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Comments
1. You do not seem to get the same pickup/accelaration from the vehicle as the torque numbers suggest. Seems to rob the engine from power. Or in other words, you do not feel the real torque numbers that the engine is supposed to provide. Maybe it is the torque converter.
2. The new GM transmissions seem to hunt for gears a lot. Keeps switching between 4th and 3rd gear on the slightest decelaration.
3. Do not handle inclined terrain very well. Uphill drives are much harder.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and Im very glad that you are happy with your Verona, but be careful of presentation of opinion.... as fact.
~alpha
Ok, Im an average Joe. There is nothing exceptional about the Verona's powertrain. It is a slow vehicle. Slow enough to be outgunned by 4 cylinder Civics and Corollas, mind you, let alone Camrys and Accords. I think the ability to merge and pass are very important especially today, with mammoth SUVs and more tractor trailers on the road than ever before. Its not that Im overly critical of the Verona- its just that in its ads, Suzuki has touted the 6 cylinder engine, which is quite misleading, given that the vehicle is a porpoise compared to the other sixes in the class.
Suzuki should be given significant credit though, for making Side Curtains standard for the 2005 model year- thats outstanding.
~alpha
As a side note, I've been reading a lot of reviews on the Suzuki Verona (and others) and it really cracks me up how different each person can perceive the same vehicle. One reviewer of the Verona said that it has good torque for off the line but had no highway passing power, while another said it was a dog until 4000 RPM then it felt like the afterburners kicked in. Quite a number said how good the fit and finish was, while another said the fit and finish was poor. Alot say the transmission is smooth and some say it had harsh positive gear changes. Many said the ride felt soft or mushy but Car and Driver said the complete opposite. To each his own.
I was wondering if you could give me some feed back as to how well the adaptive transmission works. Is there a breaking in period as some have suggested? I remember reading somewhere that the real "feel" of the car comes after some miles are on the odo.
I am still looking at cars and I keep coming back to the Verona. It seems to have everything I'm looking for at the right price but there are two other serious contenders. Thanks for your input.
http://www.autosoviet.altervista.org/ENGLISH-automotorusse-chines- ecars.htm
http://www.centurychina.com/plaboard/posts/3668315.shtml
Interesting to me, the SUV under the Zhonghua is a restyled Isuzu Axiom.
Good luck guys.
Also, in response to someones question to me a while ago... NO, I have not driven the Verona. I did however drive a Gen 4 Camry with the 136 hp 2.2L 4 cylinder engine for over a year. According to Car and Driver, that car and the Verona post practically identical standing start and passing times, and I felt the Camry to be underpowered, hence the basis for my opinion. (The new ones are worlds better in the pep dept, FWIW).
~alpha
If the car had driven the way it does now, I wouldn't have even considered buying it.
I just want them to replace the ECM. They could replace the ECM cheaper than it will cost me to keep taking it back to the service department until they can fix it.
Before the recall, I had no issues besides a little rough idling after a cold start. I loved the car then, but now I am regretting my decision to buy it because of the issues with service and how each time I take it in, it comes back worst.
Also, I have never had a car with auto climate control. During these days when it's about 50 degrees out and dark, the auto climate control won't keep the car warm unless I turn it up to about 80 degrees. During the cold morning I can turn it to 72 and it will work just fine. It turns up the fan and warms the cabin fairly quickly but at night for some reason it only has the fan on low speed and have to turn it up to 80, even when it has only been 45 degrees out. I didn't have any issues in the summer with the a/c auto climate. Anyone have any suggestions?
PLease keep us posted. Good luck.
I have about 8000 miles on the car. I
It seems that the flash did not work properly. The TSB( tech. service bulletin from Suzuki) states for ECM upgrade and correction. So they need to check on this aspect. Your dealer should have refered to this bulletin.For info- go to www.suzukiauto.com and see the " pitstop" link. This gives detail info on the various TSB's. I hope this helps.
Alpha,
Let me suggest something :Please find time to test drive a Verona that has run 3000 miles. Only then will you get an idea of the Verona. Only 0-60 will not give you a real feel of the Car.In a new car the computer as well as the adaptive trans is not set to give you a real feel of the Car.
Suzuki Canada has a web site with an owners' section but it appears to have been inactive since 2003.
As the owner of two Suzukis, a Verona and a 1997 Swift, I wonder what is going on. I hope that Suzuki is not planning to abandon the Canadian market.
Does anyone have any information?
My Verona is running fine. The Car rides great after 6400 miles. No hesitation or hiccups. Its smooth running so far. Does anyone know of a good place to fit a spoiler on to the Verona?.
I have an appointment on the 23rd to get it checked out.
the computer. The vibration problem was the tire balance on the front. I would not have thought that with the symptons, but the dealer balanced them and the vibrations are gone. I had them rotated and balanced at another place about 2 months ago. Needless to say, won't go there and do that again. ( no weights were thrown from the rims.) Now have about 6500 miles on the Verona and except for the city mpg I still enjoy and like the car.
Regarding tires and vibration. I took mine to a tire specialty shop and had a full rotate and balance. This will correct the roughest of riding cars. The Hankook tires on mine need to be watched for pressure when the temps drop below 40. I live in Georgia and this has happened twice and both times I needed to check the pressure.
I agree, I hate the climate control. I override mine whenever possible. In your example set it to 72 let it run with the higher fan, make sure your ac indicator is off.
Overall this is a great car. I did not choose it, my former employer required I buy one as a company car. Well the job is gone and I still have the car. Since I added SIrius and Subwoofer system. It is my Poor mans Infiniti.
I have not compared power directly, but the Verona has considerably more power at 15,000 than it did at 2000. I has more than enough for the roads that I drive on. Fuel economy is not an issue for us but I think that it is lower than some competing cars.
Some States require arbitration first (that is usually only binding on the manufacture) before pursuing a full buyback. In any case, do not hire a laywer (unless your State's law requires it) until they have denied (or failed to respond) the buyback if the car clearly falls under your State's lemon laws. If you hire a lawyer now, and they agree to a buyback on the first letter, you probably will not be able to claim the attorney's fees (most State's laws do not include those fees unless the manufacture fails to comply with the lemon law claim).
The dealership had four (count 'em), FOUR Verona's. Three were used. The one that was new was the low end trim, and all were rusting around the brakes and onto the rims already. The salesman proceeded to inform us that no other Verona's were available except for one at the Indy Auto Show and that it was not possible to order a new one because the lead time was 6 months, or more! In fact he said that they were basically told not to order new ones.
The dealership was pretty run down, deserted (noone else was there looking at cars) and was staffed by only two people at the time.
I gotta ask, does Suzuki really want to sell these things? We took one on a test drive and might have bought one (they all had stickers on them saying 85% of invoice) but our experience lead us to believe buying one would have been a bad, bad decision. If getting one of these cars is this hard, how hard would getting parts be? Did any of you experience such bleak conditions when you looked at it? I would think that when wanting to compete with the Sonata, Optima, Accord, etc. that Suzuki would want to present itself a bit better, but this was frankly an embarassment to Suzuki as well as the dealership franchise in question.
Have any of you Verona owners driven the new Buick LaCrosse? Buick says it is aimed at the Lexus ES 330 but others say it should be compared with the Camry and Accord, like the Verona. The 240 hp model sounds nice but it doesn't even have some of the features the Verona has which costs 10K less. Any opinions?
The wife loves it too, even managed to pry her out of her beloved Highlander Limited. This car is loaded with features, and I enjoy the fact that Suzuki took a slightly different direction with the engine. Even though the horsepower number is down compared to the competition, there seems to be plenty of torque, and that is what moves you down the road. I'm sure that the Camry and Accord are measurably better cars, but I can't buy this much Camry or Accord for 15k in a base model, forget about heated leather, and a sunroof.
I suspect that the inline 6 engine, with timing chain will be an extremely long-lived motor, that will get stronger with age and break-in. The dealership seems to be very anxious to be accomodating, but then again, they are not exactly swamped with customers. Thsnks to all the posters with opinions, good and bad, for helping me form my opinion besides the "quick test drive" For once I feel like I didn't buy a pig in a poke. I will post with more news when it comes up.
Whats going on in 2005?. It seems all are either too busy or sleeping?. Suzuki seems to have put the Verona in the shade...see no ad's on TV. I wonder if they are overhauling the Car?.
Hey...keep the posts going.