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New Models
DRIVEN: Verano Hits The Sweet Spot
GM finally succeeds at building a true premium compact sedan that’s loaded with luxury and drives with agility.
The Buick Verano boasts the kind of luxury aura and premium performance that has alluded GM in the compact segment. (Photo: Buick)
Ever since the ill-fated Cadillac Cimarron of 1982, General Motors has periodically sought to build a true premium compact car, with results that can best be described as mixed.
With the all-new 2012 Buick Verano, GM appears to have finally scored a bull’s eye in the luxury small-car arena, a segment that will surely gain in popularity as gas prices continue to climb.
The Verano looks like a 15/16ths-size Buick Regal, with its arching roofline and waterfall grille. Although it has strong visual ties to the Regal, the Verano is actually built on the same platform as the popular Chevrolet Cruze compact and Volt hybrid, albeit with significant upgrades from its humbler cousins.
Buick says the Verano is designed to compete against the Lexus IS 250 and Audi A3 sports sedans, two high-end compacts. As such, the Verano is a front-wheel-drive, four-door sedan powered by a 2.4-liter GM Ecotec engine that produces 182 horsepower and fuel mileage of 21 miles per gallon in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. The only available transmission is a six-speed automatic.
In terms of acceleration, the Verano feels pleasantly perky, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in 8.6 seconds. That’s not especially speedy, but the engine is very responsive, making it seem a little livelier than the numbers might otherwise indicate.
What really differentiates the Verano from other compact cars is that Buick has gone all out to build as much luxury and sophistication into this car as possible.
Buick has gone to extraordinary measures to try and impart big-car sophistication into the diminutive Verano. Buick uses a number of what it calls “quiet-tuning systems, processes and components” to block or absorb sound and dampen or eliminate vibrations. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet and comfortable the Verano was, especially at highway speeds.
From a safety standpoint, the list of features is impressive, too, with 10 standard airbags; frontal, head curtain side airbags, front and outboard rear-seat side-impact airbags and new knee airbags all are standard. The head-curtain side air bags deploy in a rollover crash.
The Verano also employs the StabiliTrak electronic stability-control system, as well as four-wheel, antilock disc brakes.
In terms of pricing, the base Verano starts at a very reasonable $23,470, with the full-zoot Leather Group model at a still-affordable $26,850.
With the all-new 2012 Buick Verano, GM appears to have finally scored a bull’s eye in the luxury small-car arena, a segment that will surely gain in popularity as gas prices continue to climb.
The Verano looks like a 15/16ths-size Buick Regal, with its arching roofline and waterfall grille. Although it has strong visual ties to the Regal, the Verano is actually built on the same platform as the popular Chevrolet Cruze compact and Volt hybrid, albeit with significant upgrades from its humbler cousins.
Buick says the Verano is designed to compete against the Lexus IS 250 and Audi A3 sports sedans, two high-end compacts. As such, the Verano is a front-wheel-drive, four-door sedan powered by a 2.4-liter GM Ecotec engine that produces 182 horsepower and fuel mileage of 21 miles per gallon in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. The only available transmission is a six-speed automatic.
In terms of acceleration, the Verano feels pleasantly perky, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in 8.6 seconds. That’s not especially speedy, but the engine is very responsive, making it seem a little livelier than the numbers might otherwise indicate.
What really differentiates the Verano from other compact cars is that Buick has gone all out to build as much luxury and sophistication into this car as possible.
Buick has gone to extraordinary measures to try and impart big-car sophistication into the diminutive Verano. Buick uses a number of what it calls “quiet-tuning systems, processes and components” to block or absorb sound and dampen or eliminate vibrations. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet and comfortable the Verano was, especially at highway speeds.
From a safety standpoint, the list of features is impressive, too, with 10 standard airbags; frontal, head curtain side airbags, front and outboard rear-seat side-impact airbags and new knee airbags all are standard. The head-curtain side air bags deploy in a rollover crash.
The Verano also employs the StabiliTrak electronic stability-control system, as well as four-wheel, antilock disc brakes.
In terms of pricing, the base Verano starts at a very reasonable $23,470, with the full-zoot Leather Group model at a still-affordable $26,850.
The Lyonheart K
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