2017 Buick Verano Pros vs Cons

The 2017 Buick Verano is a premium compact car with the emphasis on premium. Not priced at a discount, the Verano designers put their focus on comfort and ride quality. The cabin has plenty of room and is made with high quality materials for its class. You’ll enjoy the smooth ride on long road trips and commutes. The performance of the Verano, measured in horsepower or fuel economy, is less stellar.

What’s New for 2017

The 2017 Buick Verano features an updated exterior style that’s both slick looking and achieves a low drag coefficient of 0.27, which helps the vehicle’s highway fuel economy. It also features new LED headlamps and taillights shaped like wings. Buick dropped the optional turbocharged engine in favor of a single 180-horsepower engine.

Ten Reasons You May Like the 2017 Buick Verano – The Pros

1. High Quality Cabin Materials

The 2017 Buick Verano has gotten high marks in the materials and design of its cabin. The seats are made with a combination of cloth and leatherette upholstery, which can be upgraded to leather. Heated front seats, eight-direction power adjustments to the driver’s seat, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel are also options you can add.

2. Excellent Handling

The 2017 Buick Verano provides drivers with a pleasant ride. The suspension absorbs the bumps and shocks that it encounters on rough roads, leaving you and your passengers undisturbed. Being a compact car, it can handle curves well despite not being designed to be a sporty vehicle. The steering and traction will keep you on the road in slippery conditions. This makes the Verano feel more upscale than many of its rivals in its class.

3. Excellent Reliability

The 2017 Buick Verano comes with the high reliability of a Buick product. J.D. Power and Associates rated the Verano’s reliability at 4.5 out of 5. You can rest assured it won’t let you down.

4. A Fair Price for Quality Workmanship

The Buick Verano is priced reasonably for the high quality of the cabin and the attention paid to the driving experience. The Verano doesn’t try to undercut its competitors with a cheaper design and the price reflects that.

5. Good Seating Space

The Buick Verano offers plenty of seating space for a compact car with room for five. The back seats are a little tight, which is typical in the compact market. If you have children, there’s plenty of space for car seats in the Verano.

6. A User-Friendly Infotainment System

The 2017 Buick Verano comes standard with a USB port, OnStar 4G LTE service, and a Wi-Fi hot spot. If you opt to add the infotainment system to the package, you won’t be disappointed by it. It features a seven-inch touchscreen, voice command recognition, and smartphone integration. It’s easy to use without a steep learning curve.

7. Safety System Technologies

You can also add optional safety technologies to the Buick Verano. These include rear parking sensors, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, rear traffic alert, and forward collision warning systems. With these features, you’ll be much less likely to be caught unaware in heavy traffic.

8. Good Marks on Crash Safety

The 2017 Buick Verano scores well on crash safety tests. It got five stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s overall, frontal crash, and side crash ratings. The Verano scored “good” on the tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. With high marks in this category, you can feel safer driving it on the freeways.

9. Adequate Cargo Space

The Buick Verano comes with 14.3 cubic feet of cargo space, which is average for compact cars. The rear seats fold down when you need to fit bulkier items into the trunk.

10. Adequate Engine Power

The 2017 Buick Verano isn’t designed to be a high performance compact car, but the engine has plenty of power for cruising and commuting in traffic. You’ll notice you could use quicker acceleration when merging into heavy traffic.

Reasons You May Not Like the 2017 Buick Verano – The Cons

1. The Engine is Under-powered

The 2017 Buick Verano offers only one powertrain option, a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that yields 180 horsepower. This year, Buick eliminated the turbocharged option for this model, leaving buyers with only the basic engine. This makes the Verano a sluggish vehicle when you need to merge or overtake other vehicles. If you're looking for a sporty compact, you may want to consider other cars.

2. The Fuel Economy is Poor

This premium sedan guzzles gas compared to similar cars, getting only 21 mpg in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway. This is despite a lackluster engine that doesn’t give a performance boost in return for poor fuel economy. The only close competitor with worse gas mileage is the Subaru WRX. If fuel economy is a priority, you may want to consider other options in your price range.

How It Stacks Up to the Competition:

The 2017 Buick Verano is priced higher than many of its competitors, delivering less performance but more comfort. The Honda Civic, for example, has a high-quality interior and a comfortable ride at a discount compared to the Verano’s base price. The Chevrolet Cruze, which is built on the same platform as the Verano, also offers a lower price for similar performance and an updated infotainment system.

Conclusion

The 2017 Buick Verano is a good choice for buyers who are looking for comfort and style more than performance and fuel economy. It won’t compete with zippier cars in traffic or save you more when you fill the fuel tank, but the cabin is well designed and doesn’t skimp on the materials chosen for it. The Verano’s smooth, quiet ride makes it a great cruising vehicle for long trips.