How bad of an idea is the Cruze diesel?

Still not sure why they made a diesel version of this car.. just a dumb idea imo, because diesel is cheap?

We don't see many at the GM dealership I work at, the ones we do are all the first-gen, but they rarely come in for anything other than a timing belt change and maintenance. And I can confirm that they soot down the road pretty darn quick for what they are. Also, the rated mileage and the actual real world mileage are two different things. GM was playing it safe with fuel mileage ratings at the time, because there had been several lawsuits over fuel mileage ratings at the time, so they underrated these cars. I've seen the diesel Equinoxes get 45-48mpg average when used for a lot of highway driving. Those diesel Equinoxes were pretty impressive, but GM sold them for all of 15 minutes.

Chrissmith said:

Still not sure why they made a diesel version of this car.. just a dumb idea imo, because diesel is cheap?

People were making noises that they wanted Diesel engined cars that weren't Volkswagens.

I've rented these in Europe before, so may be some small changes, but not a bad car considering.

I had an ES300h deal lined up, but the seller started acting very sketchy and the car was cheap enough that I was getting scam vibes, so I bailed. The ES300h suffers from the same issues as the ELR, hovering around $25,000-30,000. Also since they're targeted at the geriatric set, 90% of them have loathsome tan interiors.

MrRobogoat (Forum Supporter) said:

I do agree with your complaints about the Prius, however: It's just not a good car to use on the highway. My gf has one and I love it around town, but on the highway it doesn't feel good in any way.

I've found that this is an area where my Volt really excels. It feels right at home on the highway and eats up the miles in comfort. If that's your main use case, though, you won't get exceptional mileage in a Volt; usually mid-high 30s on gas only. It's a nice place to be, though.

NickD said:

I can confirm that they soot down the road pretty darn quick for what they are.

Intentional? 

obsolete said:

NickD said:

I can confirm that they soot down the road pretty darn quick for what they are.

Intentional? 

Oops, meant scoot. 

Off-topic, but it is amazing just how clean modern diesels are. Someone brings in one of the old pre-'10 Duramaxes and it runs in the shop for 30 seconds and the shop reeks of diesel exhaust for the rest of the day. Bring in a new Duramax and leave it running, and aside from the noise, you'd never know.

If you either do your own maintenance (and are comfy working on modern VW/Audi stuff) or buy a warranty that covers the duration of your ownership, maybe consider a 2013ish A6 3.0 TDI? My friend bought one because he drives for work, and the car will exceed 40 mpg at 80 mph. I've ridden in the car for a few hours and I thought it was more comfortable and quiet than the same era V6 gas E class, with similar acceleration. The reason I mention the maintenance is that while under warranty he took it for an oil leak, and the tech sent him pictures of the engine fully removed and sitting on a table for the repair. He also had an a/c issue that the dealer had a terrible time diagnosing, they eventually replaced the compressor $7k later. That was not under warranty. I have no idea why it costed so much and I imagine that could've been done at home. He lives in south Florida so a/c was mandatory. He seems to love the car despite the repair costs, and just ordered an intercooler, downpipe and larger turbo now that it's out of warranty. I'm excited but apprehensive about the results.

In reply to dannyp84 :

I'd maybe consider an early 2000's Golf TDI, stick shift, with zero options. Maybe.

In reply to calteg :

I endorse the Mk4 ALH TDIs, problem is that under 300k miles is "low miles" for one now (or it's an automatic), and good luck getting heated leather seats: that option package did not sell well on these cars. Sure, it can be overcome, but that's work. And prices aren't showing any signs of letting up, in fact they seem to be increasing: A clean ALH 5spd wagon will easily run you about 5 grand now, a solid Golf is probably 4k, maybe a bit more if modded or especially clean / low mileage. It's easy to find them cheaper, but they're generally a little neglected and need some work, or have been hacked to bits by soot-brained rednecks. TBH, they're great cars, but I didn't get the impression they're what you're after.

Especially if you can DIY, I think the Cruz sounds reasonable. The basic suspension / body parts should be shared with the gas version (a la the VW Mk4), and the engine seems to have a good blood line and saw wider production in Europe. I'd try to verify those claims more, but that really doesn't scream unicorn to me. 

Fun fact: Today I Learned that Facebook Marketplace has removed the "fuel type" category filter, so good luck finding any private party deals on one since they have absorbed so much marketshare from Craigslist. Literally searching for "Cruze diesel manual" brings up automatic gasser Cruzes. \rant.

In reply to MrRobogoat (Forum Supporter) :

To be fair the FB search filter categories don't work right anyway. I can set all the filters I want and it still actively shows me crap that doesn't match my selections. Just a terrible excuse for a classifieds website.

pointofdeparture said:

In reply to MrRobogoat (Forum Supporter) :

To be fair the FB search filter categories don't work right anyway. I can set all the filters I want and it still actively shows me crap that doesn't match my selections. Just a terrible excuse for a classifieds website.

FB Marketplace is ridicously terrible.  But that's where most stuff gets posted to these days.  

I miss when Craigslist was the biggest place to post items.

I feel compelled to bring this thread back from the grave to say that it was the first thing that came up as I search for a practical family mover whilst living in Korea. 

I already have 2 "fun" cars, one utterly impractical but still viable to get my wife to work (which is important because I stay home, cook, clean, watch the kids and fix stuff), a Kia Elan, and another that is surprisingly practical considering, a Suzuki Alto Works, but there are limits to what you can put in that, and I have to grudgingly admit that that it is outrageously unsafe for children. 

So I'm looking at people movers and the thing that interests me in our price range (about 4 MILLION won, stated with pinky finger extended to lower lip a-la Dr. Evil) is a Chevrolet Orlando. Which is really a diesel Cruze with a 7-seater thing on top of it that is enough more like a wagon than an SUV that I prefer it to those. 

These switched from the 2.0 diesel to the 1.6 ecotec diesel in 2015 and I'm wondering which is better/worse. The drivetrain in the 2.0 is supposed to be 200lbs heavier and we've already looked at one with a new transmission. The 1.6 appears to be a marvel of engineering (42psi of peak boost???) but the sheer complexity gives me pause there and it will cost more and be harder to find.

I guess I could just get a Hyundai Santa Fe like everybody else, but the Orlando is much more car-like. They sold them in Canada. Any Canucks out there with advice?

Well, since the thread got revived, I ultimately ended up going with:

d) none of the above

Happy been driving a 2017 v60 the last two years, averaging 26.5mpg. It will easily pull mid 30's on the highway, and looks much, much more rad than any of the initial cars I was considering. And that's what really matters.