Buick Regal - Motor Trend & Automobile mags love it!

[2QuickZ's]

I just read a couple of reviews of the new Buick Regal. Apparently GM invited journalists over to the Nurburgring to test drive it. There are some very, very positive comments on it that really have my hopes up for this car.

For the full stories, click here: Motor Trend and here: Automobile Magazine

Examples from Motor Trend:

The $29,495 Regal Turbo is a wonderfully subversive sport sedan whose punchy, 220-horsepower blown Ecotec four and supple, yet buttoned-down, chassis puts Acura's homely TSX on notice, and seriously makes you wonder whether an Audi A4 is really worth the money.

Yep, it's that good.

On the standard Michelin Pilot P235/50R18 all-season tires, the Regal is impressively quiet and remarkably composed, with the smooth, flowing transitions and confident straight-line stability so typical of a German sedan. The steering is liquid and linear, with just the merest delay as you pull the rim off-center.

While the naturally aspirated 2.4-liter engine feels breathless when pushed, the turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec four delivers a solid surge of acceleration when you nail the gas. Check the Turbo's power and torque figures again -- all that grunt and twist comes on strong in the mid-range, where it's instantly accessible. It's a terrifically smooth and responsive engine, easily the best four-cylinder motor yet from GM. In fact, it's so good, you can't help but think a V-6 in this car would simply be a waste of money and gas, and the extra mass over the front axle would probably ruin the chassis balance.

Examples from Automobile magazine:

What it is, it turns out, is a very well tuned, near-luxury sport sedan that, in terms of sheer driving pleasure, surpasses anything else in its class made in Detroit these days, not to mention imports like the Acura TSX and the Lexus ES350

For those of us who kvetched for years that GM couldn't -- or simply wouldn't -- make a decent four-cylinder engine, the turbo Ecotec is especially satisfying. Dipping into the throttle over and over again as our entourage raced back toward Wiesbaden as the sun set over vast fields of blooming rapeseed, I couldn't quite get over the fact that I was driving a Buick that was running in the fast-moving flow of BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes-Benzes, and yet I didn't feel the least bit deprived. The engine gladly races toward its 6500-rpm redline whenever it's summoned, but it settles into a relatively modest 3500-rpm thrum at 110 mph. The brakes had good pedal feel and suffered no fade over repeated hard Autobahn use.

I really liked both our Saab 9-3 and our Saturn Aura and since this car is basically a mix of the two, it make sense that I really like it. I just hope GM launches this thing with a higher level of quality than they usually do.

Edited May 1, 2010 by 2QuickZ's

[A Horse With No Name]

GM is on a roll...and this thing is going to be another winner.

[loki]

sounds like great praise, for what was supposed to be a saturn. we better get this, and maybe stage 1 & 2 kits too.

[Justin Bimmer]

The amazing thing about this is that Buick was a less damaged brand than Saturn. Saturn was a nerd brand. Be it young or old, it was nerds. Buick was only an old premium brand. Apparently that is much easier to overcome.

[ocnblu]

Good news. I hope the car is dead reliable on top of being nice to drive and be seen in.

[2QuickZ's]

The amazing thing about this is that Buick was a less damaged brand than Saturn. Saturn was a nerd brand. Be it young or old, it was nerds. Buick was only an old premium brand. Apparently that is much easier to overcome.

Hey... I resemble that remark! I've owned two Saturn's. An '07 Aura and an '08 VUE. I really didn't think of it as a nerd brand at all. I guess I reserve that for the cars with a ton of new tech that draws in the tech crowd. Saturn definitely didn't have a lot of tech which was probably part of their downfall.

As for the stage kits, hell yeah they better offer them!

[frogger]

The amazing thing about this is that Buick was a less damaged brand than Saturn. Saturn was a nerd brand. Be it young or old, it was nerds. Buick was only an old premium brand. Apparently that is much easier to overcome.

How do we know its easier to overcome until we see how their sedans do in the North American market?

Hopefully their dealerships are up to the task of being inviting to younger buyers.

[daves87rs]

It's a good looking car...

[hyperv6]

The keys to this car is the Eco turbo drivetrain and the well tuned suspension.

This driveline is killer and for anyone who has not driven it needs to get behind the wheel. It changed my mind on Small Turbo engines forever.

GM has also found out how to tune a cars suspension as to make it ride very well and still handle excellet on pavement in the real world and not just on the Black Lake.

GM for too long tried to slap large bars, bigger tires and stiffer springs so that it would pull a big G on the skid pad only to leave us bouncing around in the real world trying to keep it on the uneven road.

My SS shows what GM can do and has made a very satisfying car to drive. Now it is made better by putting this kind of tuning and engine in a better car with a better interior.

GM has finally built the car they have pretended to build for years with this car. I just hope the public will forget all the T type crap we have had to give this car a real chance.

This is the car that can move butts from a Acura or low end Audi into an American [ehh part Canadian/German] car.

So if you have not driven a new GM Turbo you need to. This is one of the best engines GM has ever built. Yes Ever.

[2QuickZ's]

Ironically enough, I just saw a white Regal on the road today when I went to the store after my last post. Since they aren't on the market yet, I expected to see an "M" plate on it but it didn't have one. I'm not sure why. Anyway, it looked pretty darn good!

[Drew Dowdell]

Regal will be joining C&G for an interactive review this afternoon. :-)

[Satty]

The only time I see anything about the Regal is on C&G

[Cory Wolfe]

Drew, did you get my PM?

[Drew Dowdell]

yes I did, just a busy few days.... we'll work something out

[regfootball]

9-3 is a very nice driving car and so is the Aura. if the regal is better than its gravy.

here is one problem. car and driver hated the car and their specs said the regal turbo has those $h!ty Goodyear RS-A's. I've had those tires and they suck.

Why was C/D's review so bad?

I still think 220hp is too low the GS spec Regal is right for me. 255/295 would still like to see a higher hp number. Anyone who buys the Regal with stick is prob most interested in the GS. I would like a regal turbo because it has the plain front end but either way it makes no diff to me. Future GSX will have v6 TT and awd and will take care of that.

Problem for me, Regal aside from base 4 is too pricey for me. Maybe if things ever turn around Regal would be at the top of list with a couple others.

GM needs to crank up the hp ratings on these cars for no other reason than marketing. After all, the Sonata Turbo has rid us of world hunger.

Edited November 11, 2010 by regfootball