I drove one of these with the ZZP intake and exhaust and trifecta tune and it was a rocket 🚀. I was amazed cause I was expecting a little 4 banger like the Cruze and when I opened it up I was like holy crap this little thing moves out in a hurry. I was highly impressed with it.
Me too- bought mine in the summer of 2017 with high miles, but it's been sporty, relatively efficient and a great highway car. Plus, it'll put smiles on your face once you get into the twisties!
@@erinfreize4717 I'm looking at one now. My main question comes to the sport and gs settings, is it noticeably different than regular setting? And how are they reliability wise? I'm looking at on with 230000km.
This, essentially, is the successor to Acura's TL. As the old TL's and TSX's ride off to the sunset with their front double wishbone's, Buick, of all, makes a true successor. The HipeStrut is what I like to think of as a compact double wishbone suspension with the strut mounted on the top control arm. No doubt the advantages are numerous - smaller scrub radius, reduced unsprung weight, lower complexity, greater camber change. This car should handle like it's on rails. Now if we can get Hiperstruts in the Verano...
I really think that GM should make a buick based off of the Camaro; use the same chassis, some of the same panels, but all together a different look. Place the same V6 from the Camaro, expect with a turbo, paint it black, and call it the Grand National! Would love to see that!
Not many four cylinder engines making almost 300hp and 300tq out there and still getting almost 30mpg highway....sounds good to me It's also worth mentioning that, with 135 horsepower per liter, the new boosted Ecotec boasts the highest specific power output of any engine in GM's history. It's also the most power-dense rating the SAE has ever officially recognized. That's impressive stuff.
Black on black, stick, limited slip. Only reason I got it was because I have gigs from time to time and it fits my drum kit perfectly. It wasn't my ideal car, as I'd rather have a V8/RWD car of some kind, but I've grown to love the little "breadwagon"
Hopefully Buick builds on this and we see another monster, like the Grand National. It would be cool to have my 1986 GN setting next to a 2016 Regal GS.
Just drove my moms new regal turbo, (with 50 less hp and a lot less torque than this gs) and it felt just as powerful and torquey as my 05 grand prix gtp comp g with the 3800sc. I'm an old school v6/v8 guy myself but give this car a chance guys, i wasn't expecting much but was really impressed with the powertrain
so the sc 3800 regal was .2 seconds faster @ 0-60 in 6.6 sec! with a long geared tranny and no manual? i cant even imagine what it would have been like with a stick. the LT1 roadmaster was 0-60 in 7.0 an that car was 2 tons!
Very nice, not bad... I was going to get one but things happen... Still would get one if I had the chance... Murdered out black with 20" chrome wheels like this one...
The weight of the car is around 3700 lbs -- pretty heavy. Buick is known how to put a lot of sound reduction on their frame. For some reason recently, there are more vehicles that have faster 0-60 times with an automatic. According to some tests, the Regal GS' automatic's 0-60 time is around 6.2 seconds.
I love it but I really wish or maybe it's just the ipa talking but damn why didn't they do a turbocharged series two 3800 !?!!!? They supercharged it with an Eaton pos why not do a True throwback to the grandnational and offer a GNX package that's AWD, manual, and an enormous blast to drive .... oh and has a 3800 series two turbo!!!
I really like it, but for it to be a real player it needs to be 400lbs lighter or 40hp more. 270hp is sub par to most competitors. Torque is good, but it needs to be better than this. The v6 Genesis is still more powerful and gets decent gas milage, the cost is even cheaper. I like it... but wish it would have been a little bit mroe omph! Make it a 2.4L-T
I agree 2007deadeye1, I think it would of been very smart to refine the 3800 and keep it in mass production, it actually started out as a Buick engine, Buick created it in the 1960's I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, but the 3800 would easily get figures like 350 HP and 17/25 mpg and they sound great, the one we had in our grand prix GTP coupe was the l67 supercharged version, what a strong engine...
@@lincolnparc8897 it was a good motor, pretty reliable, I’m no engineer but I’m not sure pushrod motors has much more potential for fuel economy and V6 engines didnt need 3.8l, my current car is an Audi S5 with a 3.0l supercharged V6
i told a buick dealer when i drove up in my 98 green gs how can you guys sell a 4 cyl turbo for almost 40k that will get smoked by a "outdated" model that gets just about the same great gas miles on the highway. he laughed and gave me all kinds of excuses but i said no sale and peeled out of the dealership.. hopefully a gn/gnx will be alot nastier.and a v6.
Very true! I don't know how anyone in their right mind can justify paying such outrageous prices for such unreliable pieces of shit like BMW's, Mercedes', etc... Buicks are pretty luxurious, powerful, reliable, and don't cost an arm and a leg either.
@DruidB19 Those old Bucks with the SC 3800 were fast and the engines were torquey. If only they had a 5 speed automatic at the time vs that long geared 4 speed the performance would have been even better. I always liked those older Buicks, comfy and quiet but they had some balls too.
Well the G8 didn't offer one for the first year of production. We had to wait until the GXP was available. It was preferable to the Charger SRT8, which to this day still doesn't offer one.
I live in NJ and there were only a handful. I got lucky and picked it up at an Acura dealership, of all places. They are very rare in this configuration, and even in the year I've had it I have only seen 3-4 others on the road versus the same piles of LS/LTs.
Ive had mine over 2 years now. Here goes: PROS: - Fun to drive. Handling is insane for almost 2 ton curb weight - It is gorgeous to look at - Braking is phenomenal. Stock Brembos. CONS: - Axle, wheel bearing fail at 30k - Random SD card fails on Infotainment system - Lack of rear camera on $35k vehicle? Absurd. - Comically thin stock cargo mats. - Interior lights random fail when opening any door - Noticeable turbo lag. I'm talking 1.25 second delay when punched - Significant "burps" throughout power band, esp 3-4th gear under compression - Sun visor fail at 40k. $120 replacement - Seat heater fail 50k - Random Stabilitrak error messages that clear by themselves - $500 stock 20" rims: 2 piece chrome plated lug nuts; easily broken; huge problems. Suitable steel replacements $5/ea - Manual trunk release fail 55k - Cell phone will randomly completely disconnect from vehicle. Entire process must then be initiated. Again. Oh yeah....COMPLETE ENGINE REBUILD AT 52k; proximate cause was never determined. GM "underwrote" $2.3K as the car was off warranty due to early title. My cost $4400.
Turbo 4 cylinders are the modern day 5 cylinder engine. Both were supposed to provide more power than nonaspirated 4s, while being more efficient than 6 cylinders.
@kylesvt720 I said some in their 50's. My brother is 44 and he doesn't look a day over 30. He has friends that are in their late 40's & early 50's. They all play ultimate frisbee together & their team won the state championship in last year. These guys scrimmage against the college teams and beat them all the time. If you saw how fast and athletic these guys are, you wouldn't think 50 was old. You can look up "ultimate frisbee" on youtube to see what it's about if you want. Awesome game :)
@lesher27 "Most" old people aren't going to drive a GS version of this new regal unless they're going through a late life crisis LOL. The Lacrosse CXL or maybe even the CXS would be more to their liking if going this route. This Regal GS will be selling to people mainly in their 30's, 40's and some in their 50's for the most part.
This car shares alot with the SAAB 9-3 and 9-5. The powertrain is from Germany and is a higher output version of what's used in the 9-3. Typical GM badge engineering..
There's no manual transmission option, despite the big engine. I understand that nowadays laziness has led us to dual-clutch/8-speed automatics that frequently out-run those cars equipped otherwise, but nothing can replace the connection you get with the machine from that third pedal.
@Lambo6fo From what I know is this... the V6s that don't exceed 300 hp, Toyota's V6 for passenger vehicles (Camry, Avalon, Sienna, RAV4) - max hp 270hp. Honda's V-6 is 271 hp (Accord). Chrysler's Pentastar V-6 is 283 hp for the vans, 200, Avenger, and Wrangler; and 290 hp for the Grand Cherokee, 300, and Charger. Most of the 300 hp V6 or I-6 are ususally the German luxury vehicles; mainly BMW, Mercedes, and Audi (who is really shaking the luxury auto world right now).
I love MotorWeek & have seen every episode, but I am curious as to why this Regal GS only trapped 94 mph in the 1/4 mile when this same car trapped 99 mph in the magazines? That is a huge, huge difference. I know every car, driver & conditions vary, but 5 mph? When I did my first mods to my car, it picked up 2 mph through the 1/4 mile & it was very noticeable. No offense to MotorWeek or anything, I'm just surprised.
I can understand that but the Camaro is a boat. It weighs 500lbs more than my GS. GM is looking at better fuel efficiency for the power. I get 31 MPH on the highway, and bust out a high 13 sec 1/4 mile. $500 worth of mods with a L67/32 will get you more pop than a 6.0.
@t3chn0m0 i know right? its pretty much gonna be competing with the ford fusion, dodge avenger, and a slew of other midsized sedans with more power. they should've started with this setup and had the awd opc setup as the GS.
@hong99sm Good point, but the GS "smokes" the Sonata in the slalom, skidpad and 60-0 statistics plus the Sonata doesn't even offer a stick. I'll agree the Sonata is a nice car, and yes the GS is $10,000 more, but when you consider the front drive premium sedans you could buy for that money (ES350, TL, MKZ etc) it competes pretty well. And finally GM sells a Buick (cough cough...Opel) that doesn't handle like a semi in the twisties.
If you're willing to wait until fall Chevrolet is gonna sell the SS sedan if you're still interested in V8/RWD cars. It might not look like much but it has a hell of a V8 under the hood.
Too bad they don't make this more powerful. A Regal GS from 15 years ago with the S/C 3800 would give this a run for its money and probably beat it in a straight line.
Until Buick takes a Holden/GTO or a Caddy CTS-V, 2-door platform and turn it into a RWD V-6 Turbo "Grand National" then I'll keep looking elsewhere! Buick really needs to build a high performance RWD modern musclecar to compete with the Mustang 5.0's, Shelby GT500, Camaro ZL1, and Challenger SRT8 392! I'd love to see a brand new black GNX V-6 Twin Turbo tear up all the other competitors again! I just can't get excited about any FWD car no matter how fast it is... must be my old Hot Rod roots! =D
Maybe this will help: GM really intends for Buick to compete with Lincoln instead of BMW and Audi. As a result, their cars are designed to be more about hype than actual performance.
In 1987, the fastest American car was the GNX, Chevy didn't like that the guys at Buick made a fool of their poster boy Corvette, that's the Buick I know and love, pods off other companies and burn some tires, have fun with the business
Why not take the upcoming Chevy Caprice as a good platform and let Buick redesign it into an Electra or an Invicta. A 6.2L V8 with active fuel management (or a 3.5L V6), a 6 speed automatic (or 6 speed manual), make it available in RWD or AWD but give the AWD car the ability to stay RWD only with the touch of a button. The Caprice wont be meant for luxury, so this thing would be something unique and cool
Mercedes, BMW, Audi..all the same as far as repairs go. If you consider long-term cost of ownership, American cars still do pretty well despite the fact that people hear "BMW" and "Mercedes" and "think" they are getting a better car. Most long-term owners hate them. If you have the finances, more power to you.. I have an HHR SS that has a few quirks but its cheap and just as quick as a new 3-series (track-proven). It may not be a Mercedes, but it suits my needs just fine.
I know this is old but I have one of these cars and no it’s not a 1/4 mile monster, but if you like fast cornering then this little mid sized car is the ticket, I’ve always like the old V6 SC GS but around a corner it doesn’t even come close
@BoberMcBoberson Oh and MW's driver must have sucked, because Motor Trend got a 0-60 of 6.3 and a 1/4 mile of 14.9. I wouldn't mention that but, A half a second seems to be a pretty big deal now.
Wassup guys. Sometimes u have to look past certain things when you look at cars. Example, the 0-60 time. Really u change that pending on your drivin' skills. I do agree with it bein' awd though. (waitin' on the srt4 dart for that) The look reminds me of my caliber srt4. You dont see a lot of them and yes the rims do bring out the car. Lls All cars have there ups and downs, it just depents on want your willin to deal with. all in all its a nice car. Test drive the car b4 u judge.
McGangsta, it's just a money saving exercise Vauxhall and Opel have been partners for years and their range is identical, they're both owned by GM and were nearly sold when GM were going under, I suppose the only way they could justify keeping them was to save money and bring their cars to America as Buick's, not a bad thing surely?
Looks nice, but agree if you can afford this car, you could afford a boosted V6 not V4. Should be 300+ and AWD. You can still get 20+mpg on a boosted V6 BRING BACK THE SY/TY!!!
What is the purpose of using a turbo 4 cylinder engine that is slower and gets worse fuel economy than a v6 while also requiring premium fuel?? Altima V6, Accord V6, Camry V6.
@SMGMP7A1 Oh yeah I've seen stuff like that too, it's just not very often. Hey if you're in your 70's or 80's+ and you drive a cool younger persons car, more power to ya! ;) I hope I'm a hip old man one day ha ha.
Push-rod forced induced V6s aren't what they want to hear. Ultra low maintenance, outstanding low end torque isn't what they want to hear. All I want to know is when/if this Grand National will see the light of day.
@xdavstratx I would love to have a Grand National but not for a daily driver. This Regal is a nice, comfortable, and economical driver that you can have some fun with when you want to, not a hot rod. If i was going to get a brand new car based only on performance I would get the 2013 GT500
@peculiarmadman Well, sure, but wearing wider rubber on 19's will make a lot of cars put up good slalom and skidpad numbers. I just don't see the appeal of a "sporty" FWD Buick with a manual that costs close to $40k. For that price, why not just get a real sports sedan like an A4, 325i, G37, or even a Lexus IS?