Chevy Cruze

[hounddog]

I came across this the other night, not this one specifically but one exactly like it, and I have to admit I was impressed.




It looked really good, had a nice little engine sound and the chick driving it was smoking hot.  It reminded me a great deal of a smallish version of a 3 series.

Looks like someone at GM finally discovered how to design a car which does not make you want to wretch.

[68_427]

Wait 'till the diesel engine comes.

[Schadenfreude]

Wait 'till the diesel engine comes.

Maybe the hatch if the engineers get their way.

[heelntoe]

There's one under my building that looks almost exactly like that. It's parked right next to the gate, I can't help but stare at it on the way out.

It's a diesel, too!

[omicron]

I recently saw one of the new upper-spec SRI models and, um, I thought it looked really good. Building the Cruze locally could well turn into a real coup for Holden, especially with the keen value of the new 1.4 turbo.

[Atomic]

i have had such bad luck with terrible chevy impala and cobalt rentals and loaner cars that despite the much better design i am shy about driving another chevrolet. many raved about the cobalt (that replaced the cavalier) when that was introduced. trust needs to be earned. i will start with requesting a cruze rental next time i travel and see how gm has improved its small chevy.

[WookieOnRitalin]

Cruze Hatch with 2.0L Turbo = WANT

I've actually been very, very impressed with the Cruze. It's probably GM's best small car ever. I love how it looks especially from the rear, but I'm a butt guy anyway. From what I understand, it's decently quiet, decently peppy with the lower displacements and just better quality. It's an excellent vehicle and one of the best in class.

The other econobox I'm fond of is the new Elantra. The styling works for me. It's clean and sharp. The last version was sorta messy, but I thought the Korean design language translated much better to Elantra than the Sonata. It looks great.

My top five for the class:

1: Golf
2: Cruze
3: Focus
4: Elantra
5: 3

Golf is still my favorite.

[Madman]

The Cruze is a very good car but the new 2012 Focus has beaten it up and stolen it's lunch money.

[2o6]

The Cruze is a very good car but the new 2012 Focus has beaten it up and stolen it's lunch money.

Not really.

The Cruze is quiter and rides better while being built just as well.

The Focus is the American Mazda 3, and the Cruze is the American Corolla.

[Xer0]

Not really.

The Cruze is quiter and rides better while being built just as well.

The Focus is the American Mazda 3, and the Cruze is the American Corolla.

And we all know which of those two is better.

[The Pirate]

And we all know which of those two is better.

Which one sells better?  I'm with you, the 3 is the better car, but it's not what most drivers in this country want.

[Xer0]

Which one sells better?  I'm with you, the 3 is the better car, but it's not what most drivers in this country want.

You can put that up to a bunch of differences; dealer network, brand name, price.  The Civic is similarly superior to the Toyota as the Mazda is and enjoys just as great of sales.  But my point was, and reading back at what I wrote it?s worded terribly, the Corolla is a terrible, terrible comparison.  It is such a bad and uncompetitive vehicle in its class that the Cruze just doesn't the comparison. 

[Speed_Racer]

Was walking through a GM dealer lot the other day and came across a slew of Cruzes.

On the outside, they aren't bad looking. Better than the Corolla and Civic, IMO.

Inside, there were some good and bad points. I liked the use of fabric on the doors and dashboard near the airvents. Adds a nice look while probably being around the same price as the cheap plastic they could have used. The car I sat in had an all-black  interior and it sure was drab and low-rent looking. I don't remember seeing any chrome accents. I would like to see the other interior color options they have before making any further judgement.

Plus, there was a glaring flash line on the top of the parking brake handle. Had it been my car, it would have driven me nuts.

As far as small cars go, I wouldn't consider them a 'hole-in-one', but more like par for course.

[WookieOnRitalin]

It is a bad comparison, but the reality is that the Focus and the Cruze fill two market demands. Both high volume, but one being a softer, more comfortable vehicle thats competent in most departments, and the other a firmer, more athletic vehicle. They both can take up a huge chunk of market. The Cruze basically beats the crap out of every soft roader outside of the Elantra (though I have not driven either). The Focus kicks the crud out of almost every compact sporty vehicle other than the Golf.

Both are great vehicles. Just depends on preference. Both are well made, refined vehicles that are very frugal on the wallet and at the pump.

The irony here is that we're saying this about two American compact cars that have leapfrogged the class leaders (Civic, Corolla). The public will catch on eventually. I cannot wait to see the day when one of the Civic/Corolla are dethroned by a domestic make.

[CALL_911]

I cannot wait to see the day when one of the Civic/Corolla are dethroned by a domestic make.

Hopefully, that day is coming soon. The Civic and Corolla suck so much that it's bound to happen.

[ifcar]

Hopefully, that day is coming soon. The Civic and Corolla suck so much that it's bound to happen.

That's only true on the internetz.

[Speed_Racer]

The thing is that Honda/Toyota are riding on the perceived value and quality of their past products. Even if their products have slumped in the recent past and Chevy/Ford have surpassed them, the public has preconceptions about all brands that are deeply rooted.

[GoCougs]

The Cruze is a very good car but the new 2012 Focus has beaten it up and stolen it's lunch money.

Cruze (much like the Malibu, Camaro and Equinox) is how you do things. Focus (much like the Taurus, Mustang and Explorer) is how you DON'T do things.

[SVT666]

Cruze (much like the Malibu, Camaro and Equinox) is how you do things. Focus (much like the Taurus, Mustang and Explorer) is how you DON'T do things.

I think you troll as Nethead, or Nethead trolls as you.  One or the other.  You are one and the same.

[Madman]

Cruze (much like the Malibu, Camaro and Equinox) is how you do things. Focus (much like the Taurus, Mustang and Explorer) is how you DON'T do things.

The Taurus, Mustang and Explorer (AKA 2011 Freestyle) aren't my cup of tea, but how can you not be impressed by the 2012 Focus?  Even a Ford-hater like you must admit the new Focus is a game-changer in this segment.  Here's a car that brings BMW-like handling, quality, refinement and equipment to the masses and leaves it's rivals for dead.

I've never been much of a Ford fan (thanks to my dad owning a series of spectacularly shitty Fords and Lincolns) but some of their new stuff is positively stunning.  I have plenty of reasons to hate Ford (two LTDs, a Thunderbird, an LTD II, four F-Series trucks, a Pinto and a couple of Lincolns owned by my parents which were all absolute garbage) but if the new Focus is good enough to bring even ME back into the fold then they must be doing something right!

[ifcar]

The Taurus, Mustang and Explorer (AKA 2011 Freestyle) aren't my cup of tea, but how can you not be impressed by the 2012 Focus?  Even a Ford-hater like you must admit the new Focus is a game-changer in this segment.  Here's a car that brings BMW-like handling, quality, refinement and equipment to the masses and leaves it's rivals for dead.

I haven't yet driven the Focus, but I have seen no indication that any such thing is true. "BMW-like"? Reviews have said it's not even as sharp as a Mazda3 -- and even the Mazda3 is often overrated.

[AltinD]

It's nice to see you guys praising a KOREAN car

[2o6]

It's nice to see you guys praising a KOREAN car

More like German-American with a little Korean influence.

Cruze (much like the Malibu, Camaro and Equinox) is how you do things. Focus (much like the Taurus, Mustang and Explorer) is how you DON'T do things.

Maybe you're a little behind, but the Focus is new for 2012. And it's great.

[nickdrinkwater]

The Cruze is a decent looking car for a Chevy but I haven't seen many here in the UK.  They've just brought out a 5 dr hatch version which will be more popular(?)

The new Focus is very ugly, and hasn't had great reviews.  Not sure why you guys are raving out it.  I also had an 2010 old shape Focus on hire a couple of weeks ago and I really didn't like it.

[2o6]

The Cruze is a decent looking car for a Chevy but I haven't seen many here in the UK.  They've just brought out a 5 dr hatch version which will be more popular(?)

The new Focus is very ugly, and hasn't had great reviews.  Not sure why you guys are raving out it.  I also had an 2010 old shape Focus on hire a couple of weeks ago and I really didn't like it.

I think it's odd you think the Focus is ugly.....it looks awesome in person and very expensive inside and out.

[SVT666]

The Cruze is a decent looking car for a Chevy but I haven't seen many here in the UK.  They've just brought out a 5 dr hatch version which will be more popular(?)

The new Focus is very ugly, and hasn't had great reviews.  Not sure why you guys are raving out it.  I also had an 2010 old shape Focus on hire a couple of weeks ago and I really didn't like it.

Maybe you're crazy?

[nickdrinkwater]

Different strokes I guess, people here are slagging off the new Focus for being too "Americanised".  You can't please everybody.  Personally I think the styling isn't nice, especially those wrap around tail lamps.  The sedan actually looks better for me this time.

[GoCougs]

The Taurus, Mustang and Explorer (AKA 2011 Freestyle) aren't my cup of tea, but how can you not be impressed by the 2012 Focus?  Even a Ford-hater like you must admit the new Focus is a game-changer in this segment.  Here's a car that brings BMW-like handling, quality, refinement and equipment to the masses and leaves it's rivals for dead.

Ford hater? Ford is falling again into its legacy of catastrophic brand management. Remember, the Mustang, Escort, Ranger, Taurus and Explorer were ALL segment leaders in the '80s and/or '90s depending on the model, and ALL were rode into the ground in some of the automotive history's worst brand management of all time. (If you disagree with this history, you're on the side of wrong.)

Now take these modern times. The Taurus and Explorer sacrifice too much for styling and at best will hold the exceedingly mediocre sales line their predecessors held. The Mustang should have been due for an all-new model in 2009 but gave up the ghost to the Camaro, seeing some of its worst sales months in history since the Camaro debuted. Even the Fusion is an exercise in Ford's terrible brand management. The Malibu will see a generation change ('08 -'12) during the Fusion's far too long run ('06 -'13).

The comparison to BMW is IMO a broken premise. First, BMW is not quality. Second, there is no "BMW-like" handling with the new Focus. Third, "equipment" ain't nothing special save for the DSG tranny and to say this segment doesn't care about such things is an understatement. Fourth, refinement is by all accounts class average. At the end of the day it's an econo car with a bit of price-adding pizzaz a la Mazda 3. Sorry, that doesn't sell well in this segment.

You may like the car, and anything is better than the decade throwback it replaces, but that doesn't make it a game changer. Americans don't want high content expensive econo cars a la Europe and Japan. Chevy did a far better job with the Cruze at targeting the segment (though I don't like the name "Cruze" as it seems too fad-like to me). If you want an example of how to nail the styling vs. content vs. utility quotient, look to Hyundai.

I've never been much of a Ford fan (thanks to my dad owning a series of spectacularly shitty Fords and Lincolns) but some of their new stuff is positively stunning.  I have plenty of reasons to hate Ford (two LTDs, a Thunderbird, an LTD II, four F-Series trucks, a Pinto and a couple of Lincolns owned by my parents which were all absolute garbage) but if the new Focus is good enough to bring even ME back into the fold then they must be doing something right!

Nah, you're only one bloke, and by all accounts you don't buy new econo cars. Also remember only action can be judged (buying a particular car), not thought or words (liking a particular car). It's only a "game changer" if the market judges it so.

[MX793]

Third, "equipment" ain't nothing special save for the DSG tranny and to say this segment doesn't care about such things is an understatement. 

SYNC (FoMoCo exclusive) and class-exclusive automatic parallel parking aren't special or noteworthy?

You may like the car, and anything is better than the decade throwback it replaces, but that doesn't make it a game changer. Americans don't want high content expensive econo cars a la Europe and Japan. Chevy did a far better job with the Cruze at targeting the segment (though I don't like the name "Cruze" as it seems too fad-like to me). If you want an example of how to nail the styling vs. content vs. utility quotient, look to Hyundai.

Have you happened to look at the pricing on the Cruze?  It's not appreciably less expensive than the Focus.  And the tiny turbo engine in lieu of a larger, NA motor isn't exactly the type of powerplant American buyers normally flock to.

[68_427]

Maybe you're crazy?

Their last gen Focus was a better car.