Buick hits the bullseye with sporty Regal GS

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento Bee’s website – www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

Sacramento, California -- I figured that the man in the parking lot knew cars, evidenced by the exquisitely preserved 1960s-vintage Corvette he was driving.

He strolled on over to my ride and, unprompted, offered: "Looks like Buick has a winner."

Nowadays, you don't hear that too often.  But alas, I had to agree with him.  The exquisitely styled, new-for-2018 Buick Regal GS with all-wheel drive certainly checked all the customer-pleasing boxes in my week with the vehicle.

My Regal GS was particularly stunning in bright-as-the-sun "Sport Red" paint.  Inside, the red was set off perfectly with ebony touches and accents.  Yup, it looks good.

It drives good as well, with a 3.6-liter V-6 engine easily handling all challenges thrown at it.  The 310-horsepower power plant generates OK gas mileage at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.

Simply said, this is a premium sport sedan that lives up to that fun-to-drive label.

An impressive list of standard features can be had for the starting price $39,065.  My ride was seriously dressed up with extras that included a premium Bose sound system, a strong infotainment system (with navigation), adaptive cruise control and a power moonroof.

Those options pushed the price on the tester to a hefty $44,110.

Have to say that it felt good to drive an American-made car (with a long-standing history) drawing so many thumbs-up signs and nods of approval from passersby.

I was not a fan of the start/stop technology, which was abrupt and jarring.  I get the point of conservation, but my nerves were jangled by the hard shutdowns, which resembled stalling.

Buick has positioned this Regal GS to compete with the equivalent Audis, BMWs and others on the roadways, and it does that quite well.  It offers a large dose of luxury for a comparatively affordable price -- a tough niche in which to compete.

Are there plenty of luxury-loving motorists out there who also love a big spoonful of performance in an American-made, daily-driver sedan?  My guess: absolutely.