 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Click image to enlarge |
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2011 Chevrolet Cruze
Milford, Michigan – When it was founded back in 1908, GM was initially to have been named International Motors. Although it did move into international markets shortly afterwards, it seldom acted much like a global company; instead, many regions operated autonomously, an expensive and inefficient way to produce vehicles.
It took almost a century, but the company has finally turned that around, using its designers, engineers and facilities to a single purpose. The latest result is a new “global” car, the Chevrolet Cruze, which the company gave a small number of journalists a chance to test-drive around its proving grounds in Milford, Michigan. The initial impression: this new model is going to shake up a compact segment that’s generally been the domain of the imports.
Already on sale in some markets, including Europe and China, the Cruze will eventually appear in some 60 countries, built locally for each region. It will go on sale in Canada and the U.S. in the third quarter of 2010, as a replacement for the outgoing Cobalt. Our models will be built in Lordstown, Ohio, where the Cobalt is currently produced.
 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Click image to enlarge |
While the Cruze will be aimed at compact car buyers, it pushes the edges of that envelope. Compared with the vehicles GM is primarily targeting, it’s 58 mm longer than the 2010 Toyota Corolla, and 94 mm longer than the Honda Civic. It’s also marginally longer than the Cobalt, and is wider and taller than any of them. Chevrolet representatives were maddeningly coy when asked exactly where the car is situated, saying that they expect the EPA to classify it as a midsize, but that they will market it as a compact “with midsize presence.” You have to love marketers.
There was no hint of pricing, which will come much closer to its on-sale date, but the Cobalt it replaces runs between $15,495 and $21,700 for non-SS models. Pricing is undoubtedly going to be quite a balancing act, given that Chevrolet’s plans also include two new vehicles below the Cruze. The Aveo will be an all-new model, with production shifting from Korea to the United States (I spotted what appeared to be a heavily-camouflaged one making a turn of the test track) and sliding under it, a new Korean-built mini-car, the Spark. These will give GM the hatchback configuration that won’t be found on the Cruze. I suppose the marketers know what they’re doing, but I hope that having pared back to the bone during its bankruptcy, GM doesn’t go back to carrying too many models – especially in the smaller sizes that Americans tend to ignore, save for the odd buying blip when fuel prices float a little too high for their liking.
 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Click image to enlarge |
Gas prices are top-of-mind for GM with the Cruze. Two engines are offered, and will go on sale simultaneously. The base LS uses a 1.8-litre four-cylinder, which I didn’t get to drive (the vehicles at the event were pre-production models, and the company said no LS models are available yet), with a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Its tentative specs are 136 horsepower and 123 lb-ft of torque.
The volume seller is expected to be a new turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder, developed between Germany, Sweden and the U.S., making an estimated 138 horsepower and, most importantly, 148 lb-ft of torque at a mere 1,850 rpm. It will also be offered with a choice of six-speed stick or autobox. Both engines run on regular fuel.
There will also be an “Eco” model, released a couple of months after the initial on-sale date. It’ll use the turbo 1.4 with the six-speed manual (eventually the automatic will also be offered in the Eco) but notably, unlike many fuel-miser models that come in stripped-down trim, it’ll be the mid-range LT. Aerodynamics will come into play here: the Eco will have underbody shielding, a spoiler, air grille shutters that close at higher speeds, lightweight wheels with ultra-low rolling resistance tires, lower ride height, and a lower front fascia air dam that should prove interesting with Canadian snowbanks. It also has a less-sophisticated rear suspension than other models (more on that later), which will help keep down its cost. In U.S. tests, GM has promised the equivalent of 5.9 L/100 km (48 mpg Imp) on the highway; city figures aren’t set in stone, but the estimate is 8.7 L/100 km (32 mpg Imp). In Canada, General Motors says the highway figure will be 5.0 L/100 km (56 mpg Imp). The idea, the company says, is to give hybrid-like economy but with a much lower buy-in.
 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Click image to enlarge |
Turbocharging here isn’t meant for rapid performance, but for efficiency. The Cruze doesn’t feel quick, but it gets the job done, thanks to that wide band of torque. The turbo’s compact size and its optimal position in the exhaust manifold significantly reduces lag, and there’s a nice linear progression to the throttle. The powerplant is a combination of fuel- and cost-effectiveness: a cast-iron block, used to keep the cost and vibration down, is small enough that its weight isn’t a problem; dual variable valve timing, a variable-displacement oil pump and an electronic thermostat improve efficiency; weight savings include a composite-material intake manifold and hollow camshaft; a timing chain reduces maintenance (the 1.8-litre uses a belt), as do long-life spark plugs and coolant; and while direct injection may have added even more of an edge, the Cruze’s sequential-port system saves money in a segment where cost is everything.
Where the money was spent, and where it really shows, is in the ride and handling. This is a mini-Malibu, both in looks and road presence, and as Martha Stewart would say, that’s a good thing. It’s exceptionally quiet, thanks to such things as an acoustic laminated windshield, five layers of acoustic material in the headliner, triple-sealed doors, an absorber pad on the hood, extra sound-deadening material in the floor pan, and special nylon baffles that are inserted into hollow portions of the body, where they expand with the heat of the paint booth to fill the gaps. The body is also very rigid, with considerable use of high-strength steel in key areas.
 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Click image to enlarge |
The front suspension is McPherson strut, and the electric power steering uses a motor mounted on the rack, rather than on the steering column, to reduce mushiness caused by inertia. The steering feel overall is good, but it’s lighter than I’d like. It seems there were many arguments among the engineers over the steering weight, but despite my aversion to it, I think they went in the right direction: the primary market for this car won’t be the sports-minded crowd, but economy-car buyers who generally prefer a lighter touch to get them easily around traffic obstacles and parking lots. The variable-assist tightens up at higher speeds.
The rear suspension is quite sophisticated for the segment, and includes what GM says is the first combination of a torsion beam and a Watts link, a design the company has patented. The Watts, also called a Z-link, uses two horizontal bars with a central pivot to keep the rear suspension centred. Having the two systems also allows each to be tuned separately, so that a smoother ride doesn’t come at the expense of softer handling, and vice versa. The proof was in the performance, on a lap of GM’s test track. It’s hard to imagine the work that goes into deliberately making a bad road: the track includes everything from potholes and heaves to a section of nasty washboard. On that washboard, bumping and jostling were minimal, and it was possible to carry on a normal conversation with my passenger at 100 km/h.
 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Click image to enlarge |
On one section, the track combines badly broken pavement with a fairly sharp curve. With the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic that the company had brought along for comparison, I had to stay at 80 km/h to feel confident, and I could feel the rear wheels hopping and sliding out on the worst patches. In the Cruze, I got it up to 100 km/h before hitting that point known as “pucker,” with the rear end holding steady; indeed, it was understeer that made me ease up on the throttle in the sharpest part of the curve, rather than fear of losing the rear wheels. Judging by my short test, the Cruze’s road-holding abilities and its very smooth ride are extremely impressive. The Watts link is the key: on the Eco version, which does without it as part of bringing down the cost, the ride and handling were still acceptable, but there was far more lateral movement at the rear tires.
Style-wise, the Cruze is a handsome vehicle, bearing the brand’s signature grille in front and with a short deck in the rear. The raked rear roofline does create some compromises, but not as much as you’d think: a 6-foot-1 colleague just brushed the top of his head on the door opening, and then again on the headliner when he leaned way back. As long as the front seats aren’t all the way back in their travel, there’s considerable legroom for rear-seat passengers. The trunk is huge and very deep, with a volume of almost 425 litres (15 cubic feet).
 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Click image to enlarge |
These being pre-production models, the Chevrolet reps apologized for the fit-and-finish issues, although the yet-to-be-improved gaps were still better than what I’d seen on Cobalt models sent out to customers. Like the Malibu, there’s a “twin-cockpit” design. The upper trim levels get leather chairs. Most notably, the seat cushions are long, reaching to the backs of my knees. Shorter cushions are annoyingly common in many entry-level models, since they give the illusion of a larger passenger compartment, but the resulting lack of leg support makes itself known down the road.
Also unusual for the segment is a total of ten airbags: along with front, roll-sensing curtain and front-seat side bags, there are also bags for the driver and passenger knees, and for the outboard rear seats. GM did miss the chance to add active front head restraints, though, which would help to reduce whiplash. The car has received five-star ratings in other global regions, and GM is expecting to do the same in U.S. government testing. The bags aren’t shy about deploying: in film of a frontal crash test, the curtain airbags also dropped down. It seems that the system anticipates that if the car is hit in the front, there may be a multi-car collision with something else coming at it from the side. I scratched my head over that, but that’s the official explanation. It does seem that, once the car passes a birthday or two, it won’t take much of a collision to write it off. On the other hand, people are more valuable than sheet metal, and examining a car that had been hit at 64 km/h in a 40 per cent offset on the driver’s side, I was able to open and close the driver’s door just as if the car was in the showroom: there was no deformation beyond the firewall, keeping the passenger compartment intact.
This is a tough segment to play: the Japanese historically dominate sales, the Koreans are coming on strong, and Ford is also stepping up with an all-new Focus that, like the Cruze, depends heavily on its European counterpart. It’s impossible to make a complete assessment with only a few laps behind the wheel and no idea of what the price will be, but judging by this first brief look, Chevrolet is pointing solidly in the right direction.
