2017 Buick Verano

The Buick Verano is comfortable enough for the needs of most buyers, but unfortunately it doesn't help them speed up to pass a semi on the highway. That being said there's plenty of other things the car does exceptionally well with against its competition, and a weak performing engine shouldn't deter consumers completely from experiencing the Buick Verano and all it has to offer.

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The front seats are roomy enough, and comfortable. The interior is filled with quality materials and the dashboard is almost filled to the brim with flat buttons, along with a relatively small and fiddly touch screen. The steering wheel is packed with a lot of buttons as well. The back seats are where the car really may fall short though. There's certainly enough room for taller people, but they won't be comfortable for too long as it could start to feel claustrophobic.

Trunk space is certainly a strong aspect of the Buick Verano, and at 14 cubic-feet it's two cubic-feet clear of the Acura ILX and the Mazda 3. It's big enough to fit a few duffle bags comfortably, although there is a lip that stands a few inches above the rear bumper. The Buick Verano comes standard with cloth seats, but leather upholstery is available.

The Buick Verano is optimized for comfort and a smooth drive. The ride is quiet and adaptable to the road. The Buick Verano also handles corners decently. All in all, the car is very stable on the road and isn't affected that much by rougher road surfaces.

In terms of visibility, the Buick Verano suffers if the driver wishes to look forward. The front and rear pillars are quite thick, which results in sizeable blind spots at all four corners of the car. The Buick Verano comes with a list of safety features that can help aid the visibility issue though, with highlights including a rear view camera and adjustable side mirrors.

The Buick Verano only comes with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that producing 180-hp and 171 lb-ft of torque, which puts it roughly between the Acura ILX's 200-hp and the Mazda 3's 155-hp. The engine comes with a six-speed automatic transmission, which feels quite sluggish in comparison with similar units in rival cars.

The fuel economy doesn't impress either: with claims of 21mpg city/31mpg highway, the Buick Verano is noticeably less efficient than the Acura ILX (25mpg city/35mpg highway) and Mazda 3 (30mpg city/41mpg highway).

The price of the Buick Verano is certainly attractive as well. It starts at just shy of $22,000, which is less than the Acura ILX at around $28,000 and only a bit more than the Mazda 3 at around $19,000. Again, the Buick Verano finds itself in the middle of its competition.

What's more is the Buick Verano scored high in just about every crash test by the NHTSA, earning five out of five stars in every test except for the rollover test which it received four stars for. In terms of warranties offered, the Buick Verano also comes ahead of the Mazda 3 and on par with the Acura ILX. We recommend the Leather trim on the Buick Verano, as the car starts at such a low price that the higher trim levels are worth the extra buck. Plus, it comes with even more bells and whistles than were already in the base model. The leather trim will run about $6,000 more, putting the cost closer to $28,000 but for a borderline luxury compact sedan, it's not a ton of money.

Overall the Buick Verano isn't a terrible car, but it's not a great one either. It serves its purposes well, in that it provides a comfortable ride with not a lot in the way of inconvenience aside from engine power. The car is a little hard to justify though. Comfort and ride quality are good things for a car to do well with, but the Buick Verano seems to have trouble balancing comfort, speed and agility which a lot of other compact sedans accomplish with similar price tags. Not to mention a lack of engine and transmission options is something that other car manufacturers managed to avoid.