Buick’s royal family grows with the luxurious 2019 Regal Avenir

On a picturesque farm in northern Michigan, inside a converted barn that now serves as a banquet room, Bob Boniface pulled back the white sheet covering the newest addition to the Buick family and revealed a barn find like no other: the 2019 Regal Avenir.

“The Avenir trim level has been so well received that it was a natural progression for Buick to offer it on Regal,” said Boniface, Global Director of Buick Exterior Design. “We kind of look at this as the culmination of Avenir 1.0.”

The new Regal Avenir Sportback is Buick’s fourth Avenir release in less than a year. The Enclave Avenir, a mid-size luxury SUV released last fall, is outselling all other Enclave trim levels and comprises 20 percent of total Enclave sales in the U.S. The LaCrosse Avenir, a full-size luxury sedan introduced earlier this year, is selling 70-percent faster than other trim levels. Buick also offers the GL8 Avenir minivan in China.

“Avenir sales have exceeded our expectations,” said Phil Brook, vice president of Buick and GMC Marketing. “Buick customers value the exclusive styling, premium features, and convenient experience Avenir provides, and we are excited to extend that successful formula to Regal.”

Focusing on Boniface’s area of expertise, the Regal Avenir features a more dramatic look with an Avenir-exclusive three-dimensional mesh upper grille, 19-inch Pearl Nickel wheels, and Avenir script badging on the front doors. “We listen to what our customers tell us, and their No. 1 reason for purchase is exterior and interior design,” Boniface said. “It’s important not to go with trends, but stick with simple, elegant shapes. The proportions need to be right. You can’t style your way out of bad design.”

Avenir-exclusive interior features include a Whisper Beige theme with Ebony accents, diamond quilt-stitched front seats, embroidered front headrests, and Avenir-scripted sill plates. (An Ebony interior theme is also available on Avenir models.) The Regal Avenir Sportback has ample cargo space, as well as tri-foldable 40-20-40 rear seats.

Foremost among the technology and convenience features is the debut of Buick’s first cloud-connected Infotainment System, which enables embedded apps like Pandora and enhances how customers interact with the vehicle’s features. Owners will now be able to personalize their user preferences and then take that profile with them into any compatible vehicle. Regal Avenir also possesses features that were first available on the Enclave Avenir: enhanced Evonik Acrylite exterior lighting, an ionizer, and the Rear Camera Mirror, which allows the driver a wider and clearer view of what is behind the car. It also has wireless charging, navigation, and Bose eight-speaker premium audio.

Among the safety and driver assistance technology that come standard on the Regal Avenir are rear parking assistance and cross traffic alert, a lane change/blind zone alert, LED headlamps with an auto-leveling feature, and driver-side auto-dimming mirrors.

“Technology shouldn’t slap you in the face,” Boniface said. “It is moving quickly and you have to keep up, but technology should never interfere with the vehicle. It should stay behind the scenes.”

Behind the exclusive grille of the 2019 Regal Avenir is a 250-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 260 lb-ft of torque, mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission—the same engine and configuration that can be had in lesser-equipped Regal models.

Buick said pricing for the 2019 Buick Regal Avenir will be announced early this fall when the models begin arriving at dealerships, but the target price range is hardly a secret. According to Buick, “Over the past four years, demand has risen 30 percent for midsize cars priced $30,000 to $40,000, reflecting the increasing customer demand for more luxury, convenience, and safety without compromising overall value.” The top Regal trim level currently offered is Preferred II, which carries a starting price of $29,770.