My Candidate For Murilee's Ultimate Sleeper: Buick Verano Turbo

by Derek Kreindler

June 12th, 2012 3:32 PM

my candidate for murilee s ultimate sleeper buick verano turbo

During the short life of the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, the car unfairly became the butt of jokes for my friends and me. Even though we all knew that it was capable of laying waste to whatever we were driving at the time, it was hard not to mock the seemingly endless yellow examples, driven by an anabolic-addled young construction worker, with his right hand at 12 o’clock, and a bumper sticker professing ancestry from one of the PIGS.Four years after GM forgot about the best front-driver they ever made, they’ve introduced two FWD machines with the 2.0L Ecotec turbo engine. Both are Buicks. The Regal GS, despite claims of it being “wrong wheel drive” is a very nice car for real world situations. Following the GS is the smaller, more affordable Verano Turbo, seen above.The Verano Turbo uses a detuned 2.0L Turbo engine, with 250 horsepower rather than 270. No matter. A Trifecta Tune should take care of whatever power deficit exists. In stock form, 60 mph comes up in 6.2 seconds, faster than the claimed figure for the Regal GS. There’s a 6-speed manual gearbox, but no Brembos or Hi-Per Strut suspension like the hot Regal. Then again, the only thing distinguishing the Verano Turbo from the base car is the little badge seen above. This is the Cobalt SS I always wanted; a nicer interior, no yellow paint, no giant wing and a proper back seat. And it’s totally discreet. Forget the V6 Camry. This is my candidate for the best sleeper money can buy.

#Buick #BuickRegal #BuickRegalGS #BuickVerano #BuickVeranoTurbo #GeneralMotors

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8 of 47 comments

300zx_guy on Jun 12, 2012

would be nice if Buick would use the rear end of the Opel model, much better looking. They eyebrowed taillights really kill the looks of this car for me. If I owned one, I'd back into parking spots so I wouldn't have to look at the tail. Wonder if/when they'll offer the turbo without the forcing buyers to pay for all the extra options just to get the go-fast parts.

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Dvdlgh on Jun 12, 2012

You say Buick, I say Opel.

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- APaGttH on Jun 13, 2012
  
  And Volt230 says Daewoo damn it man, DAEWOO!!!
  
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- 28-Cars-Later on Jun 13, 2012
  
  Outside of truck platforms, Opel and Daewoo are pretty much your only choices at this point if you shop the General.
  
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- NormSV650 on Mar 26, 2013
  
  @28-Cars-Later Wait until you see the Korean content in the new Silverado! Up to almost 300whp on a GS with 19" wheels. E85 is next. http://www.buickforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29418&page=9
  
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28-Cars-Later on Jun 13, 2012

Coupe! Coupe! My kingdom for a coupe!

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Alluster on Jun 13, 2012

Love it or hate it, i think it's awesome that we are getting cars like this. This car hits the sweet spot for me on so many levels. The compact size, decent understated looks, 3 pedals, 6 speed, 4 doors, turbo!!, very nice interior, great seats and priced very reasonably. Buick needs more cars like this to slowly get their buyer age down and change perceptions about the brand. A good example is the Regal GS with an average buyers age of 36 vs the average buyers age of a luxury car buyer at 52. No fan of the eyebrows (which hopefully find their way out in the first MCE) but the Verano looks really nice in person especially in white. I only wish the styling was more aggressive for sport trims. that need to stand out with polished rims, blacked out grille, brembos, two tone racing seats, spoiler and of-course LED's.

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- NormSV650 on Jun 17, 2013
  
  I picked up a used one for under well under $25K. About $10K less than a comparable used GS. The styling is different than cars a decade ago with their very small window height these days. The styling grows on you but it is definitely not the traditional 3-box car designs of yore. It is an impressive package considering where is comes from. For really spirited types you'll just need s rear sway bar but for most the electric steering is super quick and communicates well. Besides I can see 40+ mpg on the highway if you keep your foot out of it.
  
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