Chevrolet Cruze

tgozdalski1

It is quite important to give more details how MPG is being calculated. Are you using manual calculation, miles drive since last fill up divided by galons? using MPG from trip computer is not the most reliable option based on my experience with our SAAB 2.0t. My 2007 Honda Accord standard tranny, bought used 2 months ago, returns on average about 31.5 MPG based on about 5 tanks of gas about 80% hwy driven conservatively for most of the time with occasional 80MPH trips when I'm late to work or my daughter's practice. I did consider Cruse Eco 6 speed manual but at the end I found accord lx certified with 34k miles for 14,100 out the door and I could not justify paying about $7k more for new Cruze. I also put alot of miles on my cars and I would be hit even more on depraciation of the brand new vehicle. I did like Cruze based on what I saw never drove one.

priggly

Just picked up my new 2011 Chevy Cruze LTZ with heated oil pan, fogs, and illuminated door sills today. Car is fabulous commuter, especially for the miniscule price. Fuel consumption superb. Delivered from a classy Chevy dealer with ZERO defects.

Clearly grossly superior to either Civic or Corolla.

If you are looking for a car in this genre you owe it to yourself to check out the Cruze LTZ with 1.4 l turbo. It truly does not get much better than this.

Incidentally, the NAV and audio systems are unreal!

backy

Congrats on the new car! Can you tell us how much you paid, and details on the superb fuel economy you are getting so far?

m6user

Are you sure you didn't mean to post on April 1? Congrats on the car but I haven't heard anyone say that a loaded Cruze LTZ can be had for a miniscule price. You must have gotten huge discounts.

hj1

I know title sounds like spam. Anyway, as a 97 cav LS driver, it was time (maybe overdue) to get a new car. Initially, even though the 4-speed was simpler in stop and go driving, wanted an MT. After just 40 miles in two days, wish I had stuck to that - although the color choices and features in the LS MT line were not as preferred.

Anyway, I like the car, but the tranny - not so much right now. I thought it was just me, and I know all about the trend in cars that learn their drivers, but it didn't take much google hacking to find that I was not alone. Here's what you need to know:

http://www.sandyblogs.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?search=6t40&IncludeBlogs=10&l- imit=20

I hope it gets better, but as noted in some discussions and the EPA disclaimers, ymmv.

priggly

I am in Canada where everything costs more. The price is very reasonable considering I also got an oil pan heater, door sill illumination and fog lights.

These bumped the price above $28,000 but it was still very reasonable!

Kirstie_H

A reporter is interested in talking with recent buyers of the Chevy Cruze, Ford Fiesta or Ford Focus. If you care to share your comments, please email your daytime contact info to pr@edmunds.com no later than Monday, May 16, 2011.
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com

ike3

I liked everything about the Cruze during a recent test drive. Amazingly quiet ride, good pep
and steering. However, the deal breaker for me was the hard seats. After 10 minutes of driving,
I had enough. The seats are narrow, and the discomfort from the hard seat material just added
to my discomfort. I unfortunately will have to pass on this car. My runner up choice is the new
2012 Honda Civic. Yes, it lacks a number of things...but at least the seats are comfortable and
gave me good thigh and back support. And, getting back to the Cruze, I tried the cloth seats as
well as the leather surface seats on the LTZ. No real difference. Any chance Chevy will change
those seats for 2012 model year? Comments anyone?

gmcustsvc

ike3,

Thank you for your feedback in regards to the seating in the Cruze. This has been document and forwarded to the appropriate department.

Thank you,
Caron, GM Customer Service

smilon

I think the Cruze seats are fine. The firm seating and lumbar support remind me of my C5 Corvette. I believe these seats would be a plus on long trips.

dudleyr

Nothing worse than soft seats in a car. Give me nice firm seats any day.

priggly

Odd. The seats in my Cruze LTZ are great. Yes, they are firm. So are those of Mercedes. There is a reason for that. I would not change them at all.

backy

Very positive review of the Eco in USA Today today:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2011-05-26-chevrolet-cruze-ec- o-test-drive_n.htm

And almost 50 mpg recorded on the highway!

samnoe

I always wonder why Toyota/Honda manage to eliminate the (transmission) hump on the floor of the middle-rear seat, so 3 adults can sit there more comfortably; while other manufacturers can not figure out how to design it that way, even in large sedans. They always have a hump.

I would consider it when purchasing my next (compact) sedan. I am currently driving a 2009 Civic, I love this extra leg room in the middle of rear seat!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Cruze, it is a fantastic car, it's just something I keep observing and I need to air it out..

Kirstie_H

A reporter is interested in talking with a recent buyer of a new Chevy Cruze or Hyundai Elantra. Please respond to pr@edmunds.com by Friday, June 10, 2011 with a few comments about your vehicle choice.

dispencer2

Very impressive article about the transmission but I just rented one (with 800 miles) and the transmission is horrible. It seems to slip all over the place (much worse than my new Malibu which cost less than the Cruze and drives like a Cadillac compared to it), the engine roars and has tremendous acceleration in first gear but not much later. You feel every pebble in the road but the overall ride is ok and the car is quieter than my Cobalt. Other than that my repacement for the Cobalt won't be a Cruze. I'm glad yours is better. Drove all over central NJ and averaged 21.1. I never broke 30 even on the freeway. I get 36-41 on the road in my Cobalt.

imidazol97

Which model did you rent?
Which of the two engines is this: the 1.4 or 1.8 l.?

ab348

Your experience seems at odds with every review I have ever read plus my own experience in driving a Cruze.

motorcity6

In spite of all the praise, the road test against other cars in it's class, the Cruze looks a little shaky..Acceleration, and gas mileage are somewhat dismal..You might check the cost of replacement tires for the Eco and the LTZ-RS..According to Tire Rack, the Eco tires are $148ea, and the LTZ-RS are around $280ea..

Best deal is probably the turboed ECO w/manual tranny...The power plant is a hopped-up Volt engine...WOW!!!!!!

IMHO---car is over priced and over-hyped..Not an Asian car fan, but in comparison, a 4 banger Camry SE will serve you better or a similiar Honda model..The depreciation will eat the value of the Cruze badly..Gas mileage should not be the deciding factor, for most of the cars in that class will hit 30mpg with ease, however try running the a/c at 70 in a Cruze..This 40 mpg figure in every day life is somewhat a misnomer..Plan on maybe in actual mileage high 20s, and look a what your present ride is averaging..

To save any $$$$$, don't plan on your spread to be 20 mpgs more..for it ain't going to happen..You might think you are saving "the planet", and if that is your main thought, go for it and enjoy..

smilon

I have the 2Lt and acceleration was similar to my Corvette C5 with cold air induction. I dropped in a K&N high flow filter and the acceleration is very good. Gas mileage can be in the high 20's if you have a heavy foot. You can get high 30's on longer trips with the Cruise control.I think the 40mpg is meant on the eco model. I can get replacement tires locally for a little over half of the price you quoted. I attended the St. Louis car show and frankly the Camry SE and the Hondas were rather bland in interior and exterior styling. They looked like first generation PCs-all grey plastic.Now the prices are coming down on the Cruzes, so it would be a good time to check them out.

cruzeowner

this car is loaded to the gills and its a good thing because you will need plenty of things to do because with the power of this car u will need plenty of things for passengers to do

dudleyr

How can a Cruze accelerate anywhere near as fast as a corvette?

smilon

with a K&N high flow air filter in your 2lt or ltz Cruze with the 1.4 liter turbo charged intercooled engine. You can also tune your engine to better performance using any number of hand held devices connected to your Cruze's CPU. There also exists several mod packages (aftermarket) that can be purchased to upgrade exhaust and engine.I owned a Corvette C5 with cold air induction(5.7 liter). The Cruze matched acceleration 0 to 40 with just the air filter mod.It's not the size of the engine, but the power to weight ratio that really counts. You can make a 4 cylinder go 240 mph, if you have the time, money and knowhow.

dudleyr

Wow - an air filter takes the Cruse (0-60 in 9.8 consumer reports) to compete with a car that hits 60 in half that time. :surprise: Albeit only to 40 mph.

That is some air filter - makes you wonder why car makers don't have the thing standard. Must be a conspiracy.

I did notice that the manual transmission is now standard on the 1lt and 2lt for 2012. So that is some good news.

elias

Yesterday i traded my 06 jetta TDI M5 with 122k for Cruze LS M6, especially thanks to learning here i can swap the Cruze air filter to make it as fast as all the Caddy CTS-V coupe and Corvette grand sports on the 2nd floor of the uber-dealership! :shades:

(Exact good-condition book value for the trade-in, GM card subtracted $3400, minus another $1k retention cashback probably due to me being Pontiac owner - GM had sent letters years ago giving free synthetic oil changes & other cool stuff & indicating hat $1k cashback was waiting for me for any new GM purchase, as long as I kept the GTO....
Result yesterday was the new 011 Cruze LS cost me the same cash price as the recent clutch/rear-seal/input-shaft replacements on my 05 GTO.

I liked the good old slushiness of the Cruze's old-school slushbox automatic - that's my favorite/smoothest type of automatic... And I bought the manual shift 6 speed model instead.

seriously re K&N:
I've previously enjoyed K&N filter on LT1 Z28 , but I do not plan to use a K&N for the Cruze or my other car, 05 GTO. I've heard one has to be careful oiling those K&N, else it can ruin the MassAirFlow sensor.

backy

What do you think of the MT, and how is the 1.8L engine? All reviews I've seen have been for the 1.4L turbo and automatic. The LS appeals to me because it has all the necessary equipment (except cruise, but I could live w/o that if I had to), and I see big discounts on it at local dealers, sometimes as low as $14k with the MT.

Also did you see the Cruze was America's best selling car last month?

Sandman6472

Have crossed the Cruze & Focus off our short list for now...will check out the Verano version in about six months. With the supply situation as it is, just better to wait and band aid the 3. We'll just put some new sneakers on the Mazda and fix the a/c if necessary and take her to 100k miles at this point. Since I'm lucky if I drive 50 miles/week, I might just take it over for my around town stuff. Plus, our middle girl will be home next month with her Accent, so we'll have four cars out front.

Hopefully by mid April of 2012, things should stablize a bit. Time to go back to lurk around my forums for awhile...do enjoy reading why certain folks buy certain vehicles though!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

smilon

My brother-in-law worked for GM. His designs for the turn signal controls were used widely in the 80's and 90's.According to him, GM would try to save money by using the least expensive, most durable parts. (how much would you save on a 50000 unit production run using oldstyle paper filters rather than oil impregnated cloth filters?)Its surprising how much performance can be gotten from drop in or bolt on products. BTW, a C5 is a 1999 Vette(12 year old technology)If you Dyno the Lt or Ltz with the mods I described you could get in excess of a 25% gain in rear wheel Hp.

brueggie

2011 Eco w/ MT

We drove 3100 miles overall but mainly tracked the hwy mileage on the first day and last day. Drove from North Dallas to Meridian, MS all hwy at least 5 over the average 70 mph speed limit with the air on the second setting and got 39.9 average. Drove from Panama City, FL back home doing the same with same air settings and averaged 40.3.

Oh and the trunk was completely packed with 1 large suitcase, 1 mediup suitcase, stroller, 2 laptops, cooler among other bags of towels/shoes/snacks etc plus the 6 year old and 14 month old in the back seat. Can't imagine the average with an empty car!

Lovin the Cruze - no regrets.

dudleyr

Very good mpg under those conditions. Manual transmission is the way to go.

How does it shift?

brueggie

Since it is a 6 speed, it does take a bit getting use to with determining which gear is the best for needed accelleration but it doesn't take long. It is my wife's car so I only drive it on the weekends or evenings when we run errands. My only complaint is the clutch throw is a bit long, I find myself with an extra inch or two coming out of 2nd.

elias

Hey there backy -
I like the MT/shifter/throw/gearspacing/gearbox/etc so far... One review mentioned the wider spacing of Eco gears makes its MT harder to manage than the LS MT.

In the owners manual there are two drawings of the shift-pattern for each MT model - only difference is an "O" around the 6 for the Eco !
mpg-meter on dashboard shows 29.8/increasing for the first 229 miles.
it arrived with ~180 miles after apparently being shuffled between local dealers as a placeholder for the ECO Cruzes people pay $2k more for.
Big discounts for Cruzes at your local dealers? $14k with the MT!? retail is ~$17500 out-the-door here. the difference between 'invoice' and msrp is barely $700.

here in the middle of summer, I'm already thinking of getting ECO wheels with blizzaks for the winter..

/e

backy

Big discounts for Cruzes at your local dealers? $14k with the MT!?

Yes, I've seen LSes with no options advertised around $14k. I expect it was a "one only" kind of thing, and probably because few people want to drive a stick or a car w/o features like power mirrors and cruise. But it's a very nice car for $14k.

elias

at 500 miles the mpg meter said 31.1 mpg. 200 of the miles were driven by someone other than me -
it started well below 29 mpg.
on the way back from toptiergas tonight, i hypermiled to 50.6 mpg to the stop sign near my house.
48.5 mpg by the time i got it into garage.
pretty impressive, even if the mpg meter is wildly optimistic.

Sandman6472

When one "hypermiles", how does that affect the folks behind or next to you? What does it do to the steady flow of traffic on certain roads?

The Sandman :confuse: :sick: :shades:

m6user

In IL we have a ton of "turn left on green arrow only" lights with left turn lanes. I don't know how many times I've been held up from getting into the left turn lane to make the green arrow by a driver that was coasting up to the stopped traffic very very slowly. By the time I get in the left turn lane the arrow has turned and I wait a whole cycle and waste gas. That coaster probably saved 1/10 of what I burned waiting for the next light. But I'm sure they felt smug because they saved a penny and could care less about other drivers on the road. They are in their own little world.

fushigi

I'll coast towards red lights and all but only when I'm not going to inconvenience others. If someone's behind me and I'm not in a center lane then I'll drive "normally" and won't try to eek out every last drop of fuel economy. And extend brake life; coasting should also extend brake life as you don't apply the brakes until you're going slower so they don't have to work as hard.

BTW I hate it when there's a single left turn lane and the lights include a left red. How inefficient, both in terms of time & fuel wasted. But they're still better than Michigan Lefts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_left

elias

silicate dude,

to answer 2 questions and your apparent false assumption that hypermiling involves going slow...

1. when one hypermiles for 3.6 miles back from the gas station like i did the other night, it doesn't affect other drivers behind me. if there rarely are any, they have no idea i'm driving 35 mph in 6th gear as the shift-light/economy indicates. (i don't drive on the paint lines like some hypermilers to reduce friction.)

2. it does nothing to the steady flow of traffic on certain roads. hypermiling does not involve going slow, especially on rural roads. instead, it involves going near the sweet spot rpm of the motor, and using zero-fuel-coast-down mode (IN GEAR!) most effectively down hills, etc. so often that means hypermiling involves typical driving ABOVE THE SPEED LIMIT at EXACTLY THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC! who knew one could hypermile and not be noticed! ?

thank you.

ps - in particularly Cruze-related news, the car is getting about 36 mpg exactly on the mpg ticker halfway through the next tank, haven't divided distance/refuel-amount yet...

elias

it appears that all Cruzes have NAV full software/computer functionality onboard available whether you order NAV system or not.
Directions are downloadable/licensable by Onstar too, even if one doesn't buy the NAV option for the car, and full NAV functionality will work for that set of directions.
Maybe this will be the case or all cars soon?

(restated, with Cruze it appears that ordering NAV entails nothing different except for a software license and a color screen instead of monochrome.)

Also, Cruze is the first car I've bought for which I had to sign a software license agreement!

cannon3

On our road trip saw many Chevy Cruze. One however really stood out. It was a white LTZ model. Wow, sharp, smooth, and just plain good looking. The owner had tinted all the windows. I am a Ford fan, but I have to give credit where credit is due. The Cruze styling is very well done.

elias

cans3, nice with the Cruze views. i'll be getting my new Cruze LS tinted next week. it's same styling as that LTZ basically but way lower $ :shades: :shades: :shades:
here the tint will be back windows only however ; front windows are not allowed to be tinted, except for 6 inch strip on top of windshield.
.................................Cruze - be there - aloha.

Karen_S

A reporter is interested in talking with recent buyers of the Chevy Cruze, who previously owned a non-GM vehicle. If you care to share your comments, please email your daytime contact info to pr@edmunds.com no later than 5:00pm Pacific, Monday, August 8, 2011.

kinbineola

I am considering a Cruze, but do not own one. For any of you who have already changed your oil canister, this question is about putting on the NEW filter, after you have removed the OLD one. Can you pre-fill the NEW filter with 8 ounces (or 100 ml) of new oil BEFORE you install the new canister back on the engine? Or do you have to install a dry filter, and start the engine to fill the canister with oil (which starves the turbocharger of oil until the canister has filled and oil pressure finally builds up)?

Other questions: Does the Reusable Canister Metal Shell come off as a one-piece cylinder with an end cap (like a soup can, open at the bottom)? Or does it come off in two pieces (a long hollow cylinder around the sides of the filter, and the end cap that has the 24-mm nut on it?)

Please comment on the ease and messiness of changing a filter. Thanks.

brueggie

I had ours recently done at the dealer - 1st oil change is free - and I asked the mechanic working on it what size socket he used to take off the filter. He picked it up and read off 15/16. I made the comment that it looked a lot easier than changing the canister on the new Equinox's and he said definitely. I guess when I go to change it at 10K miles I will have more to add here, but from what I can tell it doesn't seem to be very difficult at all. Don't know about the filling of the new canister with oil or not - may be best to ask the dealership, hopefully they would give you a straight answer!

elias

seems there are other reports of occasional bluetooth problems, and i am seeing the symptoms with my cruze-tooth too.
sometimes the car bluetooth thinks it is connected, directs phone to call, but does not realize iphone has complied and says 'unable to call'. meanwhile the call is connected but either not available on the bluetooth, or has 1-way audio.

for now, the workaround is to make a test call to a machine before calling someone for real.
if the problem occurs, i reboot my iphone. disabling/reenabling the bluetooth seems to work also.

ab348

I understand iPhones in general are balky with automotive bluetooth implementations. The problem is with Apple, not the car.

fushigi

Agreed. If you look at Edmunds' Long-Term Road Test blog you'll see many entries noting BlueTooth issues and every single time the phone in question is an iPhone. I don't know why none of the IL drivers use Android (the market leader) or any other smartphone OS. I wish some of them would as it would provide a better reporting experience when talking about the cars they're driving, but whatever.

BTW, Apple's issues aren't just with BT. There are also posts about playing music while plugged in via USB that note issues that don't exist when using other USB devices.

smilon

The oil filter is located on top of the engine built into the engine block. I recommend draining oil first, replacing drain plug, then removing plastic filter cap. Sometimes the cap is stubborn coming off. I bought a breaker bar with the appropriate socket. Replacing the filter is easy, it's a small paper cylinder with top and bottom made of plastic. Once you have replaced the filter,make sure you do not over tighten or under tighten the cap.The cap may also have a small rubber ring gasket. If you over tighten the cap the ring gasket will squeeze out and you may leak oil.This system is similar to the Cobalts which were very easy for oil changes.When you have tightened the plastic oil filter cap and added new oil, run the ngine and check for leaks around the drain plug and around the oil cap with your finger(careful it's hot).If you take it to anoilchange place be careful. They use recycled oil which may not be good for your engine. I prefer changing it myself or using a Chevy dealer.Smilon

kingdomsa

I'm interested in the Cruze LS with manual trans - it's got everything I need except cruise control. Any way to get cruise on the LS? Also, for those that have the LS with manual trans, what rpm are you spinning at 60mph in 6th.?

elias

forget about the cruise control on the LS for 2011 but it maybe available in 2012 as an option, but also the LS seats lose a degree of freedom.

get the bluetooth for sure.

how often do you actually use cruise control, king dome?
only on looooong cross-country cruises is it useful for me - barely usable anywhere on east coast where I drive.

maybe about 2250 rpm at 60 mph; i'll look closer if highway traffic ever goes that slow aside from onramps.
there's NO TORQUE at 60 mph in 6th, of course, but keep it at more typical highway speeds 30% faster, and there's plenty for passing on flat highways.

solid/repeatable 35 mpg on the first few tanks.