I bought a Buick! TourX

[LotI]

I guess I'm old enough at 47... After getting my kicks in a ‘17 GTI for the last year and a bit, I decided to get back to a little more comfort and room. As may know, Buick has had a hard time selling the Regal TourX because of lack of interest in wagons and poor promotions. Most of them in the marketplace are 20-25% off and there are many ‘18's still on the lots. It has a 2.0T engine left over from SAAB matched to a 8-spd Aisin transmission. I talked to 3 techs at the dealership and none of them remember working on them for issues over the last 2 years. My progression of cars over the past ~10 years has been: 2017 VW GTI SE 6M—fun fun fun and just enough room for the stuff I haul. I found myself being s hooligan on the twisty roads and kind of being a dick. I went fast in the curves and reasonable on straights. 53k miles and 4 trips to the dealer made me worry about out of warranty repair costs. 2017 Mazda6. Great car with a beautiful interior but needed a little more oomph, hence the GTI. Gas and oil changes kept it happy. 2014 Honda Accord Sport CVT. Great car but the seat was bad. Gas and oil. Got the Mazda for a song It went bye-bye. 2012 Honda Accord. Good price but big, floaty and boring. Beige interior stained easily. Owned for 8 months. Gas and oil. 2004 Buick Rainier. I'm not a truck guy and this thing was thirsty, got as part of the divorce. 155k miles when traded. 2005 MINI Cooper S. A go-cart with similar cargo capacity. 6spd Aisin sapped a lot of fun. Ex-still DD's it. I worked with a rural dealer who let me take a test drive without even asking if I had a drivers license. Very easy-going and honest. I worked with the owner directly and got a great deal on a ‘19 Regal TourX Essence without a sunroof and without the extra safety package. I wanted LED lights and Bose. Ended up in my driveway this afternoon with 99 miles on the odometer. Much more comfortable than the GTI and just sporty enough. I took the backroads home to vary the revs and manually shifted frequently to take care of the break-in. After a few more miles and heat cycles I'll do a proper load from low to high RPM's to get the rings seated. Still not sure I'll change the oil before or at 5k, which will be my normal interval(7.5k recommendation). My stash is pretty good with leftover 502.00 oil from the VW. Since this is made in Germany by PSA, the 5w-40 and 0w-40 oil I have will get used in it along with some Dexos. Opel and Vauxhall manuals say this grade is fine. Probably stick with a PF64 due to the high bypass requirement and they're dirt cheap. The cargo space is massive, I think it's as much as the Rainier. But it handles like a car and has a Haldex AWD system. I didn't think I would buy another GM product and I feel like I sort of didn't. Opel is now owned by PSA and makes the car in Germany under license.

 

[Cujet]

Good looking cars. Congrats. I've not driven one, so can't comment.

 

[MrHorspwer]

Originally Posted by LotI

But it handles like a car and has a Haldex AWD system.

It doesn't have a Haldex AWD system. It has a GKN Twinster system. This is same system as the Ford Focus RS and, imo, is one of probably the three best AWD systems available right now.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I really like the style of those cars. They are a head turner every time I see one. Very much a wagon fan versus all the new crossovers coming out that everyone drives nowadays.

 

[Ws6]

I really like where Buick is going and has been for the last couple of years. I don't like the styling, but that's a personal thing. I'm curious where Buick ends up!

 

[wemay]

Man, i LOVE that ride.

 

[4WD]

Congratulations (wish we had a smell tab for brand new vehicles).

 

[double vanos]

No sunroof and LED lights! P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Congrats! I wouldn't mind one of these in my garage.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Man, what I'd give for a wagon that's as sleek and comfy as that!

 

[cos]

LotI, Congrats. I'm leasing a '18 GMC Terrain with the same 2.0 Turbo. It's great, plenty of low end grunt and I'm pulling down an average of 30 MPG (mostly easy suburban driving). I'm considering buying a Regal sportback when my lease is up.

 

[buster]

Congrats!

 

[LoneRanger]

Nice ride dude, you did well. Saw one up close at the buick/gmc/cadillac dealer where we got the Terrain. Good looking unique cars. Well done !!

 

[Bud]

Sharp

 

[LotI]

Originally Posted by MrHorspwer

Originally Posted by LotI

But it handles like a car and has a Haldex AWD system.

It doesn't have a Haldex AWD system. It has a GKN Twinster system. This is same system as the Ford Focus RS and, imo, is one of probably the three best AWD systems available right now.

Thanks for the clarification. I read that this afternoon and will have to do some research. I guess the Haldex fluid I have left over from the VW won't do.

Originally Posted by double vanos

No sunroof and LED lights! P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

I drove a fully loaded one in the Rioja red and found the sunroof pretty impressive but I'm not a fan of light coming in above my sunglasses and leaky, creaky sunroofs. Another thing to go wrong or break. I decided not to have the additional headaches of ADAS In this car as I'm a attentive driver. I had it in my Mazda and it was just ok. I also just learned the LED's have a unique "dance" at the front.

Originally Posted by wemay

Man, i LOVE that ride.

Thanks, me too so far. I thought the dark color would mask the ugly plastic cladding.

 

[jongies3]

No shame, I love my Park Avenue also and I'm 26! I grew up riding around in big cars like Cadillacs and Continentals so I'm a bit partial to large American luxury cars. My friends give me [censored] for it, but none of them wanna race my supercharged 3.8 either! Lol

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by LotI

I guess I'm old enough at 47... After getting my kicks in a ‘17 GTI for the last year and a bit, I decided to get back to a little more comfort and room. As may know, Buick has had a hard time selling the Regal TourX because of lack of interest in wagons and poor promotions. Most of them in the marketplace are 20-25% off and there are many ‘18's still on the lots. It has a 2.0T engine left over from SAAB matched to a 8-spd Aisin transmission. I talked to 3 techs at the dealership and none of them remember working on them for issues over the last 2 years. My progression of cars over the past ~10 years has been: 2017 VW GTI SE 6M—fun fun fun and just enough room for the stuff I haul. I found myself being s hooligan on the twisty roads and kind of being a dick. I went fast in the curves and reasonable on straights. 53k miles and 4 trips to the dealer made me worry about out of warranty repair costs. 2017 Mazda6. Great car with a beautiful interior but needed a little more oomph, hence the GTI. Gas and oil changes kept it happy. 2014 Honda Accord Sport CVT. Great car but the seat was bad. Gas and oil. Got the Mazda for a song It went bye-bye. 2012 Honda Accord. Good price but big, floaty and boring. Beige interior stained easily. Owned for 8 months. Gas and oil. 2004 Buick Rainier. I'm not a truck guy and this thing was thirsty, got as part of the divorce. 155k miles when traded. 2005 MINI Cooper S. A go-cart with similar cargo capacity. 6spd Aisin sapped a lot of fun. Ex-still DD's it. I worked with a rural dealer who let me take a test drive without even asking if I had a drivers license. Very easy-going and honest. I worked with the owner directly and got a great deal on a ‘19 Regal TourX Essence without a sunroof and without the extra safety package. I wanted LED lights and Bose. Ended up in my driveway this afternoon with 99 miles on the odometer. Much more comfortable than the GTI and just sporty enough. I took the backroads home to vary the revs and manually shifted frequently to take care of the break-in. After a few more miles and heat cycles I'll do a proper load from low to high RPM's to get the rings seated. Still not sure I'll change the oil before or at 5k, which will be my normal interval(7.5k recommendation). My stash is pretty good with leftover 502.00 oil from the VW. Since this is made in Germany by PSA, the 5w-40 and 0w-40 oil I have will get used in it along with some Dexos. Opel and Vauxhall manuals say this grade is fine. Probably stick with a PF64 due to the high bypass requirement and they're dirt cheap. The cargo space is massive, I think it's as much as the Rainier. But it handles like a car and has a Haldex AWD system. I didn't think I would buy another GM product and I feel like I sort of didn't. Opel is now owned by PSA and makes the car in Germany under license.

2.0T engine is originally Opel engine developed by Cosworth in 1991 for Vectra A in 2.0 16V naturally aspirated configuration and turbo configuration which was called "killer" due to enormous power in very light vehicles with questionable brakes. PSA does not have anything to do with this vehicle. It is leftover, but you are right, you should use oils similar as in GTI.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by jongies3

No shame, I love my Park Avenue also and I'm 26! I grew up riding around in big cars like Cadillacs and Continentals so I'm a bit partial to large American luxury cars. My friends give me [censored] for it, but none of them wanna race my supercharged 3.8 either! Lol

What do they drive that they are intimidated by the speed of a vehicle that pulls a 0-60 of nearly 8 seconds?

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted by Ws6

Originally Posted by jongies3

No shame, I love my Park Avenue also and I'm 26! I grew up riding around in big cars like Cadillacs and Continentals so I'm a bit partial to large American luxury cars. My friends give me [censored] for it, but none of them wanna race my supercharged 3.8 either! Lol

What do they drive that they are intimidated by the speed of a vehicle that pulls a 0-60 of nearly 8 seconds?

Probably hot little hatches with rear spoilers or wings on the rear (on FWD cars!). The sheer mass of a BPA is intimidating all by itself. I've just bought my third Buick -- a BPA, then a German-built Buick Regal (the immediate predecessor to the TourX), and now a '16 LaCrosse. I'm glad to see people realizing what a grand bargain they are. And passing on a sunroof is smart. Except for the 4 months with the BMW 328i that was recently totaled, I haven't had a sunroof/moonroof since 2007, and haven't missed 'em in this foul hot climate. Congrats a good car buy!

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by Benzadmiral

Originally Posted by Ws6

Originally Posted by jongies3

No shame, I love my Park Avenue also and I'm 26! I grew up riding around in big cars like Cadillacs and Continentals so I'm a bit partial to large American luxury cars. My friends give me [censored] for it, but none of them wanna race my supercharged 3.8 either! Lol

What do they drive that they are intimidated by the speed of a vehicle that pulls a 0-60 of nearly 8 seconds?

Probably hot little hatches with rear spoilers or wings on the rear (on FWD cars!). The sheer mass of a BPA is intimidating all by itself. I've just bought my third Buick -- a BPA, then a German-built Buick Regal (the immediate predecessor to the TourX), and now a '16 LaCrosse. I'm glad to see people realizing what a grand bargain they are. And passing on a sunroof is smart. Except for the 4 months with the BMW 328i that was recently totaled, I haven't had a sunroof/moonroof since 2007, and haven't missed 'em in this foul hot climate. Congrats a good car buy!

Aero isn't just about traction from a dig...in fact it has NOTHING to do with traction from a dig. It is for high speed corners, and yes it's meaningful on FWD vehicles, albeit most people with them on the street are just doing it for looks. It would take an exceptionally special/slow "hot hatch" to lose to this Buick Park Avenue, as a base Civic would bury it. https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15096135/2017-honda-civic-hatchback-cvt-automatic-review/ I have a sunroof, and to be fair, I forget it's there to be honest. The Buicks are a bargain, and quality/reliability seems to be there based on CR, etc. But fast in 2003, they were not.