2016 Buick Regal impressions

[JulesMaximus]

I have one for a few days while my car is in the shop for some body repairs (not due to any fault of my own I can assure you). Anyway, it has about 3600 miles on it, it is white with black leather(ette) interior. It is fairly well equipped with satellite radio and nav (unlike the fricken $50,000 Audi we rented last month). Seats are comfortable, it drives well, handles decently and has good brakes. The body doesn't wallow like Buicks of old and it feels, dare I say it, sporty.

The engine gives adequate acceleration and it is quiet and doesn't really stand out as having any annoying characteristics that I could detect anyway. Not sure what engine it has but it feels like a 4 banger.

The car feels light and nimble but the steering offers zero feedback through the well padded, leather wrapped steering wheel. Also, the buttons on the wheel aren't marked well at all so you look at them and have no idea what any of them do. The climate controls are also somewhat confusing and it took me a few minutes to figure out how to turn the heat on and adjust the temp. The center console where the infotainment system resides is also a bit too far away from the driver IMO.

Would I buy this car? Probably not, but if you're getting a rental car you could certainly do worse and I think I'd take it over the Audi A6 we rented last month. It is certainly better equipped.

Oh, and one last thing. People here love to post how you can't get a good idea of what a car is like by renting them. I disagree 100%. Rentals are a VERY good test of things like long distance comfort, driving dynamics and versatility and I think renting cars is a very good way to get a feel for a vehicle. You will certainly learn more about a car by spending a few days or a week driving it than you would on a 10 minute test drive.

 

[evident]

Oh, and one last thing. People here love to post how you can't get a good idea of what a car is like by renting them. I disagree 100%. Rentals are a VERY good test of things like long distance comfort, driving dynamics and versatility and I think renting cars is a very good way to get a feel for a vehicle. You will certainly learn more about a car by spending a few days or a week driving it than you would on a 10 minute test drive.

Agree 100%.

You can just see how far behind certain manufacturers are vs some others as well. One chrysler model was crap might be one thing, but every single chrysler model i've rented being a complete POS? sounds like a trend to me.
Same with Ford, with each new model they keep getting better and better. I friggin love the base F150 crew cab that I had for a week down in Mississippi

 

[heymrdj]

Owning a 2014 Verano, I love what Buick has done and I think the fit and finish per the cost is excellent. The fully loaded Regal T AWD we had for a month while the Verano was in the body shop (After a semi rear ended it) was absolutely amazing, the the turbo powerplant is night and day different than the low end Regal with the base 4cyl. The Regal T AWD had lots of power on demand and the AWD was actually fairly engaging when you wanted to throw it around. I thought the Regal was nice and spacious, but its dash position was a little awkward.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Still not sure I understand where Buick fits under the GM umbrella when Caddy is the halo brand.

Good to hear they are putting out some decent rides now though.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I almost bought the Regal GS, but decided to down-segment towards the end. But I agree that it was a very nice car, with very good fit and finish. I think that the 2017/2018 Regal with the slightly larger size and lighter weight will take care of most of my concerns with the current Regal (feels a little small inside given its size).

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Still not sure I understand where Buick fits under the GM umbrella when Caddy is the halo brand.

Good to hear they are putting out some decent rides now though.

American brands use 3 tiers, while Japanese and Korean brands tend to use 2. There is some true redundancy in the GM market (like GMC vs Chevy), but a lot of the car stuff is just additional tiering.

The Japanese brands tend to offer cheaper versions of some of their luxury cars to fit into the price segments that GM uses their mid-tier brand for.

Ford was doing the same thing with Mercury until they closed that down. With GM, you could consider Buick to be the well-appointed Toyota Avalon. Leather is your only option, infotainment is standard, etc. etc.

Cadillac is competing with Lexus, Acura, Audi, etc, and is sitting in a different price bracket.

 

[Bubblehappy]

Owning a 2014 Verano, I love what Buick has done and I think the fit and finish per the cost is excellent. The fully loaded Regal T AWD we had for a month while the Verano was in the body shop (After a semi rear ended it) was absolutely amazing, the the turbo powerplant is night and day different than the low end Regal with the base 4cyl. The Regal T AWD had lots of power on demand and the AWD was actually fairly engaging when you wanted to throw it around. I thought the Regal was nice and spacious, but its dash position was a little awkward.

I went to Carmax last summer to test drive a bunch of different cars. I really wanted a Chevy Cruze, but after driving one, I was like 'no thanks.' The salesperson suggested driving a Verano, and I'm very glad he did. I wound up driving it off the lot.

I love my 2013 Verano. I've put over 10K miles on it in the last 9 months, including two long vacation drives. It's comfortable, great on gas, has every creature comfort one could wish for, and hasn't given me any problems. It isn't perfect, and there are many things I wish were different, but it works for me. The 4-banger is great, and has enough power but yet has good fuel economy.

I haven't driven the Regal T but it is on my list for possible next cars. The salesrep commented I'd probably like it, but he didn't have any on the lot. It was beyond my price range anyway.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The car I have is the Regal T with AWD. I timed it on a 0-60 run last night and it did it in just under 9 seconds... so, not exactly fast. Also, the ride is a little harsh over bumpy roads and the seats are fairly firm.

 

[heymrdj]

The car I have is the Regal T with AWD. I timed it on a 0-60 run last night and it did it in just under 9 seconds... so, not exactly fast. Also, the ride is a little harsh over bumpy roads and the seats are fairly firm.

Ours accelerated much faster than that. Official time is 6.5 seconds. Motor trends was 6.4. So I don't know, maybe go get it checked out or something.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Also, the ride is a little harsh over bumpy roads and the seats are fairly firm.

Not really buick like. Again I find GM's strategy rather schizo. Caddy's ride too firm for folks who like pillow top ride. Buick used to be a go-to for good isolation and comfort.

My guess is the Impala probably trumps anything Caddy or Buick has in their lineup right now for driving comfort. Seems silly to me.

Sorry OP just a bit of rant there on your otherwise good review.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Ours accelerated much faster than that. Official time is 6.5 seconds. Motor trends was 6.4. So I don't know, maybe go get it checked out or something.

I agree. I remember test driving one, and the Regal T AWD went 0-60 substantially faster than 9 seconds. My 2015 Subaru Impreza is a 9 second car, and there's no doubt that the Regal with the Turbo powerplant is substantially quicker.

 

[SearchMaster]

I love my 2013 Verano. I've put over 10K miles on it in the last 9 months, including two long vacation drives. It's comfortable, great on gas, ...

I took a trip to FL last summer and met up with my brother-in-law. He was gushing over his new Buick Encore (not exactly a Verano but similar) because it got him about 24MPG on the 3 hour interstate drive over. Then a few minutes later he had to accelerate and commented that "it has a lot of pep too". I didn't say anything but in the back of my mind I'm thinking "I drove down here in our Odyssey and got 28+ MPG (27+ on the way home), and it has a LOT more pep. Oh yeah, and it carries 7 people (8 if we put the removable seat back in)."

I'm not sure how he was only able to get 24MPG but maybe he was just continually testing the pep.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Ours accelerated much faster than that. Official time is 6.5 seconds. Motor trends was 6.4. So I don't know, maybe go get it checked out or something.

Well, it wasn't exactly a scientific test and the timer in the car doesn't have fractions of a second. As soon as I mashed the accelerator I pressed the timer button and as soon as the speedo hit 60mph I looked at the timer and it just changed to 9 seconds.

It has a heated steering wheel which I thought was kind of a useless feature but it was quite nice on a cool morning. I imagine it would be very nice in a climate where it actually gets cold during the winter.

A couple interior pics.

 

[ElFenix]

i had a turbo regal for a rental for a bit over a week while mine was in the shop (it was either that or a jeep compass - i'll gladly pay the extra $1 a day to not drive the compass)

turbo engine is nice, like jules said, it's pretty quiet without much harshness. you can hear the turbo spool up a bit, though (not a bad thing, imho). the car can move for its size (and it is a big car - it doesn't look it from the pics or if you don't have a reference nearby). push the go pedal and it goes. i could tell that the chassis was stiff and the suspension felt competent, though i felt disconnected from the road (DD is a mazda3).

things that need improvement: the chrome surround for the gear shift is really annoying if the sun is ahead and to the right - lots of reflections right up into your face when driving. there was some sort of cup underneath my right heel that made my heel drag as i moved from gas to brake (car was near brand new, wasn't a hole worn in the carpet or anything). the side mirrors are too pointy - the outside edge (which is the most important part) is really small. the cupholders are not sized for texas (one 32 ounce cup will interfere with the operation of the armrest console, two 32 ounce cups will not fit side by side in the cupholders). was never really sure where to stick my phone/wallet/other keys/whatever assorted crap was in my pockets (again see armrest console issue with cups). glove box seemed small to me (again, mazda3 DD with glove box designed to swallow notebook computers). USB port wasn't high current so useless for charging new phones.

 

[Insomniator]

They are still horribly ugly and still for people over 75 years old, sorry GM.

That commercial where she gets in the wrong car because the person says I'm in the buick... and then they pan to the ugliest car (the encore) I've ever seen... my god... stop trying so hard to be cool.

 

[JulesMaximus]

They are still horribly ugly and still for people over 75 years old, sorry GM.

That commercial where she gets in the wrong car because the person says I'm in the buick... and then they pan to the ugliest car (the encore) I've ever seen... my god... stop trying so hard to be cool.

I really see this car trying to appeal to younger drivers, not old people. I don't think old people would buy this car quite frankly. It is too stiff and not comfortable enough.

It is well put together though and it feels like a solid car.

It is marketed appropriately for the type of car it is.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Not really buick like. Again I find GM's strategy rather schizo. Caddy's ride too firm for folks who like pillow top ride. Buick used to be a go-to for good isolation and comfort.

My guess is the Impala probably trumps anything Caddy or Buick has in their lineup right now for driving comfort. Seems silly to me.

Sorry OP just a bit of rant there on your otherwise good review.

I really like the Impala, but I think the 2017 Lacrosse will definitely be better than the Impala. I'm trying to hold out for one of those but if I can't make it, I'll probably get the Impala.

 

[foghorn67]

Turn off TC and SC. Similar system to my Malibu. Mine can hit 60 in the low 6's, but most of the time, SC freaks out if I grab traction. Hold down the TC switch until the SC messages it's off. I think it's similar.

 

[JulesMaximus]

By the way, the infotainment system works well. It paired up with my phone easily and the car is quiet enough even at freeway speeds to carry on a conversation and it recognizes voice commands fairly well.

 

[cyclistca]

Had a look at the Buick Regal GS. Liked the power and the fact at the time you could get it with a manual. Through the interior was a bit small and the trunk opening sucked.

 

[KIAman]

I never understood the Buick market as it didn't seem like there was much room between GM/Chevy and Cadillac, until I found out how hugely popular Buick is as a luxury brand in China. China's market alone easily justifies Buick.

 

[Spicedaddy]

I got an almost new Impala rental from Enterprise while on vacation in Florida a few weeks ago. (IT DIDN'T HAVE NAV, OMG!!)

Besides being longer than a semi, it was actually pretty nice. It was well equipped with the V6 engine, tranny was smooth and brakes were also good. The interior was nice, definitely better than previous GM cars I've driven.

 

[gorcorps]

American brands use 3 tiers, while Japanese and Korean brands tend to use 2. There is some true redundancy in the GM market (like GMC vs Chevy), but a lot of the car stuff is just additional tiering.

The Japanese brands tend to offer cheaper versions of some of their luxury cars to fit into the price segments that GM uses their mid-tier brand for.

Ford was doing the same thing with Mercury until they closed that down. With GM, you could consider Buick to be the well-appointed Toyota Avalon. Leather is your only option, infotainment is standard, etc. etc.

Cadillac is competing with Lexus, Acura, Audi, etc, and is sitting in a different price bracket.

Japanese brands use more in their own country, so you can't judge how they do things by what you see in the US. Crown is another Toyota brand that doesn't get sold in the US, but is popular over there. They focus on luxury sedans where Lexus has both sedans and larger. They stopped importing to the US after they released similar vehicles in the Lexus line, so they had no reason to try and keep both going in the US market.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Japanese brands use more in their own country, so you can't judge how they do things by what you see in the US. Crown is another Toyota brand that doesn't get sold in the US, but is popular over there. They focus on luxury sedans where Lexus has both sedans and larger. They stopped importing to the US after they released similar vehicles in the Lexus line, so they had no reason to try and keep both going in the US market.

You're correct, and I definitely could have specified by noting this was speaking about the US market, but to the above, we absolutely can judge how they do things by what we see in the US. The US is the second largest car market in the world, and this thread is regarding a car sold in the US, and my post was in regards to why does a US car manufacturer have 3 different brands?

Obviously GM has many worldwide brands still, like Vauxhall and Opel, but the question framed earlier in the thread was not mentioning them, and I answered in the frame of that question

 

[debian0001]

I have a 2012 2.4. I think it's a great car. I had a crankshaft sensor issue that was covered under warranty. I wish I would have gotten the turbo but it requires premium gas.

The car is based on a Opel Model.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_Insignia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Regal