You might think that Buicks are always big, but
history tells us that this isn't necessarily so. Way back in 1975,
Buick introduced a version of the Chevy Monza called the Skyhawk. It was
some twenty inches shorter than any other Buick model at the time and
was powered by General Motors' newly resurrected V-6 (the tooling for
which had been sold to American Motors in the late '60s). The two-door
Skyhawk does not look pretty through our 2012 lens, but then again, not
much from 1975 does. The quad-headlamp, rear-wheel-drive hatchback was a
quick and easy way for Buick, whose sales plummeted after the 1973 OPEC
oil embargo, to sell a more fuel-efficient car. Americans, by and
large, would hear nothing of such a cobbled-together contrivance, and
Skyhawk sales were but a blip. The nameplate was discontinued after 1980
but was brought back on a front-wheel-drive J-car in 1982. That car
sold well, but we'd venture that no Skyhawk will ever grace the lawn at
the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
Fast-forward to the 2011 Detroit auto show, where Buick unveiled
the Verano -- which is derived from GM's global Delta platform that also
underpins the Chevrolet Cruze compact -- and said that it was ready to
compete in the compact luxury-sedan segment against cars such as the
Lexus IS250 and the Audi A3. Neither one of those is a particularly big
seller, so the comparison does little to dissuade one from thinking that
the Verano is chasing after a very narrow slice of the luxury-sedan
pie. Nor does it help define who, exactly, Buick's intended Verano
audience is. No matter; it didn't cost GM much to create the Verano,
because the underlying engineering for the Delta platform had already
been done by Opel in Germany for the Astra. All Buick had to do to
create a compact sedan to complement its mid-size Regal and its
full-size LaCrosse was to run the Cruze through the Buick styling studio
and subject it to a full round of Buick's so-called Quiet Tuning
ministrations. Presto! The Verano.
The newest Buick joined us for our test-drive program in October to
select our 2012 Automobile of the Year and the ten All-Stars featured
in this issue. The Verano didn't win a trophy, but it did win the
respect of nearly all of the editors and contributors who were on hand,
no easy task considering that they were hopping in and out of more than
two dozen of the best new cars on the market.
"This seems like an awful lot of car for the money," remarked
contributor Preston Lerner. "Lamentably, it's not the kind of car that
enthusiasts will want, but that's not Buick's problem. The interior is
tasteful, the seats are among the best I've experienced this week, and
the brakes have remarkable feel." Columnist Jamie Kitman chimed in: "It
is well screwed together, quiet, and peppy enough (just), and it corners
respectably, with a good, solid ride and well-controlled body motions. I
hate to admit it, but I kind of like it."
Indeed, the Verano drives crisply and predictably, and even if the
direct-injected engine drones a bit as the revs rise, it delivers
strong, linear acceleration to
100 mph and, Buick says, propels the Verano from 0 to 60 mph in 8.6
seconds. Torque steer isn't a problem, and the steering itself is quick
but lacks progressivity. The turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that's
in the Regal GS will soon trickle down to the Verano and be available
with a six-speed manual. That will make two front-wheel-drive,
stick-shift, turbo Buick sedans. These are clearly not intended for your
grandmother.
About that interior: It's good-looking, if perhaps too austere in
the black-on-black guise of our test car; fortunately, warmer, richer
two-tone combinations are available, and the plastics themselves are
pretty decent. "The dash is a little boring," said senior editor Joe
Lorio, "and the multitude of flat, black buttons lend a GM corporate
look, but functionality is good." Not so good is the button you push to
start the car, which looks just like all the other buttons. Forward
visibility is admirable, aided by the cutouts in the steeply raked
A-pillars. The cabin is indeed quiet, thanks to an abundance of
sound-absorbing materials throughout the car, thicker glass than what's
in the Cruze, and triple-sealed doors.
The Verano's exterior, Lerner noted, "looks kind of squashed to
me." When one of us remarked to design editor Robert Cumberford that the
headlights are about ten percent too big, he retorted, "More like 23
percent. And the grille is too big, especially considering it doesn't
really funnel any air." The thick chrome strip surrounding the side
glass is nice, though, and at least there aren't any dumb retro trios of
portholes on the front fenders. That's because they're on top of the
hood. Oh, Buick, really?
Despite our quibbles about the Verano's aesthetics, it's clearly no
Skyhawk, praise be. Now that the Lucerne is dead, Buick has four
vehicles in its lineup (including the Enclave crossover), and you could
-- and we would -- easily recommend any one of them to friends and
family. Buicks don't have to be big, but they do have to be good.
The Specs
ON SALE: Now
PRICE: $23,470/$26,850 (base/as tested)
ENGINE: 2.4L I-4, 180 hp, 171 lb-ft
DRIVE: Front-wheel
EPA MILEAGE: 21/31 mpg (est.)
Read more:
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1201_2012_buick_verano_first_drive/index.html#ixzz1gNIu9EUO
