Choosing to Cruze - Chevrolet Cruze LTZ AT. (First 500 kms)

[Utopian]

Congrats for the Cruze. Looks pretty intimidating in those snaps. The Caska interface seems to be pretty good.

[bnzjon]

Congrats on the Cruze. Excellent write up and pictures. Cruze is one of the Best cars in the 15 Lac range.

Happy Cruzing and Drive Safe.

[.anshuman]

Congratulations for the Cruze.

Originally Posted by a.sundaram

So how does it feel to drive? One word – Exhilarating. The 150 BHP, 32.7KGM of torque really excels at pulling away from the rest of the competition. As reported in multiple reviews there is a turbo lag below 1800rpm but on the automatic it is hardly visible or I should more accurately say it is less visible.

Give it a few days and you will not notice it at all unless you are also driving a Laura Manual (The Laura Automatic is terrible)

Past the initial turbo lag and the car rockets away with more power than any other vehicle in its class which includes the Laura, Jetta and very easily the Corolla Altis Diesel (which is anyway no comparison)
.

I respect your choice and I also understand your love for the new car but some of the statements in the report seem to be too extreme, we would have loved a more balanced report.

I am not here to spoil the party but to get the facts right Actually Laura CR DSG 140hp is a faster than Cruze AT, it also has broader power band and better DSG 'box too. The Ride, handling and Steering again are superior. I understand your love for the new car but let's not ignore the facts here. I do not claim any of the cars to be superior, but i do not write off the other as terrible.

Laura DSG CR 140- 0-60: 4.04 secs, 0-100: 9.72secs, 0-140: 16.54secs
Cruze AT 0-60: 4.30secs, 0-100: 9.95secs, 0-140: 19.54secs

[a.sundaram]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Congratulations for the Cruze.




I respect your choice and I also understand your love for the new car but some of the statements in the report seem to be too extreme, we would have loved a more balanced report.

I am not here to spoil the party but to get the facts right Actually Laura CR DSG 140hp is a faster than Cruze AT, it also has broader power band and better DSG 'box too. The Ride, handling and Steering again are superior. I understand your love for the new car but let's not ignore the facts here. I do not claim any of the cars to be superior, but i do not write off the other as terrible.

Laura DSG CR 140- 0-60: 4.04 secs, 0-100: 9.72secs, 0-140: 16.54secs
Cruze AT 0-60: 4.30secs, 0-100: 9.95secs, 0-140: 19.54secs

Interesting! Did not mean to sound biased but, was going on my previous experience.
Actually till you posted this I did not realize that there was a new variant of the Laura Automatic.
My comparison was based on the September 2009 Model which I read about on AutoCar and also have driven many times.
The acceleration for that variant being as below
0-60 5.41s ;0-100 11.07s ;0-140 21.47s

The new Laura (2010 May I believe) seems to be much more powerful and certainly worth looking at. A little miffed that the Laura is now much more powerful than the Cruze :(

The data sheet for the Laura 2.0 DSG CR can be found here. It's clear that it's more powerful than the 2011 Cruze. Must get my hands on one of those to try.
Laura 2.0 TDI Review

Moderators,
Is there a way to edit the original post to include this information.
Thank you

[a.sundaram]

Originally Posted by dot

Congratulations. Nice detailed review and some real funky pictures. Since you have mentioned, is bottom scraping an issue with Cruze?

Thank you.

I have so far not had an issue with bottom scraping. I have not been specifically careful but, neither have I been very aggressive since the car is still new . Give me a few more kms and then I will definitely start getting a little more aggressive over bad roads/ speed breakers and will update

[ashish22]

The Cruze AT hits right back at Laura DSG CR when it comes to 0-160 timings:
Cruze AT: 0-160, 27.48 secs
Laura DSG CR: 0-160, 27.55 secs

Interestingly the autocar has stated 0-180 for laura at 40.39 secs and for Cruze AT the highest speed till which they have tested acceleration is 170 which comes out in 31.78 secs. So it would be safer to assume that the Cruze AT will be able to reach 180 atleast at the identical timings with that of a laura if not slower.

IMHO in a staightline both cars are at par with each other. But throw in some twisties and laura CR comes out to be superior of the two. But in terms of pure acceleration and feel both are identical.

a.sundaram, no reason for you to be miffed :-)

[anandpadhye]

Congrats - Cruze is a lovely car - a really desirable one launched by GM in recent times (the last I can think of was Opel Vectra)...and AT makes a perfect choice - the extra money is well spent on getting rid of clutch pedal than spending on some orthopaedic treatment for the left knee.

BTW, I have always wondered - why the FE would increase after the first 1000 KM reassurance checkup unless the oil is changed?

Was also baffled by the comment on the Laura AT - I see it's already discussed...But I still wonder why Laura AT was not test driven before the purchase - such a logical contender to Cruze.

Of course, not to say Laura AT would be better or something - the longevity of DSG is questionable, especially in the context of Skoda's service mess. If Cruze has the traditional torque convertor AT, it should be generally reliable and trouble free.


Cheers!

[MDe]

Congratulations for bringing a beauty home. The Caska unit really seems to have fit in pretty well. How does it accommodate DVDs on the system? Also, I believe you are using the standard ports for USB and IPOD that come under the driver arm rest.

Its nice to see more and more White Cruzes on the forum. Drive safe, cheers!

[a.sundaram]

Originally Posted by MDe

Congratulations for bringing a beauty home. The Caska unit really seems to have fit in pretty well. How does it accommodate DVDs on the system? Also, I believe you are using the standard ports for USB and IPOD that come under the driver arm rest.

Its nice to see more and more White Cruzes on the forum. Drive safe, cheers!

Thank you,
A separate DVD player is provided with the Caska unit which sits on the top of the dashboard where the thin cooled storage unit of the OE used to be. This also has a slot for an SD card.
That's the unit on top of which my Ganesha is sitting if you see the photos of the cockpit or the Caska interface.
The OE comes only with a Aux input in the storage bin under the arm rest. The Ipod and USB ports are put into the dash glove compartment. The unit additionally can accommodate a TV tuner if required.
I believe the new March 2011 version of the Cruze has Ipod interface and this may be under the arm rest. Will need to check

[a.sundaram]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

BTW, I have always wondered - why the FE would increase after the first 1000 KM reassurance checkup unless the oil is changed?

Not sure. I'm hoping to see a change. I've been meaning to quiz the service guys but, just did not get around to it. Will do so and update. Am also wondering if my Tyre size change from 205 to 225 could be a factor. Chevy recommends a Tyre pressure of 32 for Ride comfort and 39 for fuel efficiency. I'm currently riding on 32 but am going to up it to at least 35 on my next fuel top up to see if there is any noticeable difference

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Was also baffled by the comment on the Laura AT - I see it's already discussed...But I still wonder why Laura AT was not test driven before the purchase - such a logical contender to Cruze.
Of course, not to say Laura AT would be better or something - the longevity of DSG is questionable, especially in the context of Skoda's service mess. If Cruze has the traditional torque convertor AT, it should be generally reliable and trouble free.
Cheers!

And herein lies the question.
I tested the Jetta multiple times as I had no previous experience with it.

Actually I have access to the 2009 Laura and have done some extensive driving on it. Did not realise that they had played around with the engine for the 2010 model. Did manage to get my hands on one today for a "reassurance" test drive after the fact. Not too miffed any more.
Both cars feel about the same and could end up as a matter of personal opinion as to which feels better

There still is a lot of debate whether the DSG used by the Volkswagen group including Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda or GMs Hydramatic 6T40 with Torque Convertor is better and the jury is still out on that one

Cheers

[magikrider]

first things first.. The cockpit of your car looks amazing with the caska unit. Simply superb! may I suggest you add another worthy accessory to your car - Bose Speaker package! I think it costs around 35-40k mostly. Not sure though. But will be worth it. Or maybe rockford fosgate package or even bang & olufsen if your budget permits..

Another thing which would make it just awesome is something like a Pete's box! I know that cruz is already a very powerful car.. but it should put it in the league of almost C and 3 in terms of power!

By the what.. I had read somewhere that the captiva, will have an engine upgrade for the 2011 model. It goes from 150 to 170 something bhp and sice both the captiva and cruze use the same engine, should cruze also have that upgrade also? I know its a bit off topic..

and as far as the laura cr goes...no doubt that it has the advantage of european build, fit and finish.. But cruz should be easier to maintain and looks even better. The interior looks amazing and has more features. I think both are equally great. and the .seconds difference is negligible in real life conditions. and if you see the long term reliability and maintenance cost wise.. I think cruz will be more hassle free and provide peace of mind.

I hope now since few months have passed and you must have started to really love and appreciate your car (as the first few months you are usually more careful) and also you might have crossed the run in period too.. Can we have another review... A semi long termer..

[w0lf]

I enjoyed the review very much. The upgraded HU seems like it completes the feature set of the Cruze.

Congratulations on your new buy. Hope it serves you well for a long time.

[BurningHeart]

What accessories did you get with the car? For free or otherwise?

[charthom]

@a.sundaram,nice review,congrats on your nice car.More detailed pictures please,esp of the interiors.

BTW,your post urged me to consider Caska HU for my ANHC.Me too am a happy and satisfied customer of Caska now.

How do you find the rear leg room in the Cruze? Do you think, lighter colour theme would have brightened the cabin?

[arvi86]

Great choice mate and brilliant pictures to back it up. Wishing you many many miles of happy experiences in the Chevy! I just can't stop looking at it.