Chevrolet Cruze Hatch
The Chevrolet Cruze has long been my favourite non-premium sedan, offering a spacious cabin, great value for money, great looks and a decent enough drive. Now Chevrolet has chopped the off its backside – so let’s see if the bum-less Cruze still wins me over.
Since the rear end was my least favourite part of the sedan, you’d imagine that hacking it off would solve the issues. However, unfortunately, I must report that I’m even less of a fan of the back end now than ever before. It’s as though someone in a board room somewhere decided that a hatch was a great idea for the range, psyched up the entire company, only to inform the design team in the 11th hour that moulds were needed in the factory, like yesterday.
The rear end aside, I think the Cruze is still exceptionally good looking and the range hasn’t really aged or tired since its launch in 2009. The bold front end and flared flanks gives it an edge over the softer looking competition.
The interior is characterised by harmonious, flowing lines with quality soft-touch materials used throughout. This is a high quality interior that really stands out amongst competitors. The design team worked wonders in making occupants at the front feel cocooned – using the twin-cockpit layout from a Corvette as a template – while maintaining the overall spaciousness of the entire cabin.
Powering my Cruze hatch was a 1.8 litre petrol motor linked to a five speed manual gearbox. While the figures point toward relatively lively performance (it’s got 104kW after all), the truth is that the Cruze only manages the 0-100km/h sprint in 11 seconds – which may have been acceptable in the 90’s, but nowadays that’s a lifetime. The upside is decent fuel consumption figures in the region of 7 litres/100km.
Sportiness is definitely not a priority then, which explains the lack of feel through the steering. Nonetheless you’ll find the Cruze pleasant to drive. It’s comfortable, exceptionally quiet and offers decent levels of grip when required.
Add into the equation all the equipment you could possibly need, all of which is standard and you’ve got yourself all the car you’ll ever need. It really is that good. But here’s a little secret, the diesel powered sedan better to drive and just as fuel efficient – plus it’s got a nice spacious boot. So unless you’ve got a short garage, I’d recommend the oil burner instead.
Price: R 233 200
Engine: 1796cc 4 cylinder petrol
Power (kW): 104
Torque (Nm): 176
Acceleration (0-100km/h): 11
Top Speed (km/h): 195
Fuel Consumption (l/100km): 6.7
First published in Autodealer KZN