I Bought A Thing

"bwp240" (bwp240) 08/02/2017 at 13:26 • Filed to: Goodbye Money

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Yay, I finally get to post one of these.

At the end of my farewell post to my trusty Saturn I gave a fairly obvious hint to the car that stands in its place. It is the same size, same heritage, but has a little more power.

This is a 2014 Opel Insignia OPC Buick Regal GS. It features 259 turbocharged horses from 4 explosion tubes and 6 selectable gears, unless the computer says no.

The infotainment system is very simple yet feature filled. It happens to be playing Richard Hammond’s favorite band.

The car comes with fancy gizmos and gadgets that I am not used to like push button start, remote start, back up camera, and recently air conditioning. The seats are nicely bolstered, not super hardcore like Focus ST Recaros, but definitely more support than the base Regal seats. The dash has a digital display that I can show all sorts of things from the speedometer, to the radio, and other things normal people find useless.

It’s a G-Meter, or what this call calls a friction bubble for some reason... Like what they have in Corvettes.

It came down to the Regal vs the GLI. I wasn’t expecting to come home with a Regal GS, but it met all the budget criteria and the financing worked out. It is certified pre-owned at 31,500 miles and comes with a 2 year warranty; all mine for $19,700 + interest in 48 months.

I will miss my Saturn, but as pointed out to me by a commenter here, “The Insignia is an updated Vectra so it is basically the same thing.” or as my mother put it, “It is the Saturn on steroids.” I guess I have developed an affinity for rebadged German GMs.

I look forward to the adventures with the Regal GS. I have had it for about a month and am still learning some of its quirks and features (for more of my thoughts on the quirks and features I should write an article on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). It has already made some friends and subtlety antagonized Mustangs and Civics with their silly body kits.

Maybe if I sit here quietly, they won’t notice I’m a Buick.

I lol’d, credit: Car Throttle

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 13:33

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TURBO BUICK. #NeverForget

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 13:34

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That Car Throttle meme should be more like “visiting Car throttle; the best way to show the world you know nothing about cars”.

But in all seriousness, congrats on your new Regal!

404 - User No Longer Available > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 13:38

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Now that you posted this again and I think about it a bit more...

Opel Insignia OPC Buick Regal GS

...this joke doesn’t work. Because a Regal GS really is not an Insignia OPC. Insignia has the 2.8L Turbo V6, the Regal only a paltry 2.0L 4-cylinder Turbo.

bwp240 > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 08/02/2017 at 13:38

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Ah, but I ripped it directly off Google images so I technically didn’t go to Car Throttle

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 13:41

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Noice!

BahamaTodd > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 13:41

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Nice. FWD or AWD?

The updated dash and IP is much better than the original version. Any problems with the responsiveness of the climate control temperature buttons?

Old interior for reference:

bwp240 > BahamaTodd 08/02/2017 at 13:46

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It is a FWD. Climate control buttons are a bit of a pain, but you just need to be gentle (caress them, not jab them) and they work. The only thing from the old interior I wish I had is the navigation wheel past the shifter (next to the cup holders) I thought that was neat.

Otherwise, I thought the old design interior was unnecessarily complicated.

X37.9XXS > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 13:47

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My absolute favorite Buick story

http://www.penninelandrover.co.uk/backissue019.html

And the reason I will never own one

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > BahamaTodd 08/02/2017 at 13:50

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bwp240 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 08/02/2017 at 14:03

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So many buttons

Band, Nav, Home, Wash, Rinse, Spin...

Let me just turn on the cruise control here

bwp240 > 404 - User No Longer Available 08/02/2017 at 14:06

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Stop ruining my fun with your facts haha.

It seems that whenever GM “imports” these designs they take an older version or leave out some of the parts. The 2.8 probably would make this faster than the V6 Camaro and GM can’t have that....

404 - User No Longer Available > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 14:13

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Think back then they also had to deal with the 9-3 XWD, even though it was on its way out. That was the other difference, OPC was AWD only.

Arrivederci > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 14:36

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Congrats! Those are great cars and killer deals on the pre-owned market.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 14:40

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The old Insignia is very heavy though.

BahamaTodd > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 14:41

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The GS weighs over 3700 lbs. The OPC weighs 4000 lbs. It runs mid-high 5s 0-60 and low 14s in the 1/4. Your GS runs low 6s and low 15s.

A V6 Camaro is only 3500 lbs, runs low 5s and mid 13s.

The US lucked out with the next gen Regal though. We get a 310hp V6 and Europe is stuck with the 260 turbo 4cyl. The new GS is at the top of my shopping list.

camarov6rs > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 17:50

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Appearently I’m old, what’s the back seat and mpg like? I really want to like these on the used market but the back needs to swallow 2 car seats and get mileage that won’t equal insurance payment to make the wife happy.

bwp240 > camarov6rs 08/02/2017 at 18:56

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Well then, I may not have the greatest news for you. The Regal recommends premium fuel, but it can run on 87. I am currently testing the MPG performance and will have those results after this tank. So far I have run 89 and 87. 89 got me about 23 MPG Average; 87 got me a 19.8 MPG Average; however, my 89 tank had a lot more highway miles. The biggest difference is the car is much more sluggish on 87 because it changes the ignition timing.

For you back seat needs it might be a bit cramped for car seats. On the test drive my dad (6'4") road in back and he was reasonably comfortable. This pic has my back pack filled with a standard amount of things. The basket on the floor is ~8" in diameter.

camarov6rs > bwp240 08/02/2017 at 22:04

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The back seat might work but the mpg will make the wife run the other way...oh well. They are a terrific deal on the used market, good job finding one!

bwp240 > camarov6rs 08/03/2017 at 10:26

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yeah, it is rated 21/29 by EPA which for a turbo 4 is kind of crap. I just wanted something more efficient than my Saturn and this is, barely haha.