Cruze cruises to best 'Chevy' title (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Cruze cruises to best 'Chevy' title

9:26am Thursday 25th June 2009 in

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You know the credit crunch is beginning to bite when the car launches switch from Malaga and Monaco to Morecambe.

That’s right, Chevrolet chose Bradford-by-the-sea rather than some continental hotspot to unveil its latest new model, the Cruze.

To be fair, they did choose the snazziest place in town – the splendid revamped Midland Hotel, an art deco palace – for last week’s event.

And even typical Morecambe rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm for what is rather a fine car.

The Cruze is a four-door saloon which offers Mondeo size for Focus money. It’s unpretentious, smart and sensible, and it’s quite simply the best Chevrolet yet.

Well, the best Chevrolet since the proud old marque became the cheap-and-cheerful end of the General Motors family. This model competes against Kia C’eed, Hyundai i30 and Skoda Octavia, among others, in terms of price, but claims with some justification to be better in terms of quality.

In fact, with prices starting at below £12,000, it’s very hard to fault.

Chevrolet has been busy in recent months and years with the Captiva, the firm’s foray into the popular lifestyle sports utility market. There’s also the Matiz, Aveo, Lacetti, Tacuma and Epica, some of which I guess you’ve never heard of, which is a shame. Chevrolets are actually put together pretty well.

So, in short, the Cruze is the next step in the rejuvenation plan. A four-door saloon? I guess we’re not exactly tripping over such cars in the UK. The trend in large parts of Europe is for five-door hatchbacks.

So why is Chevrolet offering something with four doors first? The simple reason is that there’s more to life than Western Europe for General Motor’s global brand. Eastern Europe, Russia, the Far East and South America are all important markets – and they like their compact saloons.

It is, however, more than just a bonus that we also get the Cruze.

With around 1,000 cars forecast for the UK, that’s a pretty respectable figure given the current climate. Factor in keen pricing – a Chevrolet speciality – plus good levels of equipment and it starts to make sense.

The Cruze also spearheads the company’s new design theme and, most importantly, is an all-new departure from the older car lines inherited from the days of Daewoo.

What we have here is a bold-looking car with a more streamlined shape than anything before from the Chevrolet stable. Fussy details are out in favour of smooth lines and a distinctive family face.

And while the Cruze, on paper at least, offers a conventional four-door experience, its styling couldn’t be further from the traditional competition. To describe its profile as something closer to a coupe than a middle-of-the-road saloon is not hype but an accurate observation. That the Cruze also looks good when transformed into a race car – squat stance, wide track – is a welcome bonus. Not every car makes the transformation, so something has worked, and those World Touring Car racers sure do look purposeful.

But let’s not get carried away here. At the end of the day, the Cruze has to deliver on the road. Thankfully it does, through a combination of sound handling and impressive refinement.

For a car positioned at the more affordable end of the scale, its interior is a pleasantly surprising mix of good quality materials and well thought-out ergonomics. It will also accommodate four adults in comfort – the Cruze’s coupe-like sloping roofline proves to be no barrier for rear seat occupants.

A quick look around the cabin and it’s clear that lessons have been learned from the old Daewoo days.

Fit and finish is much improved and the car’s centre console is not a million miles away from that of Cadillac’s CTS in terms of design and layout.

Premium car name checking aside, everything works as expected and there’s a reassuring weighty feel to the various controls – steering, gearshift, brakes and switchgear.

This rounded and mature experience continues when you’re on the move. With the option of a 1.6 (113 horsepower) and 1.8 petrol (141 horsepower) plus a 2.0-litre diesel (125 and 150 horsepower), there’s no shortage of choice.

Private buyers will likely be drawn to the petrol units – both work well, with the 1.8 delivering an extra slug of power to make motorway cruising more relaxing. If you’re interested in diesel and have one eye on the company car tax regulations, the 125 horsepower should do the trick. If the flagship 150 horse unit is anything to go by, refinement and flexibility shouldn’t be an issue.

All of which leaves the way the car will be positioned in the marketplace. The three-model range (S, LS, LT) offers an interesting spread of equipment. The latter is reserved for the flagship diesel and an auto gearbox variant of the 1.8 petrol Cruze, and gets you cruise control, upgraded stereo, climate control, electric rear windows, 17-in alloy wheels and access to an optional sat-nav unit.

More conservative buyers can choose from the S spec with its remote central locking, radio/CD unit, generous inclusion of follow-me-home-headlights, six airbags and electronic stability control. A sub-model of the S spec adds air-con.

The predicted best-seller is the LS, offering the likes of standard fit air-con, alloy wheels, chrome-edged front grille and the surprising and welcome rear parking sensors. Auto gearbox models aside (both 1.6 and 1.8 petrols qualify), all cars come with a five-speed manual transmission.

Chevrolet’s Cruze might be slightly left of field – four instead of five doors the obvious departure – but for some it will provide a welcome diversion.

Anyone keen to stick to a budget and downsizing from a larger saloon or seeking a compact car with more class than a bog standard hatchback, will likely find the compact Chevrolet a tempting proposition.

PRICE: from £12,595 on the road. The Cruze begins at £11,995.

ENGINE: 1.6-litre petrol unit developing 113bhp via five-speed manual transmission as standard, driving the front wheels.

PERFORMANCE: Maximum speed 115mph, 0-62mph 12.5 seconds.

ECONOMY: 41.5mpg on average.

CO2 RATING: 159g/km.

WARRANTY: Three years, 60,000 miles.