TIME was when the accepted mode of family transport was easily recognisable by the fact that it was usually a four-door saloon.

Although the saloon may no longer be considered a common or garden member of the UK motor world, there are still some around and one of the most recent additions is the Chevrolet Cruze.

Destined, says the US car maker, to be the most important Chevrolet to date, leading the way for a further eight Chevrolet newcomers by 2012, this four-door mid-sized saloon comes with distinctive design pointers aiming to make an indelible mark in the sector for quality, refinement and value for money.

Despite the five-door hatchback being a firm favorite for family car buyers in the UK, a Cruze hatch is not expected here until next year.

On offer to power the Cruze are four engine choices, two petrol in the 1.6-litre 111bhp and 1.8-litre 139bhp units while diesels are two 2.0-litre VCDi engines pulling 123bhp and 148bhp respectively.

Three trim levels, S, LS and LT, are progressively generous, the entry level 1.6 S coming with standard kit which includes air con, remote central locking, ‘follow me home’ lighting, a quality sound system with CD and auxiliary input socket plus electric front windows, all for a range price opener of a little over £12,000.

While the mid-range LS trim continued to be the range best seller during the first year of sales, driven here is the flagship range topper LT model which comes with leather upholstery, cruise and climate control, uprated sound system, electric windows all round, plus 17-inch alloys.

This car was powered by the 2.0-litre 148bhp VCDi turbo diesel engine paired with a five-speed manual gearbox, although, for a premium of just over a grand, there is a six slot automatic gearbox available for those who enjoy driving the auto way.

The cabin is a comfortable place to be, benefiting from some soft touch vinyls and plastics. The figure hugging front pews move fore and aft in very user friendly fashion and there is some extremely generous leg, height and shoulder room.

In addition, a pretty decent boot provides some 450 litres of stowage space in the neatly squared off luggage bay with all seats taken while some thoughtful storage areas on board include a centre console CD store, oddments tray atop the dash, plus cup and bottle holders.

A comfortable driving position is easily arrived at via height the adjustable driver’s seat and reach and rake adjustment of the steering wheel.

A neatly sculpted dashboard includes some attractive soft blue backlighting which I find decidedly soothing during night driving.

A handsome looker, the Chevrolet Cruze shows up good on the tarmac, its coupe-like outline featuring a sleek roofline while a decidedly muscular front end adds to its attractive profile.

Quiet and smooth on the move while sitting nicely on General Motor’s Delta 2 platform, the Cruze handles attentively. It’s nicely stable and a neat handler while there is some good quality comfort and refinement to be enjoyed in all parts when on the cruise – or should that be cruze.

Overall, this is a decent family affair, the 148bhp turbo diesel power source adding more than a touch of individual character to its roadway progress while a well appointed interior endorses its well deserved good value reputation.

FAST FACTS

Chevrolet Cruze LT 2.0 VCDi

Price: £16,045

Mechanical: 148bhp, 1,991cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 5-speed manual gearbox

Max speed: 130mph

0-62mph: 8.7 seconds

Combined mpg: 50.4

Insurance group: 10

CO2 emissions: 149g/km

BiK rating: 21%

Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles

by Malcolm Robertshaw, drivingforce.uk.net

Tags: 2.0, Cruze, lt, road test, UK, VCDI
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New Chevrolet Cruzes will roll out of the assembly line in September, with hopes of drawing the attention of younger drivers and emerge as a major player in the compact market dominated by Honda and Toyota.

The American company had long been struggling to build a steadily profitable line of compacts. Its Corvair and Vega were both safety and design disasters. Customers were more enticed with Corollas and Civic than Chevys. None of its small cars got the Recommended Buy rating from Consumer Reports’ April issue. Cruze’s predecessor, the Chevy Cobalt, sold only 105,000 units in the U.S. last year. In contrast to Japanese car makers Toyota and Honda, both of which drew more than 20 percent of its total auto sales from its compacts, GM only had an 8 percent share.

Furthermore, GM execs dismiss the compact line as an unwise investment due to their cheap prices compared to their expensive manufacturing cost, which is also the reason why its compact offerings, as one reporter observed, are compromised because of GM’s tight control costs.

“They really haven’t spent any time or money on these vehicles,” said Mr. David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports’ auto testing department.

Although GM may be lagging behind the compact race, particularly missing the industry boom last decade, the competition is far from over. Demand for compact and subcompacts in the U.S. is increasing phenomenally, from 21 percent in 2005 to 33 percent this year, and much bigger demand is expected from international market.

Early Cruze prototypes had issues of its own, and poor showroom performance resulted in delaying the production from April to August. Noisy tires, constantly shifting transmission, and lag between gas step and the turbocharger were among the major culprits of the delay.

According to Mark Reuss, GM’s North American president, all the problems had been fixed. The former head of engineering assured that the transmission was redone, the turbocharger lag was resolved, so as the transmission. He also added that an Eco version of Cruze will be available, and expected to run for 40 miles in one gallon.

However, many consumers are still skeptical about considering Chevy’s compacts. Previous offerings were often overlooked due to their outdated looks and mediocre performance.

Nonetheless, GM engineers are working hard to improve Cruze’s quality. Pitted against other models during one test ride, Cruze actually proved quieter and the handling seemed to fare better. A reviewer from Consumer Reports was also impressed with the car, from it looks down to its handling and performance.

A base Cruze will retail around $17,000, slightly more than those similar offerings from other companies. GM said that the price premium justifies Cruze’s additional standard features not commonly found in other compacts.

Mr. Tom Stephens, the Head of Product Development of GM said, the construction of the Cruze is better than that of Corolla or Civic.

“They’ve got quite a gap that they’ve got to close just to be competitive, let alone get ahead,” said Mr. Stephens.

Tags: Cruze, GM, Tom Stephens
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Those inclined to “buy Ohio” will be able to pick up a Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze this September with a sticker price starting at $16,995, General Motors said yesterday.

At that price, the Cruze, which replaces the Chevrolet Cobalt, will cost about $500 more than a Honda Civic, but GM contends that its car is the better value.

The company’s announcement yesterday included a side-by-side comparison, showing that the Cruze has nine standard features that cost extra on the Civic, including air conditioning, traction control and satellite radio.

“While some of our competitors may have a lower starting price, Cruze wins on value once these competitors are optioned up,” said Jim Campbell, GM’s vice president for marketing, in a statement.

Christina Ra, a Honda spokeswoman, said the comparison isn’t very useful because it uses a basic version of the Civic, without some of the most popular add-ons. Also, she sees little crossover between a potential Civic buyer and a Cruze buyer.

“The target customer may be very different,” she said.

Built at the Lordstown Assembly Plant near Youngstown, the Cruze is GM’s attempt to establish a presence among compact vehicles. In addition to the Civic, the segment includes the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla.

Ohio leaders have a lot riding on the Cruze, which they hope will mark a turnaround for GM’s fortunes in the state, after a long period of layoffs and plant closings. Lordstown was spared in last year’s closings partly because of the investment that had been made in developing the Cruze.

The model already has been introduced in international markets, with about 200,000 vehicles sold. GM had hoped to begin U.S. sales sooner, but there have been delays on the engineering side.

John Wolkonowicz, auto analyst at IHS Global Insight, says the Cruze is one of the most important new products for U.S.-owned automakers in the next year. The others include the redesigned Focus compact and Fiesta subcompact from Ford and the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact.

The four models take aim at parts of the market that have been dominated by foreign-based automakers.

“This is going to put some pricing pressure on the Japanese companies,” Wolkonowicz said.

His main concern about the Cruze is that its styling might be too bland, especially compared with the new Focus.

“The Cruze is a lot more conservative than the Focus,” he said. “That’s not by design, but that’s how it turned out.”

His company is forecasting that the Cruze will sell 169,000 units next year and increase to 180,000 a year by 2013.

Those numbers would be lower than those for the Cobalt, 212,000 of which were sold in 2006.

Wolkonowicz said GM made almost no profit on the Cobalt, but the Cruze is expected to be more of a moneymaker.

Tags: 2011, Cruze, price
Posted in 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Cruze | No Comments »

Part III: The massive Lordstown Complex has three areas prepping to build the Chevy Cruze for North America: the body shop, the paint shop and the assembly line. Heres a look inside the body shop where dedicated employees, brand new equipment and over 800 robots help construct the Cruze.

Tags: Lordstown
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