A New Affordable Wagon? 2018 Buick Regal TourX Priced Under $30,000, So Maybe You'll Buy One After All?

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Premium positioning? Only in a small measure.

The 2018 Buick Regal TourX, the wagon variant of the sixth-generation Regal, will be priced to compete more directly with the Subaru Outback than European wagons.

That’s not bad news for wagon enthusiasts who consider the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack too small, the Subaru Outback too obvious, and both the Volvo V60 Cross Country and Audi A4 Allroad too expensive.

CarsDirect has learned that the 2018 Buick Regal TourX, including delivery fees, will be priced just a tick under $30K at $29,995 in base 1SV trim.

That’s $3,475 more than the basic 2017 Subaru Outback; $2,225 more than the least expensive automatic-equipped 2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack.

But that $29,995 entry price places the Regal TourX – a sibling of the new Regal Sportback, as there’ll be no sedan — makes the Buick much less costly than upmarket contenders. At $42,695, the Volvo V60 Cross Country is 42-percent more costly. (Non-CC V60s start at $37,145.)

Audi A4 Allroad pricing begins at $45,475, a big leap even from the top-spec Regal Essence.

The BMW 3 Series Touring, not available in any hardcore, off-road, 4×4, mud-running, rock-crawling, Rubicon-ready guise, starts at $42,950.

Granted, not all Regals will be so distinctly affordable. CarsDirect suspects the $33,575 2018 Buick Regal TourX Preferred 1SB — auto-dimming rearview mirror, leather-wrapped wheel, power driver’s seat, additional color options — to be the more common Regal wagon. The Preferred can be optioned up to include driver assistance features and a panoramic roof, but there’s still no leather option at this price point.

At the top of the heap, the TourX Essence 1SL is $35,945. Standard leather, a larger touchscreen, and dual-zone auto climate control. With adaptive cruise and associated safety features, the Regal TourX Essence rises to $38,860.

All versions of the 2018 Buick Regal TourX will include the 2.0-liter turbo with 250 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic that transfers power to all four wheels.

If conventional premium alternatives are simply too costly and not sufficiently capacious, that standard 2.0T will also enable the Regal TourX to distinguish itself quite nicely from the Subaru Outback. Wagon buyers who don’t want to jump on the bandwagon — Subaru is selling nearly 15,000 Outbacks per month — will have an option in Q4 2017 that doesn’t require them to spend $40,000-plus.

This is a good thing.

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.

Timothy Cain
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  • Jh26036 Jh26036 on Jun 29, 2017

    In my opinion, this car looks better in pictures than in person. I'll give it a test drive though.

  • Moorewr Moorewr on Jun 29, 2017

    Short-listed. This may very well be my wife's next car.

  • Jkross22 Their bet to just buy an existing platform from GM rather than build it from the ground up seems like a smart move. Building an infrastructure for EVs at this point doesn't seem like a wise choice. Perhaps they'll slow walk the development hoping that the tides change over the next 5 years. They'll probably need a longer time horizon than that.
  • Lou_BC Hard pass
  • TheEndlessEnigma These cars were bought and hooned. This is a bomb waiting to go off in an owner's driveway.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Thankfully I don't have to deal with GDI issues in my Frontier. These cleaners should do well for me if I win.
  • Theflyersfan Serious answer time...Honda used to stand for excellence in auto engineering. Their first main claim to fame was the CVCC (we don't need a catalytic converter!) engine and it sent from there. Their suspensions, their VTEC engines, slick manual transmissions, even a stowing minivan seat, all theirs. But I think they've been coasting a bit lately. Yes, the Civic Type-R has a powerful small engine, but the Honda of old would have found a way to get more revs out of it and make it feel like an i-VTEC engine of old instead of any old turbo engine that can be found in a multitude of performance small cars. Their 1.5L turbo-4...well...have they ever figured out the oil dilution problems? Very un-Honda-like. Paint issues that still linger. Cheaper feeling interior trim. All things that fly in the face of what Honda once was. The only thing that they seem to have kept have been the sales staff that treat you with utter contempt for daring to walk into their inner sanctum and wanting a deal on something that isn't a bare-bones CR-V. So Honda, beat the rest of your Japanese and Korean rivals, and plug-in hybridize everything. If you want a relatively (in an engineering way) easy way to get ahead of the curve, raise the CAFE score, and have a major point to advertise, and be able to sell to those who can't plug in easily, sell them on something that will get, for example, 35% better mileage, plug in when you get a chance, and drives like a Honda. Bring back some of the engineering skills that Honda once stood for. And then start introducing a portfolio of EVs once people are more comfortable with the idea of plugging in. People seeing that they can easily use an EV for their daily errands with the gas engine never starting will eventually sell them on a future EV because that range anxiety will be lessened. The all EV leap is still a bridge too far, especially as recent sales numbers have shown. Baby steps. That's how you win people over.
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