Used 2020 Buick Regal Sportback

The 2020 Buick Regal Sportback may just be one of the most surprisingly pleasing cars in its class. The Regal Sportback combines style, practicality, enjoyable driving manners and premium features all at a great price. But if you want one, act soon. The Buick Regal lineup is being discontinued after this year. This comes just two years after the Regal was reborn not as a sedan, but a sleek 5-door liftback.

In that vein, it’s similar to the new Volkswagen Arteon and Kia Stinger, but its starting price of just over $25,000 is thousands less. Compared to luxury 5-door liftbacks like the Audi A5 and BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, Buick’s offering is nearly $20,000 less.

With its sizable rear hatch, the Buick Regal Sportback has more room for gear than traditional sedans such as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The Regal also offers active safety and driver-assist features, but unlike the Accord and Camry, they don’t come standard. In the Regal’s favor is its range of choices, from all-wheel drive to the higher-performance, V6-powered Buick Regal GS variant (note the higher-riding Buick Regal TourX is reviewed separately).

Another enticing trait about this little-known vehicle is that, like the Audi and BMW, it’s actually European. The Buick Regal Sportback is made in Germany by Opel, a former GM unit. But like we say, if you want a new one, you must act soon.

As we mentioned, Buick’s Regal Sportback is made in Germany, but it’s been tuned for the American market. All that means is that it’s less BMW and more Buick. That isn’t a bad thing, and this isn’t your grandfather’s Buick. The brand’s new models — this one especially — are competently athletic, yet still comfortable.

The 2020 Regal Sportback will tolerate being thrown into corners, but it won’t exactly beg you for more. If sporty handling and higher performance is your thing, you’ll probably want to opt for the Buick Regal GS. That sportier version of the Regal Sportback packs a 310-horsepower V6 engine, standard all-wheel drive, and the comfort and quiet manners expected in a Buick. As a road-tripping car or grand touring vessel, we’d take one any day.

The Sportback’s optional all-wheel-drive system works especially well, making it a good choice if you live where foul winter weather creates slick conditions. Like other new GM vehicles, the 2020 Regal Sportback has a start/stop system that cuts engine power at idle, such as stoplights. Unlike other automakers’ systems, this one can’t be turned off. That’s unfortunate, but it’s at least smooth enough to not be too bothersome.

Speaking of smooth and not bothersome, we also applaud the Buick’s 9-speed automatic transmission. Unlike some we’ve tried, it proved quick and refined. The same goes for the 8-speed unit offered with the 4-cylinder all-wheel-drive models. The 2020 Regal Sportback offers active safety and driver-assist features like adaptive cruise control, but they are reserved for higher trims.

The 2020 Regal Sportback has a 5-passenger cabin and a comfortable feel. Up front, controls have a streamlined look and feel. If you want simple controls for common functions like audio and climate, the Buick Regal has them. It also has the kind of tech that is all but standard these days. A 7-inch central touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration is standard, and a larger 8-inch display with or without navigation is optional. The sport Regal GS model also gets an 8-inch digital instrument cluster.

On one end of the spectrum, a base Regal Sportback has cloth upholstery and manual-adjust front seats. The fancy Buick Regal Avenir model, meanwhile, has quilted leather seats and niceties like a wireless phone charging cradle. One nit we have is the lack of a sliding sun visor.

Rear-seat accommodations are respectable for this class, but it’s the Regal Sportback’s ability to swallow large items that places it head and shoulders above its trunk-only sedan competition.

The Regal Sportback deserves praise for its flexible and practical interior. Also noteworthy is that it doesn’t come at the expense of a stylish exterior. In fact, if you didn’t know about the upward-lifting rear hatch door, you probably wouldn’t even know the Sportback had one.

Seen in profile, Buick’s new Sportback looks more like a sleek sedan. With its stately grille, athletic stance and dapper tail, we don’t think it’s too much to say this is the best-looking Regal that Buick has ever made. The higher-performing Regal Sportback GS looks more athletic with touches like a unique grille, air intakes in the lower fascia and larger tailpipe housings. The 2020 Regal’s wheels range in size from 17 inches to 19 inches.

HUGE REAR HATCH
Here’s the Regal Sportback’s X factor. The large rear hatch enables you to carry large or bulky items that otherwise wouldn’t fit in a standard sedan, such as a bicycle or surfboard. Cargo space with the rear seat up dwarfs that of most trunks, and with the seat folded comes in just over 60 cubic feet, comparable to some midsize SUVs.

ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
Anyone who has ever been stuck in a New England snowstorm knows even front-wheel drive won’t save you once the white stuff starts falling. The Regal Sportback’s available all-wheel drive alleviates this worry, a reassuring feeling one can’t get from most mainstream sedans.

Buick’s 2020 Regal Sportback comes in five major trims: base, Preferred, Essence, Avenir and GS. The lowest-priced version still comes with a turbocharged engine, 6-way manual-adjust driver seat, dual-zone climate control, and OnStar 4G LTE connectivity with in-car Wi-Fi (subscription required).

The basic infotainment system is a 7-inch touch-screen display with AM/FM radio, Bluetooth and USB input and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility. We’d suggest stepping up to at least the Preferred model, which adds an 8-way-power front driver’s seat, a leather steering wheel and an auto-dimming rearview mirror

If you want an all-wheel-drive Buick Regal Sportback, you’ll have to choose either the Essence or GS models. The Regal Essence is a solid choice in general, and includes leather seats, heated front seats and steering wheel, remote start, power-adjustable passenger seat, and the upgraded 8-inch infotainment system. That model also has tri-folding instead of split-fold rear seats, and is the first trim to offer the option of more advanced safety and driver-assist systems like adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, lane-keep assist and automatic emergency braking — systems that come standard in many mainstream sedans.

The Regal Sportback Avenir is front-wheel drive only but has a plusher interior with diamond-quilted leather seats, a unique grille, and standard Bose audio and navigation. The 2020 Regal Sportback GS has a powerful V6 engine, all-wheel drive, and snazzy front seats with heat, ventilation and massage function. A power moonroof is available on all but base trims.

Standard on the Buick Regal Sportback is a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine making a healthy 250 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel-drive (AWD) models get even more torque, with 295 lb-ft.

If you want a Regal Sportback with a V6, direct your attention to the GS trim. It comes with a 310-horsepower 3.6-liter V6, plus all-wheel drive. Front-wheel-drive (FWD) models and the GS employ GM’s newest 9-speed automatic, while all-wheel-drive models with the 4-cylinder use an 8-speed unit.

Regardless of engine, it will come with a fuel-saving engine start/stop feature that cannot be disabled.

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4
250 horsepower @ 5,400 rpm (FWD)
250 horsepower @ 5,500 rpm (AWD)
260 lb-ft of torque @ 2,000-5,200 rpm (FWD)
295 lb-ft of torque @ 3,000-4,000 rpm (AWD)
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 22/32 mpg (FWD), 21/29 mpg (AWD)

3.6-liter V6 (Regal GS)
310 horsepower @ 6,800 rpm
282 lb-ft of torque @ 5,200 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 19/27 mpg