Buick Regal

The Regal at a glance

Buick Regal generations from 1973 to today

The second generation built the Regal's sporting name. Its turbocharged V6 grew from about 112 kW (150 hp) in 1978 to 183 kW (245 hp) in 1987. The black Grand National and the GNX made it a 1980s legend, covered in detail in our page on the Grand National and GNX.

The fifth generation and its Opel roots

The fifth Regal is almost the same car as the Opel Insignia, built on GM's Epsilon II platform. Production started at Opel's Rüsselsheim plant in Germany in 2008. Shanghai GM introduced its own version in December 2008, and North American sales began in February 2010.

The first North American cars were shipped from Rüsselsheim: 33,669 in 2010 and 12,637 in 2011. From February 2011 the Regal was also built at Oshawa in Ontario, Canada. Readers who know the European car can compare it with our guide to the Opel Insignia generations.

Engines of the 2011–2017 Regal

The base engine was a 2.4-litre four-cylinder with 136 kW (182 hp) and a six-speed automatic. The CXL Turbo of 2011 had a 2.0-litre turbo with 164 kW (220 hp), offered with an automatic or a six-speed manual.

From the 2012 model year the eAssist version added a lithium-ion battery in the boot and an electric motor worth up to 11 kW (15 hp). Buick estimated 26 mpg in town and 37 mpg on the highway, about 9.0 and 6.4 l/100 km. The old version of this page quoted a fuel saving of up to 15 % for the system, a figure given there as the manufacturer's claim.

The GS of 2012 used a high-output 2.0 turbo with 201 kW (270 hp), and it ran from 0 to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds. For 2014 the regular turbo rose to 193 kW (259 hp) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft), and the GS was brought down to the same figure.

The 2014 facelift in detail

The 2014 Regal was the main update of this generation. Buick revised the exterior and the interior and brought back its VentiPorts, the side vents on the bonnet. All-wheel drive became available with the 2.0 turbo and the automatic gearbox, and the turbo gained power.

The old version of this page described the visible changes: new headlamps and LED tail lamps, a spoiler integrated into the boot lid, and an 8-inch screen in the centre of a reworked dashboard. The climate control gained its own touch panel. The suspension offered standard, Sport and GS settings through an interactive damping system.

For the 2014 front-wheel-drive turbo saloon, Kelley Blue Book lists:

By our calculation, 193 kW and 1,652 kg give about 8.6 kg per kW for the lightest turbo version. To convert US fuel figures for other cars, use the fuel economy converter.

Regal sales in the United States and China

China was always the bigger market. In 2014, the year of the facelift, Chinese buyers took almost five times as many Regals as US buyers, and the facelifted car never brought US sales back to the 2011 level.

Sportback, TourX and the end in North America

The sixth generation, presented on 4 April 2017, was based on the second Opel Insignia and built only in Rüsselsheim for North America. It replaced the saloon with the Regal Sportback, a five-door liftback, and added the TourX estate, the first Regal wagon since 1983. Both used a 2.0 turbo with 186 kW (250 hp). The GS had a 3.6-litre V6 with 231 kW (310 hp), a nine-speed automatic and standard all-wheel drive.

Sales stayed low: 14,118 in the US in 2018 and 10,363 in 2019. In December 2019 Buick announced that the Regal would end in North America after the 2020 model year. China kept a saloon with a conventional boot, built by SAIC-GM since 2018 with 1.5 and 2.0 turbo engines, and facelifted it in 2021, 2024 and 2025.

Regal compared with the Opel Insignia

In practice the Regal is an Insignia saloon with Buick styling and US equipment. Compared with the Insignia, it offered fewer body styles, but it added the eAssist hybrid for North America. For a side-by-side look at any two models, use the comparison tool.