2018 Buick Regal TourX: What's the Cost of a Fill-Up?

With SUVs so popular, is there still a market for station wagons, the family haulers of yore? Buick is daring to find out with the 2018 Regal TourX, a new five-passenger wagon. When Buick redesigned the mid-size Regal line for the 2018 model year, it refined the traditional lineup with the Regal Sportback sedan and shapely TourX wagon.

Related: 2018 Buick Regal TourX: Does the Wagon Improve on the Regal’s Laggin’?

Though the TourX lacks the three-row seating of many mid-size crossovers, it comes with standard all-wheel drive, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission. It also has EPA fuel-economy estimates of 21/29/24 mpg city/highway/combined, but here’s the catch: Buick recommends premium gasoline for best performance.

And at a time when gas prices are noticeably rising again, the advantages of a wagon with the Regal TourX’s fuel economy may be worth closer investigation.

• To wit, filling the Regal TourX’s 16.3-gallon tank from empty would cost $52.16, based on the national average for premium of $3.20 for premium as posted on the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report early Thursday.
• Filling it with regular instead — and sacrificing some performance — would lower the cost to $43.68, based on the national average price of $2.68.
• Hawaii had the highest average price for regular gas Thursday at $3.55 (where premium was $3.80), followed by California at $3.53 (where premium was at $3.78). That means you’re paying $57.87 and $57.54, respectively, to fill up a Regal TourX.
• Missouri had the lowest average price for regular, $2.38, where premium averaged $2.87 — or $46.62 to fill up a TourX.

Nationally, AAA said fuel prices rose slightly the past week. Regular was up 2 cents, and premium was up a penny along with diesel, which rose to an average of $2.98. But according to GasBuddy.com, pump prices are at their highest since late July 2015 and could climb higher in the coming weeks because oil prices have been rising, as well.

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