On my third visit i finally got a testdrive of this Cruze, even this time they were trying to make an excuse but after threatened to buy the car from some other dealership they offered me a long proper testdrive (Iffco chowk to manesar toll and back through some broken roads).
I have driven almost all cars in the segment from base Altis to top end Laura recently while searching for a replacement of my ageing Elantra, so during the review pls dont get annoyed if i compare Cruze with Elantra or any other cars in the segment.
I find Cruze's looks very appealing especially Front end, Rear end feels a bit confused. I find the tail lights too much inspired from the Civic. The design is able to hide the real length of the car. Its longer than Elantra and Civic but parked side by side Elantra felt longer.
Interiors are very good and surely justify this car's price tag with a lot of equipment thrown in. I feel they should have offered ESP atleast on the topend variant. The sound system sounds better than what Honda, Toyota and Skoda offer in this segment, this car comes with a proper in dash 6 cd changer and steering mounted controls. Keyless operation is a very good feature to impress people and feels convinient too.
Steering adjusts for reach and rake, even the drivers seats offers wide range of adjustment, it also goes all the way back. The front passenger seat however disappoints with its positioning as it is set too high, people who are more than 6 feet tall may feel they too close to roof. The biggest compromise in this car (a deal breaker for most) is the lack of space at rear sets. Overall space is way less than my current car Elantra plus the roof is too low or may be seats are jacked up too much, my head almost scraped the roof (Just like Linea). The quality of leather on the steering and seats is not so special. Compared to this car the fit and finish in Laura feels very special.
The powerful diesel engine is the best aspect of this car not only because it makes 147bhp and 327nm of torque but also because the torque wave hits in a very relaxed manner compared to ill behaved Magnum and Verna and the engine is free revving with a very strong topend, this engine does not run out of punch till redline. The engine is also very refined compared to Laura's pump duse engine and even my Elantra's previous gen Crdi.
Performance as suggested by figures is very good. Best thing i found was super relaxed fifth gear which at 100kph is running below 2k, even 4th gear is longer than Swift/Punto/Scorpio's fifth gear. Taller gearing does not compromise much on highway performance. On the expressway the performance is astonishing i could easily touch 180 in no time. Turbo lag is quite evident during city driving but anyone used to driving a diesel wont find it much of a pain. Just like Tanveer pointed out the agressive clutch is quite a pain in traffic at times.
High speed composure at high speeds is excellent, it absorbs uneven roads without as much bounce compared to the softly sprung Altis but Laura's Dynamics except low speed ride are better than Cruze. Overall the ride is very level. I did not get a chance to throw the car into my favourite corners to check the Handling but all the corners i threw this car the levels of grip were very good. I did not like the steering although it was decently weighted it felt like a dumb electric PS (Dont know if it really is).
FE is very good as rated by ARAI for a car of this size and this much power.
I would suggest this car to those who love to drive on highways, this car eats up highways like no other car in the segment. It is quite involving to drive in comparison to Altis feels like an appliance but This car cannot play a role of spacious family car with its cramped interiors and small boot. The only other diesel in the segment Skoda Laura in comparison feels more classy and beats it in almost all counts except Pricing,engine and after sales support.