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Old 6th October 2009, 21:12   #61
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Originally Posted by KRf1 View Post
Great review Tsk .
So is this the beginning of the end of the ugly new Laura and the boring Jetta?
Jetta has proved itself world over - so do not write it off so easily. Laura - well, maybe (Skoda itself should be evicted from India for engaging in malpractices, if the contents of another thread in the forum are true!!). And questions are being raised from day one about the rear seat comfort of cruze. Being a 14+ lakh sedan, I guess thats an important point.

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Anyone can open the door from outside while you are in ! This can be quite scary on our notorious signals with eunuchs etc .
I do not believe this is true. You can lock the car from inside once you are in it. The proximity dependent keyless entry only works when the car is switched off AFAIK.
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Old 6th October 2009, 21:37   #62
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Originally Posted by Cesc View Post
That's a GREAT review.

Does it have Xenons? From the night pics it looks as if it doesn't.

To Sid's message on Cruz Coupes .. boy that would definitely be nice.
No xenons. As for coupe, well its sold as a compact, thats why the coupe like profile. In the USA, its a Cobalt sized car
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Originally Posted by sammyboy View Post
Fantastic review Tanveer. Was eagerly waiting for more information on the Cruze and this had everything one could ask for. Just one question, is the rear floor flat like the Civic or is the hump (forgot what u call it ) present ?
Yes hump is there

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Originally Posted by blackasta View Post
Jetta has proved itself world over - so do not write it off so easily. Laura - well, maybe (Skoda itself should be evicted from India for engaging in malpractices, if the contents of another thread in the forum are true!!). And questions are being raised from day one about the rear seat comfort of cruze. Being a 14+ lakh sedan, I guess thats an important point.



I do not believe this is true. You can lock the car from inside once you are in it. The proximity dependent keyless entry only works when the car is switched off AFAIK.
Yes, with engine off, this proximity sensor works
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Old 6th October 2009, 21:42   #63
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@tsk: whats the front seat position in these snaps, are they fully extended to rear or front?
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Old 6th October 2009, 21:46   #64
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the center console looks good and well integrated.
but one minus point to people who like aftermarket stereo systems.
Is GPS available as an option and i suppose the screen which gets integrated has video playing capability as well.

another noticeable thing is that the leg rooms (front and back seems limited) a person like me (6 ft 2" and 110+ KGS will find it uncomfortable sitting in this car)

Last edited by vinaydas : 6th October 2009 at 21:52.
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Old 6th October 2009, 21:49   #65
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14.75 Lacs - with this money I will buy a VW Jetta 1.9TDI and spend 50k on top of it ( Pete box and HIDs). With 6 airbags and tank like build, I will assure I am safe on highways. One must also consider the same engined ( well, de-tuned) Optra magnums did not click and they are available for 4-5 lacs in the seconds market, why would I spend 15 lacs for this engine ?

Raneesh
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Old 6th October 2009, 21:52   #66
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oh man!! i have seen this car on auto shows. on the net. videos and stuff.

but your pics make it look so hot. i bet its damn good looking. and you are right its love it or hate it looks. first i thought what an odd looking front end. but the more you watch the more you get the feel of it. and i now think its best looking in the segment period!!

i would go for the black color. or the dark blue. or darker colors. it would look more menacing.

i have to admit it looks the most aggressive and sporty.

my neighbors just bought themselves a new civic. she looks nice. but its boring. and dull after all these years. and there are so many civics everywhere i go.

now this is something new. something sporty, diesel, loaded, chromed, refined, and dynamic. something to look forward too.

i so love the features. we hardly get the keyless and go(keys in pocket stuff)as standard.don't confuse this with. simple keyless entry ok. this feature is also standard on the outlander. but not sure about the start/stop button.

.i think even in the passat you have to push the key fob into the place to get it started. no sensor stuff. i have seen this feature i have seen only on mercedes s class. i know there are other cars which have this and i don't about it. but its very cool at this price point!!

i wish good luck to Chevrolet i really hope it succeeds !!

Last edited by Caramelo : 6th October 2009 at 21:57.
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Old 6th October 2009, 21:56   #67
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A truly fantastic review and the quality of the pics is amazing.
I just hope GM prices this beauty right!!!
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Old 6th October 2009, 22:10   #68
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I can only imagine what would happen if somebody were to park this car in a garage close to the house. If my bedroom is right above the garage, the car will be perpetually unlocked unless I decide to keep the key elsewhere.
Test-drove the corolla altis recently and was thoroughly disappointed with the sound-insulation. The linea feels like a vacuum chamber in comparison to the corolla. Based on your review, I am assuming that the sound-insulation of the Cruze will be better than the linea and the civic.
The cruze is definitely not as appealing as the Captiva and the captiva was launched at a time when modern diesel soft-roaders hardly existed. Keeping this in mind, i infer that GM can expect mediocre sales for this car.
An Automatic would definitely help; those in-gear acceleration times are thoroughly disappointing.
I hate to be a critic, but GM has to be realistic. This car may be dimensionally as large as the civic, corolla or laura. It may have good kit, but it's such a mediocre car. It would have been the best car in it's class if it were priced around 10 - 11.
13 lakhs is way too much for this car.
The cruze, at least for now will compete directly with the linea and not the laura. GM may be gunning for the Laura, Corolla and the Civic with the cruze, but this car definitely not competent enough. I may be wrong, so before we get into a debate, I would like to inform all who disagree with me that I am just speculating.
The car is terribly Daewooish and definitely does not feel as opulent as the now defunct vectra.
The design is very mediocre and is not quite 'fluid' as I would like it to be. brushed aluminum center-dash , glossy black central-inserts and beige interiors don't go quite well.
Attention to detailing is poor -- compare the cruze tail-lamps to the civic's and you'll see exposed bulbs housed in red-plastic as compared to the LED effect on the civic.
Excellent review and I liked the photos too!
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Old 6th October 2009, 22:14   #69
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raneeshvijayan View Post
14.75 Lacs - with this money I will buy a VW Jetta 1.9TDI and spend 50k on top of it ( Pete box and HIDs). With 6 airbags and tank like build, I will assure I am safe on highways. One must also consider the same engined ( well, de-tuned) Optra magnums did not click and they are available for 4-5 lacs in the seconds market, why would I spend 15 lacs for this engine ?

Raneesh
But then how do you contend with Jetta's "Bullock Cart" engine?
Cruze may not come near Jetta in refinement, safety or comfort but as far as adrenaline rush is concerned, the choice is clear. With power/torque of this kind, you can't afford to be in a comfort zone!
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Old 6th October 2009, 22:41   #70
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Originally Posted by thermalpaste View Post
I can only imagine what would happen if somebody were to park this car in a garage close to the house. If my bedroom is right above the garage, the car will be perpetually unlocked unless I decide to keep the key elsewhere.
You CAN disable the proximity sensor. If not then chevy made a disastrous decision packing it with this car.

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The car is terribly Daewooish and definitely does not feel as opulent as the now defunct vectra.
No wonder it was first released in Korea!!
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Old 6th October 2009, 22:48   #71
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Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
No xenons. As for coupe, well its sold as a compact, thats why the coupe like profile. In the USA, its a Cobalt sized car
Does it have hi/lo or hi+low configuration on the headlamp? It seems hi/low. I was thinking of getting the cruze, but the hi/lo is disappointing. Anyways, thanks for the brilliant review.
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Old 6th October 2009, 23:10   #72
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Superb review, TSK. As 9thsphinx mentioned, it's as if I've test-driven the car myself. Your practice of adopting real-world situations to criticize/commend a feature (like following the Volvo bus on a single-lane road) make this piece even better.

Funny you should mention that it's almost impossible to find the best driving position. There's only one other car which has thrown my driving position off consistently, between the years 1996 - 2002: the Opel Astra. Take a bow, GM.

The problem with the Astra (and I may be the only who faced this) was that the gearshift was too stubby and too close to the driver's thigh. It was also too far from the driver's shoulder. This meant that if you adjusted your seat to reach the pedals and the steering wheel comfortably, then gear-shifting took as much effort as scratching your left knee. Try and move the seat forward to reach the shift and you could reach the shift easily, but again it would cramp your shoulder because it was so close to horizontally. Also, moving the seat forward would cause your knee to bump against the dash. Thanks to this fantastic piece of ergonomics, I nursed a sore shoulder for the 6 years that I drove her. Nice car otherwise, though.
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Old 7th October 2009, 01:01   #73
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Originally Posted by nik1982 View Post
On road price for top of the line model in bombay is going to be around 14.75 according to the dealer i spoke to. He is taking bookings and charging a premium of 1 lakh for diwali delivery.
That price seem too much on the higher side.

Here in the UK the list price (for base 1.6l Engine version) starts at around GBP 12850, and the local dealer is offering the base model at around GBP 10500. This is very close to Honda Jazz (UK Price)
However in India this Chevvy Baby is priced much higher, than Honda Jazz

The top end model (1.8l / 2.0l Engine) of Cruze sedan is priced around GBP 14000

Not many takers though (Don't see many Chevrolet on the roads, as they compete with their Vauxhall siblings)
I hope though, Chevrolet does well in India.
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Old 7th October 2009, 01:23   #74
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That was by far one of the best reviews. I read on the US site that this version of the car is to replace the optra in India, Base variants of optra may be sold at a cheaper rate.
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Old 7th October 2009, 08:33   #75
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Nice review TSK and the pics look hot. But they should get the petrol version to really make an impact. And there is the price to consider after all.
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