When we first drove the 2012 Buick Verano in Oregon, and again in Michigan, it was quick to conclude that one of the vehicle’s lowlights is its base 2.4L Ecotec engine producing 180 horsepower and 171 pound-feet of torque. It’s not that it doesn’t provide performance — ther Verano isn’t trying to be a sports car — but it felt a tad unrefined, and returned fuel economy numbers of 21 mpg city and 32 highway. These figures seem mediocre at best for a modern front-wheel-drive compact, though still better than the Acura TSX and ILX. But as we know, the Verano will offer a 250 horsepower turbocharged 2.0L mill and a manual transmission for the 2013 model year come the fall season.
This is where things get interesting, as the power jumps 70 horses, and 89 pound-feet while only sacrificing one mile per gallon both on the city and the highway. Officially rated by the EPA, the numbers come in at 20 mpg city and 31 mpg highway while also out-muscling the alike four cylinder, front-wheel-drive Acura TSX and ILX compact sedans. In addition, the Verano Turbo achieves the same fuel economy as its bigger brother, the Regal Turbo (with the same drivetrain, but less power) in the city and on the combined cycle, but 1 MPG less on the highway, even though the Regal is a full 371 pounds heavier than the Verano.
Pricing still hasn’t been announced for the Verano’s boosted four-banger, but from our current vantage point, it seems that the minimal fuel economy trade-off will make the upgrade well worth-it.
Comments
I read a few reviews about the front seats being uncomfortable, did you find those to be true or untrue or does it tend to be on height?
Drew…..I test-drove Verano twice and found them perfectly comfy…..I suppose depends on how tall you are? The fabric was soft and the pleather looks nice with the stiching….I was impressed. Test drive one and let us all know what you think
I found them to be quite comfortable. They are the same seats found in the Buick LaCrosse, if I’m not mistaken.
The leather is the same but the contour of the seats is unique obviously. but they are comfy, I drove a Verano at a dealer while waiting on our Terrain to be serviced. Drives great, can’t wait to test a Turbo model when they atart to show up. ^^
I saw a verano when i serviced my Terrain for an oil change and I saw in the cloth one and I found it to be comfortable too!!
Yes, Vic I like the cloth too….very thick and quite a sharp pattern….it is not the cheap stuff I see in Honda and Toyota by any means; it just looks and feels appropriate for the car
Andrew….dealer told me August for the new ones…..same as ATS…however, I think turbo may be a few months out from that….good luck!!!!!
Yea I’m thinking it’ll probably be atleast november for the Turbo models to start rolling in. Usually how it goes and thanks!!
I bet the Turbo will do very, very well for this car…..so many people say current 2.4 is too slow……well, the 2.5 and 2.oT should do the trick!!!!!
I wouldn’t say its to slow, most people are confusing it with a sporty car since the Civic Si has a 2.4L rated at over 200HP while this mill is only at 180. Thats probably why people are complaing about it. Once the 2.0T coems out then those people wanting a faster Verano can upgrade to that and hopefully GM won’t wait til there is a refresh of the compact cars to put the 2.5L in the Verano.
I drove Verano and it was very peppy…I was speeding before I knew it and it was so quiet and smooth I never noticed it…….a fine car for the average driver….
But then what about the Malibu? Some says the 2.5 is at 34 hwy and if that’s true that’s significantly lower than the Sonata, Camry, and maybe the next Accord?
I think those mpg figures are not correct…depends on how a person drives…with cruise on at 68 or so, I bet Verano could get 40s easily….
I’ve heard the same thing that right out of the gate the Malibu is having lack luster mpg figures already as compared to all of the competition. Even saying about the Eco model is not that great of a difference, thing is they keep comparing it to the full hybrid models and its not that at all so take all this with a grain of salt for right now… until actual numbers come out.