Chevrolet Cruze Review

Initially Chevrolet Cruze is available in four-door, lower-medium, C-sector sized saloon but five-door hatchback models arrive next year.

The Chevrolet Cruze is built in Korea and it is designed for a global market. Production will also take place in the USA for that market.

Specification:

One of the main points of the Chevrolet range is value for money, and the Cruze is no exception, with the level of standard equipment across the entire range including electronic stability and traction controls.
The model features air conditioning, remote central locking also it features follow-me-hom lighting this feature normally reserved for premium cars, Chevrolet Cruze also features quality CD-radio system with auxiliary input socket, electric front window, adjustable driver’s seat and steering wheel.

Design and practicality:

The Cruze is a four-door saloon but it has a coupe side profile and the only drawback to that is a shortfall of headroom for rear seat passengers.
In all other respects the car is roomy being 4,597mm long with a large 450-litre boot and this can be increased because the rear seats can split and fold. The boot lid access, although wide, is not very deep.
The interior is crisp in design with a front twin-cockpit layout where the dashboard has a centre console and then wraps around the driver and front seat passenger. Horizontal cloth bands across the dashboard flowing into the front doors complete a very pleasant interior appearance.

Ride and handling:

In terms of handling and performance. The new GM platform has been highly rated during pre-launch testing of the new Astra and indeed the Cruze performs pretty well with good grip and composed handling – much better than the Lacetti.
It is softly sprung so there is evidence of wallowing but the ride is flat with little body roll.
Pitched at the budget end of the market I’d class it as a capable rather than sophisticated, but it gets the job done as it is roomy and will give loads of driving pleasure to value-for-money customers.

Engines and performance

For the engines the 1.6-litre 113PS petrol unit, the expected best seller, is pretty sluggish during acceleration but once on the move it cruises happily at motorway maximum speeds and returned 35.4mpg during the brief test which include A, B and motorway driving.

Chevrolet Cruze Summary:

Chevrolet Cruze 1.6i LS manual
Price: £12,595 (Best selling model)
Engine/transmission: 1.6-litre, four-cylinder petrol, 113PS, 153Nm from 4,200rpm, 5-speed manual
Performance: 115mph, 0-62mph 11.8 seconds, 41.5mpg (35.4mpg actual), CO2 159g/km
Insurance group: 4E
For: A well proportioned, smartly styled four-door saloon with a hint of coupe styling, extremely well equipped for the money
Against: Petrol engines need to be improved for acceleration performance, diesel unit is better, needs to be a five-door hatchback for the UK market, comfortable but soft ride, uninvolving to drive