Mention the words Buick Regal and you're bound to get one of three responses. Some folks will give you blank stares. Others may remember a nice-riding but otherwise nondescript sedan with that name (that retired after 2004). And older folks may recall hood ornaments, pillowed velour bench seats and padded landau tops. With the all-new 2011 Buick Regal, the company is looking to change all that and give this nameplate a more modern and memorable persona.
The personality transplant comes by way of Europe – the donor being General Motors' Opel division. The 2011 Buick Regal is based on the current Opel Insignia and as such shares that smart sedan's precise, communicative steering and athletic handling. The Regal is a midsize sedan, but it rides on a 107.8-inch wheelbase, which is about 4 inches shorter than what you'll find on the recently introduced Buick LaCrosse. This means the Regal is a bit smaller, with a tighter backseat. Basically, you can consider this to be Buick's entry-level car.
Unfortunately, the 3,600-pound Regal will initially only be available with a 2.4-liter inline-4. Though it sports direct fuel-injection technology and makes respectable power (182 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque) and fuel economy (up to 30 mpg highway), this engine will have its work cut out. Later in the year, a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine sporting 220 hp and 258 lb-ft will debut. If our time behind the wheel of a prototype with the turbo-4 is any indicator, this is the go-to choice for its combination of ever-ready thrust and fuel-sipping appetite.
Buick is positioning the 2011 Regal against the likes of the Acura TSX and Lexus IS 250. In the past, cross-shopping a Buick against these two well-known luxury sport sedans might have seemed as odd as adding liverwurst along with pizza and a cheeseburger to lunchtime considerations. But things have certainly turned around recently for Buick. If you can set aside your preconceived notions and take a 2011 Regal for a spin, chances are you won't forget to add this Buick to your sporty midsize sedan consideration list.
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