First Impressions
What you think about the 2011 Buick Regal (view photos) is directly proportional to how much you know about the auto industry. If you know what’s going on with General Motors and how the Regal came to be, you know that it’s essentially a European, built-in-Germany sport sedan wearing a familiar chrome waterfall grille. If you think General Motors is a car company that only sells its products in North America, and that Buicks are for people carrying AARP cards, you believe that the Regal isn’t close to being in the same league as a Volkswagen, let alone a Mercedes-Benz.
We at Vehix are not drinking the GM Kool-Aid, and we’re not planning on dumping cash into GM’s upcoming initial public stock offering. But we are here to say that the 2011 Buick Regal is a very impressive automobile, one of the best cars in the company’s lineup, and worthy of consideration by anyone considering a midsize mainstream or entry-luxury sedan.
It is that good.
Pricing, Trims and Options
For 2011, Buick sells the Regal in a single CXL trim level with either a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine or a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The base price is $26,995 for a standard Regal CXL, and $29,495 for a Regal CXL Turbo. Fully loaded with every option, the CXL Turbo passes $35,000.
Standard features include leather upholstery, heated front seats, a 12-way power driver’s seat, and a manual tilt and telescopic steering wheel. Power door locks with remote keyless entry, power side mirrors, and power windows with one-touch up and down operation are also standard, along with dual-zone automatic climate control, an auto-dimming rear view mirror, cruise control, floor mats, and a cargo net in the trunk. Bluetooth hands-free communication is part of the package, the sound system includes a USB/MP3 jack with iPod connectivity and XM satellite radio, and the Regal has OnStar telematics with a free six-month subscription to Directions & Connections service. Fog lights, 18-inch alloy wheels shod with 235/50 tires, and stability control complete the package.
The Regal CXL Turbo includes more than just a more powerful engine for its $2,500 price premium. A 12-way power front passenger’s seat and Ultrasonic parking assist is tossed in, along with brake assist, traction control, variable-effort steering, a 120-volt power outlet, and chrome exhaust outlets.
With all this stuff standard, what’s left on the options list? For the standard CXL, you can add a power sunroof, a Harmon/Kardon premium audio system, rear seat side-impact airbags, 19-inch machined finish alloy wheels, and a voice-activated navigation system with a 140GB hard drive. There’s also a Comfort and Convenience Package including a 12-way power front passenger’s seat, Ultrasonic parking assist, and a 120-volt power outlet.
The Regal CXL Turbo can be equipped with these same features (except the Comfort and Convenience Package, which is standard on this model). Options exclusive to the turbocharged Regal are bi-Xenon HID headlights and Buick’s Interactive Drive Control System (IDCS) with Standard, Sport, and Tour settings.
Interior Features
Pop the driver’s door open, and the Buick Regal immediately looks, feels, and even smells European. It probably helps that for the first several months, the Regal is produced in Russelsheim, Germany in advance of a move to GM’s Ottawa, Ontario, Canada assembly plant. From the heft of the door to the no-nonsense layout of the cabin to the scent of the high quality materials, the Regal exudes excellence. Check out those fabric-wrapped windshield pillar covers. Run your fingertips across the felt lining the inside of the glove box. Grab the big grips decorating both front doors. Feel how the flush-mounted buttons arrayed on the dashboard have a slightly rubbery texture to them. Note how the tastefully grained interior panels are soft to the touch, and match in terms of gloss and tone. The Regal’s cabin reflects textbook European design and execution, and we love it.
Our test car came with 12-way power adjustable front seats. Not six-way, not eight-way, not 10-way…12-way, for both the driver and front passenger. As a result, the Buick Regal is exceptionally comfortable for front seat occupants, and as long as the people riding up front like to sit upright, rear seat passengers will have enough room to stay comfortably put between fuel stops, helped by soft front seatbacks that are friendly to knees.
Here’s another comfort item: the power sunroof is equipped with a small, mesh pop-up wind blocker which is incredibly effective at redirecting airflow and maintaining cabin composure when driving with the roof open.
The Regal’s interior isn’t all roses, however, because the navigation system was a significant irritant. First, the passenger cannot operate it while the car is in motion. Second, it’s not a touch screen system, requiring instead the use of a dash-mounted dial to spin through menu selections. Twice my family needed to find a destination, and twice we gave up and resorted to calling OnStar and using the Directions and Connections plan’s turn-by-turn audio navigation feature. There is definitely room for improvement here.
Another potential complaint pertains to the trip computer display that sits between the tachometer and speedometer. If you wear polarized sunglasses, you’ll notice what appears to be a coffee stain on the display.
We also take issue with the Regal’s rather small 14.2 cubic-foot trunk. Though it is beautifully finished and usefully shaped with covered trunk hinges, it’s not very wide or deep.
Safety, Quality and Reliability
Because the 2011 Buick Regal (view photos) is so new to the market, data on safety, quality, and reliability is limited. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not performed crash tests on the Regal as this test drive is published, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has and deems the Regal a Top Safety Pick because it receives top scores for frontal, side, rear, and rollover impact protection.
Similarly, quality and reliability are unknowns. Consumer Reports offers no prediction regarding the Regal’s reliability potential, but J.D. Power and Associates says the Regal is expected to offer durability that is “better than most” vehicles on the market.