Cruze

Vehicle: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco with TPMS
Price as tested: CDN$19364

Performance: Whenever anyone saw the word “Eco”, “Economy” has to be the first word which comes to mind. With the introduction of the economical version of the highly praised Cruze, Chevrolet is about to pit the gasoline-powered “Eco” versus anything else from both the turbodiesel and hybrid arena.

While the Eco features the same state-of-the-art 1.4 liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder as the LTZ, there are details which aren’t anything but significant for this puppy to achieve its excellent fuel economy. 138hp certainly has enough get-up-and-go for most daily driving, its the 148 lb/ft of torque which provides the most needed: torque, on everyday driving needs. The result is a small car which provides suprising amount of performace without losing any sorts of refinement and smoothness, which usually associate with cars costing twice as much. In the past, you won’t hear the words “refinement” and “top notch NVH” when talking about General small cars. Since the advant of the Cruze, these words can be pretty much describe this superbly engineered product perfectly. This is just going to prove American has the resources and engineering prowess to produce a great small cars, as long as they have the right guts to do. As for the Eco, its 6-speed manual has specifically tall gear ratios to suit its fuel economy purpose. The result is the Eco revs at a very relaxing rpm even if we are driven at triple digit set of speeds. It all done in a very elegant and comfortable manners. The clutch is light and progressive, yet all the gear ratios have been properly placed for Eco’s intended purpose. Especially the top three gears are specifically calibrated as overdrives. Along with the low-resistance tires and improved aerodynamic pieces, its able to achieve an ultra impressive 4.5 liters per 100km during on day of testing. This is nothing short of amusing given its 3010 lb curb weight, which is 167 lb lighter than those of equivalent LTZ turbo with the same powertrain as the Eco.

Handling: Before we start discussing about Eco’s dynamic abilities, we need to clarify the Eco is intended to compete with the likes of hybrids. Its pretty much well-known that hybrids are nasty to drive but ride comfortably. Although the Eco doesn’t impress us as much as we last test drove the Cruze turbo, it does provide a smitten surprise when compares to its hybrid peers. The compliant suspension with low-resistance tires have provided decent enough grip without losing the forte ride comfort of the Cruze architecture. On the other hand, its electric power steering provides decent enough feel and feedback. Its delightfully precise and responsive to driver input. When pushed the Eco, its very obvious that Eco is tuned toward comfortable ride than edgy handling. That’s despite its handling is confidence-inspiring without feeling like wet noodle, as in previous Cobalt and Cavalier. There are plenty of understeer when pushed into corners, which doesn’t come as a single bit of surprise. However, body motion is very controlled. When you combined with a fail-safe dynamic setting and a sublime ride quality, which is both supple and controlled, its easy for driver to concentrate on getting the best possible fuel economy. That’s exactly what the Eco is intended to do. If you are those who are looking for world-class driving pleasure while saving fuel, VW’s TDI twins are definitely the best alternative to both Eco and hybrids.

Brakes: Unlike so many of its hybrid counterparts, Eco’s braking feels firm and solid. It doesn’t have hybrid regenerative braking system’s spongy feedback to the driver’s right foot. It provides a firm and solidly modulated brake pedal feel travel all the way. Along with the 4-wheel discs and ABS as standard feature for only 19 grand, it makes Eco a very irresistible package as a whole.

Interior: The Eco continues Cruze’s impressive interior theme. In the past, you won’t be able to put exceptional build quality and GM compact altogether. Nowaday, you can. The Cruze is such a car. The use of materials and fit-and-finish are top-notch, which are good enough to put many of its hybrid rivals to shame.

With a low liftover, minimal wheel instrusions and 40/60 split fold-down rear seats, Eco’s practicality means you can have a cake and eat it too.

Conclusion: When you consider the fact that Eco isn’t any kinds of turbodiesel or hybrid, while its still able to achieve its factory claims fuel economy of 4.6 liters per 100km is nothing short of a technological amusement. All have done without sacificing the responsive performance, exceptional ride comfort and daily livability of Cruze. The icing on the cake is its price. Its several thousand dollars less expensive than equivalent hybrids, which is more than enough to justify the purchase of an Eco over any of those gasoline + electric experiments.

Competitions:
Honda Insight
Honda Civic hybrid
Toyota Prius
VW Golf/Jetta TDI

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco
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Performance: 4.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 5/5

Overall rating: 4.25/5

Vehicle: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT with Convenience Pkg, Connectivity Pkg and RS Appearance Pkg
Price as tested: CDN$24720

Performance: From so many years, many consumers would have thought GM is unable to produce any competitive compact car. Will the new Cruze prove them wrong? We will find out after this test drive.

The Cruze is powered by one of two engines. The base version is an Ecotec 1.8 liter with 136hp and 123 lb/ft of torque. While this engine is adequate for most occassions, its the uplevel 1.4 liter Ecotec turbocharged mill that is the engine of choice for anyone shopping for a Cruze. Both engines come with variable valve timing and DOHC variety. Not only does this engine provide the same kind of refinement and smoothness, as the 1.4 liter turbocharged benchmark slots into VW Golf elsewhere in the world. It doesn’t have the usual roughness and noise one associates with GM Ecotec of the old days. In fact, this is a worldclass powerplant that is able to run with any cars in its class. On the other hand, this mill’s 138hp and more importantly, 148 lb/ft of torque, move this car with authority. All have done without annoying turbo lag, as one associates with small displacement turbocharged engine. While the variable valve timing enhances both mid and upper range on the powerband.

If the only letdown is the GM’s GT-60 6-speed manumatic gearbox. While the manumatic is smooth and coordiated during shifts, which is up to GM’s usual high standard on engineered great automatic transmission. Its the gearbox programming that Chevrolet engineers need to get back to drawing board before losing any potential customers. In just a few seconds, this 6-speed gears up from 1st right to 6th in a quick shift. While this is great for fuel economy as the gearbox is always on “overdrive”, it doesn’t allow for any downshifting until driver gets their hands on the maumatic side. This combination only makes the turbo engine feels sluggish when pushed. I meant “feel” but the “actual” performance doesn’t reflect that trend. On the other hand, when its on manumatic mode. Cruze’s automatic always on 4th gear. GM has learned this from Toyota’s playbook on hanging the gearbox on 4th gear for fuel economy reason. Given its a manumatic, the control should be the driver instead of that damn computer. Its the driver who control the car, not the computer. Until GM figures out the proper way of automatic gearbox programming, the 5-speed manual with nice throw and progressive clutch is a far superior choice in this new Cruze. This alone, however, would lost some customers. As GM predicts over 90% of Cruze will be sold with automatic gearbox. Considering the fact that Cruze is a great car to begin with, its a pity if it lost potential customers just because of the stupid gearbox programming.

Handling: The Cruze is based on GM’s worldwide Delta 2 platform. Considering the fact that this platform has been well-proven for its level of rigidty and ruggedness around the world, also bond well for WTCC motorsports. No one would ever doubt Cruze’s dynamic abilities is anything but putting smiles on driver’s face. In terms of handling abilities, the Cruze is able to challenge anything else in its compact class. The electric steering provides excellent feel and feedback, with enough precision. The ride quality is comfortably and supple. Our LT comes with optional sports suspension which adds firmer springs and shocks. The result is a compact car that handles very much like a sports sedan. Push the Cruze through corners, the Cruze reacts with delightful feedback through the driver without the usual numbness one associates with GM compacts of the past. There are minimal understeer and body rolls are well-controlled. Add to the fact ths Stabiliztrak is one of the world’s best ESC, its really hard to get Cruze loose except driver is doing reckless behaviour. In short, the Cruze is a very well-engineered dynamic package.

Brakes: With front discs and rear drums on our LT turbo tester, Cruze is able to performance accordingly when it comes to braking performance. The stopping distance is short while pedal always have some lives to it. Unlike GM compact in the bad ole’ days, the pedal feel is crisp and linear. Its also fade-free after a couple of harsh stops. Best of all, ABS doesn’t intervene unnecessarily.

Interior: If you thought the previous Cobalt’s interior is made from Lego-ish plastic, the new Cruze is anything but. All those cheaply made plastic with edgy surfaces have gone with high-quality plastic trim pieces. The use of plastic materials are world-class. There are soft-touch plastic around the dashboard and door panels. The cloth seats are comfortable, with nice thigh and back support. All the instrumentation gauges are clear and analog. Stereo placed above HVAC is an ideal ergonomic placement. All the controls are initutive, including the optional Bluetooth function. The form-follows-function theme of the interior flows through one side of the door panel to the dashboard, all have done with classy materials which make an interior felt like a much more expensive ride. The cheap and cheesy interior of past GM interior has come classy and feel expensive all in one sentence. Its really put Corolla and Civic’s interiors ashamed, while its able to match the class-leading Mazda3. All that said, its a very high praised indeed.

While the trunk is nicely carpeted with wide and squared opening, also score well with 60/40 split fold-down rear seats for maximum cargo capacity. The trunk hinges remain the poppy leever hinge type which means it crashes into any groceries down inside.

Conclusion: Those who thought GM is able to produce any competitive compact entrant certainly haven’t driven the Cruze yet. The Cruze is GM’s world-class entrant into the fiercely competitive compact class. It has a superb combination of a good powertrain, it would be great if GM is able to address the annoying automatic programming for next model year. The handling and ride compromise is sublime. An interior that is able to match the competitions, even beaten some of them. That is easy to explain why Chevrolet Cruze won Directshift’s small car of the year, as well as the runner-up as the overall car of the year.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4.5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 4/5

Overall rating: 4.5/5