When Buick announced that rebadging the Opel Insignia OPC and Buick Regal GS, and that's not the OPC unit on all four wheels and a turbo V6 gets a turbocharged four-wheel drive performance models, it was a bit skeptical. In the document, the SG proposes not only looks quite different from the turbo model (which I quite liked, as it is) for the initial enthusiasm of many. But that's why you're driving a car instead of comparing the spec sheet: after spending some time alone with GS, I'm happy to report that my skepticism is completely unnecessary.
The first three minutes or so the forty-odd minutes I spent hammering GS across the hills to the north Willamette Valley, I spent familiarizing myself with GS turbo whistle. Light catch, began to spin the turbo fine stream of grace that seems to swell torque (not malignant) under the right foot driving. The change from six-cylinder naturally aspirated GS, there is a change in writing in the style of driving, which requires management of the turbo as fine urge to create. But the first turn in the road appeared, turbo and the learning curve I found is how to maintain 295 pounds-feet at hand.
Although the trip feels really planted and are easy to bend a little short from the factory, saw the first corner I ran strong brakes. It is, after all, a front wheel drive Buick, not the shoulder or between the bars and an exciting adventure with understeer can be fatal. GS ignores the speed comes back with an amazing talent, and before you know it increases were building again under my feet and left. At the next corner I left too little easier to understand and shoots at the corner, and then stick to the road desperately as he ate the valve. With each successive corner I pushed a little deeper, the film is a bit more aggressive in tight corners, with the valve becomes faster. In fact, I spent the rest of the unit is desperately trying to find out what happened to Sun when pushed to the point where the chassis showed its true colors ... unsuccessfully.
There are two primary functional car preferences schools: the first is a car with low limits, but exploited, he likes playing the disability, the second is a car that was very, very good has great silence. Dear Z3M is part of the first, best when you push or catching on around the corner. Regal GS right into the second category, which offers a quiet convincing performance type which enables very fast on the road at a speed of drivers, while building confidence with each step. Between the turbo power transmission, suspension strut Hiper GM, "GS Mode" tense summer and some good rubber, GS is able to take speed into the corners improbably high (0.9 g skidpad chasing GM) with the zero drama ... You can tell the car to sleep in his sister in the middle of a tight turn, and only shrugged his shoulders and pull the next corner. But more than a mango, GS puts off so well in a state of many, AWD is an additional unwanted.
More power and rear-wheel drive or Pavlovian leads to car enthusiasts something, but OS shows that a good set of front driver with a good manual gearbox can be as exciting as anything. This is not crazy, eyes, tongue dangling fun as it is, for example, the CTS-V. It is quiet confidence in the real world, the push-the-house fun incessant pounding of the corners of his mouth. Yin Buick Cadillac, if you will ... at the time price of $ 35K-ish as a place-nearly-as-fun-to-disk based CTS sedan. With apologies to John Lennon, a middle-class hero is something to ...
Buick makes cars for testing are available at the launch event
