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Reatta. At Buick they`re hoping it spells relief.

The new Riviera that bowed in 1986 angered Buick loyalists for beingtoo small and bland. The new Regal now appearing in 1988 hasn`t gotten off to a fast start, either, in part because some complain the engine is too small.

The Reatta that could turn Buick`s fortunes around is based on ashortened, even smaller version of the Riviera. And it`s powered by the morepowerful 165-horsepower 3800 version of the 150-horsepower, 3.8-liter V-6 thatconsumers wanted but didn`t get in the Regal (powered by a 2.8-liter V-6).

Reatta (Ree-ah-tuh) is the new two-passenger front-wheel-drive luxurycoupe that went on sale last week with a $25,000 price tag.

Styling is clean and simple and a little like a Mazda RX-7. Headlampsare concealed. The vertical grille in the air dam under the hood looks a bitlike it was borrowed from an old Corvette Stingray. Wide body side moldingsprotect the metal and look attractive. Exterior colors are limited to red,white, black, blue and silver.

You have to understand what Reatta isn`t to fully appreciate it. It`snot a sports car, but a luxury coupe.

As we`ve pointed out in previous columns, Reatta started out to be apure performance sports car, but the decision was made to soften thesuspension and smooth out the ride. You can`t clock zero-to-60 miles an hourin 6 seconds, but in the roughly 9 to 10 seconds it does take there`s not the harsh ride and handling usually associated with an all-out sports machine.

Jim Krause, Buick`s Chicago zone manager, summed it up.

“It`s not a hot rod; it`s not a door buster; it`s not a rocketship;it`s not a car for a family with three kids.“

And it`s not intimidating. Reatta`s V-6 is teamed only with 4-speedautomatic. It`s quick, but don`t expect to be slammed back into the bucketseats when taking off from the light. Rather, you`ll find yourself able toscoot into the passing lane and quickly overtake the car ahead of you atcruising speed.

One annoyance is that the 3800 engine is a bit loud at initialacceleration.

The V-6 is rated at 19 miles per gallon city/29 m.p.g. highway.

Reatta has fast ratio power steering and independent four-wheel touring suspension. Ride, handling and cornering are crisp and precise, but not to thepoint where you direct the machine with one finger on the wheel.

Buick was obsessed that you not sit an inch off the pavement in thistwo-seater and need aerobics to limber up enough to enter or exit. With thepower seats there`s no worry. The best feature is the push button that extendsa bolster for lower thigh support. Reatta is comfortable; long trips aren`ttiring.

Built on a 98.5-inch wheelbase, and 182.8 inches long overall, itappears roomier inside than the slightly larger and more costly $56,000Cadillac Allante. Cargo area behind the seats holds three to four grocery bagsor lu ggage for two for an extended trip. A pass-through door in back opens to the trunk to allow you to carry golf clubs or skis.

Reatta offers antilock brakes as standard, to prevent wheel lockup in a panic stop regardless of road conditions. We had the opportunity to testReatta`s brakes after a snowfall and several times applied the binders onpacked snow and slush. Each time, at a variety of speeds, Reatta stopped in a straight line without wavering.

Of note, however, is the fact that the brake system relies on computersensors to pump the brakes rapidly and evenly, to prevent wheel spin. On most cars with antilock brakes you hear and feel a little brake chatter from thepumping action. With Reatta there was considerable chatter.

It`s clear from the standard equipment that Reatta`s focus is onluxury: power brakes-steering-windows-seats-door locks, air conditioning, AM- FM stereo with cassette, lighted visor vanity mirrors, leather-wrapped tiltsteering w heel, rear-window defogger, fog lamps, theft alarm and steel-belted radial Goodyear Eagle GT+4 all-season tires. Only options are power sunroof($895) and 16-way power seats ($680).

All body panels except the roof are two-sided galvanized metal, andfront fenders are thermo plastic, so rustproofing is unnecessary.

As a gimmick, Reatta has a driver information center, a dash-mountedscreen in which you activate controls by touching a word or symbol on the faceof the screen. The same system is offered in Riviera. It works best at startupfor a quick check on whether major systems, such as engine, oil and filter,and brakes, are okay.

Like the talking car, beauty is in the patience of the beholder. Theinfo center houses abundant data but you need to reach over to touch thecorrect symbol on the screen to turn on or off the appropriate system, andthat means taking eyes off the road.

The system also allows you to punch in a variety of reminders that will be called up on the screen each day, week, month or year. If you want toremind yourself that the car payment is due, press the symbols and every firstMonday of the month the screen will light up and tell you to put the check in the mail.

As a subtle protest against computers, we programmed in a message forthe next motorist who gets this Reatta. Every Monday morning at 8 a.m. for ayear the motorist will be advised on the computer screen: “Your fly isopen.“ There weren`t enough message characters to give equal time to women.

In addition to the overly chattery brake system and too loud V-6 atacceleration, Buick needs to eliminate some problems. One is the size of theroof A-pillars on each side of the windshield, which are far too large andcause a bit of a blind spot.

Perhaps that size is needed for when Reatta adds a convertible in 1989and a removable hardtop roof version later. For now, it`s a nuisance.

And how about a cupholder in the center console along with an ashtraythat isn`t buried under the armrest?

As we said, Reatta is priced at $25,000. For a year Buick has beentelling folks the car would sell in the $25,000 to $30,000 range, which atGeneral Motors Corp. typically means $29,999.

At $30,000 the car would have been Buick`s nicest machine sittingunsold in dealer inventory. Buick learned a lesson from Cadillac and it`s$56,000 Allante, which is the highest priced car sitting unsold in Cadillacinventory.

By pricing Reatta at $25,000, the car appears a bargain-$5,000 cheaperthan what it could have been-though our opinion is that $20,000 would havebeen even better. About the only person who must not be too pleased withReatta`s price is Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca. He must now price his rivaltwo-seater Chrysler TC by Maserati under the Reatta.

Reatta carries a special 48-month/50,000-mile warranty that includescar rental, towing and road-service expense coverage. Th e normal 6-year/60,000mile warranty applies to the powertrain.

Krause said Chicagoland is Buick`s largest zone and will get a greaterallotment of Reattas than the rest of the country. However, only about 15 ofthe 128 Chicagoland Buick dealers have the car, and it could take six monthsfor all to get one of the limited edition (3,000 this year, 7,000 next)number. If that translates to consumers paying full sticker plus a premium,perhaps the Riviera will have some company gathering dust on the lots.