[kailashnj]

Congrats on your new beast. Even I have white cruze at done 30kms and just got it back from service yesterday. You will just love the push in the seat that you get in his car....

I have done many highway drives and the performance is just phenomenal. I upgraded to Yoko with a size upsize and they perform really good. happy motoring and hope to meet you some time, I am also from Mumbai.

[SedatedDrive]

Congrats and welcome to a niche club!

Do let us know about the FE you are getting in city and on highway.

[RishiSuri]

So my hawk clocked 2000kms in 40 days.
To celebrate this took it for a day trip to Lonavala. The drive was tiring because of first monsoon and everyone rushed to Bushi Dam.

The traffic was bumper to bumper all the way till highway and being an automatic there was a big relief to my knees with less strain.

The features of Car that worked great in Monsoon:
1) Rain sensor wipers: They could sense very well the amount of droplets falling and accordingly running the wiper blades. It does gives you the
option to increase the timer interval based on your comfort.

2) Front windshield defogging: The front windshield defogging was instantaneous. I was surprised how fast it was. On the downsize I had to frequently turn it off not a dislike but just sharing my experience.

3) Rear window defogging: Took additional time but worth it.

4) Steep uphill drive in Automatic: This car was able to climb steep uphills with no strain. Couldn't feel the engine bleeding or crying that why putting so much load on me. on the contrary the pick up to climb was great.


Dislikes:

1) Why they did not provide side rear mirrors defogging?
2) With just ignition start and not turning on the engine, why the fan cant be turned on? yes the audio works, whats the problem in fan?
3) daylight: Lights turned on: the defog button light does not turn on. Why so?

The average came out to be nothing different courtesy the bad traffic before reaching the highway in Lonavla and return to city.
FE : 8.7Km/L

[drchernish]

Dislikes:

1) Why they did not provide side rear mirrors defogging?
Ans: This feature is present in 2012 cruze.
2) With just ignition start and not turning on the engine, why the fan cant be turned on? yes the audio works, whats the problem in fan?
Ans: long press of start stop button without pressing the clutch will turn on the fan too.
3) daylight: Lights turned on: the defog button light does not turn on. Why so?
Will have to check.
That's 2 out of 3 dislikes converted to likes. Thanks to Cruze.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by RishiSuri

3) daylight: Lights turned on: the defog button light does not turn on. Why so?

Rishi, it's probably because your dashboard light dimmer function is turned way down. As a result, in daylight conditions, even with the side-lights/headlights on you cannot make out the tiny LED on the switch.

Turn it way up and you should be able to make out the LED 'on' condition

[RishiSuri]

Originally Posted by drchernish

Dislikes:

1) Why they did not provide side rear mirrors defogging?
Ans: This feature is present in 2012 cruze.
2) With just ignition start and not turning on the engine, why the fan cant be turned on? yes the audio works, whats the problem in fan?
Ans: long press of start stop button without pressing the clutch will turn on the fan too.
3) daylight: Lights turned on: the defog button light does not turn on. Why so?
Will have to check.
That's 2 out of 3 dislikes converted to likes. Thanks to Cruze.

I tried the option 2, the difference is mine is automatic so i dont have to press clutch but brake. Anyhow all it happened was when done long press, it turned on and turned off the ignition.

[RishiSuri]

My cruze just done with 3000KMS yesterday in 3 months. The journey has been good so far.. No issues with the car. The Hawk is still going head strong. Went on a 300KM day trip to Pune and courtesy the craters of Mumbai road. the Hawk has performed well.

The only issue was the front lower grill under the hood to guard did touch the craters despite going really slow in them.

Posting the picture of the average i have got of my Hawk in these 3000Kms.
Total Fill ups : 7 till now.

[RishiSuri]

And the Hawk has got its first scratch. Tried to save it as much i could for last 5 months but nothing last forever.

While driving to office, the autorickshaw in extreme left lane turns right because a vehicle stopped in front of it and scratches my car. On confronting him came to a new rule that is being followed.
Who was in front? Tell me who was in front? Seriously? No one understands a lane! the point is not being in front but who is in which lane.

Anyhow there is no point arguing the damage is done and guess i need to live with it. Will try to take the pic and post it. Its on the left front bumper side ways. One clear line with paint coming off.

[pgsagar]

What type of AT box does it have? Torque converter or CVT? Or, is it DSG, too? And please please somebody tell me how does Cruz AT diesel stack up against Laura DSG diesel. I'm told Laura is faster accelerating than Cruz. Ok, is Cruz very close? I drove manual Cruz and that one was one hell of a rocket. It can embarass several cars few segments up. Is AT Cruz pretty close to that?

[Utopian]

AFAIK, Cruze has a regular 6-speed torque converter. There is no manual override now, I guess. In a straight line, Cruze will definitely record better timings than the Laura with the former having a power advantage.

[EagleEye]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

What type of AT box does it have? Torque converter or CVT? Or, is it DSG, too? And please please somebody tell me how does Cruz AT diesel stack up against Laura DSG diesel. I'm told Laura is faster accelerating than Cruz. Ok, is Cruz very close? I drove manual Cruz and that one was one hell of a rocket. It can embarass several cars few segments up. Is AT Cruz pretty close to that?

Originally Posted by Utopian

AFAIK, Cruze has a regular 6-speed torque converter. There is no manual override now, I guess. In a straight line, Cruze will definitely record better timings than the Laura with the former having a power advantage.

As far as power is concerned, the Cruze has oodles of it (Americans and their brute force) but when it comes to handling it's like comparing apples to oranges. The European handling prowess comes in here.

Coming to the AT. I have driven AT versions of both, and trust me, it's a totally different experience. The Laura's DSG is simply the best you can get in this segment, period. The Cruze's AT hardly compares.

Even looking at overall comfort and luxury, the European one trumps with better sound system, higher quality plastics and better ergonomics.

[RishiSuri]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

As far as power is concerned, the Cruze has oodles of it (Americans and their brute force) but when it comes to handling it's like comparing apples to oranges. The European handling prowess comes in here.

Coming to the AT. I have driven AT versions of both, and trust me, it's a totally different experience. The Laura's DSG is simply the best you can get in this segment, period. The Cruze's AT hardly compares.

Even looking at overall comfort and luxury, the European one trumps with better sound system, higher quality plastics and better ergonomics.

Cruze or Cruze AT is more for sheer power, I agree the luxury of interiors is missing when compared with other cars of same segment (excluding Jetta).

In terms of handling I feel Cruze is exceptionally good be it craters of Mumbai street or the highway Mumbai Pune expressway.. when dry and extremely wet due to heavy rains.

Laura will be phased out early next year as Octavia is being introduced on August 9th . that is the reason Skoda is giving heavy discounts to clear their inventory.

[EagleEye]

Originally Posted by RishiSuri

In terms of handling I feel Cruze is exceptionally good be it craters of Mumbai street or the highway Mumbai Pune expressway.. when dry and extremely wet due to heavy rains.

I think you mean ride quality and light steering. Because with my experience of the Cruze, I'd say it handles like a boat. I never got any confidence to hug curves even at normal speeds of 80-100. Whereas in the Laura the steering is so precise, that I can take on curves at much, much higher speeds.

Originally Posted by RishiSuri

Laura will be phased out early next year as Octavia is being introduced on August 9th . that is the reason Skoda is giving heavy discounts to clear their inventory.

Agree with you. But what was the Laura in India was always the Octavia internationally. The replacement, of course, is the new Octavia. So essentially it's the new Laura. It's bound to offer the same and much more.

This was only in response to the question above; I have no intention of offending any Cruze owners.

[RishiSuri]

And here is the pic of the scratch got on the car courtesy the Auto drivers.

[RishiSuri]

Finally my stickers of Team -bhp arrived, pretty excited about them.

Shortlisted 2 stickers to be put on the car. The one to cover the scratch and the other on the back window of the car.

Here are the pictures.