Chevrolet Cruze VCDi 2.0 (150) Auto
by Tim Barnes-Clay, the man behind the wheel.
Date: 12 December 2010
THE CRUZE, which is underpinned by GM’s latest platform, represents a major leap forward for the iconic Chevrolet brand.
The car has sporty, coupe-esque styling, a good diesel engine as well as decent handling. The interior has been attractively crafted too and although the Cruze competes on price with the Kia Ceed, Hyundai i30 and Skoda Octavia, it is significantly larger, making you feel like you're getting more bang for your buck.
First Impressions
First impressions when you get behind the wheel are very pleasing. The dials and control panel are chic and the seats and soft-touch materials are good quality. There’s ample room in the front but far less in the back, so taller rear seat passengers will definitely struggle with legroom.
I would have preferred a dial rather than a lever to adjust the backrest of the driver’s seat, and there is no lumbar adjustment. That said, the seats are so supportive you soon realise you don’t need one. The boot is big too, and very accessible for a saloon car.
In diesel guise it’s a bit noisy to start with but the Chevy is smooth and hushed once up to speed. The 2.0 VCDi LT turbo-diesel automatic version, on test here, produces 150bhp and oodles of pulling power.
Relaxed High-Speed Performance
Its relaxed high-speed performance means you sometimes feel the car shifting through the automatic gearbox more than expected when driving up hills, but the car never feels out of puff.
The only downside about having an auto box is that the average fuel economy drops to around 35mpg, whereas on the manual version of this Cruze you’d expect around 51mpg. Still, it’s pretty reasonable if you don’t like a lot of left foot work.
The Chevrolet certainly provides good levels of on-road comfort and is a truly impressive distance car, so ideal for anyone who regularly travels the UK’s motorway network.
The steering is a bit on the light side and therefore feels a tad uninvolving at times, but the Cruze corners strongly, with great body control and masses of grip.
It's easily as comfortable as its rivals and with an on-the-road price tag of £16,845 as well as a 5-star NCAP crash safety rating, it’s a lot of car for the money.
PROS ‘N’ CONS
PROS
- Good looking
- Value for money
- Comfort
- Handling
CONS
- Steering is too light
FAST FACTS
- Max speed: 124 mph
- 0-62 mph: 9.9 secs
- Combined mpg: 35
- Engine: 4cyl, 1991 cc, turbodiesel
- Power: 150 PS at 4000 rpm
- Torque: 327 Nm at 2600 rpm
- CO2: 177
- Price: £16,845 OTR
