9 February 2011
In the face of General Motor's current financial woes, and the fact that sales of large cars have slowed up thanks to the global recession, a new small car is just the ticket to help the General back on the road to recovery.
Thankfully for GM, they are able to call on product from the wider family, so the new small car to carry the Holden badge down under and the Chevrolet badge in the US and Europe comes from the South Korean arm, Daewoo.
Dusting off an old nameplate from the archives, which was once applied to a badge engineered Suzuki-sourced compact SUV/Crossover, GM has settled on the Cruze moniker for its new compact car.
The Holden Cruze is available in sedan form only, with no hatch on offer. At the recent Cruze launch, Holden executives could give no firm answer on the future of their current compact hatch, the Astra.
However, given that GM has indicated that Opel, GM's German subsidary from where the Astra is sourced is up for sale and not likely to be a part of the New GM going forward, we can only speculate on the future of the Astra in this part of the world.
Holden has also announced that a new small car project is well underway in Australia, due for launch in 2010, so we assume that the Cruze will be offered alongside the small Aussie Holden when it hits the showrooms late next year.
The Cruze is available in two spec levels, the entry level Cruze CD and up-spec CDX. It is attractively styled, featuring Holden's familiar trapezoidal shaped grille with the prominant lion logo positioned centrally.
The Cruze has achieved a 5 star ANCAP crash test rating, with maximum scores in side and pole tests.
Safety features include Electronic Stability Control, ABS braking with EBD, Traction Control and Brake Assist. There are six airbags including side curtain airbags.
The Cruze CD comes with 16" steel wheels, body coloured door handles, cloth interior trim and an attractive cloth insert on the dash panel. The Cruze CDX gets 17" alloy wheels, chrome door handle and grille inserts, front fog lights, leather appointed seats, a leather wrapped steering wheel and gear shift lever as well as rear parking sensors.
Both models have a Graphic Information Display showing audio, air conditioning, outside temperature and time and date information, as well as automatic headlights with a "follow me home" feature and a multifunction steering wheel incorporating audio and cruise control functions.
A six speed speaker audio system with MP3 compatible in-dash CD player and an auxiliary "plug and play" function is standard equipment on both the CD and CDX.
Curiously, in place of a spare wheel, diesel versions only get a tyre inflation kit but a full size steel spare is offered as a no-cost option, so we'd anticipate most buyers will be ticking that box.
Engines on offer are either a 1.8 litre petrol or a 2.0 litre diesel.
The entry level Cruze CD is available with petrol or diesel engine options and with either a 5 speed manual or 6 speed automatic transmission. The up-spec CDX version can only be had with the petrol engine and automatic transmission. No CDX diesel is offered.
Fuel consumption is quoted at 5.7litres per 100km for the diesel manual through to 7.5 litres per 100km for the petrol auto and towing capacity for petrol powered models is 695kg (unbraked) and 1200kg (braked), with diesel versions being rated at 750kg (unbraked) and 1200kg (braked).
At 400 litres capacity, boot space is not huge but is perfectly adequate for a compact car, and with a 60/40 split folding rear seat can be extended to accommodate larger loads.
The wrap around contour of the dash gives the impression of relatively confined cabin space and front seat bolsters are quite snug, however rear seat legroom is impressive.
The pick of the range would have to be the CD diesel manual.
While the CDX gets more whistles and bells than the CD, the 1.8 litre petrol engine isn't over-endowed with power, and mated to the automatic transmission it's lack of pace can be a little frustrating.
The torque of the diesel engine is a delight and the 5 ratios in the manual 'box seem well suited to the diesel powerplant, which is the same unit fitted to the Captiva and Epica.
Pricing for the new Cruze CD starts at $27,490 for the petrol manual, through to $32,990 for the diesel auto. The 1.8 litre CDX is priced at $31,490.