- The 2012 Buick Regal GS starts at $35,310, including an $860 destination charge, slotting in just under one of its chief Japanese competitors, the 2011 Acura TSX V6.
- Buick said an optional six-speed automatic transmission will be available on the 2012 Regal GS later in the model year.
- The 2012 Buick Regal with eAssist will start at $29,530, including shipping, when the Regals arrive in showrooms this fall.
DETROIT — The 2012 Buick Regal GS starts at $35,310, including an $860 destination charge, slotting in just under one of its chief Japanese competitors, the 2011 Acura TSX V6. It will go on sale this fall.
The Acura TSX V6 starts at $36,035, including an $885 destination charge. Buick specifically mentioned the Acura TSX V6 in its Regal pricing announcement on Thursday.
Other competitors include the 2012 Audi A4 2.0 TFSI, which starts at $33,375, including an $875 destination charge. The 2012 Hyundai Sonata SE 2.0T starts at $25,405, including a $760 destination charge.
The performance-oriented Regal GS is equipped with a 270-horsepower turbocharged Ecotec 2.0-liter direct-injected four-cylinder engine linked to a standard six-speed manual transmission. Buick said a six-speed automatic transmission will be available later in the model year, but did not say what that feature would cost.
Buick also said the 2012 Regal with eAssist will start at $29,530, including shipping.
The eAssist hybrid system is a $2,000 option on the Regal base model with 2.4-liter Ecotec engine. Buick said it will continue to offer the base model without eAssist as well as the 2.0-liter turbo engine.
Regal with eAssist offers a boost in fuel economy to 25 mpg in city driving and 36 mpg on the highway, according to Buick.
The 2012 Buick Regal GS gets a push-button start; a leather-wrapped, flat-bottom sport steering wheel with audio controls; metal sport pedals' and leather-appointed, heated and 12-way adjustable sport seating. A Harman Kardon premium audio system with nine speakers is standard.
Inside Line says: Will the careful pricing on the Regal GS be enough to get guys out of their Acura TSXs?
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a1c_scg says:
07:38 AM, 08/06/2011
@nonhonda-
Too bad this car isn't $10,000 more than a Sonata Turbo. A similarly as you can get equipped Sonata Turbo is a hair over $30,000. It doesn't have Brembo brakes. It doesn't have forged wheels. It doesn't offer summer/sports tires. It doesn't have power passenger seat. It's not available w/ a manual. The engine is nowhere near as strong or proven. The car feels nowhere near as solid and substantial.
So yeah, having sold them, I'd say they're worth their $5K price difference.
copmotor440cid says:
02:51 AM, 08/06/2011
Sorry but if Chevrolet has promised not to put the SS badge on any undeserving vehicles then Buick should have to follow the same guidelines with the GS moniker. SS= RWD, GS= RWD. Not a bad looking vehicle inside and out but four cylinder and fwd does not a GS make.
nonohonda says:
06:57 AM, 08/05/2011
There is no way this car is going to sell for 35 large. I'm not married to any particular brand so my question is:
Is the Buick 10 grand nicer/sportier/more feature packed than a Sonata turbo? Nope!
calspecial68 says:
06:14 PM, 08/04/2011
For some reason, this isn't as bad as I expected. At least it slots in under the competition. I'd take it over the TSX, but then again I'm pretty biased. In any case, I'm looking forward to this car's performance and sales.
kevm14 says:
03:50 PM, 08/04/2011
"Buy an Audi for 35K, sell it for 20K in 3 years. Buy a Buick for 30K sell for 10K in three years if you're lucky. The brand (in this case lack thereof) translates into higher cost of ownership even if the car's initial cost is lower."
Fortunately, when we don't have experts like you, we have other resources for this type of information:
http://www.cars.com/go/alg/index.jsp#
An A4 has a higher residual, but it's not that much higher. More importantly, if you do a little math, you see that both cars are projected to lose about $15k of value in those 3 years.
kevm14 says:
03:43 PM, 08/04/2011
"There is no more of a connection between Lexus and Buick as between a BMW and Buick in the sense that Lexus and BMW brands are appealing across the board, while Buick is appealing to people who lived when Buick meant something and to rental fleets that don't care about the brand appeal."
So let me get this straight...the brand has been around too long to be any good? I'm not sure what to do with that.
etanretla says:
02:42 PM, 08/04/2011
get rid of all that chrome/bling and this car is a winner!
ms_3 says:
02:38 PM, 08/04/2011
Pricing, the magic number that can make or break a vehicle. I agree that the GS pricing seems a little optimistic. 32-33K seems more appropriate. As for the competition, "base" Audis and BMWs really dont exist and are pretty stripper-ish; Leatherette? Check. Hey at least you got the blue and white roundel.
Most interesting is the pricing of the eAssist option. 2K seems a little steep at first, but after doing some math, it doesn't seen that unreasonable.
While the 2.4L Honda Accord is able to get 23/34/27(combined), the base 2.4L Regal is not. The Regal puts down an unimpressive 19/30/23 combined. According to fueleconomy.gov, its annual fuel costs are $2421, based on 15K miles driven, 45/55 city/hwy, @ $3.71 per gallon. Enter the Regal eAssist...
The Buick Regal with eAssist gets a not-so-eyepopping 25/36/29(combined), or a 6 mpg improvement. Annual fuel costs are estimated at $1920 using the same figures. In other words, with eAssist you save $501 for every 15k miles driven. Since the option costs 2K, after 60,000 miles you will break even assuming gas stays at $3.71 a gallon (raise your hands if you think gas will go above that in the next four years...yeah).
So long story short, 60k miles/4 years isn't terrible for a break-even point. Of course this doesn't take into account added performance (the battery adds some gusto?) resale value (do people pay more for used hybrids?) or reliability (GM product? Anybody?).
Or we could just add eAssist to a Honda Accord.
gam2 says:
01:43 PM, 08/04/2011
$6K over a Regal Turbo? Ouch, too much. I see incentive galore. A Subaru Legacy GT has a similar engine with AWD and lists just over $31K. $32K seem a more reasonable number.
mk40 says:
01:27 PM, 08/04/2011
@compressor... Perhaps, but it seemed a bit odd to me for a brands smaller model to have the same starting price as the larger one with the same powertrain, but maybe the Regal is a CXL with leather standard and the Lacrosse a CX for that price & it's not the same trim level. That would explain it.