[monty9991]

nice modded cruze. i really like the color combintion orange and balck. but these type of colors looks good in pics only not on indian road(IMO).

[Nikhilb2008]

Where is Sid? He's missing after announcing that the launch would be on Friday evening! Or was that launch only for dealers?

Sid, there are too many people here waiting with bated breath!

[ivar1951]

A sales representative of the Chandigarh dealer says that the launch is on October 12 and they'll get the vehicle the next day but no test drive till a month or so thereafter. Chevrolet seems to be very confident that people will grab the Cruze even without a test drive. The price range, he says, will be between Rs 13 to 16 lakh.

[oops]

Now, its Official. Chevy will launch Cruze on Oct 12, with only 150Bhp Diesel Heart.
Drive Inside

[deky]

I have been after my dealer to call me for a TD for the Cruz as soon as it comes, so today I got a call and obviously did not waste any time in reaching the dealership. The car was there but the TD will have to wait as the prototype has not yet been approved/ registered with the RTO. Hopefully sometime mid next week.

In Jaipur the official press release is on the 4th and the official release of the car is on the 12th.

I was allowed to start the engine and move it within the dealership space (not much space available though!!)

Please note that the girl at the dealer still did not know how models of Cruz will be launched as yet so I have no idea whether this one is the top model, mid or the bottom.

I have never done a review before so I really dont know what I am going to write but whatever I do write hope that makes some sense to you guys.

There is key less entry with engine immobiliser. The door has a fingerprint sensor which opens the car ( no need to insert the key, just need to have it within 1mtr range) For starting the car also you just need to press the clutch and push a button.

On starting the engine was pretty silent with no noise coming in the cabin, I could not also feel any vibrations on the gear knob. This model had climate control and the a/c is a chiller. Did not take any time to cool the car.

There is also cruise control in this model with controls on the steering.

I could only move the car forward and backwards a few times so I have no idea how will be the actual performance of this car on the road. In those short movement the car was pretty smooth.

The gear shift appeared to be much smoother than my aveo, and the gear throws were short and crisp. There are reverse sensors attached for parking and the reverse gear is in the normal position i.e on the right and below ( unlike aveo, left and then lift and above)


The steering wheel was very civic type and apart from the cruise control controls it also has audio controls on it. It has both telescopic and height adjustment. As per the sales girl the steering is Hydrolic but it felt EPS to me, so that has to be confirmed.

There were a lot of things on the menu display and half of them either I could not understand ( sorry my first time in a car of this segment) and lots of them the sales rep could not explain it to me, as they have not had a proper training on the car as yet.



The 2-grey tone interior of the car looked great from outside. But once i sat inside i realized that the dark grey colour gets foot marks very fast and looks horrible after a while.


The sun roof has a meshing in front to trap debris flying in the car while the car is moving.


The front leg space was excellent and at my driving position the steering wheel was not touching my legs at any time. The audio knobs were easy to locate and not very difficult to reach. Surprisingly the audio did not have USB port with it.



The cooled glove box was very very small, even smaller than my aveo. But they have given some extra space on the doors


There is drivers arm rest also and it can be adjusted forward or backwards as per requirement. There is some space to keep things under that also. There is also keyless entry charger in that space.



In the rear 3 adults can sit comfortably and there are a/c vents under the front seats for the rear passengers, I think the leg room was pretty decent.

1/3rd of the rear seat can be opened for access to the boot, there is also an emergency exit from the boot. A lever kind of a thing that can be pulled by back passengers to open the boot from behind.



The boot itself has a push button under the chrome to open. The spare wheel is also an alloy wheel as compared to normal ones in Aveo.



The tyres are 205/60/R16


Now the exterior. As the say beauty lies in the eye of the beholder hence the views expressed are mine. The car with its straight lines looked impressive and bold. If you notice the Chevrolet logo is pretty prominent and a bit changed. The front grill is very prominent and gives it a very bold appearance





The engine looks like this and it has under body protection.




The things that were missing that I expected to be present are (maybe are present in a different model):-
1. lamp washers.
2. electronic seat settings
3. electronicly closed ORVM's (though they can be adjusted electronically but not closed)



Well I have shared whatever I could gather at the showroom. I know this is a hopeless review but still it might interest some of you guys.

[stanjohn123]

Thanks Deky.The car is so awesome and i just can't wait to get my hands on it.Looks super cool.now i just wanna feel its performance..

[1-Testosterone]

Excellent pictorial review - Thanks!
Over to GM - Just price it correct, offer good warranty and A.S.S. and it could rip this segment apart.

[bharti22shresth]

Someone beat our scoop master sid this time around.
Anycase, nice report deky.
Me likes the dash.
Did they mention anything about the pricing (sorry if i missed on this one if there's a previous post on it). I had a chat with the chandigarh dealer and he was saying that it will be in the 12L bracket.

[vinaydas]

well i think the top end variant will be in the range of 15-17 lacs.

it will be mostly tough to price it @12
hope im wrong

[f1fan]

Nice snaps deky.
The car looks good. Really hope that GM prices the car right. 12L would be great but difficult I believe.

[anekho]

great snaps deky!

Man, this car looks like an awesome proposition - I really hope it helps GM india increase their market share.

cheers

[FlyingSpur]

Err... what a fantastic interior! I'm very impressed with GM's effort, atleast aesthetically. Except for that hip-pocket sized glove compartment, this should be a very pleasant cabin to be in.

I still cant agree with this stupid Chevy grille they're pushing on every model. I just hope it doesn't kill the Cruze, considering the headlamps are sharp and impressive, the rear is pleasant if not fantastic, and most of all, GM has a lot riding on this car.

PS: I've found a solution. Trash the massive Chevy badge in favour of a more digestable small one, and eliminate the top portion of the grille, leaving only the large bottom portion. And give it a nice mesh finish. It'll go from wonky to aggressive.

[k2max6]

great work deky.
The car looks good as an overall package.
And yes it doesn't have electrically retractable mirrors although they are electrically adjustable and heated ,no headlamp washers as well;Not even in the top model.

To attract customers chevrolet must price it right.
Pricing it from 14 Lakh onwards would be a terrible move IMHO.

[thegman]

Correct me if I am wrong,but the matting in the back[or the lack of it] is pretty much standard on most cars. Most dealers supply rubber matting for a small additional cost so I wouldnt be too worried about it.

What I am terribly disappointed about is the lack of the USB port. Are they CRAZY? We are in 2009 for heaven's sake! I hope the higher end version has this! But I seriously doubt it. I wonder if its just the omission of the port[which could be an accessory add-on] or the entire USB connectors altogether.

[neotraveller]

nice car and interiors and console look great.
If they price it at aggressively in the civic/altis range, this will find many takers (with the diesel advantage).