2018 Buick Regal TourX

The Buick Regal TourX finds itself in a peculiar place in the automotive industry. As the industry sees demand for crossovers and SUVs grow, the TourX finds itself in small company as a station wagon.

Don’t let that moniker paint an ugly picture in your head, however. This wagon looks nothing like the wagons of old. The TourX is a good looking car; where old wagons looked like boxy lugs of metal, The Regal TourX’s looks have incorporated more modern, curvy, design aesthetics.

On the road, the luxury wagon offers a smooth ride. Its spacious interiors provide all passengers within the vehicle with plenty of space to feel comfortable, and in terms of cargo, it offers as much and in some cases more cargo volume than typical SUVs.

Buick’s Regal TourX may have some trouble finding a place in a company’s commercial fleet due to its luxury pricing and lower-than-average fuel efficiency, but it may be well-suited for a spot in a company’s executive fleet.

Inside and Outside the Vehicle

For our testing, we drove the top-of-the-line 2018-MY Regal TourX Essence AWD trim with all comfort and safety amenities included.

One of the first things that came to mind when I saw TourX was how long the vehicle was. At 196.30 inches long; it’s longer than many compact SUVs and about as long as a number of full-size SUVs. However, the TourX does not stand as tall as most SUVs. Its lower-to-the-ground nature means that entry and egress isn’t as easy as it is for a typical SUV, but it makes up for this with the allocation of seating and cargo space inside.

The Regal TourX has a lot of volume to work with inside and allocates it well. Leg room is plentiful for both the front rear seating area and cargo space in the back is also copious.

The driver seat was very comfortable. Amenities such as heated steering wheel were welcome on cold mornings and a highly customizable lumbar configuration system in the driver seat molded the seat exactly to my liking. Drivers that spend a lot of time in their vehicle may find this feature invaluable.

On a trip with a full vehicle, two people in the front and three in the back, all passengers remarked at how much leg room they had and how comfortable the seating was.

Rear cargo space was also exceptional. With the rear seats up, the Regal TourX offers 33 cubic feet of cargo space. I loaded two pre-constructed medium-sized dressers and two small shelves in the back and still had plenty of space left for more. With the seats folded down, cargo space grows to 73.50 cubic feet. Drivers that prioritize cargo space in their vehicle decisions would be more than happy with the cargo space this vehicle offers.

Some of the safety and technology features in our tester included rear park assist, automatic headlamp control, adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert, forward automatic braking, lane keep assist, and front pedestrian braking. All these features amounted to a strong sense of security while driving the vehicle.

The model I drove was equipped with a 2.0L turbo 4-cylinder engine paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission that made for 250hp and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. Off the line, the car did feel heavy, but after it got going, it felt responsive. Driving the vehicle felt smooth, bumps in the road didn’t seem to shake the car too much, and road noise was mostly muted.

Fuel Economy

Where the car fell a little short was in its fuel economy. The Regal TourX is EPA rated for 21 city mpg and 29 highway mpg for a combined 24 mpg, which is on the lower end when compared to the fuel economy that many crossovers offer.

In my testing, I found that it struggled to meet the 21 mpg city rating but often met or exceeded its highway rating.  

On the city streets of Torrance, Calif., the best average I was able to reach on shorter 5-12 mile trips was about 18 mpg, and on many trips I averaged closer to 16 mpg. City traffic on most occasions was fairly light, but did reach stop-and-go levels on other occasions.

Highway fuel economy was much better. On 30-mile trips, I averaged around 32 mpg when the road ran clear. That average dropped when our famous Southern California, highway stop-and-go traffic reared its ugly head, but that’s to be expected.

Fleets that are particularly fuel-conscious may want to take this into consideration.

The 2018 Buick Regal TourX, which is a rebadged Vauxhall Opel Insignia Country Tourer, starts at $29,070 but our tester came in at $42,200.

2018 Buick Regal TourX Essence Specs: 

• Engine: 2.0L turbo 4-cylinder gas engine (250hp and 295 lb.-ft. torque)
• Transmission: Eight-speed automatic transmission
• All-Wheel Drive
• Cargo Space: 33 cubic feet with rear seats up / 73.5 with rear seats down