Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2021 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
It’s a cliché to say it’s the end of an era, and it’s still difficult to believe, but Buick is technically out of the car business. That’s right; every 2021-model Buick in the U.S. market is a crossover SUV. Perhaps more surprising, the last Buick cars weren’t the marque’s famously all-American four-door sedans. Rather they were the 2020 Regal Sportback and Regal TourX wagon.
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Buick Regal Sportback and TourX
These midsized Regals made their debuts as 2018 models, and like the previous Regal were nearly carbon copies of the European-bred Opel Insignia. Most previous-generation Regals were assembled by General Motors in Canada, but the 2018-20 models were all built by Opel in Germany. You remember Opel: the foundation of GM’s Germany-based European operations until a late-2017 sale to France’s PSA, makers of Peugeot and Citroën.
This Regal lineup was fairly complicated. The Sportback was a sleek four-door hatchback. For 2020 it came in base, Preferred, Essence, and classy Avenir trim. There was also a performance-flavored Regal Sportback GS that included subtly racier exterior appearance, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, front sport seats, adaptive sport-tuned suspension, and Brembo-brand brakes.
Most Regal Sportbacks were front-wheel drive, and the standard powertrain mated a gutsy 250-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four with an 8-speed automatic. Essence was the lone trim level offered with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive. The GS exclusively ran a naturally aspirated 310-horsepower 3.6-liter V6, nine-speed automatic, and all-wheel drive. Sportback base prices started at $26,295 and topped out at $39,995 for the GS.
TourX was an off-road-flavored four-door station wagon sold in base, Preferred, and Essence models. Compared to Sportback, TourX rode higher and added some SUV-inspired trim around the lower part of the body. TourX Regals came standard with all-wheel drive, along with the turbo 2.0-liter and eight-speed automatic. Sticker prices ranged from $30,295 to $35,995.
Both Regals ran a 111.4-inch wheelbase. Sportback cast a shadow 192.9 inches long, while TourX stretched to 196.3 inches. Sportback’s hatch opened to a wagon-like 31.5 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seat. The back seat was offered in 60/40- and 40/20/40-split versions, and when either setup was folded flat, cargo space expanded to 60.7 cubic feet. For comparison, the prior-generation Regal sedan’s trunk offered 14.2 cubic feet of space. As you’d expect from a wagon, TourX was even roomier, with respective capacities of 32.7 and 73.5 cubic feet.
Depending on who you read, 2020 calendar-year sales of all Regals came to either 2484 (Automotive News) or 2493 (goodcarbadcar.net). Figure on a few more for the total model year.
Pros:
- Trivia nerds will appreciate that TourX was Buick’s first station wagon since the 1996 Roadmaster Estate Wagon, and Sportback the marque’s first hatchback since the ’87 Skyhawk Sport.
- Both body styles offer much better cargo versatility than traditional sedans.
Cons:
- Regal Sportback in classy Avenir trim wasn’t offered with all-wheel drive.
- Considering these Regals were largely invisible while in production, future collectibility is far from assured. We think it is likely tomorrow’s collectors will see these Buicks more akin to a 1987 Skyhawk Sport rather than an ’87 Grand National or GNX.
Final Drive:
Regal styling was surprisingly handsome, and these were nicely equipped, largely well-finished automobiles. But these Buicks simply didn’t sell, and your eagle-eyed scribe can count on his fingers how many he’s spotted in suburban-Chicago traffic. The enthusiast’s choice will almost certainly be the Sportback GS, but the all-wheel-drive TourX wagon is a stylish alternative to the very popular Subaru Outback.
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Buick Regal Sportback
Buick Regal Sportback
Buick Regal Sportback
