Buick has been out of the wagon game for a long time, but they’ve finally seen the light and will be launching the all-new Regal as a sleek and gorgeous…. crossover, according to Buick’s VP, who is wrong.
The 2018 Buick Regal TourX is the more versatile and rugged counterpart to the Regal Sportback that was also revealed today, but for obvious reasons you need to know about this one first. Click past the jump for the details.
Just in case you thought I was joking about the Buick VP calling this a crossover, sadly I wasn’t. In the opening statements of the press release, he’s quoted as saying that the “Regal TourX is a crossover in the truest sense of the word, with the drive dynamics of a car and the versatility of an SUV”.
It drives like a car because underneath it is a car and it has the versatility of an SUV because it’s a wagon. Wagon. Wag–uh n. Not a crossover.
Regardless of what the scared and confused suit says, this wagon aims to be the accessible luxury car for those with active lifestyles. The car’s rather attractive design stems from the work of GM’s European branch as they designed the Opel and Vauxhall Insignia, which were just sold off to PSA Group. Despite the recent deal, we’ll still see this exact same design applied to brands that GM still actively owns, namely Holden and Buick.
As a result of this corporate makeover, this same wagon crossover exists with four badges under ownership of two completely different companies. All were revealed within the last 24 hours.
Visually, the main difference between the Regal TourX and the Regal Sportback sedan (which will be covered in the Friday news recap) is the extra 3.4 inches tacked onto the rear, the “more durable” front fascia treatment, and the fender moldings.
250 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque comes from a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine paired with an eight-speed automatic. The TourX comes standard with all-wheel drive featuring an active twin-clutch that should help with traction on any surface. Additionally, the MacPherson strut front/five-link rear suspension is a bit higher than it is on the sedan.
Inside, you can expect nicer materials and an uncluttered design with a host of in-car tech. You can also expect loads of cabin space with up to 73.5 cubic feet of cargo capacity with the second row folded or 32.7 cubic feet with it up. There’s also a hands-free powered lift gate for easy loading.
As is expected, it’ll be available with tons of safety features that range from Side Blind Zone Alert to Forward Automatic Braking.
The Regal TourX will be available in three trims – TourX, Preferred, and Essence – and will launch in North America by Q4 2017. We’ll have a better idea of pricing later.
[Source: Buick]
2018 Buick Regal TourX – The Buick Wagon is Back!
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16 responses to “2018 Buick Regal TourX – The Buick Wagon is Back!”
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Let’s hope one of the trim levels offers body-colored fender moldings. It looks great from the waist up but those black moldings look tacked on and ugly (cf. Volvo XC70).
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Concur. I’m willing to accept that this is a good-looking car but I haven’t seen it yet. Only thing my eyes are drawn to are those awful bits of flat black.
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agree-at least gm destroyed the aztek die molds……i hope!
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How do we pronounce TourX? Tour-Ex? Tourks? Tourex? Tour-Ten?
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Tourz (X like Xavier)?
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So, what are the odds in 4-5 years, we’ll see a proper replacement for this instead of GM just GM’ing it up and letting something die after getting it pretty right, with the coming GM/Opel split?
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The “grass is always greener on the other side”-effect is weird. As an Opel, I wouldn’t touch it…because GM. A little exotifying Buick tack-on and I realize this is actually kind of pretty and sleek.
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Please god let Buick dump the green instrument panel lighting pukery
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“It’s a crossover not a wagon”… yeah whatever helps you sleep at night.
Might it have a whopping 0.6” more ground clearance than the normal Regal? Bit of a fail there, if you want a crossover, but if you want a wagon hopefully there is a way to prime and paint the black plastic. -
Nice looking car. Just that it’s probably too late for me. I figure my TSX Sportwagon is good for another 10 years. I wonder if Buick will even be around then.
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The brand will live. The Chinese will buy it.
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Looking forward to TourX-V.
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As a hopeless fan of 5-door fastbacks, I’m actually more jazzed about the Sportback than the wagon, but both of these could be truly awes—
[pauses to look up transmission specs]
>Sigh< Nevermind. -
If plastic fender flares is what it takes for Americans to like wagons again, it’s a small price to pay.
BTW, when shopping for the last vehicle I tried to get my wife interested in a Subaru Outback. She said nope, no wagons. I showed her this and asked what it looked like. A wagon. -
It’s a wagon, and a nice looking one. I don’t understand America’s aversion to the breed, when it combines all of the great driving characteristics of a sedan with a big hatch. I also don’t see any marketing glitter to the term “crossover”. To me, that term is about as attractive as “processed cheese food product”. I’d much rather have a station wagon in my driveway than a crossover, SUV, or minivan.
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