Buick (7)
Enthusiasts, aka people who really love to drive powerful and sporty vehicles, are often forgotten about as brands attempt to reach the largest market possible.
But luckily for this group, Buick has not forgotten them and offers a unique option in their 2018 stable: the 2018 Buick Regal GS (Gran Sport).
This sporty sedan is a niche offering, a faster and more performance-focused version of the 2018 Regal Sportback. It has a European pedigree, as the Regal GS is basically a rebadged Opel Insignia, and that’s easy to identify through its sporty look and performance.
I’m back with a full report after spending some time in a Regal GS.
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The look on the Regal GS is more aggressive looking, both up front and in the rear, and there is a rear spoiler.
The five-passenger, four-door hatchback has a back seat that is pretty tight for grown-ups but not overly uncomfortable. You get 31.5 ft of cargo room, 60.7 ft with seats down. The flashy, red Brembo brakes stand out visually, and you’ll feel them working too.
The GS features keyless start, interior ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, auto-dimming rearview mirror, heated front seats and steering wheel, and a power moonroof is a $1K option.
The Appearance package offers wireless charging, LED headlamps and cornering lamps.
With its first design lasting a full decade (2008 to 2017), after a very long wait the Buick Enclave finally gets updated for the 2018 model year.
And the results are pretty spectacular.
The new exterior look for the entry-level luxury brand’s biggest ride is much smoother looking looking than the previous version, and inside it’s more practical too.
I’m back with a full report after spending some time in the new-look Enclave.
LOOKS
The less bulky, slimmer look of the new Enclave is clear upon first glance and a big improvement on its predecessor. As part of the redesign, the vehicle got slightly longer but still shed weight while increasing interior space.
Inside, the materials in the Enclave are consistently high-end and you get a litany of creature comforts, even if you don’t go for the top trim lines. The three rows in the Enclave can host up to seven people. Third row is easy to access, but best for kids.
Among comfort features are heated and ventilated front seats (driver and passenger), tri-zone climate control and heated second row seats.
As Buick continues its efforts to grow more popular in the luxury realm, they have to get creative to compete. And for 2018, they definitely did that with the Regal, offering it in several different flavors, from the new TourX (a raised wagon, like the Outback), the speedy Regal GS, and the sharp-looking 2018 Regal Sportback, which I recently had the chance to test.
I’m back with a full report on this luxury sedan and how it competes with the rest of the segment.
In case you haven’t noticed by their constant presence on the roadways, smaller SUVs continue to be a strong trend in auto sales. Higher end brands are among those cashing in on this, and Buick is no exception -- with their compact Encore being their best-seller in terms of overall numbers in the U.S.
I recently spent some time in a Buick Encore, and I’m back with a full report on what it offers in this busy segment.
With some auto brands, there’s often debate about how to classify them. With Buick, the debate centers on whether it’s truly a luxury brand (like fellow GM stablemate Cadillac) or something less -- perhaps more of a premium brand that’s more plush than Chevy but not quite at a Cadillac level.
Either way, it’s really all semantics. Because in the end, what matters is that a vehicle is well-built, performs well and looks great. And with the vehicles Buick has been putting out in recent years, they are certainly meeting that expectation.
I recently spent some time in Buick’s largest SUV -- the three-row Buick Enclave, which can be considered the crown jewel of the Buick lineup -- and I’m back with a full report.
The Buick name means different things in various places around the world. In China, it’s seen as a foreign status symbol by many and sales reflect that, with the brand selling a record 1.18 million vehicles in China in 2016.
But in the U.S. it has more of an uphill battle to climb, with its reputation as GM’s luxury-lite brand (behind the truly luxurious Cadillac), and the brand having to convince potential buyers that a Buick is not just your grandpa’s car anymore.
The Buick brand represents a small portion of GM’s U.S. sales (roughly 230,000 sales out of 3 million total for GM in 2016); and among those Buick sales the majority were for SUVs.
Still, every sale counts, and the Buick brand’s sedans persist in America, and they plan to stick it out for the long run.
I recently tested out their flagship sedan, the largest and best one Buick offers -- the 2017 Buick Lacrosse, which got a major overhaul for the 2017 model year -- and I’m back with a full report.
For the past quarter-century, the words Buick and convertible weren’t to be found in the same sentence. It had been since the early 1990s (the Buick Reatta) that a convertible was produced by the brand, and it was not expected that would change considering how the brand has positioned itself in recent years as more focused on SUVs/crossovers.
Then came word of the pending arrival of the Buick Cascada, a brand-new convertible birthed out of GM’s European division, and everyone took notice. How would Buick do in their U.S. return to the world of convertibles -- big hit or bust?
I spent some time this summer behind the wheel of a Cascada, and I’m back with a full report on my experience and what you can expect from this unique offering.
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