Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/)

-   -   First Drive of the Chevrolet Cruze (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/66220-first-drive-chevrolet-cruze.html)

Hi guys! I checked out the Cruz today.
The model I checked out was the fully loaded version with Airbags, ABS sunroof et al.
The car is pretty big and has quiet a road presence, primarily due to the "In your face" grill! The interior space though is just a bit more than the Magnum. The boot, though pretty big, seemed a little shallow.
The interiors were all grey leather and the dash was quite large with nice contours. the MID display was a bit of a disappointment with no touch screen.
The instrument cluster is very neat with the cool blue lighting.
When Istarted her up, the engine was pretty quiet, though undoubtedly diesel in clatter. The first gear was a bit jerky though I did not find this in any other gear.
The pick up is very linear if the engine is in the right rpm and really moves that bulk very effectively. However if you are not in the right revs, the turbo lag is very evident. This car gets you to crazy speeds very quickly indeed, but you do not feel the urgency there is on the Skoda RS.
The ride is taut and handling very good. My first impression on the braking of the Fortuner was quite mis-placed and hence I checked out the brakes on the CRUZ and was VERY satisfied. The CRUZ comes with all wheel disk brakes and despite repeated high speed braking, the fade was negligible.
The 6 CD changer sounded pretty good and I am told it has a 6 speaker set up. The rear parking sensors did their job very well.
The passive entry system was very effective and all you needed to ensure was that the key was within a metre from the car. The start/stop while being very innovative, takes a bit of getting used to. All one has to do is press the clutch and then press the start button once, the ECM checks everything and starts the engine.
We hunted for the fuel lid opener and then finally realised that all one needs to do is be near the fuel lid with the key fob and press on the lid and it opens. The fuel lids stays locked if you move away!!!
The cruise control worked beautifully and will be a stress reliever on long open stretches.
The car, if priced at 14 lakhs on road, could be GM's charge into the lower D segment. I came back very impressed.

Hotness!!!

Why JK Tyres GM? Why?!

How does the steering feel?

How does it feel when thrown around?

What speeds seemed unnerving?

Atlast a proper chevy and not a rebadged daewoo/suzuki/subaru. looks packed with feature and smaller sibiling to the Chevy Malibu (sold in US)

Once again proportionate looks and turbo lag!
Jyobeb, How was the handling?

The handling was pretty good and was far superior to the Magnum. I threw it around a bit and while it was not as hard as the Civic the body roll was negligible. The rear seat ride was far better than the Civic.
Even though I had the same doubts on the JK's, I was quite impressed with the level of grip that they offered.

Beautiful looks. Forgive my ignorance but could someone post her technical details?

Good job jyobeb!

1) Can you also post the engine options we get here?
2) Does it have the hand rest protruding issues like one has in Magnum; not so apparent like in SX4 but still there in Optra.
3) One has to be technically near the Fuel Lid to open it? Wont it be enough if he is inside the car? Dnt think this is practical as I dont think someone would like to wak down to open it. Please confirm.
4) How is the ground clearance?

@ess: Apparently, JK has developed special tires for the Cruze, much like the JK Vectra's they'd developed for the Swift ZXI when it was launched in 2005.

Good job Jyobeb.

I had called a salesman here and he invited me to come and have a look at the car yesterday. Am not interested in buying this car as i dont have that much money right now:D, my friend wants to buy the car and we all will have a look in a few days as he is out of town right now.

He was saying that they cant give even a small TD but lets see, we will go in his Passat and maybe we can then manage it. He was saying that its a very very good car, the salesman was very enthusiastic, called me today also to come but then i told him that who wants to see the car is not here.

Am dying to see the car in flesh.

This is probably one of the meanest looking cars we get here. The rear doesn't really match up tonthe front,very civic-ish!

Wish they offered a slush box!

The rear is very Civic.

I just hope the market response is good for this car. I really like the interiors and the bold front.

@Premjit

Thanks for that bit. I did not know they did that.


I was somewhat less impressed by the rear. It does not complement the angry front look.

The first first-drive as always, Jyoyeb! Thanks for sharing.

Looks like quite a car. I've seen poorly disguised examples running around, and even they had presence. Looked wide.

Is beige an option? I love beige, the market loves beige and they clearly add an air of richness. Even black interiors are awesome but NOT grey.

Not a biggie, though I don't expect the gearbox to be Jap slick.

I know what you mean. The Captiva engine does have noticeable turbolag until you find ways to work around it. But the Captiva has phenomenal muscle on the highways and the lighter Cruze should only take this further.

Neat. Could you elaborate on the "taut"? I do expect the ride to be a step up on the Optra, which is by itself very comfortable.

:D

I hear that the Cruze has the potential to match the Skodas in equipment level.

Fingers crossed, hope GM prices it such that the Cruze shakes up the segment (instead of their usual price high, then correct a while later). More competition is always welcome, all the better for us customers!

truly a car that deserves the chevy badge.

chevy should be pricing the car competitively to bring in prospective civic buyers.

overall kudos to GM for designing this car from scratch clap: