Originally Posted by mmarshall

Give him/her my congratulations...a wise choice. I assume the non-turbo model, right? I think he/she will enjoy driving it...as I do. It will also be a lot easier to park than the former big Buicks....people at that age sometimes have trouble parking accurately. Gas mileage, however, on the Verano, is not particularly good by compact-car standards. I don't average more than about 20 in town/stop-go suburban-driving, though I've done better than the 31 EPA on the highway....as much as 33-34. The car's weight, which is a combination of the generally robust Opel construction and the thick Buick sound-insulation features, does hamper its acceleration and stop/go mileage some....but the ability to use cheaper 87-octane gas helps.

It's actually taller than the Corolla, partly because of the 18" wheels, but not necessarily any more roomy inside.

The buttons on the center-console are more or less the same as other Opel-derived Buick interiors,, including the Regal and the Encore, though the Encore does not use an Opel-based chassis and the Regal got an interior update this year. The video Buick Intellink system is somewhat complex and takes getting used to (particular for some older people), but generally better than Cadillac's CUE or the Ford/Lincoln MYTouch. You also have to reset a number of features manually on the trip computer each time you gas up....more features than I had to reset on my Outback.

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

I suspect that the poor fuel economy has to do with the large 4 cylinder turbo and much, much larger 2.4 4 cylinder regular engine. The increased standard equipment levels likely have more to do with weight than a few more rubber seals here and there.
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