Monday, April 23, 2018

Cruising New England in the #BuickRegalTourX


I love my home in Kansas. The wide-open spaces, views that go on for miles, constant breezes, and warm people have stolen my heart. Still, after almost 20 years of living in New England, I do get homesick at times for the tree-covered mountains, rocky beaches, and antique towns of our nation’s birthplace.


So, when the Buick folks offered me a trip to Vermont to test out their new Regal Tour X, I jumped at the chance! (Check out the disclaimer below.) I would spend a few days in Woodstock (the place where people go skiing, not the home of the famous rock concert), pay a visit to friends in New Hampshire, and check out some sites in historic Concord and Boston, Massachusetts.

I stayed at the Woodstock Inn and Resort (stay tuned for a post on that terrific place). The trip was supposed to happen in March when the resort and the Regal would have looked like this:

 (Photo by TalismanPHOTO for Buick)
Unfortunately, the Nor’easters that brought all of that beautiful snow kept me from going.

By the time I got there in April, most of the snow was gone and the leaves and flowers hadn’t shown-up for spring yet. Still, Vermont was beautiful:


The car was a dream! It handled the busy streets of Boston as I navigated my way from the airport to the highway headed towards Vermont. I liked the Lane Keep Assist, which would gently steer the car back into the center of the lane if I ever drifted towards the line. It was kind of strange at first, but I got used to it. I also loved the Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert. An amber start and car icon would light up in the side mirrors if there was a car in my blind spot. Believe me, that feature came in handy changing lanes in a city like Boston!


The interior of the Regal Tour X was huge. While in Woodstock, I had just stopped in the parking lot of the local grocery store when a man came up to the car and asked if it was the new Regal. When I said yes, he asked to look inside. His reaction was, “That back seat is as big as a limo!”

The season most of us know as spring is called Mud Season in New England. It’s the price everyone pays to transition from the snowy beauty of winter to the flower-packed beauty of spring. This meant instead of testing out the Regal’s ability to drive in the snow, I got to see what it could do on muddy roads. The All-Wheel Drive kept me steady and the suspension made even the bumpiest roads a smooth trip.

Afterward, this beauty needed a bath:



If I had to pick my three favorite things about the Regal Tour X, they would be:

1. The heated steering wheel! Just think…no gloves. The steering wheel heated up almost instantly.
 
 (Photo by TalismanPHOTO for Buick)
2. The panoramic sunroof: I loved all the light it let into the car. It was cloudy for most of my stay, but when the sun did break through, there was a sunshade I could close to help keep the car from getting too hot. However, since it was cold, I just left it open. I took this photo through the roof:



3. The navigation system: The built-in Navigation system, which is part of the Buick Infotainment System panel, was easy to use. Just type in where you want to go, and it tells you what to do! In this case, it took me by the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street.



Runner-up: The Wi-Fi system. You can connect up to seven devices to the system! I logged in my phone and my laptop, both of which worked at speeds comparable to my home system. (Here is a post I did about the system if you want more info.)



If you’re in the market for this type of car, I would highly recommend the Buick Regal Tour X. I completely fell in love with the car and hated to give it back. Now it’s on my wishlist to buy…hopefully soon!


Disclaimer: The Buick people paid for my trip to Vermont and gave me the use of the Regal for my entire stay. However, the opinions in this blog post are entirely my own, and they are not paying me to make this post. All the photos are my own unless otherwise noted.