Opel Insignia Sports Tourer Previews the Next Buick Regal Wagon, Minus the Cladding

Longer, sleeker, and lighter than before. That’s the gist of General Motors’ next-generation Opel Insignia, the Euro midsizer that provides the template for Buick’s upcoming Regal.

Long in the tooth and a little cramped, the Regal is poised to shed its cloak of invisibility by adopting the Insignia’s E2XX platform and most of its styling cues for the 2018 model year. Expect greater interior volume, up to 440 pounds of weight loss, and an available V6 powerplant.

Oh, and expect a wagon, according to a TTAC source. And not just any wagon — a faux crossover that GM, crossing its fingers, hopes can lure buyers away from the overstocked buffet of lifted utility options.

The Insignia Sports Tourer, revealed today, adds an extra 3.5 cubic feet to its cargo hold, for a total of 57.9 cubic feet of hauling potential. While Europe might not have the same level of passion for SUVs and crossovers as the U.S., the Sports Tourer nonetheless offers all-wheel drive to boost its appeal. That’s great news for Buick, as a wagon is already a hard sell on these shores.

While GM has remained tight-lipped about the upcoming model, the Sports Tourer provides us with the overall shape of things to come. Small exterior changes aimed at Buick-ifying the foreign visitor are a given, but the automaker doesn’t intend to stop there. The model will likely wear a TourX badge and some measure of exterior body cladding.

Opel claims the new Insignia offers a lowered seating position, which, coupled with a bevy of technological enhancements, should translate into a more involved driving experience.

It’s not known if GM engineers will endow the Regal wagon with a minor suspension lift, but such a tweak is the norm for the growing crop of soft-roaders. Take a model, add all-wheel drive (if possible), and jack that sucker up six-tenths of an inch. Of course, time will tell if the public embraces or rejects the concept. For some time now, American consumers have proven quite averse to buying wagons with anything other than “Outback” stamped somewhere on the body.

The Sports Tourer’s German-built American cousin should premiere in the second quarter of this year, likely at the New York International Auto Show.

[Image: General Motors]