Buick is pretty proud of the new 2019 Regal TourX wagon, which in addition to being quite handsome, seems like a really great value. Good news for wagons, too: the automaker predicts that up to 50 percent of Regal buyers will opt for the longroof instead of the sedan, as long as they don’t call it what it is.
Speaking with Automotive News, Phil Brook, U.S. vice president of marketing for Buick and GMC, is pretty confident that the new TourX can score well with American buyers who aren’t usually fans of the wagon body style.
Buick originally figured that up to 30 percent of the Regal market would go for the TourX, but after some good reception, Buick believes that the Tourx could be even more popular than expected. The trick here, Brook said, is to not explicitly call the car a wagon, because many buyers still have antiquated associations with wagons as big, boring family cars—the proto-minvans—and not the awesome and practical cars they are.
Buick also must combat lingering perceptions of the station wagon — and a Buick one, at that — as a dowdy vestige of the 1970s. That’s why the brand is referring to the all-wheel-drive TourX as a “crossover in the truest sense of the word,” citing its carlike handling along with the versatility and cargo space of a utility vehicle.
“We just want people to look at it for what it is, consider it and not pigeonhole it,” Brook said. “And not think of ‘The Brady Bunch’ when you say, ‘wagon.’ “
Buick understands that GM’s previous entries into the wagon market have not been super successful, and that most folks that prefer that body style go tend to favor the European brands. However, the Regal TourX does have European roots as it is built by Germany’s Opel, a company that GM sold last year to PSA Peugeot-Citroën.
Which is a shame because according to Jason Torchinsky’s rules of wagonhood, the TourX is clearly a wagon:
Semantics aside, Buick did say that there are currently no plans to offer a diesel motor or the 3.6-liter V6 engine from the Regal GS. (That might make it almost too European.) It should be noted that the TourX does come standard with a 250 horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo that puts down more power than than the base engine of a Subaru Outback.
We’re quite excited about the Regal TourX, and would’ve had a First Drive Review on these pages had the staff not gotten slammed with the flu. We expect to drive the wagon in the coming months anyway.
Regardless of how it’s labeled, with a starting price of just under $30,000, it’s nice to see a “European” loongroof that you don’t have to spend a fortune on.