2017 Buick Regal 4dr Sdn Premium Ii Fwd Review
The Car Connection Good Review
Editorial Manager
June 1, 2017
Likes
- Turbocharged thrust
- Make clean infotainment interface
- Lovely styling
- European-tuned treatment
- All-cycle drive on the options list
Dislikes
- No more balmy hybrid
- Pricing is lower, still at a premium
- Tight rear seat
Buying tip
features & specs
4-Door Sedan FWD
4-Door Sedan GS AWD
4-Door Sedan GS FWD
The 2017 Buick Regal remains one of GM's most handsome, composed sedans--just skip the base of operations engine, and make sure rear-seat passengers are small.
The Buick Purple is one of GM's more charming sports sedans, notwithstanding, five years subsequently information technology showtime hit the road. At that place's ability, just non too much. It'south responsive, but not overly stiff. It's a disarming performer in both the luxury-sedan and sport-sedan world.
The Regal merits a half dozen.viii on our scale of x, due in large part to its lovely shape and its excellent road manners. (Read more nearly how we charge per unit cars.)
It suffers somewhat from its premium positioning, which means you'll pay more than for its features and finishes for what's substantially a smaller mid-size sedan. The Royal doesn't suffer at all for its refined performance and its able-bodied looks, and those take brought new buyers, merely the kind Buick wants to attract.
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Buick Regal styling and operation
Its lean, deeply stamped sheet metal is the Majestic's best calling card. The sleek, tightly composed shape is one of the reasons it's been a success. It'due south the most athletic-looking vehicle in the Buick lineup, and it's washed that with just a hint or two of Buick'due south dramatically styled by. The Nike-like swoosh down its sides is what it's all about—information technology says only as much about the Regal'south mission as does the lack of portholes on the front fenders.
Within, the Majestic is pleasing and intuitive. The leather and ii-tone trim on top models is subdued and handsome. The cockpit has been updated almost annually, and in its latest version, offers polish integration of buttons, screens and new technology.
On the frugal side, the Regal can be outfitted with a rental-class powertrain and commensurate base price. That two.iv-liter, 182-horsepower inline-4 is simply adequate in power and in refinement, coupled every bit it is to a 6-speed automatic and devoid of the best mechanical touches Buick applies to other models.
Buick's Regal turbos are the improve selection in near every example. Whether it'due south the standard or the Regal GS edition, both get a single turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 with 259 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. Zero to 60 mph times beneath 7 seconds and a sweet growl give this powertrain the nod; simply if you're looking to shift information technology yourself, the base turbo simply comes with a vi-speed automatic.
The performance-oriented GS isn't a BMW three-Series—or a Cadillac ATS—in the level of handling precision information technology offers, only the GS remains our favorite Royal because it imparts a sporty feel without sacrificing its well-controlled ride, albeit at a price that overlaps some true sport sedans.
The Royal likewise can be fitted with an all-cycle-drive arrangement, with an electronically controlled limited-skid differential beyond the rear wheels. The reasonably taut experience broiled into the Purple'south ride and handling is however here—it has the muted damping of a practiced German language sedan, and electric power steering that avoids the heavyweight cliches. With all-wheel drive, in that location's more than effective power delivery out of corners—and maybe more interest from shoppers.
Base Regals are rated at xix mpg city, thirty highway, 23 combined—well below four-cylinder Hyundai Sonatas and Nissan Altimas. The Royal'due south turbo 2.0-liter inline-4 earns a 21/29/24 mpg rating in front-drive, or 19/27/22 mpg with all-wheel drive.
Regal comfort, safety, and features
The Buick Regal is comfortable for 4 adults, assuming the rear passengers aren't besides large, every bit the car is slightly smaller than some other mid-size cars in the segment. It doesn't come shy in front-seat space; the Majestic's back seat may be rated for three people, simply 2 adults could have trouble plumbing equipment in, if they're very tall.
Every bit for safety, Buick's earned great crash-test scores with the Royal in the past. It has a standard rearview photographic camera (and on the GS, forepart and rear parking sensors), and adds optional adaptive prowl control, blind-spot monitors, a lane-departure warning organization, and a forrad-standoff warning system.
Bringing the Regal's infotainment arrangement another step forrard, Buick recently upgraded the available IntelliLink arrangement to a simpler, more than brightly colored interface based on Cadillac's CUE, without its haptic feedback—simply also without the Regal'southward onetime knob-style controllers. The touchscreen allows users to reconfigure the habitation screen, to choose upward to 60 favorites across its suite of applications, and to store upward to 1,000 contacts—while integrating smartphone-based streaming audio and accessing navigation with natural-vox commands. Bose audio tops off the package.
As an assist to the touchscreen interface, the Regal sports a four.two-inch screen tucked in betwixt its gauges, to display info from the available navigation system, phone, sound system, and vehicle. On the Majestic GS, the centre of the estimate cluster swaps out for an 8.0-inch LCD screen with customizable looks for unlike driving modes. The Imperial too has an option for 4G LTE connectivity via OnStar, and tin turn itself into a wi-fi hotspot.
With one of GM's best-looking sedan bodies, the Buick Regal doesn't need to reveal its historic period.
The current Buick Imperial is one of GM'south best styling efforts of the past decade. Able-bodied in the way its bigger sedans are not, devoid of the shuttlecock styling of the latest Volt and Cruze, the Majestic has a tightly drawn trunk and a handsome, intuitive interior that give it a truly globally appealing aesthetic.
We give it an 8 for styling, with extra points awarded for its lovely sheet metal, however fresh after five model years on the road. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
Inside, the Imperial's handsome, depression instrument panel is highlighted by well-baked LED-lit gauges, and the shield-shaped center stack of controls is framed by high-quality trim. An eight.0-inch LCD touchscreen dominates the dash, while a 4.two-inch screen tucked in between its gauges displays info from the available navigation system, phone, audio system, and vehicle. On the Regal GS, the center of the gauge cluster swaps out for an 8.0-inch LCD screen with customizable looks for different driving modes.
The doors have glints of metal trim and sweeping lines that read upscale, and on GS cars, the white-stitched black leather seats do the aforementioned. Regal owners can choose from satin metallic interior trim, piano-black plastic or a dark wood called Kibo; we come down in favor of the satin trim, which doesn't date the cabin or get out it smudged with fingerprints.
From the exterior, the Imperial looks fresh and modern all the same. The pings of the by are few: there's a waterfall grille, and big, blingy xix- and xx-inch wheels that exercise more to please American eyes than engineers' tastes.
The Nike-like swoosh pressed into the doors is the telling detail: the Imperial withal is one of the best-looking four-doors General Motors has in its stable today. It's nonetheless a knockout, trimmed out fifty-fifty ameliorate with LED "wings" factored into its headlights and taillights for the new model twelvemonth, along with a retouched grille and a metallic band that connects the taillights.
The Imperial GS gets a few corrective details of its ain. Its front stop is cleaved upwards with bladed, vertical air intakes. In dorsum, the exhaust tips are reshaped, and the small-scale rear spoiler is a bit larger.
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The turbocharged Buick Regals are both quick, but the GS has the better suspension tuning.
The Buick Regal keeps things fairly simple on the operation forepart. A single turbocharged inline-four powers both the stock and GS models, and a 6-speed automatic is at present the simply manual available. All-wheel drive is an option.
Even so, at that place'due south enough interesting work washed in tuning the Imperial GS that it deserves more attention—and it helps bring upwardly the Regal's performance score. We give the Majestic a pair of bonus points in a higher place our average of 5 for its ride and treatment, for a performance score of 7. (Read more about how nosotros rate cars.)
Majestic Turbo
Like other mid-size sedans, the Regal has completely given upward on the V-6. In its more interesting forms, it gets a sweet-revving GM turbo-4 for stiff acceleration.
The turbocharged ii.0-liter inline-4 is kin to the one in the Cadillac ATS, and it's constitute in both the Regal Turbo and Regal GS. Outfitted with a twin-scroll turbo and direct injection, the turbo-4 makes 259 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, with 90 percent of peak torque coming on board at ane,700 rpm. Zero to 60 mph times are pegged at well under 7.0 seconds.
On both the Regal Turbo and the Regal GS, the powerplant is teamed to a 6-speed automatic. The formerly bachelor 6-speed manual has been deleted.
In Turbo form, the Purple is a composed, quick performer with mainstream moves. It'southward muted well to near-redline revs, and as usual, GM's automatic clicks off shifts likewise-damped every bit the Regal'due south ride. GM'southward new electric power steering doesn't load up with as well much weight off-center, and doesn't experience antsy with an overly quick ratio, either. With struts in front and a multi-link rear end, the front-drive Majestic is responsive enough, its treatment tempered with a fair amount of lean.
There's an pick for all-wheel drive with the Purple. Information technology gets a dissimilar rear suspension blueprint, and incorporates an electronically controlled express-slip differential at the rear wheels. The system can ship up to ninety percent of bachelor torque to the rear wheels, or shift torque betwixt rear wheels with the e-slip. The result: meliorate response to on-ability cornering, and maybe more important, a few thousands more than interested buyers who put AWD in the "must-have" bin.
Buick Imperial GS
The GS is the Regal we recommend. It's given Buick a target for ride and handling that are worth copying on every one of its cars. With a precise but absorptive experience, the Purple doesn't stumble over rigid benchmarks set by High german sedans (even though, technically, it is 1. It's based on GM Europe's Opel Insignia sedan).
The Imperial GS may not have its own standalone engine this fourth dimension, but it has some carve-outs to call its ain. There's a three-way Interactive Drive Control that changes the responsiveness of its adaptive dampers, of the throttle and manual and even steering feel. It continues to ride on a lowered suspension with beefier front struts, and on standard 19-inch wheels with all-flavour tires, while 20-inch summer tires are available.
There are clear levels of resolution betwixt the three driving modes. Out of the gate, the "Touring" mode is soft enough for whatsoever daily commuter, just handles flatter and more cleanly than the base turbo. Fifty-fifty in Sport fashion, the Purple GS doesn't tighten up in any unreasonable way.
By the time it's progressively tightened up to the GS setting, the Imperial still behaves in a way both of its names imply, while it tightens its reflexes to a sporty caste that's acceptably shy of the true sports sedans from BMW, Cadillac, and others. The Regal GS omits the overly heavy steering, the crazy-quick throttle of some of those cars, just doesn't accept their "9/10th" precision, either. All-wheel drive amplifies the car'south sophistication over scrubby pavement; the big disc brakes on the GS have a reassuring bite, too.
Set (bated) and forget: the base Majestic
The base Buick Regal is the automobile you'll more probable see in a rental-machine lot than in a private garage, and for good reason. Information technology'south powered by an unexciting 2.four-liter, 182-horsepower inline-four, just acceptable in simply about everything it does, from dispatch to smoothness. It gets overwhelmed with anything more than a single passenger on board. It's just offered with a 6-speed automatic, which does take a driver-control manner for hanging around in lower gears when you need.
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The Majestic gives front-seat passengers the purple treatment; elsewhere, information technology'due south less spacious.
We've rated the Regal a 6 for condolement and utility, with a point above average for its very good front end seats. (Read more near how we rate cars.)
The Regal is rated to seat five passengers, but it's better suited to 4 adults—as long as the ii sitting in back are relatively slight in stature.
The Majestic is at the small-scale end of the mid-size spectrum of sedans, somewhere in wheelbase between Ford'south Fusion and Focus. In front, that doesn't create many issues. The base of operations Royal has leather seats with slightly more than average bolstering on the seatbacks, but with relatively flat lesser cushions. Regal GS sedans get nicely supportive sport bucket seats. For both models, head room and leg room are generous enough, unless yous slide the seat frontwards and opt into the sunroof.
The Regal's back seat is rated for three people, simply two adults could have problem fitting in. Leg room is like on the spec canvas to that in the Honda Accord, simply something about the cushioning in the Regal makes the back seat seem less spacious than rivals. For sure, the roofline meets more heads than in taller sedans, just it'south comparable to truly large four-doors like the VW Passat in that respect.
Cargo chapters isn't the Regal's strongest accommodate, either. With simply 14.iii cubic anxiety of torso room, information technology's about iii or iv cubic feet smaller than other sedans, and a slice of baggage less than the enormous 20-cubic-foot trunk in the Ford Taurus.
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The Regal does well in them, but crash tests are incomplete.
The latest Buick Regal earns respectable crash-test scores from the federal government, but other data is incomplete.
We give it a 6 for the scores it's earned so far; nosotros don't expect the aging Regal will undergo boosted testing in its current generation. (Read more about how we charge per unit cars.)
The NHTSA awards the Regal a rating of five stars overall. It's given four stars for front-bear upon protection and rollover resistance, just five stars for side-impact protection.
The IIHS says the Regal earns "Skilful" crash-test results in all the tests it's performed so far; it also earns a "Superior" rating for front-crash prevention with its available forward-collision and automated-braking systems.
However, the IIHS hasn't put the sedan through its small-scale-overlap frontal crash test, which keeps it from being named a Top Safety Pick.
A rearview camera is at present standard on all Regals, while the GS also gets standard front end and rear parking sensors (they're bachelor on other models, too). That's in addition to the usual airbags, and the Royal's optional rear-seat side airbags.
The Regal doesn't have much of a problem with outward vision. Still, some of its new safe options would be on our order sheet: adaptive prowl command, bullheaded-spot monitors, and a lane-departure alert system.
The Royal has ample standard and optional features, though goose egg out of the ordinary.
Buick hasn't changed the Royal much on the features front in the past few years. It offers the sedan in turbocharged and naturally aspirated 4-cylinder form, with available all-bicycle drive, though the former eAssist mild-hybrid and manual-transmission models have met their makers.
In terms of other standard and optional features, nosotros give it a 7 out of 10. The Imperial has good standard equipment and a useful infotainment organisation, which gets Apple CarPlay and Android Machine for 2017. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
On the infotainment front, Buick'south IntelliLink system is the go-between for smartphones and its audio and navigation systems. IntelliLink displays on an 8.0-inch touchscreen, offers a configurable home screen, lets owners choose up to 60 favorites across its suite of applications, and also lets them store upwards to 1,000 contacts—while integrating smartphone-based streaming audio and accessing navigation with natural-vocalism commands. IntelliLink also displays redundant information on a 4.2-inch screen tucked between the gauges.
Buick'due south latest navigation organisation, an pick on the Purple, eliminates our biggest complaint with previous models. The touchscreen display makes entry of destinations much easier. You can choose a turn-by-turn navigation service offered through OnStar, which doesn't have any resident maps or POIs in the car. OnStar also offers 4G LTE connectivity, which includes the power to create a wi-fi network from the auto.
In every Purple, Buick fits standard power features; prowl control; a rearview photographic camera; a power driver seat; heated front seats; dual-zone climate command; and an AM/FM/CD/XM sound system with a USB port and Bluetooth with sound streaming.
On more expensive models, the Regal adds features like a power passenger seat; a heated steering wheel; parking sensors; and remote first.
The Regal GS has more standard equipment, starting with an adaptive suspension on versions with front-wheel bulldoze. The Imperial GS also wears special 19-inch wheels, with xx-inch wheels on summertime tires as an option. The Imperial GS also has a configurable 8.0-inch LCD screen betwixt its gauges that display information related to its driver-adjustable modes.
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The Regal's fuel economy is just boilerplate.
If you choose your cars by their EPA combined ratings, the Royal volition frustrate y'all.
Buick sells an eAssist mild-hybrid Majestic, merely doesn't offering it to civilians. Fleet buyers can appreciate its EPA ratings of 25 mpg metropolis, 36 highway, 29 combined—but individual buyers can't.
Other versions become combined numbers in the low 20s, which is why the Royal earns a green score of 6 on our scale. (Read more most how nosotros rate cars.)
Of the Regals bachelor to consumers, the normally aspirated 4-cylinder model gets the best gas mileage. Base Regals are rated at 19/30/23 mpg—well below 4-cylinder Hyundai Sonatas and Nissan Altimas.
The Regal'due south turbo two.0-liter inline-four is rated at 21/29/24 mpg with front-wheel drive. With all-wheel drive, the turbocharged Royal is rated a scrap lower, at xix/27/22 mpg.
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Source: https://www.thecarconnection.com/overview/buick_regal_2017
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