The 2012 Buick Regal GS packs some decidedly un-Buick-like parts. For starters there's a pumped-up version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged direct-injected inline-4 found in the regular Regal Turbo (like our long-term CXL). The revamped engine boosts power from 220 horsepower to 270 at 5,300 rpm. There's plenty of torque, too, as it peaks at 295 pound-feet at 2,400 rpm. Then there's this shock: A six-speed manual comes standard. A six-speed automatic will come later, at no extra cost. There's also a pair of 14-inch front disc brakes with four-piston Brembo fixed calipers (rear brakes remain unchanged). Add to this a three-mode version of Buick's Interactive Drive Control adaptive damper system as well as a HiPer Strut front suspension.
The 2012 Buick Regal GS interior looks hardly different from our long-termer, with lots of flat-black plastic everywhere, although there's a nice thick-rimmed leather-wrapped steering wheel and some GS badges on the floor mats. The front seats are a slightly more bolstered variation of the Regal's standard seats. The leather is a bit slippery, yet there still isn't enough lateral support to cinch you in place during hard driving.
The car launches hard harder than GM's conservative 6.7-second 0-60-mph and 15.2 second, 98-mph quarter-mile estimates would suggest. Shifting up through second and into third puts the car in turn one, where there's noticeable roll in the softest damper setting, less in Sport, and virtually none in GS. Second-gear full throttle on the exit through an uphill lefthander uncovers no steering-wheel shimmies or tugs even as the front axle crests a rise-have they really tamed 295 lb-ft at the front wheels? Down onto the flat asphalt apron of the carousel we encounter the closest thing to uneven pavement on this course, which upsets the body just a bit in the softest mode, while the The 2012 Buick Regal GS setting locks out such motions without feeling overly harsh.
The car launches hard harder than GM's conservative 6.7-second 0-60-mph and 15.2 second, 98-mph quarter-mile estimates would suggest. Shifting up through second and into third puts the car in turn one, where there's noticeable roll in the softest damper setting, less in Sport, and virtually none in GS. Second-gear full throttle on the exit through an uphill lefthander uncovers no steering-wheel shimmies or tugs even as the front axle crests a rise-have they really tamed 295 lb-ft at the front wheels? Down onto the flat asphalt apron of the carousel we encounter the closest thing to uneven pavement on this course, which upsets the body just a bit in the softest mode, while the The 2012 Buick Regal GS setting locks out such motions without feeling overly harsh.
The next several bends show off the car's high steady-state cornering grip and present an opportunity for matched-rev heel-and-toe downshifting to second, which is easily accomplished with a size-9 driving shoe. Pulling from low rpm the engine delivers a uniform surge of power, with no discontinuities, lags, or surges. It just feels like 3.5 liters pulling. Braking hard for the tight esses near our photographer reveals the same subtlety from the center pedal-there's no initial grabbiness or bite, just smooth, solid, linear retardation with no evidence of fade.
 |  |  |  |
0 comments:
Post a Comment