Buick’s entry-luxury car a more youthful model
Verano helped aging brand appeal to a younger market
“Good job, Buick. You snagged this 35-year-old as a new customer. I never thought I’d own a Buick,” reads a confession that many would not have posted even five years ago, despite the anonymity that the Internet used to provide.
In a 2010 survey by the industryfocused Power Information Network, Buick had the distinction of having the oldest new-car buyers in the U.S., with an average age of 62. Mathematically, that’s mean.
In reality, they’re a pretty happy bunch, given the fact Buick is habitually ranked among the top five quality brands in J.D. Power’s dependability studies.
After the bloodletting unleashed by General Motors’ bankruptcy proceedings in 2009, the dealers left standing were clamouring for a new, smaller Buick to sell in the vacuum left by the demise of Pontiac. The Verano was groomed to be that compact — the first small Buick since the 1997 Skylark.
Based on the Chevrolet Cruze that debuted the year before, the 2012 Verano was cast 7 centimetres longer and 2 centimetres wider than the popular starter sedan.
Both cars employed GM’s frontdrive Global Compact Vehicle (GCV) architecture developed by Opel, its German arm. The Verano featured a semi-independent torsion-beam rear suspension with a Watt’s link to keep the thing buttoned down — a cost-efficient solution.
Product planners took great pains to differentiate the Verano from the workmanlike Cruze. The handsome interior was blessed with such creature comforts as simu-wood trim, dual-zone automatic climate control, push-button starting and blue cockpit lighting.
Decadent options offered heated leather seats, IntelliLink smartphone connection via Bluetooth or a USB cable to the standard LED screen, and entertainment functions that could be controlled by touch, voice or steering-wheel-button commands.
Oddly for an entry-luxury car, the driver’s backrest angle was adjusted manually with no power assist, and all of the front passenger seat’s movement required muscle, too. The rear seats were a little pinchy for adults. At least the cabin was tomb quiet: sound-deadening materials filled every cavity, the windshield and side glass were laminated, and underbody panels muffled rain and tire noise.
The Opel platform did constrain Buick in one aspect — the engine cradle only allowed room for a four banger. In its first year of production, the powertrain came only one way: a direct-injected 2.4-L Ecotec engine that produced 180 horsepower and 171 lb-ft of torque working through a six-speed automatic transmission.
The new-for-2013 Verano Turbo addressed the noticeable power defi- ciency exhibited by the regular model. Its 250-hp, 2.0-L turbocharged engine, lifted from the Regal GS, represented a 70-hp hike over the base engine and could be acquired with a six-speed manual transmission in place of the automatic.
New safety features available for 2014 included forward-collision and lane-departure warning systems. Regardless of the model year, all Veranos earned the top five-star overall crash rating in U.S. government testing, and the highest possible “Good” rating by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Despite the Buick badge and all the perceived ageism that comes with it, Opel-supplied Germanic goodness seeped through from underneath. The platform was train-trestle rigid, the suspension was well-damped, body motions were nicely controlled and the electrically assisted steering was quite accurate and communicative.
Buick engineers had managed to exorcize some of the demons that had plagued the Cruze by specifying the larger four-cylinder engine and by sourcing a transmission that provided smoother and quicker gear changes. Masked was any hint of Chevyness, allowing more of the expected Buick qualities — mostly isolation-chamber silence — to come through. A common complaint Verano owners voiced online zeroed in on the somnolent nature of the standard powertrain. The numbers bear that out: zero to 97 km/h took a sleepy 8.2 seconds. Too leisurely? The caffeinated Turbo model was almost two seconds quicker at 6.4 seconds, when equipped with the stick shift.
Fuel economy with the 2.4-L four was generally viewed as good, though not spectacular. Mixed driving yielded about 30 mpg (9.5 litres/100 km), which drew a collective “meh” from owners.
Mechanically, the Michigan-built Verano has impressed owners with its unfussy maintenance regimen. Still, a few issues were raised in online forums that used-car shoppers should note.
A number of drivers have reported significant oil consumption by the 2.4-L engine. Dealers have suggested this is a trait of direct-injection engines, but that claim may be dubious (carbon buildup in DI motors is a documented problem, however).
“Did an oil consumption analysis: went through half a litre of oil every 1,000 kilometres. Was told by dealer this is normal,” reported the owner of a 2012 model. GM does have an oil-consumption monitoring program owners can enrol in.
Drivers have also noted the ignition push button is located in a spot that’s easy to hit accidentally when reaching for the audio controls. A number of people have found themselves driving with the engine suddenly turned off — an obvious hazard.
Reported quality lapses in the Verano include tire blowouts involving the factory-supplied Continental tires at low mileage, short-lived fuel pumps and batteries, and electric power-steering failures in small numbers. Tell us about your ownership experience with these models: Scion tC and Volkswagen Jetta. Email: toljagic@ca.inter.net.