Regency 250 LE3 Review

Arguably the most popular pontoon boat in Regency’s lineup, the 250 LE3 is a high quality, high-class boat with a lot of great features

What Is it

Also available in the Regency 250 LE3 sport edition that has a handful of minor differences, the Regency 250 LE3 is a solid merging of luxury, comfort and practical features. Featuring 2 or 3 pontoons, lifting strakes and the capacity to hit those speeds that can ensure a fun time tubing or water skiing, the LE3 is a great boat for entertaining friends or hitting the water with family. 

Regency is one of the more upscale but still not impractical to buy models on the market and they present a great deal to customers. You’ll notice the list of features below which represent some of the cherry picked items on the full feature list. None of these are options on the Regency 250 LE3, these all come standard. There are a handful of options available including a battery upgrade, a trailer and premium colors but that’s it. Those are small incidentals while Regency goes ahead and ensures all of the practical and important stuff is there from the jump. A lot of other manufacturers will flip this model and present a bare bones basic package and then drown you in potential options. That can get confusing, time consuming and very expensive. So a point in Regency’s favor for doing the leg work and just making a good boat with some great features as standard. 

With a 250 hp Mercury Verado outboard motor, though you can scale it back to 300 hp or even 250 for some reason, it offers decent power and performance as well. Given that the price difference between the 250 hp and the 250 hp is about $4,000, I wouldn’t say it’s worth it to skimp on power, though. This is a good-sized boat and if you’re already this deep into it, may as well get the best engine they offer.

Key Features

Regency’s 250 LE3 has a number of noteworthy features and options. These are some of the most notable ones.

• 10+LIFE™ Limited Lifetime Warranty. That means 10-year bow to stern for factory workmanship and materials including live wells, electrical, plum,bing, furniture, the whole deal. It also covers pontoon logs, motor pod and structural elements for the life of the boat. This is the same warranty that covers Sun Tracker and other pontoons made by the same company just under different names
• Pressure treated deck with a limited lifetime warranty
• 10’ Bimini top with power up and down arm LED courtesy lights and protective boot.
• Diamond Coat powder coating to ensure easy cleaning of Bimini top
• Snapless mooring cover
• Stainless steel gate latches
• Console featuring the Medallion Viper III touch digital dash
• Forward integrated armrest for bow starboard couch & backlit chrome decal accents
• Flip out console storage compartment
• Power assisted tilt-hydraulic steering
• Viper III complete stereo package and remote
• Stow More storage system with hold-open hatch springs
• Ultra comfortable pillow-top lounges that are foam-wrapped with moisture barriers
• Wraparound bow port lounge
• Lighted drink holders and lockable storage compartments throughout
• Oversized, adjustable, reclining and swiveling captain and co-captain chairs with lift-assist, self-leveling arms and ventilated storage pouch on back
• Full width aft swim deck
• Ski tow pylon
• Port wheelchair access
• Lighted, removable table
• LED navigation and docking lights
• USB ports integrated into molded-in drink holders
• 6-amp on-board battery charger
• 1 Interstate® cranking battery and 1 house battery with mounting trays
• Sound and vibration insulation on fences

Specs 

• 27’5” in length
• 8’6” beam
• Maximum passenger capacity of 14 people or 1,950 lbs
• Maximum capacity people/gear/etc of 3,000 lbs
• Dry weight of 3,640 lbs
• Max recommended horsepower of 350 hp
• 52 gallon fuel capacity

Pros

• You get a smooth ride out of the Regency 250 LE3 thanks to some of the insulation and vibration-limiting features that hold everything in check.
• The lighting throughout is a great feature that looks slick and makes the boat seem a bit like a nightclub when the lights start growing dim. It’s a small touch but a nice one.
• The seating in the Regency LE3 is super comfortable and there’s also plenty of it. The upholstery feels really plush and you could arguably stretch out on one of those lounges and just take a nap
• Lots of storage room for your gear and a good-sized swim platform mean you can plan for a number of different activities and have room to accommodate it all
• The table and the tow pylon are removable which also gives you the opportunity to customize your trips out on the water.

Cons

• Not every Regency owner reports this but I’ve heard from some that if something does go wrong, Regency customer service may not always be that great about handling it. Some of the repair issues may be handled through dealers and we’ve seen in other instances as well as with Regency that not all dealers are well-trained in the specifics of the brand so the repair times can be slow, or mishandled, and communication can be lacking.
• While there is an upside to having so many features come standard, the flip side is that you don’t have many options for personalizing your boat at all. You can get extras but these will likely come from your dealer or aftermarkets which makes the process a little longer and harder to cost from the moment of purchase.
• You can certainly use this as a fishing boat, I’d argue any boat can be a fishing boat, but you’ll see that this was definitely not designed as a fishing boat at all. The lounges, while luxurious, don’t leave a lot of room for getting dirty with fish and storing rods and bait.

Price

Regency’s 250 LE3 starts at $105,995. You can go up from there as you add on extra features. 

What You Need to Know 

As a luxury pontoon, you’re getting a lot of premium features on this vessel from top to bottom. Luxury seating? Of course. But there’s even fold down cleats, a pop up changing room, padded woven flooring and tons of courtesy lights and lighting accents throughout. The plush seating options conceal ample storage like under the rear bed lounge. Like I said before, it’s like a little VIP area in a night club that you can take out on the water.

This can work for families and works well as a sporting boat, which is why there’s a sport version with the tritoons available. It can hit great speeds for tubing and skiing and even an aft camera to keep an eye on everyone when they’re back there if you’re at the wheel and can’t join in the fun.

I would say, while you can do that fun stuff, this is really more for entertaining friends and family with drinks, dinner, picnics, maybe a little swim party, that sort of thing. It’s a little more upscale than splashing around and catching catfish for sure. And let’s be honest, getting fish slime out of these nice woven floors would be a pain. 

What People Are Saying

You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t love the look of this boat from the get go. The stainless steel accents, the chrome, the digital console, everything looks top shelf and high class and that’s what nearly every walk through and review you’ll find about these boats online is going to tell you. Regency knows how to make a beautiful boat, think of it like the Lexus or the Cadillac of the water here. Does the same job as lower priced models, looks a hell of a lot better doing it.

Most people have good things to say about performance and I have to agree. The 350 engine is powerful enough to get you through the water at a good speed but I can’t say I tried it loaded with 14 passengers to know how much that’ll drag you down. With four people on board you can definitely get on a tube and cut through the water like a champ, though. 

Looks and performance aside, there have been some grumblings about customer service but that does seem to be more from the dealer interactions than directly with Regency. Part of that, however, is that it can be hard to deal directly with Regency if you have an issue, at least according to some boaters. Your mileage may vary in that regard but keep it in mind just in case

Do We Recommend It? 

It’d be hard not to recommend the Regency 250 LE3 because it checks the most important boxes for any pontoon boat that you might be interested in. It performs really well, the controls on the dash are responsive and easy and they also look slicker than anything the competition has to over. The engine is powerful and the ride is smoother than you might think even when you get it up to speed. At the same time, the boat looks absolutely incredible. I’ve reviewed nice boats before and there are not a lot that can hold a candle to what Regency has put together here. It looks great down to the smallest features, and that just makes the overall experience that much better.

A few complaints about limited options and potential customer service miscommunications aside, the price is the only real cause for consideration here as it’s a pretty big investment so I’d never suggest out of hand that this is your perfect boat. Definitely do some comparison shopping on your own, give it a test drive and compare to some related boats but, pound for pound, you won’t find too many that live up to the Regency for looks and performance. Definitely a recommended pontoon.