2017 Chevrolet Cruze Review
The new Chevy Cruze is in a word, practical. That's what makes it good, and that's what makes it bad.
Yes....it's practicality that makes it good and bad...so let me explain.
The big news with the Chevy Cruze is the addition of a hatchback.
It gives you 23 cubic feet of cargo area. Fold down the rear seats and you get 47 cubic feet of cargo area. That's all cool, and practical.
This is also a car that is built fairly well. It's tight. It's solid. It's quiet. It's North American. It's practical. That's good.
However, because it's practical it's also not very much fun.
There is only one engine option. It's a turbocharged 1.4 litre four cylinder. The problem is, it doesn't feel like it has a turbo.
This is an RS, Rally Sport so upper scale trim package. It's supposed to have a more powerful engine but it does not feel like it. It does not feel like it has much juice and it should. When you put your foot in it, it just doesn't go anywhere. Eventually it grabs but it just doesn't have much kick.
The bottom line is the car is in our opinion underpowered, and that is in part the result of the engine being dropped into a fairly heavy car. You know you got this six speed transmission, you should be able to work it through the gears and get something out of this thing but it really is a granny mobile.
It was often difficult to determine exactly which gear I should be driving in to make sure I was getting the best fuel economy, or performance. In fact the more I drove the more frustrated I became with it. I normally like to drive stick because it's fun, but driving the six speed manual Cruze was just a chore. So if you're looking at a Cruze, I would say check out the automatic. It's a six speed too, but you will probably enjoy it a lot more.
I understand that the price point on this thing has gone up since GM had made some changes to the Cruze and I'm not so sure that's gonna be a good thing because there are a lot of other cars in this category that it is competing against that I think really, probably, definitely better.
This is a car that will get you 34 miles to the gallon on average. Not bad. Cost of overall operation should be relatively low.
It has some pretty cool features. It comes with 10 airbags, a rear view camera, stabilitrak stability control, and there are options available like On Star Guidance, Rear Park Assist, Lane Change Alert, and even features to prevent your Son or Daughter from turning off safety features, and a monitor and recorder that lets you check on their driving habits when they get home. So driving a Cruze for teens may not be as much fun as it used to be, but it should be safer.
The Cruze looks good, but drives like a grocery getter even with the turbocharged engine. I have to say that of all the cars I've driven this year, of every car and there's been a lot, this one is the most disappointing.
It's nice but it's just not very much fun. It is however a safe choice and it's practical, and that is what has made the Cruze Chevrolet's number one selling car around the world, with 3.5 million units sold since its introduction. Rick Walker SST Car Show News.
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