You know, Buick has a really competitive car lineup these days.
You're likely familiar with the smooth-riding, midsize LaCrosse.
And Buick's premium small car, the Verano, is an excellent choice.
And though it's been around for a number of years now many still don't know much about
this car.
This is the refreshed 2014 Buick Regal; now with all-wheel drive.
Though you can't buy a new car in the United States with an Opel badge on it, you can drive
a number of their vehicles under the guise of Buick.
And this here is one of them.
When the Regal name returned for the 2011 model year, the car was imported from Belgium
and had some European quirkiness baked in that felt a bit out of place.
But GM has done a fine job of homogenizing this new 2014 Regal to feel more like a Buick.
Gone is the mishmash of switchgear from the center console, replaced with a much cleaner
presentation and infused with a large dose of modern technology.
Centered in the gauge cluster is a color display packed with all kinds of accessible information
that's controlled with easy to use buttons on the new steering wheel.
The current generation of Buick's IntelliLink system anchors the new IT system providing
embedded navigation, Pandora, weather and more -- all on an intuitively controlled touch
screen.
Voice commands have been greatly simplified with improved recognition making navi entries
and phone calls a snap.
And I always love having OnStar on board for even easier navi input on the fly.
It comes free for 6 months.
The standard heated and cooled front seats as well as the dual zone climate settings
are controlled via a touch sensitive pad that takes a little too long to react and often
doesn't work with gloves on.
But the seats get soothingly warm and the heated steering wheel is a favorite feature
you won't want to live without.
The Regal's lines have been simplified for a more dignified, premium look -- featuring
new front and rear styling highlighted by Buick's familial wing-shaped LED lamps and
LED taillights.
From the back, the Regal retains its athletic, racy stance however the rest of the styling
is bland to the point of being disappointing with the exception of these new 18" silver
painted alloy wheels.
All but the Regal mild-hybrid run with the turbo-4 now and it's an excellent fit, providing
strong performance and reasonable fuel economy.
If you want your Buick in sports sedan form this is the one for you.
Reworked, refined and much more appetizing, this 2.0-liter engine now makes 259 horsepower,
up from 220 and 295 foot-pounds of torque, matching the twisting power of last year's
high-performance Regal GS.
Mated to a 6-speed auto with a more aggressive final drive ratio for better acceleration
feel, this Regal AWD will reach 60mph in a quicker-then-it-looks 6.8-seconds.
Gas mileage also improves, with this AWD example rated equally to last year's front-drive model
at 19mpg city/27mpg highway on regular or preferred premium.
The GS remains the sportiest trim in the Regal lineup.
Capable of sending more than 90% of the engine's torque to the rear wheels, the new all-wheel
drive system also bundles a new H-arm rear suspension to accommodate the electronic limited
slip differential.
Coupled with GM's bump-smoothing HiPer Strut front suspension, this Regal's ride is all
Buick but with a sporty side making it an engaging drive.
It's also Buick quiet and comfy for long highway cruises, though it's on the small side for
midsize cars, particularly in width and rear seat headroom.
And at 13 cubic feet the trunk is actually smaller than that of the Verano's, though
fold down seats ease that constraint.
Slotted below the top-trim GS, this Regal AWD Premium II Group is further equipped with
2 new driver confidence packages bundling all of today's camera and radar based safety
systems such as forward collision, rear cross traffic and side blind zone alert as well
as a really good adaptive cruise control system.
Throw in a sunroof and the as tested price of this car is $40,445.
I mostly love the changes Buick has made -- it's a car that treats you right and lets you have
some fun from behind the wheel - though more distinctive styling and a higher quality interior
build would do wonders.