In early 2015, I decided I felt it was the right time for me to upgrade from the Astra, now 7 years old. I was aiming high and was looking at a Certified Pre-Owned V-6 AWD Cadillac ATS. I found a nice slate grey example at a local Cadillac dealer I’d done some business with. Before I could get up to see it…it was sold. But Mrs. C was never keen on the Caddy idea. With us coming from humble roots, it felt a little too ostentatious. With her being often being my balance and voice of reason, I had to agree with her. It just wasn’t me.
The Original GSs- Musclebound Bruisers!!
I wanted something attractive, comfortable, with a bit of performance and a yes, a GM product. And if anyone’s curious about why this is almost always so, this is simply because I wish to reciprocate my company’s long-standing business relationship with GM in some small way. I always had my eye on the Regal GS- Gran Sport. I liked the profile and athletic stance, and thought it was a striking looking car. The GS label has been around for Buick since the mid 1960s, on and off.
So off to a local Buick-GMC dealer that seemed to be the foremost authority of used Regal GSs. Oddly enough, they had about 8 GSs and had three (!) GSs with 6 speed manuals, all pre-owned. A manual Buick? I went there to test drove a nice burgundy GS, AWD, with 800 miles on it on a windy 10 degree day. After the drive, my Saturn Astra refused to start, as if in protest that it would soon be put out to pasture. No worries buddy, that wasn’t happening!
That GS was the one, but I dilly-dallied and it was soon gone. Inexplicably I ended up paying $500 more for a silver one with 3,775 miles, apparently they simply paid less at auction for the one I missed out on. This one has every option box checked, including moonroof. This was certified pre-owned, which meant another 25,000 miles of warranty, and it means it is a better warranty than for a brand new car. CPO is a great way to go, and I paid $10K less than the original sticker price.
The GS is a carbon copy of the Opel and Vauxhall (UK only) Insignia. It was the 2009 European Car of The Year and GM moved over 800,000 of these in its 8 year run. When we were in Ireland last summer, I was surprised how many Insignias I saw, mostly diesels with manual transmissions. The early Regals were built in Germany, then ultimately were made at GM’s plant in Oshawa, Ontario, as is mine. With PSA/Opel now providing the current Regals under contract to GM, they are back to being built in Russelsheim, Germany.
Euro Spec Opel OPC Sports Tourer and OPC Sedan
North American buyers did not get all the goodies our brethren in Europe had. In Europe, there is no “Opel Insignia GS” . The performance variant of the Regal is the OPC – Opel Performance Center. Europe’s OPC Insignias (badged VXR in the UK) were given a much more powerful 2.8L turbo V-6 and netted out 325 hp. The GS cribs the OPC front fascia and some mechanicals as well. The OPC variant included a wagon, and I would have bought that in a second if it came here as the GS Sport Wagon….but it was not to be. We have to make do with a 2.0 litre making 265 hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque. Again, how it made financial sense to spend all that money creating the GS instead of just making the OPC Insignia the GS is beyond me.
The Regal’s success in North America is much more modest against very stiff competition in that class, more so now that sedans are under assault in the marketplace. As nice as the car is (at least I think so), nobody is going to buy this if they really want an Audi A-6 or a 5 series BMW. Still, for a bumpkin like Carlsberg66, and coming from the Astra and Prizm as my daily drivers? Well, it’s been the nicest daily driver I’ve ever had, or deserve.
For almost 4 years and 40,000 miles, it’s been nearly flawless. It’s quiet, composed, and very comfortable, with room for all of us on weekend trip, and all of us in the family like it. Inside, the 2014 refresh eliminated half of the dash and audio control buttons the 2010-2013 Regals had.
Its the first semi-fast car I’ve had, 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and capable of a 150 MPH top speed. It’s my first turbo and it’s a great powertrain. There is a very faint turbo whine at times if you listen close, no Fast and Furious here, all of that long since engineered out. It’s not V-8 powerful, but its very responsive and willing when needed. It’s easy to find yourself on a quiet stretch of interstate going 90 plus, it’s so quiet, you just don’t notice. It’s 3800 pounds and thus not a little car by any stretch but it does feel firmly planted in corners and stops well with its Brembo brakes. You can have some fun with it.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course but I believe the design has aged very well. It has a tasteful amount of body cladding. About the only spurious thing are the hood ports which are strictly decorative. But I still look back when I’m walking away and think the car cuts a handsome profile. I’m not tired of it.
Dislikes? Minor. There is an intermittent squeak that comes and goes in the dash panel somewhere – I haven’t taken it in for that because I know it won’t present itself to the mechanic. Weeks go by between the occurrences, but I believe it will get worse over time. I love the look of the 20” wheels, but not the ride quality. It rides loud and it rides rough. And with low profile tires, the replacement interval is much shorter than normal tires. I did invest in winter tires and rims, and I like that setup far better in terms of ride quality. It goes through anything in the snow and is our foul weather car. And the collision alert and lane departure warning work well but it scares the hell out of me when it comes on. Guess I should stop riding everyone’s ass?
This is my first car with heaps of tech. Collision alert, backup cameras, car-to-phone sync, lane departure alarm and so on… there’s a lot of stuff going on there. I’m going on 36 years of driving and I’ve managed to get by without all of that until now. So far, all of it works well. But I wonder how all this electrical gee-jaws will hold up in the long run. I plan on keeping this car a long time. Will there be niggling and maddening electrical quirks and gremlins in 2022 or 2023 when it has 100,000 miles? Time will tell.
Since GM spun off Opel to PSA in 2017, a contract is in place for Opel to continue building Regals for the North American market for at least this generation that was released last year. We will see what will happen with GM as they try to survive and reinvent themselves at the dawn of the EV/Autonomous vehicle era. The LaCrosse is gone soon. Is the Regal on deathwatch as well, at least in North America? Will Buick still exist in the North American market, along with its co-brand at dealerships, GMC, in 2-3 years? Who can say. Prohibitively, when I’m ready, 3-4 years out, I would consider another Regal GS. And with my Saturn Astra still around, I’m no stranger to orphan brands.
Glad you like it. I was a fan when they debuted in Europe (was living in the UK at the time) and still like them as Buicks in North America.
Yes, I’m a GM guy also, so acknowledge the biases.
Still not ready to believe that GM sold off Opel, but hey. I’m the same guy who bought a 2015 Chevrolet SS (Holden VF Commodore) just because I absolutely had to have the last “real” GM RWD rocket sled before they shuttered Elizabeth Assembly and Holden altogether. Business is business, I suppose. (And for whatever it’s worth I do have a Cadillac also 🤣🤣)
Nice Buick. David Dunbar himself would approve, I’m sure. 👍
Nice article, thank you. I appreciate you sorting through the dizzying background on development and engineering of this model. It’s always a bit of a mystery why North American consumers embrace the European brands, but the Euro models from Ford and GM divisions historically never seem to be as successful here, even when they do well in Europe.
Also, nice observation on low profile tires. Almost all modern cars I drive are harsh and rough on our potholed, winter-blasted pavement. I’m surprised how many ordinary car buyers put up with this, they pay more for today’s ubiquitous low profile tires but accept the corresponding dreadful ride quality. My older machines float along on 75-series rubber, much more comfortable, despite the mushy handling.
I appreciate precision handling, but for me a 60 series tire is as low as I want to go.
+1 on the CPO aspect of used cars. I’ve either had cars with half the factory warranty left or totally on CPO warranty and it works to reduce any angst about the purchase. Plus, you get the three year old car for about half price. Takes more time to shop, but you laugh all the way to the bank.
This is what I waited for since I’ve read your Saturn COAL – another Opel in disguise :D.
These Regals GS always appealed to me more than Insignia OPC. Maybe because they are not as flashy as their European relatives. Silver suits them. And those in the know recommend the 2.0 Turbo more than the V6 engine, talking about reliability and service costs.
I’ve not driven Insignia yet but spent some time in a friend’s Insignia Wagon 4×4 with the diesel BiTurbo engine. The backseat room could be better as I, 178 cm tall, don’t feel comfortable there even on a short trips (but sitting behind taller people). It’s a big, heavy piece of car. However, it can consume the highway miles pretty easily. Mr. H (the owner) had to change the turbochargers after 6 years, because one out of two gave up.
By the way, the Slovak police uses a few of these in OPC variant to chase the highway speeders. Never seen one in person, though.
Hell yes! I’ll take the wagon any day and twice on Sunday. 🙌🙌
Well, the 2.0-liter became standard on the 2014-and-later models, and was the only engine. Specifically, it was a redesigned unit, likely the same one used in the contemporary 2013-2016 Malibu 2.0T. While it was an upgrade over the 2011-2013 Regal Turbo, it was a downgrade over the 2011-2013 Regal GS.
Interestingly, you can get the 3.6 on the new Regal, but only on the Sportback model, not the TourX.
Interesting article that impacted my own experiences in a number of ways:
” But Mrs. C was never keen on the Caddy idea. With us coming from humble roots, it felt a little too ostentatious…”. I know what you and Mrs. C are feeling here. Too much luxury and prestige in a car belies how I have always seen myself, at first because of financial restrictions, and now as a matter of choice. However, I recently rode in a friend’s new Lexus NX and had two simultaneous thoughts: 1. This is too plush, and 2. These seats are REALLY comfortable.
“… I love the look of the 20” wheels, but not the ride quality…”. Well here, even the look is not what I like, let alone the ride. My first bunch of COALs had 14 or 15 inch wheels with meaty side walled tires. Unless one is doing really competitive driving and needs that turning performance advantage, big wheels and rim protector tires seem to be more of an affectation than a daily driver functional advantage. And as Team Obsolete noted above, woe to big wheels and low profile tires during spring pot hole seasons.
“… This is my first car with heaps of tech. Collision alert, backup cameras, car-to-phone sync, lane departure alarm and so on… there’s a lot of stuff going on there…”. Yes, so far I’ve avoided a real tech laden car out of fear that it will be overwhelming or a distraction rather than a help. But, now that I have six years experience using my rear view camera on the Tacoma, I’d be lost with out it. So, maybe I could handle some of those nannies.
Enjoyable write up. I wish you may trouble free years with your Buick. I think the dashboard squeak may be temperature related. On a nice sunny day, try to squeeze a silicone lube soaked thin piece of cloth between all the interior panels. I had a steering wheel related squeak in my 1995 Eagle Vision TSi and kept a oiled rag in the truck to “floss” nearby dash panels, say about twice a year.
It worked. Mostly.
Thanks for this firsthand account. These are rarely seen in my area, even though this is a traditionally strong region for GM vehicles.
I am right there with you on tires. Both of my DD cars sport fatter sidewalls than stock. The ride quality is much better, but at a definite handling penalty. To the point on my Sedona that the front end gets a little squirrelly on hard acceleration due to the squishy sidewalls.
I have never bought an actual CPO, but it is something I ought to consider.
Also, the low profile tires last perhaps 15k miles and as I discovered are susceptible to the sidewalls developing ruptures and “bubbles” if you hit a pothole or something else. This has happened twice in about 4 years. The tires are $175 per tire + mounting, etc.
CPO: the GS had a sticker of $42K, I paid $10k less than that. That, combined with rapid depreciation on most GM cars…well, I do not know if I will ever buy a brand new car again. It’s definitely worth a look when your ready. I find howevever that the CPO deals are not as good on desirable vehicles: crossovers, pickups, etc. No surprise there I guess.
While low profile tires generally last less long than tires with larger sidewalls, that’s more due to tires with lower profiles generally being “performance” tires with the tread being made of a softer, quicker-wearing but grippier compound, not directly related to the sidewall EXCEPT for the fact that they are more susceptible to even faster wear if not kept properly inflated and aligned, i.e. you need to be on top of tire inflation/alignment even more than usual.
That being said, 15,000 is VERY low, on par with what’s expected out of the rear tires on my 911 (285/30-18). The fronts (225/40-18) usually are found to last at least twice as long as the rears in my case. Some manufacturers fit tires with less rubber on them as O.E. as a way of saving money which may have happened here. I don’t think it’d be difficult to almost double your wear with (a different set of) similarly profiled tires. I don’t get the impression that you hoon your car every time you take it out (yo!).
And I reckon, Jim, it’s not helped by the fact that the low profile option tends to be the widest, hence real sensitivity to alignment you mention. It’s further exaggerated by the greater impact harshness, meaning it’s harder to keep in alignment if a nasty hit is taken.
But I’ve said before on this site that about 18-20k miles is (on a rough average) the most I’ve seen out of modern low n’ wide tyres here. I’ve marvelled at the opposite experience of many on CC, and can only think that the coarse-mix surfaces of many freeways and all country roads in Oz must be very punishing. My ultimate point being that 15k isn’t VERY low, to me.
The reduced tread depth is something I’ve not seen from GM, Toyota and the former Chrysler corp were notorious for that. It has got to be a real double edged sword for the tire mfg. Toyota also likes to spec a softer compound. In both cases the tires are a model that they sell in the replacement market with the standard tread depth and tread compound. That leads to people having a bad opinion of the tire and thus tire company in my experience. Many years ago Toyota and Ford used the same model of BFG tire on some of their trucks and SUVs the Ford had the full 13/32″ of tread typical of an AT tire. The Toyotas came with 8/32″. The reviews on tire rack reflected that with the Toyota owners complaining about the short tire life while the Ford owners praised the long life.
I agree that much of that is due to the fact that once you get below 50 series the majority of options are max performance summer, Ultra High performance summer or A/S tires. In some sizes you can find Touring/Grand Touring tires, but often those are not top tier brands so as they say YMMV.
Personally I’ve had good wear out of some UHP tires. Specifically I’ve got a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on my wife’s car that came with a 500 tread wear rating. It looks like they’ll be good for 30K or so if you run them down to the bars. Those are 50 series, we’ll see how the 40 series version on my car hold up.
It is true that the road surface in a given area does affect the tire life. Years ago I saw a infographic that showed how different states had different expected tire life due to the different materials used in different areas.
We rented an Insignia in England years ago and quite liked it. Then I recall looking at a Regal a few years ago but passed as the dealer was very proud of it. It also felt smaller (but obviously wasn’t, just the context). In any case, the GS is a looker and seems perfect for you. Not too much, but still a very nice ride if that makes sense.
I’m similarly baffled by some of the decisions made to bring a car over but then alter it significantly from what already exists elsewhere, what’s the point of the additional expense. Perhaps as originally created it would be too much to sell for here but the extra engineering now also has to be recouped somehow – or perhaps not, hence the current situation.
Wholeheartedly agreed. Also on the”big wheel” question: my BMW sports 18s factory and it’s just dumb. Those tires are pointlessly expensive. Pretty wheels though 😉🤣
Sometimes large-ish wheels are called for if the brakes underneath are large enough to preclude fitting anything smaller. On one of my cars with 18’s I can fit (some, not all) 17’s but no smaller due to the brakes.
Hi Jim – all of that is true, and everybody likes Twinkies, har har. 20″ shoes, who wants em 🤣🤣🤣 But yes a 65+ series tire rides better for sure.
Edit: Not sure what happened, I was replying to Jim’s comment, not Adams.
My ’16 Forester XT is like that. It is basically the wagon version of the WRX in that they share the engine, CVT and brakes (with some tuning differences). It has 18″ wheels and I have been told 17″ won’t fit over the front calipers. I run Nokian WRG3 tires and currently have about 65,000 kms on them and they will be good till next winter. I should note the XT sees a lot of gravel roads too. But the cost of the tires is obscene, $1,200 CDN for a set of 4. 17’s would be much cheaper. I am OK with the ride, and it is actually much better at 34 psi tire pressure than the OEM 26.
Interesting to compare the output of the 2l GS vs the 2l of the XT and the time to 60. Apparently although the XT is down on hp and tq the time is better at 6.2 seconds, maybe due to weight differences? The XT is 250 hp and 256 tq. It is my first turbo as well and I am very impressed so far at 77,000 kms in 2 1/2 years of driving. 8.6l/100 kms lifetime fuel consumption and a lot of fun to put the boot to.
My only concern with the GS would be that the motor seems rather stressed compared to other 2l turbos. That is a lot of power from a small motor.
Oh, and I get the concern with all the tech, the XT has similar systems and I worry about the long term reliability but so far so good. Knock on wood.
Great review, thanks for sharing.
Personally I dislike the look of very low profile tyres; they remind me of old cartwheels.
Bernard Taylor, I always thought it was just a case of galloping Old Fartism that made me think the same as what you said here, but even if – in truth, “though” – we’re both hopelessly out of date, thanks for joining (and perhaps doubling) my very small group!
My pleasure, Justy (though I suspect my age now qualifies me for galloping too).
A version of the Regal that I’d honestly had no knowledge of. Buick, sure. One of my oldest memories is riding in the back seat of my mom’s friend’s early ‘50’s Buick, with mohair upholstery and a rope handle on the back seat. And I drove a colleague’s 3.8 Turbo Regal, once, though it had RWD. A Buick with AWD? Sure, I remember the Rendezvous and occasionally see an Enclave. But an AWD Regal with a Turbo, though only 4 cylinders? Thanks for educating me. It’s a very handsome car, like the Astra. And much more discreet than any Cadillac. Nice choice.
Again, how it made financial sense to spend all that money creating the GS instead of just making the OPC Insignia the GS is beyond me.
I shared this COAL with a friend who’s on his second Saturn LW300 and doesn’t think much of GM, and this was his take:
“This one sentence hides a veritable soap opera of RenCen shenanigans—power plays among the many fiefdoms up there, from confused bean counters to jealous division managers to the always-greedy UAW—that have resulted in so many bad decisions in the past 25 years, making in comparison the days of Harley Earl look almost idyllic.”
Unlike your Astra, I can’t quite agree with you on the looks (“I know it’s been hot, but look Sir, it’s sagging at BOTH ends”) but I do recall the English magazines really praising this car.
Talking of whacko decisions, it came to Aus for a year when GM decided to launch Opel into the world’s most crowded new-car market, only for the geniuses to give up after just a year when no-one bought them. The hot V6 turbo 4wd jobbie got a lot of attention in that time. In a further piece of GM Wonderthink, the engine in that one was made in Oz, shipped to Germany, installed mit turbos and Insignia, and returned here. A model of rational efficiency.
There’s a tenuous link between your cars now. The engine in the Buick is a direct descendant of the one in the earlier car, in fact, is just the second Gen of it, it seems.
I’m a bit like you about motoring around in a posh brand – I’d just feel dishonest – but do trade this car in for a current (if 2nd hand) Regal wagon in a few years. It’s one of the few current great lookers, sold here as a Holden Commodore (and an utter orphan as no-one buys it) and gets good press. The Buick swap of orphan to orphan should be a penny-wise effort by then.
It is not uncommon for a company like GM (or whoever) to source engines from their global manufacturing ecosystem. I am sure there are a lot of factors that go into those kind of decisions, including currency exchange rate.My old Pontiac back in (gulp) 1989 had a twin cam for from Brazil. My brothers first generation 2006 Equinox had a Chinese made in-line six but the car itself was built in Canada.
Yes, I read that Opel hit the ground with a resounding thud in Australia. Imagine the start up costs to get the dealership network running in a country is as vast as Australia? I do quite like the Regal Cross X, which is what the Commodore wagon is sold here as. Would rather drive that then a crossover. At the end of last year there was a huge discount on them and one could be had in lower trim levels for about US $30,000. Even in base trim, they were all wheel drive (which probably isn’t much use in Australia) and all have the same engine. Not ready anytime soon due to car payment aversion…
Here in Europe, there seems to be consensus that this is a good car, though second to the Mondeo.
I have a Mk2 Focus now and I kinda want to go to a new-to-me brand next time, som I’m considering an Insignia diesel manual (preferably wagon), if nothing else because it looks better than the Mondeo (which I’m also considering).
Glad to hear you enjoy it.
I had the lesser version (2.0T) of this Regal as rental a couple of years back. It was a nice car, well built and quite appropriate for most driving tasks. I like the look of the GS, but probably wouldn’t want to put up with the huge wheels and tiny sidewall tires. Like JPC mentioned, these cars are relatively rare in my area and we’re pretty GM heavy also. I think the high initial price is what scared most people off, I know it did me.
With regard to the tires, one of the things that I disliked when I bought my Pontiac G6 was the fact that GM had switched the car over to 17″ wheels as standard. Others I had driven had the 16″ wheels and they rode and drove just fine. GM didn’t make the brakes any bigger, so it was definitely a sop to fashion.
I’ve gotten away from trying to buy super long lasting tires for my cars, as they tend to have a hard compound and can develop issues as they age and wear. I’ve taken to buying H- or Z- rated tires for my Pontiac, with 40-50K mile warranties. Not that I’m doing time trials in the cars, but I do like the fact that they’re overbuilt for freeway running and seem to hold up to abuse pretty well. But, I realize not everyone wants to shop for tires every three years or so.
My daughter’s ’16 Malibu LS has 16″ wheels and the car rides and handles very well. It’s also wearing a set of Continental Pro Contact tires, which I think is a big factor. I have to admit, it’s very nice to get in that car after a long day and just float along the roads. I don’t think I’m losing any performance advantage on that car to one equipped with larger wheels and tires.
In Ireland Insignias are invariably diesel powered. Good looking cars if the colour and wheel combinations are right, but the earlier cars with hydraulic steering have a reputation for catching fire due to hydraulic leaks. I know someone with a later electrically steered Insignia which caught fire – never heard a convincing explanation.
I had a final year Omega, sold here as the Catera. I bought it new, thinking, GM usually works out the bugs in the final/next to final year. Nope. Horrible car with horrible engineering and very expensive parts and repairs. Constantly at the dealer. The GM extended warranty paid for itself.
I’m happy to read that Opel quality has dramatically improved. The wagon is very nice.
NZ police seem to be the biggest customer for these cars here though I think Ive seen civilian ones or perhaps they were just unmarked police cars, with the blue and reds on they look the part.