Chevrolet Cruze HatchbackWhere do you go to launch a new version of the Cruze? You might of course consider taking your Chevy to the levee, but probably the last place that most journalists would expect to go is Donington race circuit. However, it was an apposite choice, for the weekend of the launch saw the World Touring Car Championship come to Donington, and the winner of that series in 2010 was, yes, Chevrolet.The Cruze was launched in 2009 as a saloon, and at the time we thought it a worthy contender, and an impressive start to what is a burgeoning range of decent vehicles. The trouble with the launch saloon model was, well, just that. It’s a saloon, which in the rest of Europe is the favoured body style, but here in the UK it plays second fiddle, or more likely something amongst the violas, to the ubiquitous hatchbacks. So to a collective sigh of relief from all British motorists, the new model is a Cruze Hatchback.Like the Cruze saloon, the hatch has an assertive front appearance created by the horizontally separated radiator grill. At the rear, the roof-mounted spoiler and a crease in the pillar which runs to the base of the rear screen are designed to reinforce an expression of speed. The result is a car which does stand out from the crowd of similarly sized hatches, and inside the car there’s no disappointment with the quality of furnishings or the room available for passengers. Rear leg room for instance is very generous; sitting behind the driving seat positioned as I like it, which is greedy, my legs hardly touched the front seat, and there’s plenty of head room too.A few years back the enjoyment of driving a Chevy would have been limited; the American penchant for building cars incapable of going round corners without falling over was well understood, if a trifle exaggerated. However, as mentioned in the first paragraph, the current cars are capable of taking on the best of Europe on the race tracks, and in a clever forward-thinking way the company now prepares a Chevrolet Spark for the world’s youngest ever works rally driver. At the Cruze launch I was taken around a pseudo-special stage by Cameron Davies, who drove, spoke and acted with the maturity of someone at least twice his actual sixteen years. Competing in the Formula 1000 Junior rally championship, Cameron will be able to show not only his potential, but that of the wee 1-litre Spark, which certainly felt good to me.Back to the bigger Cruze, and there was a variety of engines with which to experiment. The smaller petrol one, which we had with auto transmission, is a leisurely performer, and would have been better served with manual transmission; small autos are apt to change gear in too eager and frequent a manner, and this was no exception. Moving onto the manual 1.8 we were in a different world, and this Cruze felt highly competent.All three cars that I tried, including the 2-litre diesel, handled well on good surfaces, with excellent levels of feel through the steering, while the firmish suspension kept the body upright and pointing in exactly the right direction. That’s mostly down to the design of the McPherson strut front suspension which has side-load compensated front strut modules with specially shaped springs; these apparently reduce the sliding friction caused by the bending load on the strut. The side load compensation allowed engineers to move the front wheels further outboard for a geometrically more stable footprint. The only downside to all of it is that on poor surfaces the car can feel a bit uncertain, a feeling mitigated by the excellent lateral support of the seats.It feels a solid and safe motor, and primary safety is boosted by Electronic Stability Control, Electronic Brake Distribution and Traction Control that are standard on all models. So too are six airbags.The boot is large and straight-sided, so easy to load, provided that lifting heavy luggage over the high sill is no problem for you. Capacity is 413 litres minimum, with rear seats in place. As hatchbacks go, this one is a tad half-hearted, for though the seat backs fold – thereby increasing volume to 883 litres – the cushion doesn’t, so there’s a pronounced lip up to the folded backs, and a slope up from there.So it has some minor faults, but overall I was impressed with the new Cruze. It’s impressively spacious, good to drive, and has an inviting interior equipped with quality fabrics plus a range of refined engines.Size: 4.51m x 1.80mEngines: Petrol: 1.6 & 1.8 litres – 124 & 141PSDiesel: 2.0 litres – 163PSGearbox: 5/6-speed FWDBest consumption: Diesel – 50.4mpgPrice at Sept ’11: from £13,995Full details of the Cruze are available on the manufacturer’s website: www.chevrolet.co.ukPeter Cracknell – Sept 2011
Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback
Where do you go to launch a new version of the
Cruze? You might of course consider taking your
Chevy to the levee, but probably the last place that
most journalists would expect to go is Donington race
circuit. However, it was an apposite choice, for the
weekend of the launch saw the World Touring Car
Championship come to Donington, and the winner of
that series in 2010 was, yes, Chevrolet.
The Cruze was launched in 2009 as a saloon, and at
the time we thought it a worthy contender, and an
impressive start to what
is a burgeoning range
of decent vehicles. The
trouble with the launch
saloon model was,
well, just that. It’s a
saloon, which in the
rest of Europe is the
favoured body style,
but here in the UK it
plays second fiddle, or
more likely something
amongst the violas, to
the ubiquitous
hatchbacks. So to a
collective sigh of relief
from all British
motorists, the new
model is a Cruze Hatchback.
Like the Cruze saloon, the hatch has an assertive
front appearance created by the horizontally
separated radiator grill. At the rear, the roof-mounted
spoiler and a crease in the pillar which runs to the
base of the rear screen are designed to reinforce an
expression of speed. The result is a car which does
stand out from the crowd of similarly sized hatches,
and inside the car there’s no disappointment with the
quality of furnishings or the room available for
passengers. Rear leg room for instance is very
generous; sitting behind the driving seat positioned as
I like it, which is greedy, my legs hardly touched the
front seat, and there’s plenty of head room too.
A few years back the enjoyment of driving a Chevy
would have been limited; the American penchant for
building cars incapable of going round corners without
falling over was well understood, if a trifle
exaggerated. However, as mentioned in the first
paragraph, the current cars are capable of taking on
the best of Europe on the race tracks, and in a clever
forward-thinking way the company now prepares a
Chevrolet Spark for the world’s youngest ever works
rally driver. At the Cruze launch I was taken around a
pseudo-special stage by Cameron Davies, who drove,
spoke and acted with the maturity of someone at least
twice his actual sixteen years. Competing in the
Formula 1000 Junior rally championship, Cameron
will be able to show not only his potential, but that of
the wee 1-litre Spark, which certainly felt good to me.
Back to the bigger Cruze, and there was a variety of
engines with which to experiment. The smaller petrol
one, which we had with auto transmission, is a
leisurely performer, and would have been better
served with manual transmission; small autos are apt
to change gear in too eager and frequent a manner,
and this was no exception. Moving onto the manual
1.8 we were in a different world, and this Cruze felt
highly competent.
All three cars that I tried, including the 2-litre diesel,
handled well on good surfaces, with excellent levels of
feel through the steering, while the firmish suspension
kept the body upright and pointing in exactly the right
direction. That’s mostly down to the design of the
McPherson strut front suspension which has side-load
compensated front strut modules with specially shaped
springs; these apparently reduce the sliding friction
caused by the bending load on the strut. The side load
compensation allowed
engineers to move the front
wheels further outboard for
a geometrically more stable
footprint. The only
downside to all of it is that
on poor surfaces the car
can feel a bit uncertain, a
feeling mitigated by the
excellent lateral support of
the seats.
It feels a solid and safe
motor, and primary safety is
boosted by Electronic
Stability Control, Electronic
Brake Distribution and
Traction Control that are
standard on all models. So
too are six airbags.
The boot is large and straight-sided, so easy to load,
provided that lifting heavy luggage over the high sill is
no problem for you. Capacity is 413 litres minimum,
with rear seats in place. As hatchbacks go, this one is a
tad half-hearted, for though the seat backs fold –
thereby increasing volume to 883 litres – the cushion
doesn’t, so there’s a pronounced lip up to the folded
backs, and a slope up from there.
So it has some minor faults, but overall I was
impressed with the new Cruze. It’s impressively
spacious, good to drive, and has an inviting interior
equipped with quality fabrics plus a range of refined
engines.
Size:
4.51m x 1.80m
Engines:
Petrol: 1.6 & 1.8 litres – 124 & 141PS
Diesel: 2.0 litres – 163PS
Gearbox:
5/6-speed FWD
Best consumption:
Diesel – 50.4mpg
Price at Sept ’11:
from £13,995
Full details of the Cruze are available on the manufacturer’s
website: www.chevrolet.co.uk
Peter Cracknell – Sept 2011
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