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All models of the Verano give you comfort and a reasonable degree of luxury at a modest price. If you shell out a bit more for the Premium (Turbo) model, you will get the maximum available features and get an excellent engine that gives confidence on freeway entrance ramps and in passing.
I bought the Verano to replace a 2003 Volvo S60. I'd have liked to get another Volvo S60, but the prices were too high. I wanted another compact-sized car because of the small parking garage I live in. I also wanted something with a fair degree of luxury, some nice entertainment and safety tech, and comfortable seats. The Verano met these criteria, but when I first looked it had only the 2.4L engine which I didn't consider adequate for passing, getting on the freeway, and such. Fortunately, the 2.0L Turbo "Premium" trim was released shortly after I started looking. It more than met my acceleration needs. And in January my "GM Card" credit card ran a promotion which gave me $3000 in rebates, so I was sold.
Infotainment system is excellent. Voice commands work superbly, the Gracenote system helps it understand even tricky artists and album names. I consider Bose speakers to have excellent quality, but be warned I have tin ears. USB system also works well to play music from a USB stick,but it takes a bit to do the handshake and connect with the car. After about fifteen seconds, it will resume playing what was last playing on USB, but it takes longer before it will allow you to access other music on the USB stick. MP3 players are reportedly similar. Being able to rearrange the soft buttons on the "home screen" to suit your needs is a nice feature. Nav works great, but I often have trouble with addresses and verbal commands. I end up usi
The Buick propaganda about how quiet the car is are all true! A very quiet car. You can see some of the features, such as the multilayered glass in the front side windows when they are rolled down, and the thick overhead liner.
I am 6'1", broad shouldered, overweight, and considered quite a big guy, but I have no trouble fitting into the car. Even if you are a couple of inches higher than me, you should be okay. Be advised I chose a car without a sunroof. The sunroof may cut into that headroom.
Love the rear view camera. It has an excellent feature in that the rear view camera stays on the monitor for a few seconds after you leave reverse gear. This lets you pull forward before backing again without losing the rear view. The rear view camera kicks in with very little delay, less than a second after you go into reverse. I do regret the lack of guidance lines on the 2013 backup camera. My first car with rear bumper sensors. At first I found them useless and annoying, but I have learned to use the changing color of the alert symbol as a distance indicator. Heated seats are a pretty common feature in nicer cars now, but the heated steering wheel is a bit unusual and I love it!
The manual contains a warning that the tires are low-profile and are exceptionally vulnerable to damage from potholes, curb impact, etc. Even your rims are vulnerable. This is both because the tires have little rubber to cushion impact, and because the tires are lower and may not carry the rims high enough to avoid scraping the rim on a curb. I haven't had trouble yet, but I've seen a couple of internet reports of rim (not just tire) damage, and it worries me. Having less rubber between the rim and the road also makes the ride a bit less smooth. I LOATHE the tires, and they are my least favorite feature on the car.
The large front and rear pillars and supports cut into your view. The small glass openings between the branches in front don't help much. The visibility issues are an unwanted side-effect of the NTSB requirements on rollover protection, alas. I can reach the controls in the center stack without too much difficulty, but I am a big guy with long arms. Smaller people might have trouble. Fortunately, there are voice commands for many things.
The trunk is very large and reasonably easy to heft suitcases into, but the lack of a trunk release button on the outside of the car is annoying (or better yet a proximity system similar to some Fords where you kick beneath the rear bumper and the trunk opens if you have the key in your pocket). I didn't think this would bother me, but because the keyless entry spoils me about not having to mess with my key fob, I find it is a bigger nuisance than I'd expected.
There's a bit too much plastic chrome and faux wood on the interior. Not having bottle slots in the door cargo pockets is a pity. Not having a sunglasses holder available is a significant annoyance.
Fuel economy is respectable on the Turbo engine (for a high-performance engine). I was disappointed in the unimpressive fuel economy with the base 2.4L engine.
Affordable luxury and speed in a smaller package.
