[charthom]

Originally Posted by harinathpv

@charthom Really very sorry, could not get the pics yet, but that is on my list of to-do's

Don't worry-the rain is rocking havoc everywhere

wanted to share my awesome moments with the car
The AT handled the Tirumala Hill drive pretty well. Initially I was thinking that I would need power at least at few hair-pin bends, but I never used the gear.

Great to read. My impression was Cruze would be difficult to handle in hair pins. Glad to learn the other way.

The second awesome experience is when using cruse control and if the car needs to get onto a fly over.. It just picks up to keep up with the seep and one should experience it than me explaining

Again awesome feeling.
Congrats again on the fantastic buy.You really seem to be super-satisfied!!

Did anyone fill in Nitrogen Gas for the Tyre's?

Me too. I was frustrated at my own habit of checking the tyre pressure every week. They say you could check only once a month or so.Let's see.

[harinathpv]

@charthom Yes. I am super satisfied.

Today, had the first line on the car bumper. One idiot, drunk, smoking and driving a Maruti 800 banged from behind (we both were traveling at 20 KMPH at a small turning) and he started arguing that it was my mistake to stop suddenly... I argued (knowing that there would be no result) and after sometime he agreed and said sorry. But the damage is done. Its a very thin line and I hope the paint does not come off. Bumper for Cruze costs 16 K :( No way he could have paid me that amount...

@charthom Why did you think that it might not handle hair-pin bends? The turning radius is pretty good.

Yes, the guy said that I need to check for tyre pressure once in two-three months and only if i feel there is a need. So, checking it out.

[ethanhunt123]

How did you pay onroad ? Can you give the breakup ?

[charthom]

Originally Posted by harinathpv

@charthom Why did you think that it might not handle hair-pin bends? The turning radius is pretty good.

Sorry,mate.I did not underestimate her. I did not mention hair pins in particular. Someone had told me that the handling is a bit dull-due to various reasons(could be his opinion).

I am impressed that she did so well at the hair pins. Auto will be a big boon in the hills-I reckon. Will venture myself one day.

[pach]

Originally Posted by charthom

I am impressed that she did so well at the hair pins. Auto will be a big boon in the hills-I reckon. Will venture myself one day.

Yes AT is a boon in the hills, mine is MT (LTZ) and I found it diificult in hairpin bends, as you slow down for the turn turbo lag comes into picture.

[anb]

Originally Posted by pach

Yes AT is a boon in the hills, mine is MT (LTZ) and I found it diificult in hairpin bends, as you slow down for the turn turbo lag comes into picture.

That is because of the tall 3rd gear. 40 kmph is 1300 rpm in 3rd gear. If the speed goes below 40kmph while climbing ghats, the car won't pull in 3rd gear. A down shift is necessary. I drive extensively in ghats. I found this very irirating at first. Now I shift to second whenever i see a possibility of speed dropping below 40( while going up hill) or a hairpin bend. Shift early to avoid turbolag and this car will become a real pleasure drive in ghat roads too. I doubt whether AT will kickdown as fast as manual.

[oxyzen]

Sorry for being late but congratulations anyway.
Cruze is really a superb offering grom GM. It has got killer looks both inside and out. The engine is a monster and handling for you should be exceptional as you come from SUV family.

The review is extremely well written and detailed. In fact too much detailed. I love it.

Originally Posted by anb

That is because of the tall 3rd gear. 40 kmph is 1300 rpm in 3rd gear. If the speed goes below 40kmph while climbing ghats, the car won't pull in 3rd gear. A down shift is necessary. I drive extensively in ghats. I found this very irirating at first. Now I shift to second whenever i see a possibility of speed dropping below 40( while going up hill) or a hairpin bend. Shift early to avoid turbolag and this car will become a real pleasure drive in ghat roads too. I doubt whether AT will kickdown as fast as manual.

The lag is the biggest drawback in Cruze. Seriously "40 kmph is 1300 rpm in 3rd gear" is seriously tall gearing. RPM should have been somewhere around 30. Max 35. Should provide good FE though on highways.
They have managed to cover it up with the AT. But why not something better. Something DSG like.

[harinathpv]

@oxyzen Thank you. As you mentioned, the lag is not known in the AT version. However, I am sure they are going to fix this in the upcoming Cruze 2011.

[harinathpv]

Well, it is exactly 4 Months and 15 days I bought the Cruze and I just hit the 10,000 KM milestone. Just the numbers can demonstrate the power of the Car.

When i moved from an SUV to this Car, i was skeptical if it will live up to my expectations, but all these proved wrong for me. This car delivers what you exactly need - Power/Exiliration/Comfort and Tension free drive's.

Performance
This car's power is unleashed on highways. I did 4 long drives - Guruvayyor, Chennai, Tirupat (Twice) and the recent one was to my home town, Vizag (1,150 KM one way).

The drive to Guruvayyor demonstrated comfort to the passengers from Coimbattore to Thrissur which is on the western ghats. The road was not that good and had loads of bad stretches. This 150 KM stretch took about 3 hours. With a little careful manuvering, i could manage well with the pot-holes on the road. It was raining heavily too, but the drive was not bad.

The next test to its endurance is my drive to Vizag. I left Bangalore at 5:30 AM and reached home at 9:30 PM with a break for every 2 hours of drive for 5 mins. Maximum speed i touched was 160 KM in quite a few stretches. The Golden Quadrilateral is one of the best things which can happen to India and fotunately, I need to drive for 640 KM on this stretch. I cannot complain on the Bangalore - Tirupati road too. It is very well maintained. Now, with a 6 lane highway from Bangalore to Mulbagal (100 KM) adds to your love for driving.

Mileage
I get an average of 11.5 - 12 KMPL in City and during the long drive, I did get clost to 13.8 KMPL.

Maintenance
I use only Shell Diesel. If you are using any other dielse, empty the tank and fill it up with Shell and the moment you start, you will know the difference. I experienced this and hence decided to stick with Shell.

Using Auto Transmission
I need not write this, but for the benefit of readers who are moving to AT, here are few tips:
- Do not accelerate instantaneously. The luxury of not having to shift gear's, tips you off to unleash the power, but remember, instead of you changing the gear, your car is doing it for you. So, it is the same principal. Accelerate slowly and steadily. Drive it as if you are driving a MT.
- Get the car periodically serviced. It is very much required.
- Use the Gear shift only when required and don't use them unnecessirily.

Overall, I am very impressed with the technicalities and performance of the vehicle. However, the only thing I hate is the absense of the deadpedal. It hurts my left ankle.

[RishiSuri]

Nice detailed review, reading so many good reviews about this car does make this one as the next car once i am back in India

[DeKay]

Harinath,
It has been a while since you updated this thread. How is the car running now? We would love to hear from you.
Also, do post some more pictures. Your car has a brilliant color.

[Ani0404]

Harinath,
It's been a long time you updated this thread. How is your Cruze doing?

[harinathpv]

@Ani0404 I am very sorry that I could not respond earlier. I should have missed seeing the alert since Mar/Apr/May was a crazy time for me. On a personal note, I quit my job during this time and I was working on my startup

Coming to how the car is doing, I have just completed 67,000 KM and I definitely have no regrets even today. I have been looking out to upgrade but not being convinced with anything. I finally zeroed on Pajero Sport, but waiting for the new model to arrive early next year.

During the last 5 Years and 4 months, I changed the tires once and the maintenance has been decent. Many reviews or complaints i hear is with regards to the running costs, but I am thankful that it has been pretty much less than Rs.5,000 for each service. The 60,000 KM service was expensive and exactly cost me Rs.61,000.

Now the service interval has changed to every 7,500 KM (earlier it was 5,000 KM) and will be giving for service in a week.

Overall, no regrets and have been pretty satisfied with its performance. In between, I moved to the US for close to a year and during this time I disconnected the battery and went. When I came back, all I did was to connect the wires back and it was rocketing again

One another expensive aspect of maintenance for Cruze is the battery. It lasts for 2 years if you take care of it well, else 18 months and the battery is an expensive component. When compared to the Audi's and BMW's where the battery lasts 5 years, this is not a good preposition.

Overall, have been happy and I think I will keep it for a longer time.

Thank you for the follow-up. Really appreciate it.