I think its fair to say that before I had even stepped inside a Chevrolet Cruze for the first time, there was perhaps more hype and anticipation than I’m typically used to.
As General Motors begins its life as G.M. 2.0, and emerges with fewer brands, a better focus and a new line up of cars, there is a lot riding on how the consumers and media respond to their new line up of vehicles. I think it’s safe to say that one of the vehicles they were betting the farm on was the Cruze, their all new entry into the growing-more-crowded-by-the-day, Compact Car segment. The marketing rollout for the car heavily promoted the fact that this vehicle had been designed and tested over six continents. It was a new car that was reflective of their new way of thinking at GM – one that was well built, well designed, fuel efficient and was responsive to the needs and wants of its target market. To my memory I couldn’t think of a single vehicle, aside from the Chevrolet Volt that seemed to be so representative of what GM had gone through and what it wanted to be.
In late February I was personally on hand when the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) recognized all the work that went into designing the Chevrolet Cruze by awarding it the 2011 AJAC Award for Best New Car in Canada. That day I also had the chance to speak with a number of GM Canada executive’s who were understandably giddy by the award and seemingly relieved that, at least from a journalistic point of view, the car was a hit. When I picked up my tester a couple weeks ago, the anticipation that seemed to be tailing along was perhaps bigger than it should have been, but it nonetheless was a moment I was looking forward to.
FIRST IMPRES
SIONS
When I walked up to the Cruze I was struck by the sensation that while the exterior design was somewhat familiar, it was also new and unique. It had an aesthetically pleasing look to it and one that perhaps was not indicative of its base MSRP price of just over $16,000 for the entry level LS model ($24,780 as tested). The one knock on entry level cars of the past at GM and elsewhere was that they looked like entry level cars. With the Cruze it had an aerodynamic flow and appearance to it that once upon a time was reserved for mid to upper range vehicles alone.
Stepping inside the car though was when I really got the sensation that GM had evolved and that all the preceding hype may not have been overblown. The cockpit and interior of the Cruze looked nothing like the Sunfire and Cavalier’s of old. The Corvette-inspired cockpit was bright and easy to read. The centre console didn’t jut out, but rather flowed along with the lines inside. With many car buyer’s, first impressions are made and solidified within seconds of sitting inside and behind the wheel and with the Cruze I easily could tell why AJAC members were so high on this vehicle.
DRIVE
The Chevy Cruze is being promoted as having the best fuel efficiency in its class. This would be against competition like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and the Mazda 3. With its 5.0 L/100 km highway and 7.1 L/100 km city fuel consumption ratings on the 1.4L ECOTEC Turbo engine, it certainly had progressed beyond similar cars GM produced in this category previously. While it clearly has great fuel efficiency, I was curious to see how it affected the engine’s performance.
My tester came with the 1.4L Turbo charged engine that delivered 134 hp. Given that the car is relatively light, I easily found that the car delivered more than enough power to not feel like you were in the little engine that thought it could. Highway pick up was not a problem and I was easily able to get to highway speeds on a somewhat short on ramp when I tested it out.
While this isn’t a performance car, one needn’t worry about how it handles. When testing it on turns and corners the Cruze handled well and I never felt like I was losing control.
INTERIOR COMFORT
As any smart marketer will tell you, if you are going to name a vehicle “Cruze”, it had better be a car that’s fun to drive. To that end, GM has done a pretty decent job here. My tester came with a 6 way power driver seat, and while I did tend to struggle with finding just the right combination of lumbar and other settings, the fact that it had so many variations was a positive. The leather seats were comfortable but anyone with a waist that falls above average may not be as comfortable in the racing style front bucket seats. On the power seat I found the rear recline adjust handle to be in a very awkward spot and it actually took me a few minutes to look for it. I felt that the handle is not in the right spot and there were better places it could have been located.
What I really liked about the CRUZE was that it offered more than enough leg room for me (although it would cause any passenger behind me to be squished a bit). It also came with a steering wheel that offered both tilting and telescopic adjustments, which to me is very important as the wrong steering wheel setting can make any drive more arduous than it needs to be.
This is a vehicle in the Compact Car category so one shouldn’t expect to have a back seat with an abundance of extra space. That said, the interior was quite roomy as it offers more passenger room than either of the Honda Civic Sedan, Toyota Corolla or Mazda 3 Sedan.
From a safety perspective, the Chevrolet Cruze leads all others by offering 10 airbags as standard – 4 more than its closest competitor. 4 Wheel anti-lock brakes, traction control and an electronic stability control system called Stabilitrak are also standard as well.
GADGETS AND GI
ZMOS
I think we all need to admit, that even if we aren’t car people, we are always gadget and gizmo people. Despite being a Compact Class vehicle, the Chevrolet Cruze offers more than enough options to keep people happy. Everything from Bluetooth, to USB ports to a 9 speaker Pioneer speaker system, ONStar and wheel mounted steering controls.
If there is one thing that I dislike is that vehicles in this category have many of these features as options instead of standard. Given how many jurisdictions are now making it illegal to talk on your mobile phone without being hands free, I would greatly love to see things such as Bluetooth hands free becoming standards instead of being found in a particular upgrade package. Much as ABS and airbags were options in the beginning but standard nowadays, so too I think should be the fate of Bluetooth across the board.
STORAGE
The Chevrolet Cruze has an impressive amount of trunk space for a car of its size. Its trunk space is about 25% larger than either of the Civic, Corolla or Mazda 3. It would appear to easily be able to hold a full weeks of groceries for a family like mine, or say 3 sets of golf clubs or even a couple of hockey bags. The Cruze isn’t meant to be a hauler by any means, but it would seem to have more than enough room to meet the needs of just about all of its buyers.
IN THE END
I’ve admitted in the past that since I live in the same vicinity as General Motors of Canada HQ as well as its Oshawa assembly plants, there has always been a part of me that really wanted to like what GM has offered in its post-restructuring phase. I’ve also known that its necessary to not let any bias get in the way of a fair review, but I have to honestly say that testing the Chevrolet Cruze proved to be a very pleasant experience.
After returning the car after a few days I understood why the AJAC journalists were so high on The Cruze, and while there are still some areas that I think could be improved upon I have to commend GM for putting out a vehicle that in my estimation will be a sales leader in its class before too long and it’s been some time since GM can lay claim to that!
ENVIRO DAD’S Test Drive Ratings
Style: 4 out of 5
Comfort: 4 out of 5
Features: 3.5 out of 5
Storage: 5 out of 5
Drive: 4 out of 5
Enviro/Eco: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
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