Drove a Cruze LT this morning.
I spent about 10 minutes in the showroom looking in, under and around the car and, generally liked what I saw. The engine compartment was neatly laid out and there was plenty of room around the engine for any work that needed doing. It looked nice, too.
The exterior looked okay: I didn't notice any glaring problems with the paint or panel gaps. Overall, I find it an attractive design except for, maybe, the three-tier grill. It's sealed, so why not have the hood come farther forward? Also, fix the C-pillar and lose the plastic.
Inside, I was hoping that the seats would be an improvement on the rental Cobalt I tried for two days in Arizona. Thankfully, they were. They felt hard when I sat down but were comfortable while sitting in the showroom and during the test drive. The switchgear felt good and operated in the solid manner. I did have an issue with the ventilation controls, however. As you can see in the photo below, the temperature control sits in a recess closest to the driver. The fan speed is in a reverse recess on the right. Unfortunately, grabbing the control wasn't convenient since my fingers would be the right side of the control. I can't imagine trying it with gloves on.
Another strike against the interior was, once I had set the seat position (fore/aft and height) and the tilt/telescope of the steering wheel, I could not see the top left of the tach or the top right of the speedometer. I'm only 5'8" so would the situation be worse for taller drivers? While I did like the diameter of the steering wheel, unfortunately, it obscures the gauges.
I liked the cloth on the dash and doors, btw.
I had no issues getting in and out of the backseat and there was plenty of leg room with the driver's seat set for me. I would have no problem putting two folks in the backseat for a road trip: three folks in back for a short drive in the city. Nice to see cupholders in the backseat armrest.
The trunk looked spacious.
I took a Cruze LT Turbo + for a drive. Since the car had been in the shop within the previous 48 hours, the interior of the glass was frosted up, but the HVAC made short work of that. Once moving, I surprised with how quiet the car was: I was listening for turbo whistle but couldn't detect it. The power is more than adequate and the car pulls well in 2nd and 3rd gears. The amount of time the transmission spent in first from the stand still was almost comical. First gear was done in less than a second under light throttle. The transmission's manual control actually obeyed your up or downshift command promptly. Winnipeg's roads are in terrible shape and the Cruze did well on them, including an 80 km/h left hand sweeper complete with bumps and dips that upset my Sebring.
Overall, I was impressed. I can't say how well it stacks up against the competition because I haven't driven them yet. However, the Cruze would definitely be on my candidate list.
