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 The Chevy Cruze created enough ripples in the Indian market. Striking looks and a strong diesel motor have ensured it has been a good seller for GM in India , even if it hasn’t set sales charts on fire. We drove it some time back and gave it the thumbs up , even though we felt it had a few rough edges. One of our primary grouses lay with the gearbox. The five-speed manual had a heavy shift action , the clutch wasn’t as light as we’d like it to be , but worst of all was the fact that the engine had so much lag that driving the Cruze in traffic was a truly tiring experience.
Almost in response to these criticisms , GM has launched the Cruze with an automatic transmission. The six-speed auto transforms the character of the car and now it is much easier to live with on a day to day basis. The gears shift smoothly and unobtrusively and performance is brisk thanks to the strong engine which produces 150PS and 327Nm of torque. In traffic , the Cruze is much easier to drive with the auto ’box , especially in the typical stop and start conditions of Pune. The high torque , however , means the tendency to ‘creep’ in D is very high. All automatic cars creep in D , the Cruze just a little more so than most. The steering has a strong self-centering action , but the wheel itself is chunky and nice to hold.
You can use the gearbox in manual mode too by slotting the lever to the left , which is useful when you are on a twisty bit of tarmac. In manual mode , the gearbox will not shift up , even when you hit the 4500rpm redline. However , shifts are a little slow when you nudge the lever and you tend to miss the usability and tactility of certain other dual clutch auto ’boxes. This gearbox has six ratios , but for the most part you use only four , with the car’s electronics starting the Cruze off in second gear if you’re driving with a light foot. Sixth is selected only above 100km/h and you cannot trick the box into  shifting into sixth gear even in the manual mode unless you are past 100km/h , which translates to just under 2000rpm.
The gear lever is a bit too tall and is positioned a little far back from what would have been ideal. For shorter drivers who sit closer to the steering wheel , this can be a hindrance.
Rear seat space isn’t generous , especially given the size of the car and the aperture between the rear bench and the B-pillar is a tad cramped as well. So stepping in and out could see you scuffing your shoe against the upholstery.
The Cruze with an automatic gearbox really does justice to its name and it is a very comfortable car on the highway. Driver seat comfort and support is good and the ride quality is impressive. This is a heavy car though and the auto version tips the scales at 1540kg , which is 20kg more than the manual version. Despite the high kerb weight and strong engine , the auto Cruze is still reasonably fuel efficient , returning 10kmpl in City traffic and 15.5kmpl on the highway.
The automatic is only available in the top of the line LTZ trim , which means you get all the bells and whistles including the ‘intelligent’ key with a proximity sensor , start/stop button , sunroof , climate control and steering mounted controls for the stereo and cruise control. An irritating omission , however , is the lack of a dead pedal. Even in our earlier test of the manual version , we missed the comfort of a dead pedal and the lack of one is felt even more in the automatic.
At Rs 16 lakh (on-road , Pune) , the Cruze is more than a lakh of rupees dearer than its manual twin , which makes it an expensive car. It does make up for it though with a host of features and a lot of people are bowled over by the car’s striking looks and cool cabin. Behind the wheel , you will enjoy driving the Cruze but if you have a chauffer , it makes more sense to stick with the manual.
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Almost in response to these criticisms , GM has launched the Cruze with an automatic transmission. The six-speed auto transforms the character of the car and now it is much easier to live with on a day to day basis. The gears shift smoothly and unobtrusively and performance is brisk thanks to the strong engine which produces 150PS and 327Nm of torque. In traffic , the Cruze is much easier to drive with the auto ’box , especially in the typical stop and start conditions of Pune. The high torque , however , means the tendency to ‘creep’ in D is very high. All automatic cars creep in D , the Cruze just a little more so than most. The steering has a strong self-centering action , but the wheel itself is chunky and nice to hold.
You can use the gearbox in manual mode too by slotting the lever to the left , which is useful when you are on a twisty bit of tarmac. In manual mode , the gearbox will not shift up , even when you hit the 4500rpm redline. However , shifts are a little slow when you nudge the lever and you tend to miss the usability and tactility of certain other dual clutch auto ’boxes. This gearbox has six ratios , but for the most part you use only four , with the car’s electronics starting the Cruze off in second gear if you’re driving with a light foot. Sixth is selected only above 100km/h and you cannot trick the box into
shifting into sixth gear even in the manual mode unless you are past 100km/h , which translates to just under 2000rpm.
The gear lever is a bit too tall and is positioned a little far back from what would have been ideal. For shorter drivers who sit closer to the steering wheel , this can be a hindrance.
Rear seat space isn’t generous , especially given the size of the car and the aperture between the rear bench and the B-pillar is a tad cramped as well. So stepping in and out could see you scuffing your shoe against the upholstery.
The Cruze with an automatic gearbox really does justice to its name and it is a very comfortable car on the highway. Driver seat comfort and support is good and the ride quality is impressive. This is a heavy car though and the auto version tips the scales at 1540kg , which is 20kg more than the manual version. Despite the high kerb weight and strong engine , the auto Cruze is still reasonably fuel efficient , returning 10kmpl in City traffic and 15.5kmpl on the highway.
The automatic is only available in the top of the line LTZ trim , which means you get all the bells and whistles including the ‘intelligent’ key with a proximity sensor , start/stop button , sunroof , climate control and steering mounted controls for the stereo and cruise control. An irritating omission , however , is the lack of a dead pedal. Even in our earlier test of the manual version , we missed the comfort of a dead pedal and the lack of one is felt even more in the automatic.
At Rs 16 lakh (on-road , Pune) , the Cruze is more than a lakh of rupees dearer than its manual twin , which makes it an expensive car. It does make up for it though with a host of features and a lot of people are bowled over by the car’s striking looks and cool cabin. Behind the wheel , you will enjoy driving the Cruze but if you have a chauffer , it makes more sense to stick with the manual.
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I am plannig to purchase car in the range between 13 to 15 lacs in next few days. At present there are four options with me i.e. cruze, altis ( Diesal ), Laura and jetta. Pl advise which is best car which could be termed as value for money in all respects. Good Value for a car to drive on Pune roads. Also my driving would be more as i am a marketing guy .. Thanks.
I have just started planning to buy a diesel car between 12 to 16 lakhs. I have short listed alitis, cruise, jetta , vento , have dropped the skoda .have also heard maruti is coming with a car in this price range. Is it worth waiting for. Pl advice which is best car in termed as value for money. Do let me know about the service costs of the cars. As I have heared jettas cost of spares are in line with skodas (expensive). Which will be the best in term of resale value after 5 to 6 yrs. especially the cruise. Thank you.
i'm planning to buy a car between50 to 100 crores.... so i have not selected any car..... but i'm collecting the money... please suggest me a car between this price...
hi just got this car 7 days back. it is stupendous in automatic .highly recommended !!!!
I bought the automatic transmission version about six weeks ago and was very pleased with its performance till yesterday. My car while on the road (driving in D position)suddenly felt like driving in the neutral with the wheels not responding to the engine. Fortunately I was able to get the car to the side of the road before it stopped. I tried on multiple occasions to start the car and shift the gear to D position or even to manual gear but the car doesn't move. The Chevrolet service states that they have never received any complaints about the transmission so far. Has any one experienced any similar problems. My car has only 1700 km so far. Any comments ?
which is the best skoda laura or cruze
can u plz suggest me the best in civic & cruze? And also how is the customer response is from chevrolet? Is there any vibration or lack of handling if one goes above 100km/h? How about the engine sound as it is a diesel one.? THANK YOU !!!
Can you suggest me..How much would be the maintainance of Cruze AT. Noice in between 3rd and 4th gear, vobbleing while in 120 and above speed, Turbo lagging and Clutch are the negetives of cruze manual. Clutch of cruze manual is very hard and is kickking back in to pedal. Can we expect these disappear in Cruze AT ? Thanks in Advance
I am plannig to purchase car in the range between 13 to 15 lacs in next few days. At present there are four options with me i.e. cruze, altis ( Diesal ), Laura and jetta. Pl advise which is best car which could be termed as value for money in all respects. Do let me know about the srvice costs of the cars. As I have heared that the paid services and the parts of laura are too expensive. For the cruze your expertise is almost correct, I just wanted to know the convienance of carrying out the service at workshops. Thanks!