Taking a different approach to all this - If some negativity wasn't warranted, then it would be a perfect car for all kinds of tastes, and it would be the only car sold.
I think in this category and sub compacts as well, its a "maturing process" in North America. It isn't like Europe where small cars are everywhere and there is much more competition, many more engine options and so on. It looks like the Cruze is a good effort overall, especially for what seems to be their non enthusiast target market. Maybe there will be an SS type version later. And GM has a history of blowing it in terms of missing momentum, bringing the "good stuff" along far too late instead of at the beginning of a model's lifespan.