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2011 Buick Regal, an AW Flash DriveWhat is it? 2011 Buick Regal Powertrain: 2.0-liter turbocharged I4, 220 hp, 258 lb-ft, six-speed automatic, FWD Curb weight: 3,600 lb (est) 0-60 mph: 7.5 sec (mfr) Fuel economy: 29 mpg hwy, 19 mpg city
How's it drive? Damn good, thank you. This is a well-sorted out car, with a solid chassis, terrific suspension (with the optional Interactive Drive Control System, 19-inch wheels and Goodyear all-season rubber) and potent little engine. The folks at Buick were so confident in the car that the initial drive program included a couple of laps of the Nürburgring Nordschleife--at speed--not to mention on the autobahn. If you're thinking right now that Buick and Nürburgring are two words you'd never see in the same sentence, join the crowd. But the Regal didn't embarrass its creators. Granted, the 2011 Regal is new car for the United States--the first cars should be arriving in dealerships in May--but the car, since day one, was envisioned as a world car and has been around since 2008 in Europe, in the guise of the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. The Regal was launched this past year in China. The first-year allotment of Regals coming to the States will be built at the Opel plant in Russelsheim, Germany.  Roger Hart | The 2011 Buick Regal is expected to lower the age of the brand's customers. |
We spent most of our drive time in the turbo model, which won't reach our shores until mid-summer. The base car is powered by a normally aspirated, direct-injection Ecotec 2.4-liter inline-four making 182 hp mated to the same six-speed automatic, a perfectly adequate powerplant. But the turbo is worth the wait, and worth the $2,500 upcharge. The turbo's powerband is from between 2,000 rpm and 5,000 rpm, and the car was quite happy playing in the left lane on the autobahn. Base Regals in the top-level CXT trim (the only one offered at launch, which includes full leather throughout the interior) start at $26,995. Turbo models are $29,495. Later in the model year, a six-speed manual will be offered on the turbo models. The above-mentioned IDC system is worth the $1,250 price. In Sport mode, it stiffens the dampers, reduces the suspension rebound and body roll and engages the variable steering assist, giving a more firm, progressive feel to the steering as you turn the wheel. It changes the throttle map to give quicker response along with quicker gear changes. It also increases the amount of wheelslip before Stabilitrak kicks in. In the Tour mode, you go the other way, softening things up for “100 percent comfort,” according to the car's chief engineer, Jim Federico. Yes, it's softer, but it's still not Lay-Z-Boy-like in the days of past Buicks. Beginning next year, Regals for North America will be built at the Oshawa, Ontario, assembly plant. Do I want it? This car, along with the new LaCrosse, should continue to change people's perception about the new Buick. Targeted at the Acura TSX and the Volkswagen Passat, the Regal is handsome and a fun car to drive, and a good alternative to the imports at a competitive price. The Regal's interior follows many of the same design cues as the LaCrosse, which is a good thing. The materials look and feel good, the controls are logically positioned, and the trunk offers decent stowage space. When the Regal was in its development, the 2.0-liter turbo engine was never on the drawing board. But when General Motors began looking to sell Saab, the new 2.0-liter Ecotec designed for the new 9-5 became available. Good thing for the Regal. The ultimate success of the Regal depends on Buick's ability to convince people who would never think of themselves as a “Buick person” to take a look. The LaCrosse (along with the crossover sport/ute Enclave) has helped drop the average age of a Buick owner from 72 to 65, and the Regal should help push that number lower to the industry average of 54.
Regal Receives 5-Star Safety Rating In China
Buick has already sold over 100,000 new Regal's since launch.
Shanghai – The Buick New Regal upper-medium sedan from Shanghai GM has received a maximum five-star safety rating from the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC), which recently released its C-NCAP (China New Car Assessment Program) ratings.
The New Regal received a very high score of 49.7 points overall and a maximum score of 16 points in side impact crash tests against a moving deformable barrier. In frontal crash tests it received a score of 15.03 out of 16 points, while in 40 percent front offset crash testing it scored 15.65 out of 16 points. The New Regal received an additional three points for having a front seat seatbelt alert system, side air bags and side curtain air bags, and the ISOFIX anchoring system for child safety seats.
According to GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale, “We are pleased but not surprised by the results. GM has made safety a priority in all of our vehicles built and sold in China. The New Regal’s design and occupant restraint systems are intended to meet all current and anticipated crash safety standards around the world.”
The New Regal has a strong passenger safety cell protected by front and rear crumple zones. Special attention was given to minimizing the risk of intrusion from the engine. For improved side impact protection, steel door beams are mounted diagonally to help engage the side structure more effectively in spreading crash forces.
A new active head restraint for the front seats was introduced in the New Regal to help reduce the risk of neck injury in the event of a rear-end collision. The front portion of the head restraint was pushed forward 45 millimeters by a new cable linkage, which is sufficient to restrict rearward head movement.
Dual chamber head/thorax air bags are mounted on the outboard sides of the front seatbacks and full-length curtain air bags are installed in the roof. For further passenger protection, three-point seatbelts are provided for all seating positions, including the middle of the rear seat, with pyrotechnic pre-tensioners and load limiters on the front belts.
In addition, tire sensors warn the driver if the pressure in any of the tires drops below the recommended level. Sensors in the valves initiate a radio signal and a warning message is illuminated on the main instrument display.
The Buick New Regal was introduced in China in December 2008. Through the end of March 2010, Shanghai GM had sold 101,773 New Regals nationwide.
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First Drive: 2011 Buick Regal (U.S. Spec)This Ain't Your Granddad's Roadmaster April 27, 2010 By Angus MacKenzie  Click to view Gallery
"This car's so quiet I'm falling asleep." That sentence has probably been uttered in a Buick before. But not in a Buick cruising along a German autobahn. At 130 mph. "Hey, this feels pretty nice." Someone's probably said that before in a Buick, too. But not in a Buick hammering around the legendary Nurburgring Nordschliefe. That's because no Buick in history has had its chassis tuned on the same bit of road utilized by the likes of BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, and Audi to get their cars handling right. More than the chic new LaCrosse or the glittery Enclave, the 2011 Buick Regal takes all your preconceptions about GM's old-fogey brand and drives them straight into the nearest dumpster. The $26,995 Regal CXL is sleek, stylish and comprehensively equipped, with suavely European road manners. The $29,495 Regal Turbo is a wonderfully subversive sport sedan whose punchy, 220-hp blown Ecotec four and supple, yet buttoned-down, chassis puts Acura's homely TSX on notice, and seriously makes you wonder whether an Audi A4 is really worth the money.  Click to view Gallery We've previously described the Regal as a rebadged Opel Insignia, but that sells it short. The Regal might be the Buick that was never meant to happen, but from the outset it was conceived as more than just an Opel. The Regal/Insignia (codenamed GMX350) is arguably GM's first truly global car, designed from the beginning to sell in the U.S. (it was originally intended to be the second-generation Saturn Aura) and China (as the Buick Regal, for GM's premier brand in the world's largest and fastest-growing auto market), as well as in Europe as the Insignia. It's built off the Epsilon architecture underpinning the Chevy Malibu and Buick LaCrosse. While the globalized product development process that created the new Regal is truly transformational for GM, the car itself is relatively conventional fare -- a mid-size, front-drive sedan with MacPherson strut suspension up front and a four link rear axle. While Opel buyers can choose between four-door sedan and hatch Insignias, as well as a stylish wagon, the more conservative American market -- which only seems to want wagons or hatches if they're disguised as SUVs or crossovers -- will only get the Regal as a sedan. For now.  Click to view Gallery Engine choice will be similarly limited -- no diesels or V-6s, unlike in Europe. Base Regal engine is a 2.4-liter direct injection four that develops 182 hp at 6700 rpm and 172 lb-ft of torque at 4900 rpm, driving the front wheels through GM's Hydra-Matic 6T45 six-speed automatic transmission. Regal chief engineer Jim Federico says this powertrain will deliver 0-60 mph acceleration times in the mid-8 second range, and EPA fuel consumption numbers of 20 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. The Regal Turbo (which goes on sale in August, two to three months after the naturally aspirated car hits Buick showrooms in the U.S.) is powered by a forced induction 2.0-liter Ecotec four that boasts the aforementioned 220 hp at 5300 rpm, and 258 lb-ft of torque at 2000 rpm, again driving the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission, though in this case it's an Aisin AF40 unit. (A six-speed manual, GM's own transmission, will be available on the Turbo by November.) The extra power and torque will shave at least a second off the 0-60 mph times, says Federico, but without much of a penalty at the pump. Though yet to be finalized, the EPA fuel consumption numbers are only expected to be a mile per gallon worse on both city and highway cycles.  Click to view Gallery The Regal has 230 specific new parts compared with Insignia, some related to appearance and market considerations, others because of the differences between European and U.S. regulations. Some 800 parts have been touched or tweaked during the development process. The Regals have a slightly different suspension tune to the Insignias, primarily to improve ride comfort and accommodate all-season tires. But that doesn't mean the car has been transformed into a wallowing boat. Far from it, in fact. On the standard Michelin Pilot P235/50R18 all-season tires, the Regal is impressively quiet and remarkably composed, with the smooth, flowing transitions and confident straight-line stability so typical of a German sedan. The steering is liquid and linear, with just the merest delay as you pull the rim off-center. That's a trait deliberately dialed into the car to make the Regal feel more stable on slippery surfaces, says chassis engineer Andreas Holl. "Our steering benchmark was the Ford Mondeo," Holl says, "but I felt the Mondeo's turn-in was too aggressive on wet roads. The tail kept wanting to come around." While there's nothing wrong with the base suspension setup, enthusiasts will be tempted by the Interactive Drive Control System (IDCS) optional on the Regal Turbo. The IDCS offers three modes -- Touring, Normal, and Sport -- that alter suspension travel, damper rates, throttle pedal mapping, and automatic transmission shift algorithms accordingly. The Touring mode offers the plushest ride and relaxed responses, while Sport mode makes the car more aggressive and buttoned-down, though at no stage could it be called harsh. The IDCS also allows drivers to mix and match settings -- sharp steering and relaxed throttle, for example.  Click to view Gallery
With the IDCS set in Sport, and the (Turbo only) optional Goodyear Eagle RS-A P245/40R19 tires caressing the blacktop, the Regal Turbo proved surprisingly adept around the sweeps and swoops, crests and dips of the 72-turn Nurburgring Nordschliefe. The Buick is utterly unfazed by mid-corner lumps and bumps, resolutely holding its line through the turns, yet it's impressively agile on the change of direction. The suspension is firmer -- not harsher, a critical distinction -- gently checking unwanted body motions, and there's a touch more weight to the steering. Our testers were U.S.-spec cars, which means they were fitted with U.S.-spec brake pads instead of the heavier-duty metallic items that are standard on the Opel Insignia. While there was never an issue slowing the car from warp-speed, you could feel the pedal softening if you punished it too hard. While the naturally aspirated 2.4-liter engine feels breathless when pushed, the turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec four delivers a solid surge of acceleration when you nail the gas. Check the Turbo's power and torque figures again -- all that grunt and twist comes on strong in the mid-range, where it's instantly accessible. It's a terrifically smooth and responsive engine, easily the best four-cylinder motor yet from GM. In fact, it's so good, you can't help but think a V-6 in this car would simply be a waste of money and gas, and the extra mass over the front axle would probably ruin the chassis balance. Away from the 'Ring, the Regal Turbo happily cruised at 120-130 mph on the autobahn, scattering slow-moving Volkswagens out of the fast lane like autumn leaves, their drivers doing a quick double-take as they spotted the Regal's unfamiliar badges. Straight-line stability at speed is superb, and the Regal's measured responses are welcome when braking rapidly midway through a sweeper for slow-moving traffic. You can feel the Regal's low drag coefficient at work on the highway, as the car keeps momentum when you lift off the gas. The slippery shape is obviously good for the gas mileage, too, as the Regal's trip computer showed we averaged 29 mpg while cruising at an average of 70 mph.  Click to view Gallery We had a brief run in an Insignia Turbo with the six-speed transmission (no Regal versions have been built yet), and it's a pleasant combo. The slightly notchy Aisin six-speed isn't as snickety-snick quick as, say, a Honda tranny -- the fore-aft throw is bit long and the gate a tad wide -- but it works nicely nonetheless. Director for Buick GMC advertising and sales promotion Craig Bierley admits he's not sure how many buyers will opt for the Turbo with the stick, but he's convinced it's worth the cost of certifying for the U.S. market because of the message it sends about Buick.  Click to view Gallery And make no mistake, this is not your granddad's Buick. It's not a hairy-chested musclecar, either, like the crude but lovable Grand National. Well-equipped and beautifully styled inside and out, the Regal CSX and Turbo are suave and sophisticated sedans that have what it takes to appeal to buyers who would normally drive right past the Buick showroom on their way to the Acura or Lexus store.
| | Base Price Range $26,995-$29,495 |
| Vehicle layout | Front engine, FWD/AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan |
| Engines | 2.4L/182-hp/172-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4; 2.0L/220-hp/258-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4 |
| Transmissions | 6-speed automatic; 6-speed manual |
| Curb weight | 3600 lb (mfr) |
| Wheelbase | 107.8 in |
| Length x width x height | 190.2 x 73.1 x 58.4 in |
| 0-60 mph | 7.5 sec (Turbo, mfr est) |
| EPA city/hwy fuel econ | 19-20/29-30 mpg |
| CO2 emissions | 0.86-0.89 lb/mile |
| On sale in the U.S. | Spring 2010 (2.4); Fall 2010 (Turbo) |
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