is a sharp looking sedan, with chiseled lines and a set of stylish 19-inch wheels filling up the fenders. Even better, when I look at the Regal I don't instantly think: "Buick."
Goes good: You'd think with 258 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm the Regal Turbo would be quick. But a healthy case of turbo lag means it hesitates off the line, and then can't even spin the front tires under full wood. But once it's moving, the little turbo-four offers more than adequate midrange punch. It's smooth, too, although the engine's sound is completely devoid of character. The quick (but overly light) steering works with a chassis that's definitely not afraid of corners.
Drives good: Much like Mark Takahashi mentioned a few posts back regarding the Regal, sometimes you just want to get home, with no need to be bowled over by a car's sportiness. The Regal's quiet interior, cushy seats (which actually do offer a minor amount of lateral support), good armrests and supple but composed ride do the trick just fine. In other words, the Regal Turbo is a damn good piece with which to while away the miles and traffic.
No, it's not going to blow you away with its capabilities in any one particular area, but yeah, the Regal Turbo does look good, go good and drive good. And sometimes, that's enough.
If you've been watching college basketball recently and not skipping too many commercials with your DVR, you've probably seen Buick's spot for the Regal Turbo (here and after the jump). It's a pretty cool commercial on its own and nicely conveys a message that Buick isn't the fuddy-duddy brand you used to know.
But there's one thing that could have made it even better.
There are quick cuts (five of them, actually) showing the driver using the manual shift gate for the automatic transmission. OK, sure, I get it. This is a driver's car, and driving equals shifting. But manually shifting an automatic just isn't much fun, at least compared to a traditional manual gearbox. And the cuts are made to make it look like he's shifting a manual.
Yet Buick actually offers a six-speed manual as a no-cost option for the Regal CXL Turbo. So why not feature the manual in the commercial? If the goal is to convey sport, the manual would have made the commerical a bit more true for the automotive enthusiast.
The 2011 Buick Regal Turbo serves as the next installment in my hard-hitting piece of investigative journalism that's been taking a deep look into which cars sold in the U.S. can handle the stuffage of a bicycle within their confines.
And...
Gotta love sedans with fold-down rear seats, especially ones that have a decent-sized pass-through like in the new Regal.
Also helping here are rear seats that fold flat enough to give ample space within that pass-through such that scraping the pedals against the rear speakers as you load/unload is barely a concern.
I had our Regal over the weekend and remembered that there are a couple features that I really enjoy. Both aren't specific to the Regal and are actually pretty common for GM vehicles. But both really deserve a Facebook "Like This" button.
The first is the "favorites" setup of the audio preset buttons. No longer are radio stations confined to bands with six slots only. With favorites, you can mix and match FM, AM and satellite radio however you want. And when you use the up and down seek button on the steering wheel, you move through each favorites grouping; there's no need to push "FAV" after every six stations. Personally, I just find it more convenient, and I think it reduces driver distraction as well.
The second one I find very useful is the ability to see actual tire pressure readouts. I did a post on this a few months ago on our Sonata — my basic point was: The car knows the tire pressures, so why not just show them to me? Well, our Regal's display (and, again, many other GM cars do as well) shows you pressure at each wheel.
I suspect most drivers probably don't care too much. Getting a low tire pressure warning light is enough for them. But if you're particular and like knowing your car's tire pressures, this means you don't have to manually check with a pressure gauge all the time anymore.
The devil is in the details in everything from carpentry to car design, and it's usually the little things that delight or bedevil the user over the long haul. While few drivers plug their iPods, iPhones and USB thumb drives (yes, we've listened to your suggestions on that last one) into as many cars as we do day in and day out, the simple yet ingenious design of the pop-out USB port and aux-in jack in the 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo deserve a shout-out.
In some cars, the USB port is buried deep in a center console, as in the 2010 Toyota Camry shown below at left. And you can't see how to plug it in while it swallows your whole hand. Or it's tucked in an inconvenient location on the dash, as in a Mini Clubman shown below at right. And with the kludgy sliding cover, you need two hands to plug in an iPod.
I didn't even notice the difference in the Regal till I pulled out of Edmunds' dark, subterranean parking garage one day. I was fumbling to find the USB port to plug in my iPhone before leaving the garage, but sometimes even in broad daylight the process can be a pain. A designer at Buick must have realized that just a little bit of leverage, as shown below, can make a big difference.
The LED accent lights on our Regal seem pretty well integrated to me. They certainly look better than what I've seen on some other cars (E-Class, 911) where it looks like the automaker did little more than tape on a strip of LEDs in a last-minute burst of fashion-driven, Audi "me-too!" jealousy.
At the same time, though, I hope automakers restrain themselves from putting LEDs on every single car that comes out. Otherwise the LED trend is going to start getting pretty tacky and overdone.
A friend of mine saw on the blog that I was driving our Regal CXL Turbo. "How does it compare to my IS 250?" he asked me. It was an interesting question. "I'm not sure," I told him. "Meet me for lunch with your IS and we'll find out."
My friend's Lexus IS 250 is rear-drive with six-speed automatic and 18-inch wheels. I was curious to drive the two cars as it's been a while since I've driven an IS. Plus, I think it's fair to say that the two cars are pretty close competitors.
His car is a 2008, but the IS haven't had any major mechanical updates since then. Here are a few 2011 Regal and 2011 IS 250 specs.
| Regal | IS 250 | |
|---|---|---|
| Base MSRP | $28,745 | $33,815 |
| Power | 220 hp | 204 hp |
| Torque | 258 lb-ft | 185 lb-ft |
| Weight | 3671 lbs | 3435 lbs |
| Combined | 22 mpg | 24 mpg |
I drove the cars back to back on a 20-minute loop that included city streets and some highway. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get some general impressions.
Powertrain: Neither car held a big advantage here. Around town the Regal is a bit quicker and more responsive, which makes sense given its greater amount of torque. Both transmissions have a manual mode; the Regal's shifts more quickly in manual mode, and has rev-matched downshifts as well.
But the IS does have column-mounted shift paddles (the Regal doesn't) and its 2.5-liter V6 sounds better than the Regal's grumbly 2.0-liter turbo-4. We also did a quick rolling acceleration run of the two cars from about 10 mph in second gear; I thought the Regal would be quicker, but the IS actually smoked the Regal off the line, so to speak. In hindsight, the Regal was boggy due to its turbo not being spooled up.
Handling: There wasn't much of an opportunity to compare here. But I prefer the Lexus' steering from a sporting standpoint, as it has more heft and seems to be more communicative. We've commented before on the blog that we're not fond of the Regal's overly light steering. In general, the IS 250 is tighter and sportier to drive.
Ride quality/road noise: The Regal is the more isolating of the two cars. Though both cars are similar in terms of ride quality and noise, the IS 250 is a louder when driving over rougher pavement and transmits more vibrations into the cabin.
Front seat comfort: Hard to say with such a short drive. But the Regal has more headroom.
Back seat comfort: It's well known that the IS 250 has a cramped rear seat. As such, the Regal is definitely superior in terms of rear legroom. However, rear headroom is about the same, and the IS 250 is better in regards to thigh support. As long as your legs aren't totally jammed up in the IS 250, you might actually find it more comfortable. In the Regal's favor, though, is its fold-down rear seat. The IS 250 only has a pass-through.
After our drive, I asked my friend what he thought of the Regal. He was pretty impressed and said he liked its styling, interior fit and finish, punchy engine and folding rear seat. The biggest drawback for him was the Regal's interior design — he found the control layout confusing and generally thought his IS was nicer. I'd pretty much agree with that. But overall our Regal had a good showing here and had some distinct advantages over an established entry-level luxury sport sedan.
Last month Donna posted a video of outward visibility in our Buick Regal. I would say that rear visibility is not so great due to the Regal's sloped, coupe-like rear window. This is no big deal by itself — the coupe-like roofline for sedans is a growing trend. But I'd personally appreciate having a rearview camera to complement or replace our CXL Turbo's rear parking sensors. With a camera, you can see what's behind you when in reverse, not just know "something" is back there.
A camera isn't offered currently for the Regal. But bundling it with the navigation system makes sense. Plus, most competing cars in the entry-level segment (Acura TL, Volvo S60, Lincoln MKZ, for instance) have cameras as options.
At last I’ve figured out the reason why there’s all this whining about the Buick Regal CXL’s steering. It’s big biceps.
These young guys around here have these big biceps, so naturally they seem to think that they should be using them all the time while they’re driving. You know, whipping the steering wheel back and forth, maybe sweating a little. Afterwards they beat their chests.
For them it’s all about steering effort, not steering. If it’s heavy, it must be good. Never mind communication, precision, quickness, linearity (or non-linearity) or a dozen other terms that encompass the vocabulary of steering. Instead heaviness prevails above all, perhaps because it is associated with straight-line stability.
Maybe it comes from my time with cars that have skinny tires and bad suspensions, but light-effort steering is fine with me. You drive with your fingertips, just like you do in a fast corner when you’re trying to feel the limit of adhesion from the tires. Steer too much and you can feel the tires sag and then give up, and then the car slows down. You can whip the steering wheel around and muscle the tires through a corner, but it’s an exercise largely for entertainment, not speed.
Light-effort steering just doesn’t bother me. Now that I no longer have biceps of any consequence, I no longer feel compelled to exercise them on the steering wheel. Maybe this puts me in the traditional Buick demographic, eh?
A couple days ago I wrote that our Regal would benefit from having a rearview camera. A few people commented that I was just whining and drivers get along just fine without them. Say what you will about all that, but along those lines allow me to present our Regal's electronic parking brake.
It comes standard on the Regal and, yes, it's another non-necessity. (It's certainly less of a necessity than a rearview camera.) Personally, I find electronic parking brakes mildly annoying as it just takes longer for the electronic motor to operate than it does with a traditional hand brake. (You just wasted a whole second of my life, man!) But Buick was smart to put one in anyway as I think consumers shopping for a premium sedan will see it as more luxurious than the typical hand- or foot-operated brake.
Swapped test cars with Brent Romans midway between the office and his place out in the Central Valley. He took the Mustang GT and I came away with the 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo, which sounds like a bad deal for me.
Only it didn't turn out that way.
We made the swap at the Denny's at the foot of the Grapevine. The last weather of April was blowing through and it was one of those days where you turn your head sideways at every crossroads and look down roads where you've never been before.
Lucky for me there was a Sig Alert on Interstate 5 at Templin Highway, so there was no getting back to L.A. on the freeway. Instead I turned the Regal toward the old Ridge Route, a road that no sane person would think to drive a Buick. Hey, it's a short cut, I told myself.
You get off at CA Highway 138, then just past Quail Lake and that weird old mansion that used to be a duck hunting club, you bear right on the old Ridge Route, the first highway into L.A. from the north when it opened in 1915. It's mostly intact even now, but unless you like driving at the speed of a Ford Model T and don't mind off-roading across the wash-outs, you probably want to take Pine Valley Road where it bears left toward Elizabeth Lake.
This is a great road beneath the oaks and across rolling foothills, open enough to get some speed on and yet winding enough to require some real driving. I've been going this way a long time now, in everything from motorcycles to a Ferrari 575M. The road is wide and well-paved but old, so the corners don't have any camber and it's easy to slither off into a dirt bank, especially when there's still dried mud on the road after the winter rains, like now.
You'd think a Buick would be fat and sloppy on a road like this, but you'd be dead wrong. It's so poised and supple that you want to get out and check the badge on the grille. Ah, that's right, there's an Opel-engineered chassis here, so the basic hardware is right and the Buick guys have tuned it great. The Regal bends into corners with excellent coordination — the body is under control and there's plenty of suspension travel to let the chassis roll across the bumps without upsetting the tires. This car is fluid rather than precise, yet you find the car flowing down the road effortlessly and just rolling up the miles.
I confess that I'm way more sensitive than most to the moment when a car makes its transition into a corner since I'm a left-foot braker, something that came to me because I happened to be standing in the vicinity when ex-Saab rally driver Stig Blomqvist explained the technique to C/D's Patrick Bedard. I'm always dragging the brakes a bit to make that transition as smooth as possible, keeping the front end from plunging to the suspension bump stops at this critical stage in cornering so you can use the grip in the front tires to best effect. I'm also persuaded that this is a smart thing to do on the open road when you don't really know the pavement ahead.
By the time I turned the Regal down Bouquet Canyon (William Mulholland laid down the Los Angeles aqueduct just one ridge over), driving downhill through those short, quick corners along the little ankle-deep creek than runs down from the reservoir, I'd pretty well decided that there would be no going back to the office. Instead I decided to do the whole test route, right across to Angeles Crest. So I turned left at Vasquez Canyon and cut across to the Serra Highway, the old road that the hot rod racers took to Muroc Dry Lake back in the 1930s. Finally I came to Soledad Canyon Road and drove through the trees there where the little river comes off the back side of Angeles Crest and across you can see the railroad tracks.
You turn right up Aliso Canyon (where almost no one goes), climbing at pretty good incline while diving in and out of the ravines. The turbo four-cylinder is really no help here, since it likes to percolate along at low rpm and let the transmission do all the work. Even so, the powertrain is not terrible, and just moving the transmission from gear to gear (ah, actually use the shift lever; what a concept!) lets you sustain momentum pretty easily. Just don't make a mistake, because there are no pretty noises to be made from the engine or the gearbox as you get up to speed again.
Since the big fire in the fall of 2009, the south side of Angeles Crest has been closed, so this run backwards up the north side was my first trip all the way across the mountains since then. All the chaparral scrub here on the dry side had been scorched right down to the rock and hardly a blade of grass showed even now after the winter rains, and you could still see the red blotches of fire retardant dropped by helicopters and the way the steep ravines had become chimneys of terrific heat. It was all a burned-over country, and the little place where we stopped for a drink both on motorcycles and in cars was just a stone chimney.
Even so the sun was cutting through clouds drifting across the stony gray peaks and there were moments when you might have thought you were in the Rockies (or even Switzerland). All the roads here are well engineered and the long, nicely cambered corners let you load up the tires and chassis pretty heavily. Again the Regal just shrugged it off as if you were driving to the bank, although again this is a momentum car — predictable rather than quick, best at sustained speed rather than quick bursts, and unresponsive to clumsy inputs to the steering wheel and pedals. If you're a grownup, you'll love it; if not, you'll hate it.
Since the main road down to La Canada was still closed, I turned the Regal down Big Tajunga and spilled out into the L.A. megalopolis in Sunland just past that big tree nursery. Finally I got on the freeway at Interstate 210 and found my way to Pasadena, but for all my afternoon's trouble I still myself trapped by commute-hour traffic between me and home.
So I hung out at a place and looked at about 200 paintings of California landscapes, of all things. (Hey, it's Pasadena, after all.) It was a perfect place to park a Buick, even one ticking with waste heat and covered in dead insects. It reminded me that no less than four cars pulled aside to let me through on two-lane roads during the afternoon, something that never happens in California. Maybe this is because this Buick looks good enough to convey a sense of purpose, yet doesn't seem self-indulgent like an Audi or BMW. Or maybe it's because I don't rush up into people's mirrors with headlights flashing and piss them off.
A typical short cut, since not only did I drive twice as far but also it took me twice as long to get there. But still a reminder that driving a car is more than pushing buttons and getting numbers as if it were a test tube experiment. When you drive, you go places, and it leads to things that you might not have otherwise seen.
Our long-term 2011 Buick Regal Turbo isn't the quickest sedan around, but it does have an impressive top end. Like 144 mph impressive. That's right, 144 mph. And it likes life at that velocity. Dead stable. No drama. Felt like it could cruise at that speed all day.
Remember is was born in bred in Germany kids.
Truth is, I think the Regal hit a speed limiter at 144 mph. Notice there's still some room left on the tach. Left to run out I think this is a 150 mph car.
Very cool.
Since Tuesday evening I've driven our long-term 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo more than 500 miles. And this afternoon, on the way back from Mojave, CA, it broke the 5,000 mile mark on its odometer.
So far the Regal has proven problem free and the more I drive it the more I like it. As the miles pile up I'm fast becoming a Regal fan.
The 2011 Buick Regal is generally considered the car that has the monumental mission of reviving the glory days of the entry-lux brand. Toward that effort, GM has updated many aspects of the European-engineered baby Buick, and if you've followed our posts on our long-term CLX Turbo model the past couple of months, you know that this particular car has pretty much lived up to the task.
One thing that hasn't changed in regard to the Regal is the premium sound system brand: Harman Kardon has been offered before in Buicks, most recently the 2010 LaCrosse. A well-known logo on the speakers or radio doesn't always assure quality. But as with other attributes of the new Regal, the H/K sound system can more than hold its own compared to other offerings in the segment.
The Setup
The Harman Kardon system in the 2011 Buick Regal CLX Turbo consists of nine speakers powered by 320 watts. The speakers include a 3.5-inch midrange in the center of the dash, a 1-inch tweeter in the "mirror patch" in each front door and a 6.5-inch woofer lower down, another 6.5-inch woofer in each rear door and a pair of 6x9-inch subwoofers in the rear deck.
The Sound
As with every sound system we test, I listened to 10 musical tracks that I've heard in literally hundreds of vehicles to gauge clarity/lack of distortion, tonal balance, timbre, tonal accuracy, soundstaging, imaging and dynamics. The music on these tracks ranges from jazz to folk to rock and rap. I also use several non-musical tracks to further test soundstaging, imaging, linearity and absence of noise. For more details on this testing process and the tracks used, click on the Edmunds.com article Sound Advice.
Overall, the Harman Kardon system performed impressively, and in every sound-quality category it scored well above average. The midbass boom and high-end sizzle that's the scourge of lesser car audio systems was largely tamed in the Regal. Test tracks like Red House Painters' "Cabezon" and Luka Bloom's "Cold Comfort" feature thick, resonant acoustic-guitar tones that make many systems to buckle in the midbass region and steely treble that cause high notes to screech. But the Regal's H/K system kept its composure for the most part. Bass from the two 6x9 subs was also surprisingly solid and only somewhat distorted. The lowest frequencies did noticeably emanate from the rear, however, which gave some songs a ping-pong effect.
Aside from this and a few other minor quibbles, the system reproduced the test tracks in great detail and with a sense of spaciousness and lifelike dynamics. The soundstage was sizable and imaging realistic if not pinpoint accurate. In the mostly instrumental jam "Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me" by Bluesiana Triangle, cymbals and drums floated above the dash and a flute solo that starts at about two minutes into the track was centered the way it should be.
I always play a couple of non-musical test tracks — one with three voices mixed so that they appear in the left, center and right portions of the soundstage, and the other with seven drum beats that are supposed to be spaced at precise intervals across the dash — to double-check imaging and staging. The system easily passed the seven-drumbeats test, but the other track revealed that while the left and right voices were spread very far to either side, the center voice could be detected in the left and right channels. So it failed the test but passed in recreating a solid center image with music, which is what counts. The system also scored a fair and good rating, respectively, for linearity, a measure of how the sound holds up at low and mid volume levels. And it aced the absence-of-noise/zero-bits test.
The Sources
The Regal sports a single CD/DVD player in the dash with AM, FM and XM radio. And since our car has a hard-disk nav system, GM's Time Shift feature that allows storing up to 20 minutes of a live AM or FM broadcast in a buffer is available. Ten gigs of the 40GB HD is also reserved for music storage. MP3 and WMA files as well as audiobooks from Audible.com can be ripped from CDs as well as USB drives. And the transfer process is fast; it took about 30 seconds to rip six WMA music files from a USB drive to the car's HD.
Of course, you can also just play the files straight from the USB drive, and that the Regal's USB port and the aux-in jack in the center console slightly fold out is a nice touch. Music files on a USB are organized in the typical folders/playlists, artists, albums, songs and genres structure. An iPod can be connected using the USB sync cable that comes with the device and uses the same menu, but adds composers, podcasts and audiobooks.
The interface for accessing your tunes on a USB drive or iPod won't win any awards, but isn't quite the nightmare that one editor described it as for navigation purposes. Once you get past thinking that the in-dash monitor is a touch-screen interface — and clean away the fingerprints — the iDrive-like controller in the center console becomes the main point of contact. And it saves you from having to use the funky multi-directional knob in the center stack if you don't order nav.
What We Say
GM deserves credit for making many great decisions with the new Regal. Part of our job is to nitpick the vehicles in our long-term fleet, but I found few major flaws with the 2011 Regal CXL Turbo's Harman Kardon sound system.
Well, there's one: We had to spend $5,690 on the T07 option package to get the system along with the nav, a sunroof, HID headlamps, 19-inch alloy wheels, rear-seat airbags and Buick's Interactive Drive Control System. You can also get the H/K system starting at $2,445 for the T03 option package, but that's still a lot of coin. And it's still bundled with the sunroof, HIDs and rear airbags and isn't available a la carte.
So it comes down to how much you value good audio. Or how badly you want the other items in the package. And whether you still believe in Buick.
The Scores
Sound: B+
Sources: B
iPod Integration: B-
Cost: C
Our long-term Buick Regal Turbo has some serious range. The tank recorded above in the photo included plenty of full throttle acceleration and two WOT blasts up to the car's top speed of 144 mph (Which, by the way, was not faked on the dyno. Ask Josh Jacquot. He was was riding shotgun and took the photos.).
Drive it like grandma and I'll bet the Regal can cover 500 miles on a tank. Easy.
In 1976, a blind tasting that came to be known as the Judgment of Paris turned the wine world on its head. Two wines from California's Napa Valley, the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, beat out their French competitors (and it was French judges doing the tasting). Quel scandale.
I thought about that tasting this weekend when my car-loving husband was driving the Buick Regal CXL Turbo. He didn't love it — didn't hate it, but was decidedly unimpressed. "It's a Buick," he said repeatedly, as though that explained everything. (I should add that the last American car he owned was a very sad little used Gremlin. It's been Japanese and German cars ever since.)
"What if you couldn't see any badges or logos?" I asked. "What would you think you were driving?" He pondered that. "A Japanese luxury brand," he said. I somehow think GM wouldn't mind hearing that, even if the Regal was engineered in Europe. It beats what some people say about Buicks.
It's too bad that we can't blind test-drive cars (as opposed to test-driving blind — not advisable). There's so much baggage associated with a car's history and its marketing that it can be hard to shake that off when you get behind the wheel. GM is featuring Buicks in its Main Street in Motion events in the belief that if it can get people to just drive the cars, for crying out loud, they'd like them — perhaps despite their name.
So what do you think? Can a car's history drag it down? Is it possible to test-drive with a completely open mind?
The rear view on our long-term 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo is limited. Like many vehicles today that have coupe-like styling, the Regal has a tall rear parcel shelf and trunk deck lid.
This makes it a little bit tough to see out the rear window when reversing. Our Regal also doesn't have a back up camera. But at least it does have defeatable rear parking sonar, which works fine.
So far though, the rear view hasn't been a problem.
GM has always known how to keep Americans cool. Its air conditioners are not subtle but they are the best in my opinion.
Our Buick Regal is no exception. Strong fan, easy-to-use controls and they cool the car quickly even on the lowest setting. BMW take note.
I've been driving around in the Buick Regal this weekend and the driver-side floor mats were all over the place. I kept bolting them back down but couldn't really get them to stay in place. Maybe my weak girly hands couldn't snap them into place correctly.
Every time I got in and out the floor mats slipped off again. It's not like I have big lumberjack feet or anything. No offense to any lumberjacks in our audience. But you know how dangerous it can be to have incorrectly placed floor mats.
What's the floor mat situation in your vehicle?
Bonus Question: Can you guess which sitcom I watched about 12 reruns of this weekend? (weak girly hands and big lumberjack feet)
The last time I drove our long-term Regal, I was pretty tired and just wanted to get home. It was the perfect car at that moment. Last night, however, I still had some spring in my step, so I wondered how the Buick would fare in this state of mind. Generally speaking, I still think it's a well-rounded and very comfortable ride. But...
My girlfriend and I were making our way to get some of the best tacos in my area (Pinches Tacos on Sunset, if you must know). I was at a stop sign, waiting for a break in cross traffic. Finally, there was a three-second window and I punched it.
I said, "I punched it."
Hello?
Rather than a quick dash across the intersection, I was greeted by a wheeze and a slow crawl halfway through the boulevard. About three-quarters of the way through the intersection, the engine finally sprang to life, and I kept my foot planted so as not to impede my fellow motorists.
This experience was as deserving as one of my flowcharts as our diesel Jetta was. I'm wondering if it turbo lag was solely responsible for this lack of response. In any case, the next time I need a shot off the line, I'll get a running start.
No, this is not bizaro-Earth with two suns, the 2011 Buick Regal's dash is just concave enough to split the sun in two, focus the rays and shoot both of them like super-lasers directly into your face. The camera here is positioned directly over my eye (then cropped). And to make things worse, this bit isn't even chrome, it's black. It's slightly annoying when I'm staring straight ahead, and fairly blinding if I need to check my passenger-side mirror.
A few weeks ago Ford released a video and news story about their interior glare lab which features an artificial sun replicating dusk-to-dawn. (Though they didn't seem to care about the Mustang's gauges reflecting on the windshield at night, but that's another blog.) I wonder if GM has one.....
Luckily, with my commute, this only happens the entire drive home and back.
There's not a whole lot about the Regal that reinforces the old stereotypes many still have about Buicks. It doesn't wallow and sway like a Mississippi riverboat and its sheet metal doesn't look like it belongs in a retirement village parking lot.
But there's one thing about it that feels very Buick: its glove box, which is big enough to look like it belongs in one of the manufacturer's colossal land barges from yesteryear. Lots of room there, and there's a separate little storage cubby, as well. It's the kind of glove box that laughs at all those pint-sized glove boxes that can barely hold an owner's manual.
I drove our long term Buick Regal last night and I came away impressed with the car. Here are a few things that caught my attention:
1. Comfortable: I chose the Regal because I wanted a comfortable ride and it didn't let me down. I thought that the 19-inch wheels would affect the ride quality, but the ride never suffered as even as I drove over potholes and cracked pavement.
2. Information Display: While this display isn’t exclusive to the Regal (Our Cruze has it too), I love the amount of information it gives you. You can check your tire pressure, condition of the oil, average fuel economy, navigation info, and trip information.
3. HID/LED Lights: Xenon lights aren’t standard on the Regal, but if I were purchasing one, I would definitely check off that option. Xenon lights are only available on the turbo model, which give them a degree of exclusivity among other Regals. I'm also digging the LED eyebrows on the headlights. It makes your car easy to spot in the daytime and looks cool.
As you can see, I have five keys. I'm sure some of you have more and some of you have less. By the way, please don't turn this into a key chain pissing match. I will be severely disappointed.
Anyway, as you can see, when I'm comfortably situated in our Regal, my keys tickle the top of my leg in a flirtatious manner. Had the keys been attractive, I wouldn't have minded, but as they're metal and incapable of love, it really bugged me.
It seems like a fairly obvious oversight, yes? Keyless start would do the trick, or maybe I should get over my fear of sensual metal.
I got a chance to drive a Buick Lacrosse home last night and was once again impressed by a sedan that truly deserves the prefix "luxury." Seriously, the Lacrosse needs a lot more love than it gets. However, it got me thinking about our long-term Regal and how underwhelmed I've been by it. The driving experience and interior haven't lived up to the expectations I had for the Regal after reading about the Opel Insignia upon which Buick slapped badges. It's a shame, because I think it looks great.
Now, even though I was driving a fully loaded $40,000 Lacrosse, I was curious to know how much one would be if it was equipped to the level of our long-term Regal. Now, the two can't actually be equally equipped due to packaging differences, but with a few features missing and a few others added on, a comparable Lacrosse CXL with the V6 would cost $36,660. It wouldn't have our Regal's good looks, 2 mpg advantage, 19-inch wheels, xenon lights or interactive drive control (wouldn't need the latter), but the Lacrosse would have a bigger sunroof, a better stereo, more interior space, a higher quality cabin, a usable navigation system, a more powerful engine and actual steering feel. You'd also have access to even more optional goodies.
Frankly, I think that's worth an extra two grand over our Regal's $34,435 price tag. Sure, the Lacrosse isn't a sport sedan, but A) I don't think the Regal is much of one to begin with and B) I don't think most people who'd consider one of these two cars would care. If you had a choice, buy the Lacrosse.
First off, I know I'm horrible for dwelling on this detail. But second off, it disappoints me every time I get in the car. It's the seatbelt buckle. I haven't run across a seatbelt buckle like this in over a decade. It's big, clunky, and reminscent of the buckle in my family's '87 Olds Custom Cruiser — except it's unsatisfying plastic instead of metal.
This buckle in no way impacts comfort, but it's out of place in what's supposed to be a cooler, smaller, better-handling Buick. No, it doesn't make the car any slower or less agile, but it makes the car seem older than it really is every time you go for a drive. And it invites the question "If Buick couldn't spend money here, where else did the executives try to save a dime?"
I drove our Buick Regal CXL Turbo behind the Orange Curtain last night to meet a friend for yummy Vietnamese food in Costa Mesa. My iPhone needed charging so I plugged it in, and rather than click over to FM news, I just let it play through the "All Songs" setting that came up.
OK, to tell the truth, I wasn't that familiar with the Regal's audio system so I couldn't figure out how to get it out of All Songs and switch over to my iPhone's playlist while doing 65 mph on the San Diego Freeway. As my colleagues have pointed out, the Regal's in-dash monitor sure looks like a touch-screen interface, but isn't. I abandoned that smudgy effort and just drove. And it was pleasant to hear a bunch of A-list songs I hadn't heard in a while, from "Al Otro Lado del Rio" to "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan and Paul Weller versions) to "Avientame."
Once I'd parked, I did discover the magical "iDrive like" controller in the center console, and switched to a playlist for the drive home. But I'm tempted to dip into the B-list songs on my next drive. Serendipity is fun sometimes.
Our Regal's interior isn't the cheeriest place on earth. All that black leather and chrome leaves it on the cold side, but there are some nice details that liven it up a little.
The contrasting stitching always strikes me as a high quality detail and the large piece of brushed metallic door trim on the door isn't bad either. The designers could have simply used one small piece on the handle, but instead they went for a larger piece that's better integrated into the whole door. And finally, note the way the door meets the dash panel. It's straight and the design is continuous, two things that are not always easy to pull off.
I'm going to go ahead and agree with Monsignor Takahashi that the 2011 Buick Regal CXL is one of the finer vehicles in our fleet at tuning out the world and simply commuting. In this regard, I'm thrilled with the Regal: It's not numb, it's easy. Astronauts living on the space shuttle say that it's a disconcerting feeling being so separated from Mother Earth and this is, unfortunately, the way some car makers view isolation. The 2011 Regal isn't like that. The steering is light but feels connected to something. The suspension does the work of absorbing virtually all road imperfections, but there's an audible and reassuring *pfft* of compression to let you know that something happened — think Audi suspension or that of our G8 GT. The brakes slow the car without requiring effort. And maybe most of all, the engine does everything I need on a commuting basis without beating me over the eardrums that there's an engine with a turbo in this thing.
These aren't enthusiast traits and that's okay. Not all cars have to be enthusiast cars and not all enthusiasts have to want to commute in a race-spec Miata. I've tried that. It's not fun. There is, however, one area the Buick falls flat: Visibility. And not the kind you're thinking of....
Driving some 150-200(?) +- cars a year, you not only get a sense of what different vehicles are like, but how they're perceived by the public at large. You want road respect? Grab an S-Class; people get out of the way. You want to steer clear of cops but still make time? Acura RL. You want to pick up chicks? Get a Wrangler. Trust me. You want to get cut off by every person trying to merge onto the roadway? Drive a Buick Regal.
It's like this car is invisible here in LA. I can't remember a car that has been so blatantly ignored by the driving public and not just today. I've been ranting in the office about this for a while now. Maybe it's the color. Maybe I'm so busy being isolated from the world I'm leaving gaps. I don't know. I only know that when I drive the Regal, I get cut off. A lot. Good thing about those light brakes, ey?
Any traffic respect stories our there? I know one of you has family with a Unimog, that's gotta do something to people...
PS: Unrelated, but I saw more Veyrons this weekend than I did Regals with a final count of 3:1.
My grandfather owned a black Buick LeSabre T-Type, which was quite possibly the last cool Buick ever made. When he had to switch company cars, the T-Type was out of commission and he had to get a regular old LeSabre instead. Despite being in his 60s, he lamented the fact that he was driving an "old man's car."
Well, I think he would like this new Regal. It's not as cool as that T-Type, but it certainly isn't an old man's car.
I usually treat the "Comfort" option in selectable drive settings as if it actually said "kick to the business" or "mustard gas release." Be it an Audi, BMW or whatever, I don't want whatever floaty ride, nebulous steering and top-gear-happy transmission programming comes with a car's softest setting. If that's comfort, I'm happy being uncomfortable.
But then I was driving on L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard yesterday, which if compared to a street in Kabul, it would be an insult to Kabul. Brent Romans recently popped by my neighborhood from his home up north in Fresno and declared, "I completely forgot how horrible the roads are around here." I'm not saying there's a street wherever you live that isn't just as bad or worse, but I am saying that what is essentially LA's main East-West street looks like something from Life After People.
Right, well, as such I pressed the Regal's "Tour" button to see how it changed the suspension for Bomb Range Boulevard (In France, this button automatically programs the navigation system to go here). And you know what? It did a great job, as I could tell a clear difference between Tour, regular and Sport. The latter actually lets in a surprising amount of impact harshness, though in Sport you can specify which attributes you want changed.
So I pressed Tour, but only for crap pavement. And kudos to Buick for offering such a technology when other cars at this price point do not.
Here's the latest installment in your favorite Long-Term Road Test blog series "Inside Line Editor Goes to Vegas Under the Guise of Business." This time, it's true, though. I'm going there to drive a couple new cars. And I'll be using our Buick Regal Turbo for the 566-mile round trip.
I'm looking forward to it, as I drove the Regal over the weekend. Already, I've decided that the 220-horsepower, turbocharged and direct-injected, 2.0-liter four-cylinder should be the base engine on the Regal CXL, not the step-up option. Straightline performance is just fine with this engine. There's just enough torque for passing, even in this heavy car, and you hear the turbo every now and then. It's kinda good — far better than the normally aspirated 2.4-liter.
Also, I'm really liking the ride quality over LA freeways and city streets, and I haven't even bothered with the Tour and Sport modes yet. So this bodes well for the next 283 miles ahead of me today.
If you have any questions about the Regal that I might be able to answer over the next 3 days, post them here and I'll do my best to respond.
Nope, this isn't our CXL, that's the 2012 Regal GS which was just announced to have 270 horsepower from a 2.0-liter I4. Highest specific output of any engine certified by the SAE. Oh, and it's available with a manual. Our CXL makes due with only 220 horsepower and an automatic.
This one should be fun....
I'm back from Vegas, and I'm pretty satisfied with our turbocharged 2011 Buick Regal as a road trip car. Although the Regal 2.0T never feels that potent leaving the line, it had adequate mid-range torque for climbing all the passes between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and the turbo 2.0-liter engine never felt strained.
A 0.68 6th gear (combined with a 3.33 final drive) has the engine down around 2,000 rpm at 70 mph, but the Aisin six-speed automatic was pretty quick to step down when I needed more revs for passing. However, I did notice that it upshifted a little roughly in a few instances.
Fuel economy for my 578-mile trip was very good, though my "fuel economy run" on the trip home left a bit to be desired. I'll explain.
On the trip out to Vegas, I was semi-hurried and I set the cruise control to 79 mph. After 290.2 miles, I put it 9.395 gallons of 91 octane. That's 30.9 mpg and pretty darn impressive considering my pace and the Regal Turbo's 18 city/28 highway/22 combined EPA rating.
On the trip back to Los Angeles, I thought, OK, I can do better than that. So I tried to keep as close as could to 70 mph — not easy when other Vegased-out motorists are hightailing it back to L.A. I set the cruise on the flat sections of road, but cancelled it on the steeper grades so I could modulate the throttle more precisely (uphill) or allow the car to coast (downhill). So what I did get?
After 287.7 miles, I put in 9.363 gallons of 91 octane for... 30.7 mpg. Meh.
Why didn't I do any better? Well, for obvious logistical reasons, I refueled at different pumps and, although my refueling method was consistent, it's possible I got a short fill in Vegas. Also, I didn't drive the same route obviously since it was an up-and-back trip. I should also note that I set the air conditioner lower (sometimes as low as 70 degrees) on the drive back because the car wasn't staying cool enough at my preferred 76 degrees — perhaps because I sat in the sun on the drive south, whereas as I was in shade on the trip northward. Finally, I was in stop-and-go traffic for the last 20 miles of the return trip.
So this was a failed test, completely unscientific, and no conclusions can be drawn. However, it was far more relaxing to drive the Buick at a 79-mph pace, so if I owned this car, that's what I'd do, speed limit permitting.
One other note, it was very hot (107 degrees) around Vegas and in California's Mojave Desert yesterday, and I noticed exactly the same apparent heat-soak phenomenon Dan has reported in our Cruze (also turbocharged) during his trip to Phoenix — several times I stopped to take photos, and when I restarted the Regal, it felt like I was pulling away with the parking brake still on. I kept triple-checking. But it was never on. The car just didn't want to get moving.
Thanks to ergsum for this week's favorite caption. Here are the others that made us roll.
At the Hotel Cortez, you can check in, but you can never leave. (ralphhightower)
Hourly rate for AARP members? (stephned1003)
Slot Car (ergsum)
Proof that Cortez never discovered the fountain of youth... (deagle13)
It's not your grandfather's Buick, but it is his hotel. (throwback)
What happens in the Regal, stays in the Regal. (ergsum)
The Regal goes in for its first dealer visit. (aleclance)
Pokey and the One-Armed Bandit (ergsum)
Regal CXL Turbo, it's no stripper. (ergsum)
Buick puts its owners on a pedestal (noburgers)
If you stare at this photo long enough, a car will appear (greenpony)
Lagging, baby? I know a place we can rest... (finn4723)
Would Takahashi hide in this trunk? (greenpony)
Will one of the prize choices be an island shirt? (technetium99)
You have arrived at your destination, thank you for using OnStar. (finn4723)
Edmunds' low per diem rate forces female journalist to stay in dodgy part of town. (agentorange)
What happens in the Buick, stays in the Buick. (finn4723)
Buick Regal, don't roulette out. (ergsum)
Poker?! I don't even know her! (ergsum)
Erin had a choice between a loafer or a high heel. (ergsum)
What was your favorite?
To the winner:
You can select any of the items in my prize drawer:
- red fuzzy dice
- Top Gear Season 14 (Blu-ray only)
- GM Design paperweight
- Mercedes history DVD
- Hendrick Motorsports DVD
Senior Editor Erin Riches sent me this photo from her trip to Las Vegas. Looks like the Buick was trying to make time with this lovely dancing lady.
What is your caption?
We'll post our favorite this afternoon.
You've already seen the fuel economy results for my road trip to Vegas in our long-term 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo. Now I'll give you my verdict on comfort.
Ride quality is pretty agreeable. On some roads (the less good ones), it's a tad harsh/brittle, and I wonder if the optional 19-inch wheels aren't to blame (yep, I'm quick to blame). Mostly, though, the Regal is to my liking — the ride is controlled with just enough compliance dialed in for the interstates of the American West.
Meanwhile, the steering has a comfortable dead spot on center and just enough feel to make the car feel buttoned down as you're cruising. The effort level is OK as you steer through cloverleaf on- and off-ramps, but there's not enough feedback to remind you that this is the sporty turbo model.
The cabin stays pretty quiet. The main thing you notice on the highway is some road noise. Again, I waggle my finger disapprovingly at the 19s, which aren't even that attractive as 19s go. Lemme see the brake calipers, for pete's sake, even if they're generic looking sliding calipers.
Seat comfort in the Buick is better than I expected, given that the cushioning looks and feels pretty flat. For long-distance travel, this driver seat is more supportive than the one in the TSX. On the 4-hour drive to Vegas, I had zero complaints.
On the trip home, I drove around the city and stopped to take photos, and it ultimately took about 6 hours to get back to L.A. After the 4-hour mark passed, a case of "dead butt," as Bryn calls it, began to set in even though I used cruise control whenever reasonable. Still, I didn't get a backache, and credit is likely due to the firm cushioning Buick/Opel used for this seat. (Cruise control works great in this car, by the way. I love how GM never makes you turn it off so you can "save" your speed and keep hitting resume.)
Bottom line, if I had to take another road trip in our Regal CXL Turbo, I wouldn't be disappointed.
I was hurried when I left town for my recent trip to Vegas in our long-term 2011 Buick Regal Turbo and I forgot to program the navigation system before I left L.A. Oh, drat, I thought, I don't want to lose precious time stopping to enter a destination in the nav... because this is one of those nav systems that locks out everything except "previous destination" functionality when the car is moving.
And then I remembered that the voice control works pretty well in the Regal.
As it happened, I had the address in Las Vegas written on a piece of paper. And if you press the voice button, and say "enter new destination," the computer will lead you step by step through the entry process, logically beginning with the state, then the city, then the street and finally the house number.
And instead of repeatedly saying "Pardon" when it can't make out my strange voice, it gives you a list of possible things you might have said and asks you to choose the item number. Above is the list I get when I say "California"; however, last week I was of course saying "Nevada."
Within 60-90 seconds, I had my address entered, and all I had to do was press the #6 preset button to start guidance. So easy. And I was able to make it all 280 miles to Vegas without stopping.
I have absolutely no feeling about our long-term Buick. I'm so plain blah to it, that I can't even remember what model it is.
I get in thinking "Lacrosse?" and get out thinking, "Lucerne?..Wait do they even make that anymore?"
It's not that there's anything specifically wrong with the Regal for me. It's just that there's nothing compelling either.
Someone, please. Make me care about this car.
I'm fifty-fifty on the Regal. One the one hand, it's a comfortable, well put-together car, and when I haven't seen it for a while, I'm surprised at how handsome its exterior really is. On the other hand? Meh. The car just doesn't rate high on my excitement scale.
But that's me. Recent buyers of the 2011 Buick Regal are giving it big props in our consumer reviews. More than 30 of them have weighed in, with most opting for the base 2.4-liter engine, not the turbo. There are only seven takers for our car in this group.
Several people had owned German and Japanese luxury brands such as BMW or Infiniti, along with the odd Saab. And so they started their shopping among the usual import "suspects." But they bought the Regal instead. It's very interesting that several buyers volunteered that they are in their 30s or 40s, and seem a little surprised at themselves for having chosen a car that's historically been the favorite of the pension crowd.
The Regal gets five stars from this mini-group of buyers. "Imports in this price range have something to be concerned about," one buyer wrote. Another, thinking of his comparsion class of Acura, Audi, Saab and BMW models, said "I always thought to myself, 'Why doesn't the U.S ever build cars like (that.)' Maybe they just did."
That's got to be music to GM's ears.
Over the weekend, our 2011 Buick Regal CXL 2.0T and I went off on another adventure, this time to Santa Rosa, California, some 428 miles to the north, for a wedding.
This was a lot of mileage to pack into 52 hours, so I didn't attempt any fuel economy heroics and just stayed with the flow of traffic on Interstates 5 and 580, and U.S. 101. The drive back on Sunday was littered with numerous traffic delays due to the Sprint Cup race at Infineon and roadwork near Bakersfield. So I didn't come close to my 30.8-mpg average for the Vegas trip.
But we still did pretty well, always running on 91 octane. Behold:
Fuel Stop #1 (Santa Rosa): 467.9 miles --> 17.034 gallons --> 27.5 mpg
Fuel Stop #2 (Los Angeles): 454.3 miles --> 16.299 gallons --> 27.9 mpg
Total: 922.2 miles --> 33.333 gallons --> 27.7 mpg
Since I've already regaled you with various details about what our turbo Regal is like on a road trip, I was a little worried that I wouldn't have any new ramblings to share. But not to worry. Turns out there's a lot to think about over 900 miles, and this time my boyfriend was along and had plenty of his own opinions.
One thing we agreed on is that the HID headlights were not up to snuff when driving at night on Santa Rosa's dimly lit streets nor on Highway 12 between Santa Rosa and Sonoma. The brightness of the lights is just OK in low-beam mode, and the range is very limited, so I was always feeling like I needed to switch to the high-beams — which is a hassle when there's a lot of opposing traffic. Time permitting before our 6-month loan ends, we'll see if we can have these headlights re-aimed.
Below is a short video (with my significant other acting as the in-car mount) from I-5 to give you a very rough idea of how far the headlights reach. And below that are a few shots of the Sprint Cup trucks that kept us company yesterday evening.
More thoughts from the road coming tomorrow.
I had plenty of time to consider the ride quality in our long-term 2011 Buick Regal CXL 2.0T during my 900-mile weekend road trip. Overall, I'd call it pretty good, but I'm not convinced the adaptive dampers provide that much of a benefit... over the conventional shocks on the Regal 2.4.
In the default Normal mode, the Regal is compliant enough for me on most roads, but definitely on the firm side. As soon as we hit the Grapevine/Cajon Pass stretch of Interstate 5, though, my boyfriend pointed out that the ride was getting pretty busy, as the suspension and tires weren't filtering out enough of the small, quick impacts. So we switched to Tour, and sure enough, as James wrote, this mode subtly but usefully softens up the damping response and improves comfort over rougher pavement.
Although it's nice to be able to call up some extra compliance on our turbo Regal, the conventional dampers on the base Regal 2.4 I drove worked just fine. Ride quality was actually the thing I liked most about the Regal 2.4, and I remember that our test car was particularly adept at insulating its occupants from small impacts. The setup on our Regal 2.0T is certainly acceptable in Normal/Tour, but I'd bet I like this car as much or more on the base 2.4 suspension.
Further, I don't care for the Sport damping mode on our Regal CXL Turbo. It's too harsh for most roads and it doesn't do much to make the Regal feel sporty. I drove on some back roads in Sonoma County, but I wasn't about to use Sport. Too much of a compromise.
On a completely unrelated note, our Regal's nav system brings up this screen whenever it activates the low fuel warning. This is an incredibly handy feature when you're driving in an unfamiliar city, and I took advantage of it in Santa Rosa.
American cars, and GM vehicles in particular have long had a reputation for very effective air conditioners. As a kid, I remember my dad's 1971 Buick Electra's automatic climate control (yes, they had it back then) doing a great job of keeping that massive interior cool during those hot New England summer days.
With temps hitting the mid-90s here in So Cal the other day, our Buick Regal did a nice job upholding this tradition (even if it is actually a car from GM of Europe and not the U.S.). The air coming out the vents was cold enough that I was able to maintain a comfortably cool cabin with the fan on low. Because cool and quiet is how I roll.
Last week I was in Germany visiting Jaguar's test center at the Nurburgring. Yes, I got to drive the new XKR-S on the Nordschleife. Yes, it was unbelievably cool. Yes, everyone should get to drive that track atleast once in their lifetime. Yes, I'll shut up and get to the point of this blog post.
And that point is this Opel Insignia wagon, which I spotted parked up the street from the Nurburgring, about 100 feet from Jaguar's test center.
Look familiar? That's right, it's a Buick Regal wagon. Or atleast it would be if GM imported this bodystyle into the United States.
Considering Cadillac has sold 7 or 8 CTS wagons this year I doubt GM is seriously considering this, but it would be cool. What do you think?
Magrath quibbled about our longterm 2011 Buick Regal's reflective cabin trim, but missed the frickin' mirror that surrounds its console shifter. I assumed this metallic bad idea would have been blogged to death but I didn't find anything, so here it is.
Now, the Regal's not alone in having unnecessarily shiny bits in the cabin — not by a long shot — but this monstrosity of bling is a particularly nasty example, as it's polished to truly painful degree and shines from beneath the rim of the sunglasses.
At least the console mirror is curvy so that when you move your head to dodge one source of insane glare, three other locations take over to send lasers into your eyes. Who thought this was a good idea?
Our Buick Regal is not equipped with a backup camera. Not a problem, I'll just turn my head and look around by myself.
It's amazing, though, how quickly we get used to little luxuries and modern safety features.
I walked up to the Buick this weekend and saw this mark on the passenger-side A-pillar. No, I wasn't driving when this happened because, yes, I'd remember it. Perhaps I missed the previous blog when it first occurred. From the look of it (mostly black smudges that come off with some thumb-nail scraping) my best guess is a flying tire tread. There's also a fairly significant abrasion/line of scratches in the paint above the smudge and, following my theory, might be from the steel belts(?).
I'll have a run at it with some car-care products today.
So this happened this weekend...
Me, (without looking), "Get in the car, PLEASE. Are you in your booster? Buckled?"
My daughter (now 7-years old), "Can I sit here, Daddy?"
Me, "No, Honey-Bun. You have to sit in your booster because the belt (now looking), Oh. Um. You're right, this car does have quite a big hump back there and the belt is in the right place on your shoulder. Hm. Your legs aren't straight. Uh, it looks like, yes, you may sit there."
Her, "Yay! Does this mean I don't need my booster anymore?"
Me, "Nope, we'll have to look at each car to see if you fit. You're right on the border between a full 'Yes' and a 'Maybe.' In this car, 'Yes."
Her, "Thank you, Daddy."
Of course, I'm experiencing mixed feelings (pride and fear mostly), but this is a significant moment for her and also the beginning of the end of hauling yet another childhood aparatus around. Sheesh, the days are long and the years are short.
...and it did buff out thanks to the guys at our favorite car wash. There is one scratch, however that did remain from the initial smudge, but it's barely noticeable.
The Regal lights up in a turquoise-and-robin-egg-blue color scheme when night sets in. Another look at the cabin after nightfall follows after the jump.
Interestingly (or not), the name "robin egg blue" has been trademarked by jewelry maker Tiffany and Co. — it's the shade used in the company's packaging.
Maybe automakers who use this hue do so hoping it will bring images of expensive Tiffany's baubles to mind and make their cabins feel upscale by association.
What do you think? Is the whole turquoise-and-blue thing working for you?
This scene made me sad. There, our 911 Carerra, forlorn and parked for the night. No takers and me settled into the Regal. But I had to do it. For both of us. We can't force the 911 to make too many mule runs to Orange County. It's a rough drive on both driver and car, invigorating though it is.
This is a 25-year-old car. With 115,000 on the odometer, it deserves a better allocation of 100 miles.
Anyway, it'll spend a nice weekend in OC soon enough at the 356 Club of Southern California's Dana Point event, where we'll no doubt have to account for the black powder-coated Fuchs.
So I took the Regal home. It was the right call. Comfortable, no fuss, and finger-flick steering just right for the surging and slowing of the late-evening San Diego Freeway. The iDrive-style interface is really the only way forward, less taxing than touchscreen. I also forgot how capable the Harman Kardon stereo is.
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros' "Get Down Moses" (Strummer's cinematic Rastapocalypse by way of Tennessee) brings an underpowered factory system to its knees. But the Regal's handles the throbbing dub bassline with grace, accepting a steady stream of gain before the speaker cones start leaping from their surrounds.
This is not faint praise. The Regal is a fine mule.
I've got to give a pat on the back to the designers who developed the Regal's screen graphics. The background is pleasing without looking like it's trying too hard and the narrow font is easily legible. There's just enough information displayed and I really don't feel I need any more. By contrast, the last Ford Explorer I drove suffered from information overload. Good job Buick, way to keep it simple and easy.
RIP Amy Winehouse, your version of Valerie is simply fantastic.
Try as I might, I can’t imagine our Buick Regal in China. I know that Buick has sold more than 3 million cars in China since 1999, but I can’t picture that classic American grille on the streets of Shanghai.
But my friend Michael Ellis got my head straight. He’s a principal partner in 5 Design , a pretty snappy architecture firm in Los Angeles that does commercial work throughout China. Ellis spends about two weeks every month there and just got back from visiting projects in Dongguan, Jinan, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Zibo.
Basically I’ve got to stop imagining the Regal parked in front of some tacky American chop suey restaurant from the 1950s. Because China isn’t like that, Ellis reminds me.
Ellis and his firm have done business throughout Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, and he says that China is the one country in the world that most reminds him of the U.S. He finds parallels in China’s immense size and geographical diversity, and even the way the country faces on a broad ocean, which allows it to project its economic influence in many directions. Even China’s cultural diversity reminds him of the U.S., not to mention the population’s barely disguised contempt for government in all forms. And finally China’s enormous construction boom in public works makes Ellis think of America in the 1950s.
But the big thing is, newly constructed private residences in China look like Orange County, California. These are very exclusive and expensive houses, of course, and yet there you are — even China has suburbs. Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Buick’s product plan for China calls for cars with European engine and suspension calibrations combined with the latest in American connectivity electronics.
All this makes me think that maybe the reasons Buick seems to be gaining such ground in China might have to do with exactly the same reasons it’s gaining ground here. Not that I know what those reasons are.
I stepped into our long term 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo without a lot of preparation and with a little bit of a prejudice against it. Perhaps the stereotyped picture of the blue-haired little old lady was in my mind. But as soon as I got it on the open road I felt a nice surge from under the hood. Nothing showy with blaring exhaust notes. Just a nice, confident pull, coupled with a smooth-shifting automatic.
Back in the office I got two surprises. This 220-hp engine is an inline 4 (okay, it's turbocharged). Surprise number is on the next page.
The fuel economy promised by the EPA (18 city/28 highway/22 combined) is actually being exceeded in real life. I logged in the numbers today and our lifetime average is 23.8 miles per gallon. So often, manufacturers game the EPA testing system to show numbers you'll never get. This Buick quietly exceeds expectations — in a number of ways.
One of the things we wanted to achieve with our Regal Turbo during its short stay with us was to get it to 10,000 miles before we had to give it back to Buick. Well, as you can see from the Regal's odometer, Mission Accomplished.
Wrap-Up
In March of 2010 we sent a formal letter to Buick asking for a long-term 2011 Buick Regal. "Can you work with three or six months?" read the response. Hmmm... not our usual MO, but we really wanted to see if the new Regal was all Buick said it was. We debated internally for awhile and eventually conceded to the shortened loan period.
Upon our acceptance of the offer, Buick replied, "We can give you a six-month loan of a Regal and we'd propose doing that in the fall with the 2.0-liter turbo version. Does that sound feasible?"
Had we been able to get the car sooner, we would have opted for a base Regal CXL. And we weren't prepared to wait for the manual Regal GS to reach production. So the Regal Turbo satisfied our needs just about right. Our long-term test began.
Why We Got It
For 2011 the Buick Regal was all-new, though it already existed as the Opel Insignia overseas. Under the hood was a 2.0-liter engine that produced 220 horsepower and 228 pound-feet of torque. The inline-4 was attached to a six-speed automatic transmission. This car was built more to help us forget endeavors like the Rendezvous than it was to embody the fabled Grand National. But more importantly, it was the strongest entry-level luxury representative from Buick in years.
Within our long-term fleet we had some Regal competition. It would be interesting to see the Buick beside our Acura TSX and Audi A4. Our full test of the normally aspirated Regal suggested it may be a step behind these two in performance. Would our turbo-equipped CXL be enough to compensate?
How It Drove
Our first impressions of how the 2011 Buick Regal drove were generally positive. Inside Line Editor Ed Hellwig wrote, "The turbo engine feels suitably powerful and refined. No, this car is not fast. In fact, you'll get cooked by any number of V6 family haulers from a stoplight. But more importantly, the engine is quiet and remains that way throughout its power band. The suspension isn't bad either. Put it in Sport mode and the car will whip around turns with considerable speed. It doesn't sway or flop around either, so if you really want to make time down a twisty road, this Regal will not embarrass itself."
We did have concerns pertaining to life behind the wheel of the Buick. Road Test Editor Mike Monticello commented, "Who says modern turbos don't have lag? Nobody home until 3,000 rpm." Another editor added, "The steering is numb. It's overly light at low speeds and doesn't really stiffen up or deliver much feedback in Sport either."
Inside the cabin our 2011 Buick Regal came into its own. Automotive Editor Mark Takahashi drove the Buick home one night after a draining week in the office. Takahashi blogged, "I looked at the Regal and said, 'Don't try to impress me; just get me home, OK?' In the process, the Regal managed to impress me because it had just what I needed. It was quiet, allowing me to just relax. The ride was smooth and the steering was feather-light. Nobody hassled me by trying to get me to drag race them at a signal; I just anonymously faded into the background. Perfect." The seats offered minimal lateral support but we found them comfortable. All controls were within reach. Although the layout was a bit confusing. But if you had to spend hours in traffic, this was the place to do it.
As it pertained to recalls and problem history, the Regal name was untarnished during our test. Due to the accelerated six-month term of our test, it was difficult to compare the Buick to other long-term vehicles. It wasn't even around long enough to reach its first required service interval at 10,000 miles.
Total Body Repair Costs: None
Total Routine Maintenance Costs (over 6 months): None
Additional Maintenance Costs: None
Warranty Repairs: None
Non-Warranty Repairs: None
Scheduled Dealer Visits: None
Unscheduled Dealer Visits: None
Days Out of Service: None
Breakdowns Stranding Driver: None
Performance and Fuel Economy
After 10,000 miles the 2011 Buick Regal was just getting started. So our final round of instrumented testing was nearly identical to preliminary track tests.
Dynamic tests remained unchanged with time. We recorded a speed of 65.8 mph through the slalom and 0.83g of lateral force around the skid pad. Chief Road Test Editor Chris Walton reflected, "In Sport with ESC off there's good balance right up to the point when understeer begins to creep in. Surprisingly grippy. Springy steering doesn't provide any feel of the tires. Good ESC with minimal intrusion." Straight-line tests showed some change. From 60 mph the Regal stopped in 120 feet, which was 5 feet shorter than its first test. Acceleration from zero to 60 mph remained unchanged at 7.8 seconds (with rollout). It completed the quarter-mile in 15.9 seconds at 90.0 mph.
According to the EPA, our Regal Turbo should average 18 city, 28 highway and 24 combined mpg. We averaged just that, 24 mpg during our test. Our lowest single tank equaled the city estimates of 18 mpg, while our best tank of 35 mpg far surpassed expectations.
Best Fuel Economy: 34.9 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 18.2 mpg
Average Fuel Economy: 23.9 mpg
Retained Value
As previously stated, the length of our test made it difficult to draw a comparison between the Regal and vehicles before it. The Buick arrived with an MSRP of $35,185. After 6 months and 10,232 miles Edmunds True Market Value (TMV®) valued the Regal at 15 percent less than its original MSRP. This calculation assumes a private-party sale.
True Market Value at Service End: $30,093 private party
Depreciation: $5,092 or 15% of original paid price
Final Odometer Reading: 10,232
Summing Up
Because we borrowed our 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo for only six months we could not draw direct comparisons between the Buick and its rivals in the key areas of maintenance cost and residual value. We think the Regal is better than some of its competitors but we couldn't give the credit it may deserve without apples-to-apples supporting evidence. What did we learn? The Buick Regal is a competent, quiet and comfortable midsize sedan. In other words, it's about average for its class. It's certainly not a fast car. The 2.0-liter lagged off the line but the midrange wasn't bad. It was generally quiet, too, a good trait for a car in this class. In fact, the whole cabin was pretty quiet thanks to numerous sound-deadening measures. Our overall impression of the interior was mixed, though, as some liked its build quality and ease of use while others thought it already looked dated. The Regal fared better when it came to its exterior styling as most of us thought it looked pretty stylish on its big 19-inch wheels and tires.
Buick has not overcome the stigma associating it with the retirement communityand the Regal is not the car that will suddenly make Buick cool. It's a solid step forward, though, as it looks modern, performs well and has the technology to match any of its competitors. All it needs now is a hook, something to get buyers to give the Buick a try. Not every one of them will find the Regal to their taste. But there were enough of us that came away surprised with the Regal to know that Buick is on the right track.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds with this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.