If you’re in the market for a traditional Buick sedan, you’ll have to avert your eyes from the recently revealed, 2018 Buick Regal Sportback. As the name implies, there’s something going on at the back half, and it’s not a trunk, it’s a rear hatch.
Buick followed the Opel Insignia Grand Sport‘s way by foregoing a sedan and developing a four-door liftback for the North American market. While it looks like a sedan, the rear hatch opens to reveal tremendous cargo space. But, it wouldn’t be a Community Question without the question. So, here it is, dear readers: should Buick still offer a traditional, four-door sedan instead of the Sportback?
The liftback offers a lot of benefits with the looks of a sedan. Buick states there is now 31.5 cubic feet of cargo space thanks to the liftback design, doubling the capacity from the outgoing Regal sedan. It looks great, too. Only those with the sharpest of eyes will realize there’s some liftback trickery going on at the rear. And what’s not to like about extra cargo space?
It also gives Buick marketing some tremendous firepower to sell consumers on added cargo space and avoid letting the Regal waste away on dealership lots to competing crossovers. While it doesn’t match the Buick’s smallest offering’s cargo capacity, the Encore, it does keep it in the hunt as an alternative to squished, compact crossovers. But, if it’s space you seek, the 2018 Regal TourX also delivers in spades, offering 73.5 cubic feet of cargo space.
We don’t really see a rebuttal or downsides to the liftback if we’re honest. The only thing crossing our minds are the rear seat’s aesthetics, and that’s nit-picking. But, ultimately, it’s your opinion to cast in our poll below.
Comments
I wouldn’t say they should offer a sedan over the sportback but they could make a slim number of sedans to offer as a different or alternative model to people who want a traditional sedan.
I say leave the sedan to the lacrosse
Now offer the darn 3.6 in both the hatchback and the wagon in both FWD and 4WD. Offer the 3.0TT in the rRegal Grandsport.
Came here to say this. GM NEEDS a V6 midsize sedan. It’s only right that if they’re gonna do one, they do it for the Regal, given Buick’s history with great V6 engines.
Doing a separate sedan would incur unnecessary expense for GM as the costs for an extra model, based on economics of scale likely wouldn’t be justified by the demand. The difference in price between the 2 models probably would not be large.
I would bet that that anyone who leased or bought this beautiful car would be very hesitant to go back to a standard sedan.
I would add that the last-gen Insignia sedan looked EXACTLY like the Insignia liftback (what we are calling Sportback here), except that the hatchback had a rear wiper.
So really, the expenses to make a separate model would be insignificant, since the biggest ones would be on the manufacturing level (in stamping and dies), and those would be shared between the liftback and the traditional sedan body styles. Then there’s the matter of getting a traditional trunk (over a liftback hatch) and the various interior bits that get changed. So all we are literally talking about how the rear door is configured without changes to the vehicle’s exterior design/styling.
That said, you’re right in saying that the difference in price between the first-gen Insignia sedan and liftback/hatch was a couple hundred Euros.
I don’t know if the “liftback” actually had a rear wiper — I will look around to check.
The main difference was the place of the hatch’s hinges: below or above the rear window, and this excluding or including the rear window.
As Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, the sold only a small part as “sedan”, and dropping the “sedan” variant saves the different stamping tools for the rear part of the vehicle. Those huge and very heavy stamping tools are not cheap… (BTW, the ones for the previous Insignia were made in USA).
So I don’t think that it is worth while to produce a variant with the smaller hatch at the back.
Also, with the “sedan”, the Insignia (and with it the outgoing Buick Regal) with its tiny hatch had only a very small access to the trunk, like having just a flap opening to a deep cupboard instead of a drawer.
Compare the open trunk of this 1953 Buick Skylark
https ://commons.wikimedia .org/wiki/File:Buick_Skylark_1953_Convertible_LSideRear_Lake_Mirror_Cassic_16Oct2010_%2814690796687%29.jpg
with the tiny stub of a back of an Insignia:
https ://commons.wikimedia .org/wiki/File:Opel_Insignia_2.0_BiTurbo_CDTI_Sport_OPC_Line-Paket_%E2%80%93_Heckansicht,_3._April_2012,_Velbert.jpg
I could not find an image of an Insignia “sedan” or Regal with an open trunk, but you can imagine how narrow the access to the trunk via this tiny hatch would be, while the actual space might be bigger than in the 1953 car.
Footnote:
you have to recompose the image URLs
Well, I found a picture of an open trunk of a Buick Regal:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roomy_Trunk_-_2012_Buick_Regal_GS_%286914580943%29.jpg
“Roomy trunk”, as the image is called, but a small opening into it.
The regular liftback has a much larger opening, the whole rear window is going up with it and allowing putting thinks vertially into the trunk.
And for easy access to a large trunk, look at the image of this item on GMauthoriry:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2017/04/two-1987-buick-grand-nationals-found-sitting-in-a-garage/
Not as insignificant as you might think, Alex. I can tell you, after working for GM for 38 years (the last 9 in
inventory control) that dual inventory for 1 model in this case would involve different sheet metal for the rear
end along with different glass and other hardware, not to mention changeover cost and extra inventory
maintenance. Automakers have worked hard for years to gain flexibility such as using 1 platform for multiple
nameplates such as Chevrolet/Buick along with common components. Methinks this is more of an American
issue than so in other markets. Europeans seem to have no problem with this approach. JUST SAYIN’ !
I had a 1995 Buick Regal Limited sedan, and it was very useful, lasting 21 years and sold to a new onwer in 2015 who loves it. A hatchback is an intermediate solution for those who need more cargo but don’t want a CUV or wagon. I prefer the sedan for everyday driving, and a wagon or CUV (I also have a 2009 Chevy Equinox) for more passengers or cargo needs. It is not that great trying to make a vehicle for all purposes.
I think both models should be available > With the Verano being discontinued the only sedan offered would be the Lacrosse ,leaving only a high end price range sedan from Buick . Also it should made in the USA !!!!!
I honestly think when the Verano is being discontinued, the Cruze should have the interior materials from the Verano
This is sort of a sideways response but it would be interesting if GM sometimes offered a few ‘other’ cars at their dealers. For instance instead of offering a Buick variant they’d offer a base Cadillac or a suped up Chevy ON THE LOT.
In this way GM could take cross PRIDE in all their vehicles. To make things even simpler they might not even actually sell them as much as ‘show’ them. I mean why not put a Bolt on a Buick lot? Or — in this case — an amazing Impala?
On having 2 models:
I think it would a wasted investment with very little if any, return. The biggest market these days is either pick-up trucks or SUVs. They’d be better off developing a new Captiva/Vue model. With the infrastructure(roads) as poor as they are, and as clogged as they are, there’s not a lot of room for us driving enthusiasts anymore, and so people are gravitating to function, i.e., SUVs, or crew cab pick-ups. -I’m just sayin’…
I have to say that I was looking forward to this new Regal, but have lost interest due to the hatchback body style. I don’t care if it’s more practical, or useful, or has more space. If I cared about those things, I’d just go for the wagon or a crossover. The back looks bulbous, and I would prefer more of a three box design. I’m also concerned about road noise coming in through the hatch opening, and about having a less secure cargo area. The sedan will be available in China, so why not offer both?
You need to produce what customers want and if they don’t want sedans, don’t throw money into building them. What the Regal really needs is a Grand Sport model just like the Opel and Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport. That will get buyers to seriously rethink buying a German or Japanese car, especially with a V6 engine like what the Holden Commodore is getting.
The Buick Regal Sportback is the Opel Insignia Grand Sport.
And it’s not that customers “don’t want sedans”. They just are buying more crossovers than sedans at the current moment, while sedans are still selling in good volumes.
And that crossover trend… it could swing in the opposite direction at any given point in time.
That would happened only IF the gas prices go high
No, fuel prices are only part of the equation.
There is a significant amount of items that go into consumer buying decisions. As a marketer, I can’t say that the crossover movement can be simplified as people wanting “more space” or “a higher ride height” over fuel economy. It’s a myriad of factors that are causing the shift, whether permanent or temporary.
And as Silent said, these literally can swing from one side to another during the course of several months (up to a year).
Think of it as a four door coupé.
Because that’s what it is. The roof line starts to decline from the B pillar onwards.
The previous Insignia/Regal was the same: a four door coupé.
The only difference between the “sedan” (coupé) and the “liftback” (coupé) was the place of the back hatch hinges: above or below the rear window.
And that the interior trunk cover would be lifed with the rear hatch (which then includes the read window), and could be removed, while it would be fixed with the “sedan”.