2018 Buick Regal Sedan and Wagon Spied: They're Undisguised and They're Hot

What It Is: In Europe, the mid-size Opel Insignia is GM’s largest mainstream car offering and is sold in sedan, hatchback, and wagon body styles; it competes against cars such as the Ford Mondeo (our Ford Fusion). We Americans get the Insignia sedan as the Buick Regal, so these photos of the completely undisguised next-generation Insignia give us as good a look as any at the next-generation Regal, likely arriving on our shores sometime next year as a 2018 model.

The new Regal looks to have crisp, clean lines and an athletic stance, but the most exciting news from our standpoint is that Buick will offer a Regal wagon here. Given that there have been trademark filings for the name “Regal TourX,” the U.S. version of the wagon may be a sort-of raised, crossover-inspired variant like the Subaru Outback or the Volvo Cross Country, with standard all-wheel drive and a bit of extra body cladding. The sedan will come standard with front-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive available as an option as it is on the current Regal. A small OPC badge visible on the pictured sedan’s front fender suggests that this is a high-performance version with a bit more power and some chassis upgrades, which could perhaps make it to our shores as the Regal GS.

Why It Matters: Besides offering station-wagon enthusiasts a new model on which to focus their desires, the new long-roof offering will help Buick cultivate the Regal’s Eurocentric premium image. Other offerings in this segment come from Audi, BMW, and Volvo with the A4 Allroad, 3-series Sport Wagon, and V60. Buick could find a niche if its wagon is priced right. The current Regal sedan is poised as a sort of budget Audi A4 alternative, and that positioning should continue into its next generation, even if pricing increases a bit to correspond with the new model’s more upscale styling and presumably nicer interior.

Platform: A version of GM’s Epsilon architecture, likely the E2XX platform that’s found under the new Chevrolet Malibu. As such, interior room should increase compared with the current Regal, which uses an older version of the front-drive-based Epsilon II platform.

Powertrain: A 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder mated with GM’s new nine-speed automatic transmission, similar to the unit in the 2017 Malibu, where it makes 250 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. Expect GM to scrap the current Regal’s base engine, a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder, although a smaller-displacement turbocharged four-cylinder such as the Malibu’s 1.5-liter unit is a possibility on lower trim levels. The Regal GS may use a higher-output version of the same 2.0-liter turbo, possibly with upwards of 300 horsepower. We don’t know if the six-speed manual offered in the current Regal GS will stick around, but we certainly hope it does.

Competition: Acura TLX, Lincoln MKZ, Volvo S60/V60, Lexus ES, Audi A4/A4 Allroad, BMW 3-series

Estimated Arrival and Price: With the Opel Insignia in these photos looking nearly production-ready, it may make its debut as soon as the Geneva auto show in spring 2017. That means the Regal won’t be far behind, so look for a mid-2017 debut with the car going on sale by the end of next year. Its base price will likely approach $30,000 or even surpass it, given that the current Regal’s relatively spartan base trim starts at $27,990 and the 2.0-liter turbocharged model starts at $29,540.