Two new models are entering the not hot wagon market in North America. While one wagon entry is aimed squarely at the near-luxury market, the other aims higher and challenges established luxury wagons.
Our question today is this: Will either of the models work?
The Buick Regal loses its sedan body next year, and instead offers up the Regal Sportback (a liftback sedan like the old Mazda 626), or the TourX wagon you see above. Still based on the Opel Insignia, the TourX will start at just under $30,000, with all trims having standard all-wheel drive. While this puts the TourX at a price advantage over European competitors like the Volvo V60 CC ($42,695) and the Audi A4 Allroad ($45,475), it’s in the same ballpark as the perennially popular Subaru Outback.
But who is the customer for a TourX? Is it an older person who declines one of the CUVs already offered by Buick? Is it a potential Outback customer who finds the Subaru Love too trite? Perhaps it’s the Volvo customer intending to save some money. Also in question (to my mind) is the future longevity of any Opel-Buick vehicle, after GM’s Opel sale earlier this year. Formulate some opinions down in the comments, but for now, it’s time to move on to the second competitor.
Jaguar thinks North Americans need more choice in the luxury wagon segment, and is launching a new XF Sportbrake for 2018. While the XF has existed in wagon format for Euro markets previously, this will be the first wagon XF on our shores. Worth noting, this will be the very first wagon in Jaguar’s roster since the wildly unpopular (and now rare) X-Type wagon, which was available from 2005 to 2008. That model sold a massive 1,602 units.
Pricing has been set at $70,000 for launch versions in S trim level, featuring standard all-wheel drive. That luxury price tag puts the XF Sportbrake up against two brands which have long provided expensive wagons. The new Volvo V90 CC is larger than the Jaguar and a bit less expensive, starting at $55,300. The Mercedes E-Class wagon has spent decades transporting conservatively upscale, well-heeled owners, and the current E400 4MATIC estate rings in at $62,300.
Looking at the competition leaves me with some questions about XF’s customer. Are there people who desire to forego the safe, stylish Scandinavian, or give up the three-pointed star and upscale image of the Mercedes? Does Jaguar have adequate prestige or desirability to steal sales from luxury wagon stalwarts, when their last wagon was a leather-coated Ford Mondeo?
Will either of these new wagons make a dent against competitors, or stick around in North America for more than a couple of years? Surely some of you can provide some wago-pinions.
[Images: General Motors, Jaguar-Land Rover, Daimler AG, The Truth About Cars]
They’ll sell dozens of them! Dozens!!
Who knows? The Buick might have some Peugeot euro-chic that is unknown to us unsophisticated Americans. A few, and I mean very few might switch from Subaru to Buick. The Volvo drivers won’t give Buick the time of day. The Volvo owners have a very different buying/customer service experience. “Ole Billy” the GM four-square salesman and “Jim Bob” your muffler bearings need replaced service writer are hassles they don’t want.
Billy Four-Square in sales and Bearing Bob in service.
Trademark that.
And John “Green”….the Finance Manager
The Buick is a looker, no doubt about it.
As to their success? I hope so, if for nothing else but they’re interesting. But, I predict a modest success at best.
I’ve seen the Opel version around and, honestly, I’m very impressed. Opel has build a lot of crap cars from the 90s onwards – with Lopez basically destroying the company back then with cost savings. But these new Insignia models look really sharp and they feel like quality cars. Can they break 25+ years of prejudice? Not sure. But I wish them well.
As an EV it would have a lot of interest. As a nearly obsolete ICE, it’s just a niche retrowagon.
I saw one of them new fangled V90s and screamed like a little girl
A $55K wagon is a statement
Think ladies who have a 10 AM Plates class.
How about 10 am yoga and too much time on their hands?
(wink, wink, nudge, nudge – say no more.)
I used to take my son to a preschool in an irritating “upscale” neighborhood. The mummies in their standard uniforms (exercise clothes and Hunter rubber boots, a vest if it’s cold) had a flavor for one car: GMC Denali, white. Sometimes an XL, but always a Denali and it MUST be white.
They would not accept a small Buick wagon as a replacement. These have no cachet and will not be a replacement for a status symbol.
I like wagons, I’ve had several and I was born in the back of a Century wagon, but I don’t see a future for them. Nobody will buy these things, they’ll sit on the lots until they get cheap enough for the opportunistic buyers. The manufacturers who signed off on these will get flogged and the models will get dropped before they ever get a refresh. Enjoy these while they last, especially that Buick because we’re only going to get one generation of it.
I have owned and did not like a CUV, but since nobody wants a minivan these dumb things are here to stay.
When I was a kid it was white station wagons with simulated wood-grain paneling (mostly LTD Country Squires).
When I was old enough to have kids of my own it changed to Euro-trash, mostly Mercedes-Benz 300 TDs and TEs and Volvos, with an occasional Peugeot or BMW 5-series. Then along came the Ford Explorer.
It is still a 55K 4cyl car
Nice interior on the V90 that C&D just reviewed. But that is luxury German car prices when the Buick Regal TourX will steal it’s cake for almost half the price after discounts.
I drove a V90 (yeah, CC) over the weekend. Nice ride. And I don’t like black cars, but that thing in black looks badass.
I think the Buick (if they ever get their website working – it’s totally FUBARED for me) will substitute for a lot of Legacy GT/Outback 3.6R owners who are tired of Subaru not updating anything.. If I understand correctly: 260 hp / 300 lb-ft, AWD, wagon for around $32k – that’s what my LGT stickered at in ’05.
And after normc32 gets done with it, 400 hp, 600 lb-ft and 80 mpg or something :-)
Being a Buick, it will only depreciate .0000374% a year. According to our Buick expert. :)
With a Trifecta tune, it’ll be up in Hellcat/Demon territory!
I’ll look at it.
The TourX has the same cargo dimensions as my 2004 Saab SportCombi. I still have a set of snow tires for it as none of the early Saab’s had AWD u til the end. The Envision Premium has more features for less on a couple of years old one. Plus you don’t have to bend down to get in, just slide right onto the seat.
As a recent wagon owner. I have a few thoughts. First, having replaced the CTS Wagon with a sedan, I have to say that I don’t miss the wagon cargo area at all. The CTS sacrificed space for style resulting in a cargo area that was more of a trapezoidal solid than a cubic solid space. Second, the exposed nature of the cargo area (shared with all CUVs) is a negative. The cargo shade helps, but it also means that one can’t carry concealed cargo that is larger than the covered space. When I rent vehicles I always decline CUVs because the shade is never included meaning that, if I arrive early in the morning, I have no place to hide my luggage out of sight. In my vehicles I tend to carry a bag that has stuff like Invisible Glass, detailer, microfiber cloths, gloves, a tarp, extra flashlights, etc. In the CTS, there was no place to stash these items out of sight. A proper trunk has a lot of advantages.
The main advantage of a car over a CUV is driving dynamics and I have found this to be the number one argument in their favor. It comes down to the execution. I have no doubt that the Jaguar will be a great wagon from this perspective.
Finally, my need for a wagon diminished greatly when we acquired a Tacoma as a second vehicle. It is *far* more capable than a wagon for serious hauling.
Would I buy another wagon? It would require a set of circumstances that I don’t, at present, foresee. The lease on my Tacoma is up in 10 months. I’m not sure what I want to do next. Lately, the thought of a minivan has lodged itself in my head. We will see. Unless we have a need to return to being a one-car family, I don’t see having a wagon or CUV in our future.
The CTS wagon was more of a hatch than wagon. Especially compared to the Saab 9-5 which is much bigger than the CTS.
The Regal TourX looks, darn I say, good? It might have enough black plastic around the wheel arches to fool people into thinking its a lowered CUV. I can’t figure out Buick’s customers I assume they all died already so how its going to sell is anyone guess.
Traditionally Volvo has done well with wagons so its version should be OK, same with MB. Will they fly off the lots? Not likely but they will find buyers. Have they released sales targets for this models, that could be interesting to gauge how the market reacts. I’ll take the under. Now Jaguar? Flop guaranteed here.
Will be a niche product, but that’s OK.
Also in question (to my mind) is the future longevity of any Opel-Buick vehicle, after GM’s Opel sale earlier this year.
Yup it gives me pause. Is this going to be a unicorn? Platform built for X number of years and then GM moves on building nothing else on this platform?
That would be my concern also. I don’t want my ride stuck in the shop for a couple weeks because they need to order some stupid part on a low-volume vehicle to be ordered from another company in Europe. (Don’t GM’s US Holden re-badges have this issue?)
It can’t sell less than a Saturn Astra, and I’m still not having any trouble finding parts 8 years later.
I’m sure it’s great for your resale though.
It’s built on the same E2XX platform as the Malibu, so even if the TourX only lasts one generation, there should be replacement parts available for most of the non-wagon-specific components.
The TourX and Sportback are built Malibu platform as gomez has mentioned. That Malibu 2.0T is the one that can best the old Accord V6 and new Accord 2.0T in MT figure-8 test, braking and fuel economy. GM did a very good job in making it competitve in 2016 to find out a 2018 Accord can barely match it.
Buick buyer now have an interesting dilemma that will truly decide if wagons will sell in the US: will they buy the Chinese built $35k front wheel drive 4 cylinder Envision, OR will they buy the German built $30k all wheel drive turbo Regal TourX. How strong is that CUV desire?
It seems people care less about where a vehicle is made than how it drives. And it seems they care less about how it drives than just about everything else other than where it’s made.
Ignoring the country of manufacture, there is a $5k difference in base price and a huge difference in the drivetrain. Will buyers pay more for the inferior drivetrain because of the body style?
Apples to oranges, but people buy four-cylinder Dodge Journeys when the same money will get them into a Grand Caravan. I doubt the Regal will register at all to anyone walking in to look at an Envision.
Probably. Most people shopping in this category want SUVs.
Jkross, that theory wod back up the reason Mazda doesn’t sell, right?
Or one reason the Outback sells but is slow with very numb handling.
When the TourX makes it debut with more luxury, better and quieter ride than the Subau, the longer warranty will be icing on the cake.
I like the idea of the TourX and will probably look at one to replace my Sportwagen. It’s a beautiful car, except for the friggin’ fender flares.
However, GM selling Opel seems like a bad idea for long term owners that might want to find parts in 5-10 years. Of course, maybe by then PSA will be in the U.S. and it won’t matter.
I desperately want a reliable, manual station wagon – I guess waiting for VW to become reliable is my only hope.
How many decades have you got?
If you get a 2018, you’ll at least get the B2B 6 year/72k warranty.
http://goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/TOYOTA/CROWN_STATIONWAGON/700020042230170927001/index.html
Seeing that VW has to put a bunch of cash on the hood of every GSW and Golf Alltrack, I don’t think wagons are here to stay.
Huh? When I looked at my local dealership a few months ago, all they had were fully loaded ones and they wouldn’t budge at all on price. They were selling them almost as well as the regular jetta.
That was then, because some of the other forums I visit are people mentioning $5-6k off Alltracks. Base model S for transaction $21k 6MT before TTL. I looked at my local VW dealer website and those discounts are confirmed. I’ve bought from this chain of dealers before and what they put on their website is legit.
Dang, you are right. Just checked and they got 5k on the hood. Maybe I need to snatch one up, LOL.
I was chatting with a guy who sells Volkswagens the other day. He mentioned that the Alltracks are basically lot rocks, at least in our area. He said they can’t move them even with fat cash on the hood.
As I said with the Encore, you will be pleasantly surprised at how well a midsize Buick wagon sells, especially here in Florida.
I was in Tampa all last week, and really didn’t see many Encores at all!
You must’ve been in Seminole Heights or SOHO or some hipster area of Tampa.
I was not near the murder!
I was downtown and on I275 a lot, as well as in St Pete / Beach.
…and you couldn’t take a 25 minute detour North to Palm Harbor so you could drive a T-Type Electra…tsktsk
I didn’t realize how close you were, or I’d have driven my Accent over there. I was driving all over, went all the way down to Siesta Key.
Something tells me TourX will not meet with the Encore’s level of sales success. Not even close.
If finances allow I will definitely be checking out that Buick. Looks very well done. Will see ground clearance as well but could be a great and comfy ski, snow, camp car without looking moronic like the outback. And with turbo power at elevation, also nice.
But at best Buick might be pleasantly surprised with sales. Meaning not a total bust.
I kinda agree on jaguar being a tough sell. In that price area I think Mercedes and Volvo rule.
Should have brought the Commodore wagon over RWD, 6.2L 6-spd manual, for less than 50k.
BTW Chevrolet is doing a 20% off sale on certain VINs of the SS.
Yes, they need more discontinued models nobody wants. That will fix everything.
Seeing as half the Chevy dealerships don’t even know about it, it seems lack of advertising is what done it in. You should try it before acting like you know the product.
A couple of thoughts.
The new Regal wagon cant possibly sell worse than the Regal preceding it. So, from that vantage point it might very well br a success.
I am a Buick fan, evidenced by the Lacrosse in my garage. I owned, albeit a long time ago, a Subaru and gladly own and drive a Buick instead of a Subaru.
If rhe drone Subaru buyer would be willing to walk into a Buick store they may find the Regal to be a quiet pleasant place to spend their time.
Oh, and as mentioned above, I know of more four square Steves at Subaru stores than I do at Buick/GMC stores. Subaru dealers dont make any front end gross profit per se. If you want to remain open you had better hammer people in f and i, which is what the big Subie stores do.
That and Buick needs to have commercials with dogs….lots of dogs.
Yes. GM however has decided to go with the worst ad agency they can find and will have some yoyo asking a group of people who never valet park their subaru wagon to sit in this new Buick regal X.
The only group that will not have a clue as to how to market this car successfully will, coincidentally, be the one group that is getting paid to.
I don’t see many traditional commercials for the TourX as just a picture will be enough to see the Regal has changed. Maybe an outdoor scene and a trip to the local hardware store would prove the wagon in its environment.
Don’t see much sales volume for either of these, but will likely be driven by attractive women.
Isn’t the mythology that women like riding in jacked up vehicles to see traffic?
I think that’s pretty much true, and you do see a lot of nice senoritas in Escalades and Land Rovers but the cool girls will like these.
Just my guess though.
I’m squarely in the target demo for a lux/near lux station wagon – one kid, dual-income, car enthusiast, inveterate camper/road-tripper, and our MKVI GTI 4-door was starting to feel cramped. Yet when we bought a car this past month, after cross-shopping a stupidly large number of vehicles, we wound up in a CX-5. If the Regal TourX was available, that’s almost certainly what we would have gone with. And while my views are admittedly skewed from residing in the NYC bubble, I’d still suggest there’s be a sizable market for it. Here’s why:
(Pre-emptive Tl:dr – if you’re naturally a V60 or Allroad consumer but want more space than the Volvo and you’re too cheap for the Audi, the TourX might be for you. If you’re more of a Subaru or VW Alltrack type but want a better interior and an engine that can briefly let you pretend you haven’t sold your beloved GTI for a family car, the TourX might be for you. Taken together, I think this could be a lot of people.)
Subaru – Hard pass for anyone looking for lux/near lux. Even the fully loaded interiors look, sound and (especially) feel cheap, even compared to a 3 year old GTI nevermind the natural competiton.
Volvo – Love the interior and safety, but the V60 doesn’t offer a meaningful step up in cargo space from a 4-door hatch. The V90, while absolutely gorgeous, is huge. Granted, this may not matter in the suburbs, but once size stops being an issue then the Jag and Merc start being competition. Plus, it’s a serious price jump.
BMW/Audi – The Sportwagen/Allroad are real competitors. The only reason we passed is because we are, to paraphrase Corey, “… the [BMW/Audi] customer intending to save some money”. A V60 can be nicely optioned and out the door for well under $45k. An Allroad isn’t leaving the lot (in my area) for less than $50 if you want to match the Volvo’s (or even a loaded CX-5’s) features, the Bimmer is the same story (spoke to dealers for both brands – they have limited inventory for these models and they’re relatively hot cars in the region, so minimal price negotiation).
VW Alltrack/Sportwagen – Also real competitors, though from the other end of the price spectrum. Compared to the TourX, the interiors do not impress (judging by TourX pictures) and they’re dramatically under-powered. That said, the interiors aren’t bad, and the size is right.
So we wound up in a loaded CX-5 because it’s shockingly well-appointed and sturdily built (initial impressions, we’ll see if that lasts), very reasonably priced, safe, and has great cargo room. My suspicion is checking those boxes is important to a bunch of young families with reasonable income who also are tightwads. The Buick, as best I can tell, nails it, with more power and hopefully more car-like driving feel than the CX-5/CUVs broadly.
thanks for this write-up, clearance. did you end up ordering your CX-5 with AWD?
Nick – Yes, although not by choice. FWD was my preference due to lower cost and better MPG, but no dealer within 250 miles of NYC had FWD models in stock, and my local dealership was much more accommodating on price if we took something in inventory. They had an AWD CX-5 with the exact colors and options we wanted, so after I pushed fairly hard, we took that one for a very good price.
A sportwagen is dramatically underpowered compared to a CX-5?
They have about the same power and torque (although over a much wider RPM band for the VW), and the sportwagen weighs probably 800 pounds less.
Fordson – Sorry, I wasn’t clear. Neither vehicle is strongly motivated. That said, the CX-5 interior is, we felt, a step above. Between me, my folks, and my siblings, we’ve owned 6 Mazdas over the past 15 years, and I’ve gnereally been lukewarm on the interiors. But the CX-5 (and Cx-9) interiors are nearly not recognizable as Mazdas – the redesign is amazing. Because the Audi and Mazda dealership were down the road from each other, we test drove the Allroad immediately before the Mazda. My wife preferred the Mazda interior (said the Audi virtual cockpit was distracting/annoying) – while I wouldn’t go that far, in person the luxury/quality gap between the two is remarkably small (again, these are early impressions).
It is crazy what these economy cuv’s are inching up into the mid-$30’s when you can get a similar sized CX-5, the Buick Envision Premium l for low $30’s. Standard twin clutch AWD and more powerful (I think most are more powerful than Mazda these days) 2.0T that gets better fuel economy than a CX-5 AWD too.
…if they hasten the 6 wagon’s sojourn to these shores, i won’t complain…
The wagon this is based on looks pretty similar in some angles to the 6 wagon.
With luck wagons will be what Volvos and SAABs were in the 70s. Cars for well off (not necessarily rich; they’ll get a BMW or Mercedes) people “in the know” who think an SUV is gauche.
Buick really needs to get rid of those black plastic wheel arches. They are completely out of place on that car and spoil its otherwise good looks. Stop trying to ape the Outback.
Yeah, am hoping they’re optional. But they’d be stupid not to ape the Outback; it sells – with a “CUV premium”.
Volvo sells several times as many V90 XCs with the plastic as it does plain V90s without it.
Isn’t the V90 a special order only car?
Yes, the regular V90 is a special order. But the V90 CC has an option to make the cladding color-match, effectively deleting it anyway.
Yes, the grayed plastic arches look cheap and like an Outback. After looking at the new Acadia you had to go to Denali trim level to get it painted. Maybe the TourX Premium or Avenir will be painted also.
If I could have made the numbers work, I would have had a VW Alltrack 6 weeks ago. As it is, we’ll wait till the unloved ’16 CRV lease is up and get a VW then. I just looked at Buick’s website and it doesn’t give much detail except that you need the mid level trim to get a sunroof and top level trim for leather seats…which means big money.
I don’t trust GM for one minute to not let this become an orphan. If I ever hit it big, I’d love to get the Volvo…did the “build it yourself” option on the website and built a black and amber V90 to emulate my ’96 V90 in black and taupe.
I’m a wagon fan, widh there were more of them out there. The Jag looks like a lot of money to me, I wonder if it’ll scavenge Range Rover sales instead of getting conquests from other brands. We shall see.
The Regal wagon looks like it could be the Impreza 5-dr’s big brother from a visual design point of view… and I mean that in a good way.
Main problem I see with the Buick is buying one requires going to a Buick dealership. A perfectly fine place to buy a GMC truck or SUV mind you, but will the conquest Outback and XC70 customers really want to deal with the guy who is pushing circa 1978 sleazy sales tactics?
A Buick store is not a Hyundai store.
Billy 4 Square and Bearing Bob; all day, everyday. Well, service is closed on Sundays.
Those salesman are still being fostered in the GM dealerships, unfortunately. We have one in an older, we’ll established part of town that won’t even go to for free oil change service. Luckily there are 3-5 morr Buick-GMC stores within 13-15 minutes. There are probably more than 50 of them in Ohio alone.
Not sure what the target demographic for Buick is but I ordered weeks ago and my TourX and it is being built this week or next.
I have 2 young kids that have outgrown the backseat of my 2006 Acura TL. I drove a lot of sedans and SUVs during my search and never liked the way the SUVs drove or the elevated seating position. Sedans always felt cramped with the exception of full-size options like the Impala, Avalon, Chevy SS, Lexus ES. But I ruled those out based on interior or exterior aesthetics or price. In short, I wanted something with sedan-like handling with the room of an SUV.
The Audi Allroad was over my budget new and a CPO model did not seem to be a value plus the rear legroom is too small. Subaru seemed to be my only viable option but I won’t buy a CVT. Until the Buick came along I was going to get a 2018 Camry XSE V6 but the insulting disrespectful 4-square sales staff at mentioned in previous posts I ran into at 4 dealers removed that from consideration.
Admittedly car enthusiasts are a pretty small demographic. I look forward to having the extra space for camping, kayaking, fishing, home projects, kids athletics gear. As for Buick and their reputation as the vehicle for those over 60, I could care less what others think. It is the car that meets my needs/wants and budget. In my opinion it looks good and based on reviews of the Insignia Country Tourer likely drives well.
I wish we got the sports tourer version without the cladding and with the V6, dash, and V6 from the Regal GS but no car is perfect.
Ha. You pretty much nail the consumer I theorized would buy a TourX in my comment above (i.e., me).
Let us know about it. When are you supposed to take possession?
Delivery date is still uncertain. GMs order tracking system requires a dealer track the order number. The update I got on October 10 was showing a target production week of November 6. I would estimate a month from build to delivery but that is a guess. All o know for sure is it takes 2 week for the ship to transit the Atlantic. Time from build to Port, loading onto the ship, offload, shipping to dealer are all unknown.
A friend is in contact with a local dealer who had one built the first week of October and they expected it to arrive early November. Their regional GM rep told them it was pushed to an early December delivery. The reason given was GM holds all new models for 30 days to identify any quality issues.
So… looking at the TourX site it says models with sights and sounds package late 2017. Mine is specd with the sights and sounds package. All that said I am hoping for an early December delivery but I am prepared for it to be an Xmas gift.
I should also say GM had the TourX on their gmfamilyfirst.com employee pricing site and took it down.
If you want to get a better look at it go to the Vauxhall site and look at the country tourer. They are nearly identical in appearance. But be warned, Vauxhall gets more and better options that are not available on the TourX so if you do check it out don’t get too excited.
Also GM has the build sheets up for the Regal and TourX if you know where to look. It’s a good list of options and packages.
On youtube Autofeguhl has a really detailed review of the Insignia wagon.
Wagons… pfft. When the masses get tired of tall dorky wagons they’re not going to stampede into slightly lower dorky wagons.
My money’s on the liftback concept – aka the Sport Utility Sedan – getting a bigger slice of the market.
Imagine a commercial depicting a sleek, Audi-esque sedan carving up a mountain road with a tuxedoed James Bond at the wheel, accompanied by the obligatory Bond Girl. The car blasts by a wheezing RAV4, before screeching into a Costco parking lot where the gigantic tailgate opens skyward and a pair of employees toss a Lay-Z-Boy into the gaping trunk. Bond winks to the camera, peels out of the parking lot and passes the same wheezing RAV4 again. There you go.
The Buick is the first wagon I’ve wanted to own since VW screwed up the Passat immediately after I bought mine 13 years ago. Bummed about the transmission, but I’ve resigned myself to it as a temporary measure until the kids move out and i can get a GTI.
My wife, who’s car-indifferent but has her own idiosyncratic brand sensibilities, is very skeptical of owning a Buick, but I’m hoping test drives will sell her.
I could see the Jag poaching a handful of sales from MB shoppers looking to differentiate without going downmarket (all due respect to Volvo, but some chunk of MB owners would no more drive one than an Acura), but it’s hard to imagine it generating sales on its own. Does look sharp, which should help.
As a one time owner of a Buick/Opel I am glad to see the wagon. I really did love those Opels of old, light, good handling, economical.
It’ll surprise nobody that the $70K Jag rapidly becomes $80K and beyond once you start getting frisky with the options.
Probably so, so that means they’ll sell some well equipped ones out of the gate and then…. probably not much.
As others have mentioned, the value proposition of the TourX is strong. I was frankly flabbergasted by how low that starting price is for something with AWD and in that entry-lux/premium market segment. Cargo capacity is in line more or less with an Outback or compact CUV, but with superior driving dynamics and NVH control I assume. My wife (a car ambivalent gal if ever there was one) REALLY likes the Outback. A TourX will be worth the test drive when the time comes.
Will Eric be at the dealership?
huh?
Plus first two oil changes for free and that better warranty. If they do as good of job as they did on my 2016 Envision you are looking at one of best cars built for the price.
I’m interested in seeing what weight this comes in at as my 2004 Saab SportCombi was around 3,800 lbs with automatic and FWD. The performance should eclipse anything g from Outback and be on the heels of the V90 T6.
I hope these new wagons do succeed since more options are always welcomed, but I’m pessimistic based on current shopper preferences for CUVs. I know it’s anecdotal, but I can count the number of wagons I see on one hand during my daily commute, while the majority of vehicles seem to be CUVs, trucks, and sedans. The latter of which are still plentiful despite monthly reports of decreasing sales. I’ve never been that interested in Buicks prior to the Regal, mainly due to bland design and geriatric stigmas, but the Regals are actually attractive to me this time around. Hmmm…must be getting old.
The wagon sightings tend to be suburbs and most on the coastal cities based on my travels
TourX is not coming to Canada. I saw it in Europe in the summer, a good looking car but not a standout in Europe among many good-looking cars. But would sure stand out here as not many wagons around.