Repair-It

At the test track the Buick leads our group in just about all of our instrumented tests. The Regal TourX hits 60 mph from a standstill in 6.3 seconds and blows through the quarter mile in 14.7 seconds at 94.7 mph. Its 60–0 result of 118 feet is just a foot longer than the Volkswagen, but the Regal makes things up on the figure eight with a test-best lap of 26.2 seconds at 0.69 g average. The Regal’s EPA rating of 21/29/24 mpg is impressive, too, considering the numbers it put down at the track, but it might be a touch optimistic; in our testing we achieved 18.2/32.3/22.6 Real MPG.

We all liked the Golf Alltrack’s design both in and out, and we enjoyed its sporty handling, but it was seriously held back by a lack of power and poor ride quality. The VW is a compelling little car—it’s good enough to overcome one major flaw but not multiple, which relegates it to third place.

It was a photo finish for first place, but in the end the Subaru Outback just lost out, settling for second. If you need your wagon to do it all, the Outback is the ultimate jack-of-all-trades, but the compromises needed to help it do it all make it less enjoyable to drive on the road.

That leaves the Buick Regal TourX earning the gold medal. It’s close, but the Regal provides most of the capability of the Outback, in a more attractive and more efficient package, and it’s nicer to drive. One unlucky deer might have derailed our initial plans, but I think it’s safe to say that if we had to retrace the California Trail again, we’d be doing it in a Buick Regal TourX.