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Leith Cars Blog

Move Over Grandpa, I’m Taking the Buick

You remember station wagons, right? They used to be everywhere. Family haulers of various capabilities, usually 2-wheel drive with lots of room for you and the family and all your stuff. These wagons were also, with very few exceptions – boring – at least the domestic variety. The European “shooting brake,” as they call them across the pond, was a bit more sporting in most cases. The ones that made it across to our shores were snapped up by savvy sport wagon enthusiasts. Now there is a new player on the field, or to paraphrase fictional movie secret agent Austin Powers, “the wagon is back, baby.” Just don’t call it a wagon, it’s the all-new, first ever 2018 Buick Regal TourX. As a former Buick owner, I’m here to let you know why you really ought to consider this new American breed of shooting brake as your next ride. Move over grandpa, I’m taking the Buick.

Buick Has Come a Long Way Since the ’80’s

My first and only Buick. The 1986 Buick Regal T-Type

My previous experience with Buick was at the end of the rear-wheel drive era, the mid-1980s. I special ordered what was considered a “sleeper” muscle car back then, the 1986 Buick Regal T-Type, the “T” standing for turbocharged. My Buick was a beautiful deep blue metallic car and she was FAST, push-you-back-in-your-seat fast. In fact, in 1986 the Buick Regal T-Type and her better recognized Grand National cousin could tout that they possessed the most powerful engine in a factory domestic brand car – 235 horses and 330 pound-feet of torque. That kind of grunt would propel you from zero to 60 mph in about 6 seconds. All that performance came from a sequential fuel injected 3.8 liter Buick V6 with an inter-cooled turbocharger bolted to it from the factory. I’m giving you all these basic performance stats from back in the day because they help tell the story about today’s Buick and how far the brand has come since the long-ago Reagan years. Enter now, the all-new, first-of-its-kind Buick, Regal TourX all-wheel-drive sport wagon, or as Buick prefers it to be called – SUV.

Downtown Raleigh to Centennial Campus was my Regal’s test route.

The Buick Regal TourX Packs a Heck of a Punch.

Leith Buick GMC in the Leith Autopark Wendell provided us with a gleaming red 2018 Buick Regal TourX. This time the letter in its name that means the most is “X,” as in all-wheel-drive. But I’m also happy to report that Buick’s mastery of turbocharged performance is at play here too, but now comes in the form of a 2.0-liter inline-four, transverse-mounted, direct fuel injected engine that’s good for an impressive 250 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque. That’s a heck of a punch from a tiny, fuel-efficient engine that I can attest will push you back a bit in your seat when the turbo kicks in. My test route from our downtown office in the warehouse district over to North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus gave me plenty of opportunities to let the Buick’s turbo spool up. Just as importantly, my drive allowed me to get a feel for this new all-wheel-drive setup, in the rain no less and around several curves, on exit and on ramps, and lane changes.

Yes, this Buick is built to take you off the beaten path.

Fun to Drive, and Spacious, to Boot.

So what did I discover on this grey, damp day in Raleigh during an unseasonably wet August? I discovered that the best of Europe, thanks to the German craftspeople at Opel who designed and build the TourX for General Motors, has given Buick, and now you and I, the opportunity to drive an honest-to-goodness European style shooting break, but with all the comforts of home that you’d expect in a Buick. Sumptuous creamy leather interior? Check. A clean, modern, and handsomely built dash and instrument cluster? Check. Gobs of storage bins, cup holders and enough room for you to stow a weekend’s worth of camping or beach gear, (73.5 cubic inches behind the front row seats)? Check. That’s more cargo area than some popular mid-size CUVs on the market today, by the way.

Adventure is wherever you want to take it in the 2018 Buick Regal TourX.

Adventure is wherever you want to find it in the 2018 Buick Regal TourX.

All of the above-mentioned capability comes in a 5-passenger “SUV” that is a) long and sleek, b) handles like a well-tuned performance car, c) has advanced all-wheel-drive to help you master a variety of road and/or light off-road driving, d) is beautifully styled, e) efficient at the pump (estimated 21 mpg city/29 mpg highway), f) is built in Germany and g) is available now at your local Buick dealer, Leith Buick GMC in Wendell. Oh, and the best part, at least for me, a former old-school Buick owner? Remember that 1986 “sleeper hot rod” I told you about that was fast as heck? Well, this new Regal TourX actually weighs a few hundred pounds less than the new performance top dog Buick Regal GS (Gran Sport), and has a bit more torque too. That is a recipe for a quick off-the-line launch capable of raising a few surprised eyebrows from the lane next to you. It’s the kind of fun I’ve been waiting to have in a Buick for a long, long time.