Chevy Cruze?

After watching the Cruze in action in the BTCC and WTCC I have been kind of smitten with the looks. I started to pay attention to ones I see locally and the styling really appeals to me.

We just bought a new Elantra and the Cruze is in the same price range. Even though the wife says no way I think I would have preferred to get the Cruze instead.

Of course I would have to paint it that blue and lower it over a set of white wheels.

What do these drive like? I like the way the Elantra drives how does the Cruze compare? This is all just theoretical because it's not like we can switch now I was just wondering how these two compare.

Just because I like to post pics;

this is our Elantra.

The secks.

Well the stock Cruze looks nothing like the Touring Car, but besides that my neighbor bought one (2011 Eco in Black). Keep in mind this guy is from Wisconsin and loves American stuff (even though he'd been driving Hondas and Toyotas lately). He hates it. The transmission is stupid, it gets nowhere near the advertised fuel mileage, and it's had to go back to the dealer twice already. This guy is also a grandparent and drives like one.

We have a neighbor down the street with a regular 2011 in Red who drives it like a race car. She's also getting horrible mileage and has had some quality issues.

I've been pretty hardcore about supporting GM on this forum, but all of my experience with the Cruze are poor. The Hyundai is a much better choice.

Wife's getting 18mpg or so according to the computer. If I drive it I can usually jump that up to the mid twenty's even on a short drive. close enough for me.

The 6 speed auto is interesting. Everyone says it shifts wierd but i think its fine...perception is skewed on how a trans should shift.

The turbo ones have some giddy up i was impressed and scared to see i was doing 25 over the speed limit without knowing it...a testament to is quietness?

Interior is nice to me.

Drive one, or rent one for a weekend or something and go off that.

Try it for yourself first. You will get a million different opionions but the only one that matters is your in the end.

Have fun

I have a base model w/ 6sp manual. Regularly see 36 mpg with hit over the course of the 18,000 miles I've put on it. It's quiet, never had any issues, and has enough room for my family of three.

I like it and plan on keeping it til it's dead.

My buddy's Cruze with the 6spd manual gets 35-38mpg highway no problem@ 75-80mph.

The more gears you "put in", the more it feels funny, unless it is going to skip shift. The old rules of 15, 25, 35-40, 45 for lockup, get thrown out the window.

His only problem with his car is that the regular radio doesn't/didn't work. Sat radio works just fine, but nothing but static on FM/AM.

I've driven his car and aside from a very poor choice of tires from the factory, the steering turn-in needs to be slowed WAY down, and the body roll, I like it A LOT. Plus with an intake and exhaust change with a bit of computer tweaking, you can get 200-something FWHP, 300 with some porting. All from 1.4L.

my uncle and my inlaws both bought 2011 base models with 6 speed manual. they both report 36-40mpg. seats are hard just like any new car, and the hardness of the seats makes it a PITA to get the latch system hooks for the baby seat undone.

FYI - both Cruze's I have experienced are auto's, and most of the issues are with the automatic transmissions. I have not driven a manual one.

C&D has tested the Cruze against it's compact competition and a Cruze Ecoagainst the Volt. Both tests it got miserable mileage numbers in stop and go(commuting) type driving...like high teens. In driving at highway speeds for a few hundred miles, both Cruzes got over 35 MPG.

In a 6 way compact car comparo, the Elantra just beat the Cruze. What didn't the folks like? Steering wasn't so great (compared to other GM cars) and the brakes went up in smoke after really hard use, and like the Elantra it rode a bit too softly.

I have thought the Elantra was a little softly sprung as well. I feel the 6spd A/T shifts a little funny but all my auto experience is with the old 3 or 4spd GM autos.

I am still glad we went with the Elantra but it seems like these two cars are pretty close to each other. I wish we would have checked out the Cruze when we were looking. SWMBO was pretty set on the Elantra however.

I enjoy the LTZ very much. They have a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty which is a big deal. The six speed auto is a little funky but they are adaptive, haven't had enough time for one to learn me yet.The newest ones have Mytouch radio and Onstar which are just excellent. The Eco with a manual can get better than Gov numbers when hypermiled. Two guys at work are getting mid 40s. The Volt is a blast but for the same money you can buy two Ecos. The Diesel Cruze is coming next year. I'm saving my pennies for one of those..

Word on the Cruze is that there's a 2 door on the way. I was surprised at how good the RS looked in person.

nicksta43 wrote: Wife's getting 18mpg or so according to the computer. If I drive it I can usually jump that up to the mid twenty's even on a short drive. close enough for me.

wow.....I get better than that in a similar-sized, 300hp, AWD wrx....

I don't have the skills to teach her how to drive efficiently. Took it on a little drive last weekend, gave it back to her showing 37 on the computer. Got in it this morning and it's showing 17:( She wont listen to me or more likely I don't know how to communicate to her how inefficient her driving habits are.

nicksta43 wrote: I don't have the skills to teach her how to drive efficiently. Took it on a little drive last weekend, gave it back to her showing 37 on the computer. Got in it this morning and it's showing 17:( She wont listen to me or more likely I don't know how to communicate to her how inefficient her driving habits are.

damn....my wife is not the best at "economically driving" either, but she drives a 4Runner. Her commute is 10 miles each way, all in traffic/lights/under 45mh. And she averages 18mpg in the 4Runner on that commute (we average mid-20s on the highway). Your wife must be doing 5000rpm drops at every stoplight!

My guess is the wife feels a pedal is required. Must be either on the gas or on the brake but always working a pedal. I have seen driver's like this before.

Your right, there is no part throttle cruise with her. It's at least half throttle until she's about ten inches away from the car in front then slam the brakes on to get some distance then hard on the throttle again to close the gap. I can't ride with her, besides the whiplash if I say ANYTHING to her about the way she drives she feels I have somehow insulted her ancestery. If we go anywhere together I drive and I have learned to be very careful about what I say.

nicksta43 wrote: Your right, there is no part throttle cruise with her. It's at least half throttle until she's about ten inches away from the car in front then slam the brakes on to get some distance then hard on the throttle again to close the gap. I can't ride with her, besides the whiplash if I say ANYTHING to her about the way she drives she feels I have somehow insulted her ancestery. If we go anywhere together I drive and I have learned to be very careful about what I say.

This post is worthless without pictures........

Some real world statistics (2011 model year)

Cruze Eco: 28 city/ 42 highway/ 33 combined Elantra: 29 city/ 40 highway/ 33 combined

Fuelly:

Cruze 32.6 mpg Elantra 30.5 mpg

There will always be "some guy you know that only gets 20mpg" or "some guy you know that averages 40mpg". Looking at a large amount of data I'd say they are pretty comparable cars. I'd probably lean toward the Elantra as a nice appliance DD, unless I wanted more "fun" in my daily as the 1.4 turbo motor seems to respond pretty well to boost increases.

Zomby woof wrote: Word on the Cruze is that there's a 2 door on the way. I was surprised at how good the RS looked in person.

Pics of coupe? It's not nice to tease...

oldsaw wrote:

nicksta43 wrote: Your right, there is no part throttle cruise with her. It's at least half throttle until she's about ten inches away from the car in front then slam the brakes on to get some distance then hard on the throttle again to close the gap. I can't ride with her, besides the whiplash if I say ANYTHING to her about the way she drives she feels I have somehow insulted her ancestery. If we go anywhere together I drive and I have learned to be very careful about what I say.

This post accurately describes 99.98723% of women in the United States ........

FTFY... all present, non-male company excluded of course

Is the Cruze platform the basis of the new Regal (GS)? What about the new Caddy sporty thing (ATS)?

Also, food for thought, I kinda like the new Hatch thing thats available in Europe, and may be coming here, but The General wont say

There is a new, smaller Buick sedan (smaller than the regal) that I would bet is more likely to share a platform with the Cruze, than the Regal. I saw it yesterday at the auto show and forget the name.

Gearheadotaku wrote:

Zomby woof wrote: Word on the Cruze is that there's a 2 door on the way. I was surprised at how good the RS looked in person.

Pics of coupe? It's not nice to tease...

I read about it last summer, and according to the article, it was going to happen.I saw this pic as well as a 2 door sedan style

failboat wrote: There is a new, smaller Buick sedan (smaller than the regal) that I would bet is more likely to share a platform with the Cruze, than the Regal. I saw it yesterday at the auto show and forget the name.

Verano? reminds me too much of the Chrylser Sebring ...YUCK DO NOT WANT

or another Yuck - Saturn Ion