 2012 Buick Verano. Click image to enlarge |
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Review and photos by Jil McIntosh
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2012 Buick Verano
Toronto, Ontario – If I had to name the brand that’s turned around the most in the last five years, it would have to be Buick. I remember when its cars were so bland and boring that just saying the name might put you to sleep. I always wondered what triggered that moment in the aging process where older drivers woke up one day and just had to have one, giving the brand the most elderly demographic in the industry. And I couldn’t figure out why GM put Pontiac to sleep when Buick seemed like the one on life support.
That’s all changed. The company has since stepped up with a line of impressive models, starting with the Enclave and most recently with the sporty Regal GS. And later this year it will take on the compact segment with the all-new 2012 Verano.
 2012 Buick Verano. Click image to enlarge |
Do not think this is a Chevrolet Cruze with a rapper-sized ring of signature Buick shields on its grille. Yes, it’s based on the same global Delta platform and shares some of its suspension components, but it pretty much ends there. From its outward appearance to its performance and quiet ride, the Verano feels more like a downsized Regal, a comparison the company is happy to promote.
It doesn’t have a lot of direct competition. The Canadian-only, Civic-based and front-wheel drive Acura CSX has been discontinued for 2012. Other sedan competitors are rear-wheel drive – the Lexus IS and slightly larger Infiniti G25 – and they start at more than $10,000 over the Buick. That price jump is similar for the upscale coupe and hatchback compacts: Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and Volvo C30, and the upcoming redesigned Mercedes-Benz B-Class. Full pricing hasn’t been released for the Buick, but it will start at $22,595. Its four trim lines will top out at $27,620, with a few options available beyond that. My car had the whole shebang with leather interior, heated steering wheel, upscale wheels, navigation radio and sunroof and would be about $29,500, according to GM’s rep.
The Verano uses a 2.4-litre direct-injection four-cylinder engine, borrowed and tweaked from the Chevrolet Equinox and producing 180 horsepower and 171 lb.-ft. of torque. The transmission is a six-speed automatic, and official fuel figures are 9.9 L/100 km (29 mpg Imp) in the city and 6.2 (46) on the highway. I wasn’t able to do a proper fuel economy test, since it was only a day’s drive without a fill-up, but the on-board computer indicated 8.0 L/100 km for a leisurely spin through the countryside north of Toronto.
 2012 Buick Verano. Click image to enlarge |
As with the Regal and its GS sibling, the Verano will also go sporty. Its 2.4-litre will be joined for the 2013 model year by a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine that will be available with a six-speed manual transmission in addition to the automatic. If the GS is any indication, expect this forced-air Verano to have some spice sprinkled into its suspension as well.
Like the turbocharged Cruze, the Verano uses a rear suspension that incorporates a Watt’s link, also called a Z-link and an unusual feature in the segment. It uses a pivoting centre link between the rear axles to keep the back end stabilized on turns or rough roads. I’ve driven the similar set-up in the Cruze on intentionally bad pavement in GM’s test centre, and it does make quite a difference in keeping the car firmly planted no matter what’s under the tires. The front suspension is the usual MacPherson strut set-up, but with larger dampers than the Cruze and with urethane bushings on the springs. It’s strictly front-wheel drive; a GM rep said there are no plans to offer all-wheel, which would add considerably to a price that already soars high in the upper levels.
The Verano is very pleasant to drive and, to use the hoary old cliché, pretty much bank-vault quiet. The engine is well-suited to the car, which has a base curb weight of 1,497 kilograms but doesn’t feel that heavy. Merging into highway traffic is effortless, and thanks to extensive use of sound-deadening materials, the extra engine effort when the transmission downshifts doesn’t echo in the cabin. The electric power steering responds quickly and accurately to input, but it doesn’t return much in the way of road feel. That isolation is something I’m guessing many Buick buyers prefer – overall the owner demographic is younger than before, but it’s still older than most – but I like a little more one-on-one with my ride.
 2012 Buick Verano. Click image to enlarge |
The interior is well-done and, most importantly, for the most part it looks in line with the price. My car was an early pre-production model, so there were a couple of fit-and-finish issues, but they should be ironed out on the showroom versions (it’s built in Orion, Michigan in a flexible manufacturing plant that also turns out the unrelated Chevrolet Sonic). I wasn’t too keen on the fake wood trim, but there’s very little of it, mostly just strips alongside the centre stack and in the door handles. The basic seats will be cloth, while the topped-out model I drove came with very comfortable leather versions. The front seats are roomy, while rear-seat legroom is quite good considering the compact footprint; a six-foot passenger behind me only touched his knees to the front seat when it was slid all the way back. I did quibble about the heated seats, though; when you turn them on, the controls are illuminated with the car’s signature ice-blue lighting. To me, red means hot and blue means cold, and it just looks odd.
 2012 Buick Verano. Click image to enlarge |
A seven-inch LED touch-screen comes on all but the base model. It will be paired with a new system, called IntelliLink, which uses Bluetooth and USB capability to control smartphones through voice activation or the steering wheel-mounted controls, and will enable streaming audio through specific services. As if there aren’t enough distractions in new vehicles, you can eventually expect to see it read e-mails and text messages aloud.
The exact features of the four trim lines haven’t been revealed yet, but standard features on all models will include ten airbags, automatic climate control, steering wheel-mounted audio controls and ambient lighting. Available items, depending on the trim line, will include 18-inch multi-spoke forged wheels, heated steering wheel, pushbutton ignition, Bose premium audio and a remote starter that will automatically activate the rear defogger, heated mirrors and heated seats if you start it up when the temperature is below 7C.
The Verano is a very nice driver, but GM is realistic about it; the company knows it’s not going to sell a million of them. It’s a tough room to play, since buyers will often shun a pricey domestic model in favour of an even pricier European one, for reasons that include real or perceived quality differences, more luxury features, or simply the cachet of the brand. Realistically, the Verano doesn’t have much in the way of head-to-head luxury compact sedan competition. Time will tell if that’s because very few people buy luxury compact sedans, or if the Verano is poised to carve out a brand-new piece of the automotive pie.
