FIRST DRIVE ~ 2012 Buick Verano

NEW YORK CITY:  "I think this is the quietest car Iπve ever driven," my co-driver said.
One of the most experienced autowriters on the planet, he wasn't talking about a Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes-Benz or a Lexus, but the $22,595 Buick Verano compact sedan.
The bane of auto engineers is "sizzle", the sound the tires make on wet pavement. Because of its high-pitched hiss, sizzle is the hardest noise to keep out of the cabin.
Yet there we were at 50 mpg in the pouring rain in the base Verano where the sizzle was not just faint, but non-existent.
Another problem engineers face is the engine roar when you are at full throttle caused by the air going through the intake manifold. On the Verano, the manifold looks not unlike a saxophone, and in a sense, it is. With a number of interconnected chambers, the howl of the air is tuned out.
It's part of what Buick calls QuietTuning that involves 12 noise reduction and noise cancelling measures including: 5.4-mm-thick acoustic-laminated windshield and 4.85-mm-thick acoustic laminated side glass that minimizes wind noise; acoustic insulation material on both sides of the front steel dash panel and under the hood that reduce engine noise; and five layers of acoustic insulation material in the headliner, including a premium fabric on the visible outer layer that muffles wind noise.
How Buick got rid of sizzle was by using three layers of acoustic insulation material in the doors.
There's a lot more to QuietTuning than I have space to detail, but I have to mention the heat-activated baffles in various pillars, crossbars and other structural members that are even designed to seal and close sections of the body structure that could transmit noise or allow water leaks.
The heat-activated baffles are inserted at strategic areas of the body structure and expand in paint ovens to fill the structural cavities.
You would think all this attention to noise reduction was being reserved for a top-of-the-line sedan, but the 2012 Verano is, in fact, Buick's first entry into the compact car segment and thus its most affordable model.
There will be four trim models starting at $22,595 topping out with the full leather model at $27,620.
All are powered by a 2.4-litre, inline four-cylinder engine producing 180 hp and 171 lb/ft of torque driving the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.
Standard features include ribbon fabric seating, soft "ice blue" ambient lighting, OnStar (six month free trial), StabiliTrak electronic stability control, ABS and Intelligent Brake Assist and 10 standard air bags. Automatic climate control, power windows and steering wheel radio controls are also standard.
Available as an option is Buick's IntelliLink system. It uses Bluetooth or a USB to connect a driver's smartphone to the touch-screen display radio expanding current Bluetooth and USB capabilities to allow smartphone control via voice activation and steering wheel-mounted controls.
In addition to Buick IntelliLink, a nine-speaker Bose sound system specifically engineered for the Verano's interior is available on all trim levels above the base level.
At the press launch in Connecticut, Buick engineers also talked a lot about the work that went into the MacPherson Strut front and Watt's or Z-link rear suspension in relation to providing a smooth and quiet ride.
The drive route started near the Lincoln Centre in the heart of Manhattan. Outside of Tokyo, I don't know where so many car and trucks are packed into so little space. Here you have to know where all four corners of the car are and the rearview mirrors must be precisely positioned.
The Verano's compact size helped but so did the quick steering. Because you kind of move along as opposed to go forward in New York, having brakes that modulate well is a major plus and this the Verano did.
Finally out on the parkway heading north the first thing my partner and I noticed was how good the new radio system was until it dawned on us the reason was also due to the lack of road noise
The transmission is the new, second-generation six-speed automatic that goes a long way to improving gasoline consumption. Transport Canada has yet to release the official numbers but one source has estimated 9.3/64L/100 km city/highway.
One of the ways the transmission conserves fuel is by allowing negligible engine braking. Coming down one incline and taking a foot off the gas, the Verano actually picked up a little speed.
There seems to have been as much work done on the interior as on noise. Soft touch materials abound and the two-tone earth colours are pleasing.
One thing I noticed was a thin, slotted vent running vertically up the A-pillar of each front window. Instead of the air coming out of the dash, the vents pump it directly onto the window surface for almost instant demisting.
Back seat legroom is meager. With the front seat all the way back, you can barely put your hand into the space between.
Cargo volume is 396 litres (14.0 cu ft) with the subwoofer installed with the optional Bose sound system or 405 litres (14.3 cu ft) without.
While roomy, it means the trunk lid is high so reversing should be done gingerly as there is no backup camera available.
Buick sees its immediate competition as the Acura CSX, Audi A3 and Lexus IS 250 and Verano is certainly in league with them in terms of fit, finish and ride.
But considering the starting price and what the buyer gets, I think Verano throws a very wide net to Mazda3, Ford Focus and VW Jetta buyers as well.
The Buick has already done much to change the perception of it as catering to older owners to vehicles such as the Regal and Enclave that are comparable to anything on the road and are definitely skewed to a younger demographic.
By offering the compact 2012 Verano, Buick is literally on the road to changing how people think about the brand.

BODY STYLE: compact sedan.
DRIVE METHOD: front-engine, front-wheel-drive.
ENGINE: 2.4-litre DOHC inline four-cylinder (180 hp, 171 lb/ft)
FUEL ECONOMY: Regular (est.) 9.3/6.4L/100 km city/highway
CARGO VOLUME: 405 litres (14.3 cu ft); 396 litres (14.0 cu ft) with optional Bose sound system
PRICE: $22,595-$27,620 not including $1,495 shipping fee