“Did you call it a ‘Dad Car’ or a ‘Dan Car’?” I asked her quizzically.
“A ‘Dad Car’” she responded.
We had been at a late in the season graduation party where my wife had been talking to an old friend who worked at the local Ford dealer. This someone works in the finance department.
My wife told her it was a “Regal TourX.”
“Never heard of it” her friend responded.
I purchased the car as a leftover 2018 on June 12 and we left for vacation on June 19. We traveled approximately 3700 miles during the two week vacation and did not see a single current generation Regal, let alone a TourX. I saw an Audi A8, A7, A6, and A4 driving into Memphis, TN on a single day… but not a TourX. I saw a 90’s Chrysler Laser convertible with classic plates being towed by a motorhome… but not a TourX. I lost count of the Teslas I saw… but did not see a TourX. I saw at least THREE Buick Cascada convertibles… but not a TourX. My point is that this car is rare which is gratifying given that I hate pulling up next to myself at every stop light but maddening given that I think this is a great and underappreciated alternative to crossovers that are in the same price class.
Let me address the common complaints I’ve seen in the reviews of the TourX. The transmission – the 8-speed auto can be a bit lazy and sluggish at low speeds when dropping down and grabbing the next gear. Especially in situations that are easy to catch a transmission off guard like a low speed turn from one street to another and then applying throttle to power out of the pocket. I have also driven examples of GMs 9-speed auto and it is better in this regard. Some have complained about interior quality. I really haven’t found fault with the quality of the actual materials used. I think the cloth is suitable for the price point, better than the cloth GMC uses in my experience, and better than the shiny scratchy cloth found in many vehicles in our modern era. The carpet is a bit thicker than what I see in the mass market brands like Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota. Buick even saw fit to run the carpet up the sides of the cargo area to roughly the level of the cargo cover/shade in the rear.
With approximately 6500 miles on the odometer I’ve been averaging 27 mpg but that is with a bit more than 3000 of those miles having been highway and the rest almost exclusively city. During our family vacation the best tank was achieved in the stretch between Tucumcari, NM to Yukon, OK 363.7 miles, hand calculated at 30.1 mpg (trip computer usually shows 1 mpg better.) The worst stretch was on the return trip from Weatherford, OK to Vega, TX 224.2 miles with a 26 mpg calculation (didn’t stop because gas was needed, simply stopped for lunch and decided to get gas in the meantime.)
The product planners at Buick think this is a Subaru Outback competitor but I wonder if anyone told the engineers at Buick and Opel? The Outback is a two row station wagon with 8 inches of ground clearance masquerading as a CUV, the TourX is a two row station wagon with less than 6 inches of ground clearance visually pretending that it’s an Outback.
(plenty of leg room for my 5’11” self, driver’s seat set for me and passenger seat set for my 5’3″ wife)
But it drives like a sedan, it has the ride height and hip point of a sedan. You get down into it. You’ll be looking UP at someone driving a Fiat 500L. Best of all it drives like a sports sedan/wagon. A lower center of gravity, neutral feeling handling (you don’t feel like you are being pushed or pulled), a turbo to give a broad torque curve, and an AWD system that is designed for fun in the curves combine to make a car that you can drive like grandma to church on Sunday or in a manner that will get you points against your license.
Power is from a two liter turbo four-cylinder rated for 250 hp and 295 lb ft of torque when running on premium gasoline. The charge that enthusiasts usually level against two liter turbo 4s is that they are characterless as engines go. While I agree that no one is going to release a CD of “Greatest Hits of the Turbo 4” the engine does its job well. I can remember when a 6.3 second 0-60 and a 14.7 quarter mile were properly quick, heck having been born in 1977 this car stomps all over most of the cars I lusted over during my misspent high school years.
Things are a little slow off the line but as the turbo swells the scenery starts to blur a bit. Peak torque is reached between 3000 and 4000 rpm but it isn’t as if the torque falls off a cliff at that point, there is still plenty of usable torque at RPMs that regular people actually drive at. When the cruise is set (even at 85 mph) the transmission tries to keep the party below 2000 rpm as it picks between gears to find the power needed to maintain speed as the terrain changes. Give the accelerator a stab however and the car is quick to respond. There were times when I would boost the revs to get away from traffic etc but would purposefully hold the throttle within the torque peak just to enjoy the thrust.
I’m also enjoying the “Active Twin-Clutch” AWD system, it is always sending some power to the front or the rear, reassuring for someone whose contract says “Snowday? What snow day?” The system also has the ability to overdrive the outside rear wheel in a turn. What I observe as a driver is that Buick’s handling feels very neutral, neither FWD or RWD until you push it hard in a turn and the “green gear” lights up in the display while the car starts to push with a RWD feel. It is an addictive feeling, good enough to make you start looking for the curvy routes for your commute, being frustrated when the cloverleaf isn’t clear enough for you to let her rip.
The TourX is also a good long distance cruiser. It is quiet inside and there is plenty of legroom for the class, cargo room is generous compared to two row CUVs that sticker in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. Take four on a road trip and all their sundry crap with relative ease.
I’ve been happy with my purchase and would purchase it again.
In conclusion, below are two pics germane to our badging discussion of the other day, ones that I added that I wish GM would have done in the first place.
First is the little “T” badge that Buick should have included…
… And last but not least, another badge to give the engine the proper recognition that it deserves.
Nice car! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in person.
Greetings, Dan! As a long time reader of your comments, I’m glad to see you crossing over from commenter to contributor.
As to the car, well I took a four hour road trip yesterday and saw one Nissan Murano CrossCabrio, but not a single TourX. I will keep my eyes peeled.
Dan, love the review. As an insufferable wagon fan-boy(fan-man really) I am very intrigued by this car as a possible replacement for our 2011 equinox someday. I did drive one and the room and comfort was impressive. As far as car reviewers go, deservedly or not, no matter what there is an strong institutional bias against GM vehicles by the automotive press. I thought it was a nice car, full stop. In these parts there are quite a few of these on dealer lots and you can get them for a good price and it represents a good value. I hope you’ll tell us about the mustang sometime.
He has written up the Mustang; here it is:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1967-mustang-convertible-the-adoption-care-and-feeding-of-a-cc/
With my parents having just downsized from 18 to 0.25 acres, this is the car I’ve suggested they get to replace both their late model Taurus and their ’98 Dodge pickup. This Buick would fill both purposes.
Last night I saw a TourX about a mile from the house. This is a heavy GM area as someone a few streets over has a Cascada and I’ve spotted others locally.
Your Buick is a great color and also quite close to that of your Mustang. Intentional?
Accidental intentional on the color.
The Mustang doesn’t look nearly as good in sunlight, the paint is pretty faded and rough but the factory color is “Vintage Burgundy”.
Buick calls this Rioja Red.
I knew which dealer I was likely going to buy from (prices aren’t always the true rock bottom but service is phenomenal) and that dealer (who usually has roughly 150 GMCs in stock and about 50 Buicks) has only had TWO TourX during the entire production run.
One was Smoked Pearl Metallic and the other was Rioja Red – Smoked Pearl was sold before I was ready to buy.
Welcome to the CC Writer’s Club Dan! Your comments were so numerous that you basically qualified as a Contributor already, but it’s nice to see you formally contribute.
Excellent choice on new vehicle. I’ve seen several of these around my neck of the woods and they definitely have presence. And that is a great color.
I occasionally ask myself the question: “If I needed a new car today, what would I buy?”
Right now, the answer is this TourX. I was skeptical at first, but the more I’ve read about these, the more I like them… I’ve even gone so far as to “build my own” on Buick’s website (one annoyance: the base model TourX is only available in white, silver or black, and I’m bored with those colors). Also, I’m not thrilled with turbos… I thought my days of owning 4-cyl. turbos was a few decades in the past. But ultimately, I could probably live with these things and other annoyances because the overall package is very appealing.
I hope you keep us updated on how you like the TourX — thanks for writing this up.
Greetings PrincipalDan,
I still recall the congratulations you got when you went from TeacherDan to PrincipalDan, and I have enjoyed your sage comments here and “there” over the years.
This is a very attractive car. On the internet there’s only one TourX available near my zip code in a light color (silver) and none anywhere in white (used in the online ads). The others are dark grey or black; no reds at all. Between limited stock and limited promotion, it’s hard to see that they are trying much.
And yes, 6.3 seconds to 60 is (when I graduated from high school in 1962) in 283 Corvette and 409 Biscayne territory. So, speed, comfort, room, and economy – not bad for American/European iron.
Interesting write up.
The Buick dealer here (Evansville, IN) has two of the Tourx listed on their website; one is silver and the other is Rioja Red. The Buick dealer in the next county to the north has one, in white. All of three of these vehicles are deeply discounted, IIRC the two here in town are both new 2018s and are offered at something like 60% of the sticker price. I get the impression that if someone wanted to buy one of these the dealer would be willing to drop the price even more.
Nice car. I’m surprised (sort of) that the engine is still branded an Ecotec. By the way, since others mentioned seeing interesting or unusual cars on the road, but no TourX’es, I’ll chime in. Yesterday I saw an early 60’s Buick Special convertible, a ‘61 Continental convertible, and a European Transit campervan all within 1/2 a mile, but no TourX. I think I’ve seen one or two, and IIRC both were white.
Thanks for sharing your reports, Dan!
These very much appeal to me too. Here, this is badged as the Holden Calais Tourer and is available only with the 3.6 V6. There is a regular wagon version wearing Commodore badges and using the turbo four but it’s FWD only. I believe our Calais has some features missing from the TourX, such as ventilated seats.
Frankly, I wish I could get the Calais’ features with the Commodore/TourX turbo four and the Commodore’s ride height and lack of cladding. That’s probably possible in Europe but not in the US or Aus.
Sadly, I don’t see the Regal or Commodore being long for this world because of PSA’s ownership of Opel. It’d be nice if the TourX didn’t end up with that Eagle Medallion level of obscurity but GM had bad timing. They should have had an Outback rival years ago…
The “funny” thing is that the Regal is on the same platform as the Malibu. The Malibu is built in Kansas City and if GM wanted to continue production sans PSA they could without tremendous effort.
But there of course must be a will to do so. Might have been a nice bone for negotiations with the UAW – “Oh and we’ll increase production in Kansas City by assigning them more product”
Cadillac XT4 is now at KC with the Malibu.
Congratulations, that’s quite an attractive car! I believe you have mentioned this particular one previously when it was still in the showroom, unless there are two Rioja Red examples near you.
How does the license plate thing work in NM? You seem to have my favorite of your designs on the front but the newer pepper (is that a pepper?) one on the rear. Or perhaps the shots are just from different times and you switched them in between.
Funny story but also a good illustration of the dealer I worked with and the service they provide.
Rear plate is the only one that matters in NM, front plate can be absent or you can put whatever you want up there. That’s why the Mustang has “MR. HORSEPOWER” on the front – he’s a bit of a personal mascot.
Anyway – I really wanted to transfer the DATADAN plate from the Highlander to the TourX. Informed the salesman who drew up the paperwork accordingly (they have their own department to handle ALL the MVD paperwork and have any plates etc delivered to them). I still had a temporary tag while the paperwork was being processed.
The Salesman and I decided that I could probably carry the temp tag in the glove-box and slap the DATADAN on the car while I was waiting to get the new registration. He went to grab an electric screwdriver to install the plate. When he went to tighten the plate one screw wouldn’t tighten, acted as if it was stripped.
Salesman was profusely apologetic and informed me he would whisk the car away to the body shop and get me a loaner (a CPO Lacrosse). I headed back to work and got a call about 3 hours later telling me the issue was fixed and he would be dropping the car off to me. He insisted on having me go over the work and make sure it was done to my satisfaction (they found an improperly installed fastener from the factory).
Back to the plate. I got the call a few weeks after purchase that my new registration was ready. I headed into the dealership and my salesman was not around but I went to the back office and they brought me my registration WITH the chilli pepper plate (!?!?). I mentioned something about the mix up but the paperwork from the MVD indicated that a new plate had been ordered instead of a transfer occurring.
No arguing, no fit thrown, but about a week later I got a check from the dealership for $255.00 for any inconvenience that had been caused. I assure you the registration cost difference was NOT that large of a sum.
I don’t much like GM products, but the TourX seems like a solid effort. I can actually see the logic in GM hoping that, at some point, the SUV/CUV craze will subside, consumers will come to their senses and realize how much better a low-center-of-gravity station wagon can be.
In fact, with its lower profile, the TourX might be a terrific platform for some sort of hybrid drivetrain. It probably won’t happen, though, as TourX sales don’t exactly seem to be setting the sales charts on fire.
I drove an Opel Insignia wagon for a week in Germany a few years ago. It was a 6 speed manual turbo-diesel. Not the swiftest acceleration, but adequate. Drove very well and was comfortable. Very stable at autobahn speeds, spent a lot of time at 160-170 kph. We averaged about 38 mpg in mixed driving. I found it to be an overall impressive package, and am sure this Regal is as well.
Can’t recall actually seeing one of these, but cars today seem to be all, I don’t know, whatevers!
This sounds like a decent machine though, nothing exciting but it’ll get you there.
I’ve seen 5 or 6 of these, ALL on dealers lots in the used car area, with 3 of them being that same maroon color.
BTW, my interior “quibble” has to do with the main instrument cluster: it looks like GM brought designers from the 60s out of retirement to design the instrument cluster.
They are a nice looking car. I can’t say I’ve noticed any on the road, but I did see one in person as it was what was representing the Buick brand at the display in Ren Cen when I was there in the spring.
Glad you are enjoying it.
Some cars seem to get overrepresented among the CC faithful in relation to their real life market share. Miata, Honda Fit and the Ford panther come to mind. The TourX seems to be on the way into this club, with you and Ed Stembridge making the choice.
Like others, I find these appealing.
That is a good looking car. Never seen one in real life yet. The color really works for it too.
Dan, you’ve mentioned this car before and now we get the whole picture. That’s one sweet and very practical ride, I like the color too.
The Opel Insignia’s successor, if there will be one, will ride on PSA’s EMP2 platform. Just like the current Peugeot 508, Peugeot’s stylish (rather than roomy) D-segment model.
The TourX was on the agenda for both me and my wife when we bought new cars this summer. We both ended up with Toyotas.
I prefer a real station wagon; there are not many. The size and style of the Buick were ideal (I like to carry a bike in the back). But I did not like the faux raised CUV plastic look, turbo, transmission or need 4WD. And of course I don’t trust GM to support this car once it is gone.
My wife came from an Explorer. She liked the size and style of the TourX too. For her though it was too low and she did not like the cloth interior in the more basic models; she had to have leather.
I bought a Corolla hatch (with manual); she got a Highlander (with leather).
Buick brought a very nice product but dealers are stuck with them. They are just too very niche. They’ll be like Riviera convertibles, Reattas, the last Rivieras, Lucernes – wrong car at wrong time and/or wrong price.
You’re dead on. These are lovey cars that Buick planners missed the mark with. Their stratospheric sticker prices and limited market doomed them to become mostly salesman demos and backlot dwellers. Add the need for premium fuel (almost a $1 more a gallon here in NJ) and you have a real show pony that only knuckleheads like me lust after but could never afford new.
Small points of order – better or worse MSRP means nothing. If you don’t get $10K off you aren’t trying. Mine had an MSRP of nearly $36K and my out the door price (with trade but the trade had 135,000 miles on it) was a shade over $24K – that included registration and the whole enchilada.
2nd point of order is that premium is “recommended” but not “required”. I use premium because in the Mountain West 91 octane is about the best your are going to get AND I like getting all the HP I paid for.
So I’ve got to ask, what other vehicles were on your consideration list and what made it to the point of actually test driving them?
Honestly I was down to FLEX vs Impala vs TourX.
I was determined to buy something that I was fairly certain might not exist by the time I’m ready to buy again in 6 or 7 years. To me the Flex is a wagon (dying off in price classes under $40K) the Impala is a sedan (and we know how well those are doing) and the TourX is a European wagon that’s not a $40K plus Volvo, Jaguar, or MB.
Flex I like but it was hard to find ones with towing packages (I don’t trust large heavy vehicles without additional cooling for long distance travel) and I would have preferred Ecoboost but the prices were out of my league. I decided that sedans might last one more buying cycle after this one.
Honestly a big plus for the TourX was that it let me indulge the wagon lust I’ve had since childhood when my Dad was assigned a rotation of B-body wagons by his employer
While I think sedans are going to last longer than regular wagons, I doubt there will be any reasonably priced large sedans in 6-7 years. While this and the Flex will certainly be gone much sooner than 6-7 years.
You keep the Buick, I will take the Mustang.
The “long roofs” are a dying breed….I looked at the Tour X and thought it was a beautiful car and you are right almost 10,000 off sticker. I ended up trading my X3 for a VW Alltrack SE….A bit smaller but definitely sportier. I got about 6,000 off sticker for the Golf. I have since added 18″ BBS wheels and a Unitronic tune which boosted horsepower from the 1.8 turbo from 170 to 242….
Nice car! I see one in my travels and it is a darn good looking car. I hope it serves you well!
Great write up, Dan. As the other CC’er with a TourX, I can only echo everything you said. We have a bit over 12K on the car so far and love it.
That’s a nice driveway lineup, Ed. Is the SS a manual, perchance?
But of course!
In Australia the Insignia Country Tourer is sold as Holden Calais Tourer. Have you though about do a rebadge and have two Holden in your driveway?
Ed,
Any chance of rebadging it as an Opel, like you’ve done with your Commodore?
Great feature! I have been very intrigued by these cars since I first saw one. Not helping that my wife and I went to Norway this past spring and got a taste of all the wonderful wagons the European market gets.
Not sure I’ll ever get a TourX but dang do I want one.
Hope you don’t mind, I’ll share some wagon pics with y’all. I’ll start with this Ford Mondeo (Taurus for us Americans). We never got this option and coupled with the handsome frontend, it was a knockout!
The Taurus kinda became the large sedan in the early 2010s, with the amazing SHO variant – we have the the Ford Fusion (Mondeo in Yurp) And yes unfortunately, we never got the wagon variant. As far as I am concerned, we don;t really have any real ‘Merican Fords anymore – as even the magical Econoline was replaced with the Ford Transit from across the pond.
That’s not a Taurus, but a Fusion!
Focus wagon (2nd gen was never offered as a full 5-door wagon in the US).
Another Focus (with a low, lovely Audi long roof in the background).
Lastly the classic Volvo 245. Maybe these were everywhere in Norway 20 years ago but this is the only one I saw. Also, every fourth car there is a Tesla…
I saw two of these at my local GM dealer, while getting my GMC serviced. I was knocked out by them, I had no idea they were even a thing (great job, GM-of course nobody’s gonna buy one, if you don’t tell anyone they’re out there) The dealer had a maroon one, and a real pretty blue one. I used to have a blue over black Mazda 5, so dark blue wagons are a thing with me. I tested the blue one, and REALLY liked it. The only problem with it was, I have four kids, and there wasn’t enough room to go somewhere with my whole family in it at once ☹️. Well, that and the $480 monthly payments I would have been looking at…
I bet this car will go down the same as the Saturn Astra I almost bought about 10 years ago… The Saturn dealer didn’t have any low-trim models with manual transmissions, and was completely unwilling to order (or even find me one). That and the Nissan Versa I ended up getting, literally cost 1/2 as much as the Astras the dealer had, but there was no way the Astra was twice the car. These Buick’s are going to be a rare, seldom seen footnote that few will remember a few years from now. Which is a shame, because these are VERY nice cars that deserve a better chance!
I’ll be honest and say a small part of the reason for owning one is that when someone on the internet is bloviating about the lack of wagons (especially that magical – turbo AWD etc) I can retort:
“Yeah, did you ever put your money where your mouth is? Cause I sure did!” 😉
As far as prices, loaded/not loaded – it seems to be very regional in that respect.
I belong to a Buick forum and it seems like depending on your region in the US you were either surrounded by loaded Essence models or decently optioned Preferred models with the odd low trim base thrown in here and there. Almost no dealers in the country had a mix of trim and options actually on the lot.
And yes just like the Chevy SS you can easily get the impression that GM doesn’t actually want to sell these.
Nice car, Dan, this is a unique vehicle in the Year of Our Crossover Lord 2019, and will only become more so. When I shopped a variety of quick-‘n-nimble 4-door cars back in 2016 to replace my Jetta wagon, this wasn’t around. Had it been, I would have certainly given it a try. I’m a bit leary of GM as a whole, but the TourX hits every single mark I’d want in a family car outside of a clutch pedal.
$24K OTD? Steal.
That’s a really nice looking wagon. I saw one not too far from my house during my morning surface street commute. I’m going to keep my eyes open for it. I’ll admit that the new Jaguar XK wagon is what I would dream of owning, but it’s way out of my price range, just like most everything else. Enjoy your Buick. (That’s a Buuuick?)
Nice write-up, Dan!
Interesting coincidence that the colors of the Buick and the ‘Stang are so close. And I’m glad to see the Mustang still alive, well and in your CC garage!
I seriously considered the Regal sedan as a replacement to my 8 year old CUV which was suffering from the tin worm. IIRC, the initial batch was to come from Germany via Opel until Buick could crank up US production. The initial reviews of the insignia were good and felt this would carryover to the Regal. The only issue was that no six cylinder engine was available; just a turbo 4 cylinder.
I passed and got another CUV.
Yes its a ZB Holden here trim levels seem to vary but siome of the go really well one in police livery accelerated past me a few nights ago like I was parked, I wasnt I was travelling at my maximum allowed velocity of 90 kmh and the police car just rocketed off into the distance, Aucklands motowat produces some entertaining moments in the small houras of the morning sometimes and the police at full gallop was one of them.
Commented yesterday but apparently it didn’t take…gave me a prompt afterward to the effect of: “Slow down, you’re posting too fast.” My one and only comment so not sure what that means. Anywho…
Happened across this site from an AteUpWithMotor referral, glad I found the place! Noticed the TourX review and as a fellow owner (9k miles in, bought new Essence for a steal at $28k loaded but for pano roof, with 130k miles on my ’07 trade), had to echo Principal Dan’s solid review of the great and not-so-great TourX qualities.
The AWD was simply unflappable in the 8″ snows we had here in KC last winter. I tried to slide but the dual-clutch vectoring just wouldn’t allow it. This is probably the best AWD system I’ve seen on a passenger vehicle or CUV. She plowed right through all that snow, too. No issues whatsoever, even on hills where I saw other AWDs struggling.
Handling is also decent to good and I’m guessing would improve with an upgrade from the ContiSilent stockers. Ride is super quiet and smooooth. A big change from my ’07 RDX which was loud, and tuned to move; but the TourX handles almost as well. Weight is about 3700 lbs on mine, so I think that does help vs the RDX which was hefty at over 2 tons.
Interior is comfortable, and great on long road trips: 12+ hours one way to our favorite Colorado spots. Caveat: I wouldn’t take it much beyond an easy trailhead access; though it is AWD, off-camber gullies will not make this car happy with it’s fairly low (around 6″) clearance. But not an issue: I can certainly hike an extra mile or two in without a Jeep trail rating if necessary. I’d rather be lower to the ground and have better handling than pay the “taller penalty” for 360 days a year.
Note that my 58 cm road bike fits in the back without removing anything, and I have plenty of room left over for luggage. The TourX is just cavernous. I could also put the bike on (and off) the roof quite easily if I wanted. Not so easy with a CUV.
I also shopped the Subie Outback and Crosstrek; like them but they aren’t quite my cup of tea; plus they’re everywhere vs. TourX (and many other cars) which is…practically…nowhere as Dan noticed, sadly. This is okay with me as I like being rare on the road (former Stealth owner, what a great ride that was for 10 years), though I wish there were more sold just so others could experience a great, modern American (nee German) wagon.
Tired of the CUV thing, I also um, tried…to shop the new Volvo V60 and V90. Vaporware here in KC. I’ve only seen one V90 on a dealer lot, and it was a used exec car with a nearly $50k used price tag on it. Gorgeous inside and out for sure from what I’ve seen on youtube, but you can’t even test drive them (here anyway), plus the prices are a bit too dear for this cat. TourX gives me pretty much exactly what I need.
GM has done zero to properly market TourX, or I think they’d have a hit on their hands with a few minor adjustments: mainly, lower the high-end Essence MSRP about $4-5k. Just take the Acura approach with included pano roof and both Driver Confidence packages; call it a day at $36-37k. And freaking support it with a bunch of cool ads. Subie is on track to sell 150k+ Outbacks this year. Guess what? They advertise them well! What a novel idea. This car could compete well vs. Outback given the chance.
Then use incentives if you must, but I’d bet they could sell more at a standard $1-3k off a loaded $37k MSRP sticker deal that most people would typically buy…than what they’ve sold at the cray-cray $40k+ loaded price. So many people turn away when they see that sticker. I was one, too — until the insane incentives arrived. Then I took a few test drives and I knew I, too would be crazy to pass up this deal. I paid less for my TourX than I did for my ’07 RDX, both brand new.
Let’s keep it real. Gripes:
1. Seat leather and dash material could be upgraded. Acura, Honda, Subie, Toyota leather and dashes in this class are definitely a grade if not two above TourX. GM, stop cheaping out where it really matters to have quality materials! Put the Avenir seats from the Regal sedan in the Essence TourX (or offer an Avenir TourX with perforated leather and cooled seats). This bugs me so much that at times I think about getting my seats recovered.
2. Odd issue with heavy, prolonged rains: all power door-lock access is inoperable for a day or two. Has happened twice since February. Took to dealer and they are replacing door lock controls, guess we’ll see if that works. Seems only a few of us owners have had this problem, so guessing it’s very isolated.
3. Let the infotainment OS “warm up” for about 10 seconds (it’s done when your needles have gone from bottom to top and back) before doing anything with radio or gearing. If you don’t, it sometimes acts up with no audio when it is clearly tuned to a radio station or your BT.
Be Aware: TSB on front lower control arms. They made a scrunching (like crumbling paper) noise below 50ºF when under moderate to heavy braking. Covered under warranty and the fix worked so not really a gripe, just something to be aware of if you get an ’18 or 18.5.
The last three I’d call growing pains of a first-year model, although really, my 2018.5 is the second year of production as this version of the Opel Insignias came out in ’17.
Minor gripes: not much stowage up front for phone. Gonna lose one of the 3 drinkholders there. Yep tranny is a bit slow to respond at times, but floor it and she’ll move quickly for you. To be fair, I have found this to be a non-issue when using 91 octane.
Just plain complaining: I have a loaded top-line model with about 4 blank buttons on my console. These are filled in Euro and Oz. Those guys also get thigh extenders, better leather and perforated leather steering wheel, plus the Ozmonds also get a V6 option. Grrrr.
For the guy above who doesn’t care for the dash design, I assume you’re talking about the two-binnacle setup of the early ’18s that is shared with a few other GM vehicles, notably Chevys. You’ll be heartened to know they changed that design and also the infotainment starting with VINs around the 10k range – which we TourX owners call 2018.5 models.
Easy to see what you’re getting if you look at dashboard photos of the actual car for sale; dealers usually include those on their sale pages. Another tip if you want to save time: If the steering wheel buttons are filled up with icons at 12, 3, 6, and 9, then you have both Driver Confidence packages.
A word on the packages: I didn’t know if I’d like Adaptive Cruise, but I most certainly do. Lane-keep assist and blind spot warnings are also good to have and have saved my bacon at least once due to my fault, and more than once due to other drivers’ mistakes. CarPlay is cool and very convenient, especially with Waze.
Fuel economy is also good vs. the ’07 RDX; I get around 27 combined in TourX. Can get 30+ easily on highway (75ishmph cruise). Have seen 38mpg in 65mph zones drafting behind semi-truck. RDX never varied much beyond 17-19. Gas pig, ugh.
After nearly 9k miles, I’m still very happy with my TourX and would recommend it if you want something super useful, different and just pretty dang cool. Like it even more now than when I purchased. Utility is crazy impressive, and it gets a fair amount of comments from other car aficionados.
A couple of cops have even remarked on it. I’m fairly certain one pulled me over just to see the car (no ticket, nor warning for failure to signal a lane change). He did say “Hate to see anything happen to your nice new car,” though. Ha.
Of course seeing more fellow TourX owners out on the road is likely wishful thinking, this being a captive import with low sales (stink eye to GM — their bad on the latter). And since the sale to PSA, there likely won’t be a ’21 TourX. Too bad. I plan to drive mine a good 5-10 years. Maybe more if she holds up as well as I think she will.
Just reading this comment now but thank you for providing this detail on your ownership experience! It’s extraordinarily useful.
I was looking at the Holden Calais Tourer but most examples are a few thousand more than the hatchback and, having owned a wagon before, I know I won’t use the extra versatility. Although I do plan on getting a dog eventually…
And one sans doogs…
Sadly the Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer was withdrawn from sale this August because of low sales. The UK is going SUV mad too.
Just monitoring this article out of sheer vanity. 🙂
We took our annual trip to Ohio to visit a good friend this past Summer. He late last year bought one of these for about 10K off sticker! I got to spend 2 days driving his 2018 black TourX Essence with tan interior and concluded that this is one of the General’s best kept secrets. Count me in as a CUV hater and a wagon lover which automatically puts this car on my radar for future purchase.
Anyhow our friend who has been buying Buicks since the 1970’s went to his local Buick dealer to see what they had on offer and saw this black wagon on the show room floor and fell instantly in love with it and bought it on the spot. His long line of Buick ownership included a 1977 Park Avenue, a 1980 Riviera, a 1983 LeSabre Limited, a 1986 Regal Limited, a 1989 Park Ave, a 1992 Roadmaster, a 1996 Century Limited, a 1999 Park Ave, a 2001 LeSabre, a 2005 Lacrosse, a 2008 Lacrosse, a 2012 Verano, a 2015 Verano and now this Regal. He typically put 40-50K miles on each and got the itch to buy a new one about every 3 years. Every one of those cars treated him well and checking out some of his old pics revealed some neatly optioned vehicles. The 1977 Park Ave for example had the upgrade Olds 403 V8 and optional 3.08 rear trailer tow gears and he said that thing would burn rubber like nobody’s business. The 1980 Riviera was carefully selected with bucket seats and one of the last Olds 350’s on the lot (the 307 replaced it mid year) and the 99 Park Ave was a supercharged 3800 which he said flew like a rocket.
Back to his current ride. He loves it and is really enjoying the utility aspect. We averaged right around 28.5 MPG in mixed driving on regular 87 unleaded gas, power is more than enough most of the time but I can’t help wondering how this rig would perform with a LGX 3.6 and the new 9 speed automatic. I also agree that a ventilated higher caliber leather seat should at least be offered on the Essence trim level. Another minor quibble- the black plastic around the wheel wells masquerading as CUV styling cues looks cheap and unnecessary on the lighter paint colors. Speaking of exterior colors this car would look great in a darker shade of green and they should replace the loud fire engine red with the nicer Red Quartz from the LaCrosse line. Speaking of the poor soon to be dead Lacrosse, it would have been really nice to see the Regal line beefed up in its place. Availability of the V6 in more than just the GS. Expanded exterior colors. Available ventilated perforated seats and an Avenir trim on the Tour X.
TourX is the nicest car i ever had.