Scheduled to go on sale in China in the second half of the year, the all-new Buick Verano looks like a great fit for Chinese roads.
That being said, there are a couple of things we don’t necessarily like about the Verano. The Avenir-like headlights don’t stand out as much as you’d like, and the front grille isn’t as imposing as one would expect from a Buick.
Then there’s the profile and the two distinctive design lines which never quite meet – this makes the car look a bit disproportionate. Dare we say that the previous generation model had a more elegant profile? We dare.
We do like the rear of the car and the design of the LED taillights, just as we like the fact that it rides on Continental MC5 low-rolling resistance tires. The wheel design itself is rather basic though, not even worth mentioning.
Under its hood you’ll find a 1.5 liter SIDI turbocharged petrol engine, good for 166 HP and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque. The average fuel consumption equates to 6.1 liters per 100 km (38.5 mpg US), which isn’t bad at all. The 0.27 low drag coefficient helps too.
If you’re looking for a compact sedan that’s both comfortable and reasonably economical, the all-new Verano could be a good choice for you.
GM saying that the Verano’s chassis has been tuned in favor of China’s road conditions was a bit curious though, since all it would have to do is cover long distances comfortably on the highway and handle start/stop traffic decently – which is something any regular Opel Astra can do as well.
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