Homo sapien species are the smartest animals on planet earth. Our ancestors learned to settle down at one place with the discovery of farming but they sure did understand the need of travelling. Archaeologists say that the first signs of wheel made by humans are from 3,500 BC, that is a pretty long time back in the past. Since then, we have developed massively, creating sky high nests for ourselves, developing tools and objects and use them to dig deep in the ground to find what we call today the “Black Gold”. After the discovery of the fossil fuel, human race became restless, they developed heavy machines and then brilliant brains put wheels around them. That was it. More than 200 years since this happened, and nowadays, humans fly through air at a speed which is faster than sound.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift
There was a group which decided to fly low, close to our home and then came a breed of vehicles which could break human imaginations. During our evolution, we invented a thing called money and today, money is directly proportionate to the speed you get to travel at. For mortals who do not posses a huge sum in the bank but still wants to go fast, there is this car known as Chevrolet Cruze. Here is what we think about the car.
Exterior:
Few developing markets like India did not receive the all-new Cruze unlike many international markets. Only a facelift version of the Cruze comes here, and it looks absolutely the same as the last one. Now that Chevrolet calls it a facelift they did few changes to the vehicle. There is a lot of chrome in the front now. The shape of the grille housing remains the same but the grille is updated. Also, Chevrolet has now added a newly sculpted bumper and new foglamp housing and LED daytime running lamps slapped on top of this, and that bit of the car too, has good amount of chrome on it.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift front three quarter
From the side, the car remains exactly the same, except the new alloy wheels, which could have been made in a better way.
Chevrolet did not make any changes in the rear but they have now added a spoiler. Oh, let’s not forget about the new chrome dipped exhaust tip, it pops out of the car like it will push missiles out of it.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift rear three quarter
Overall, Chevrolet has made changes to keep the car fresh but overuse of chrome is not a welcome move. The Cruze has a rivalry which look classy and elegant but then Chevrolet would not be able to send the “muscle car” message over.
Interiors:
Again, this is a facelift and Chevrolet decided to let this generation of Cruze live its last phase of life with the same interiors. You get exactly what you used to get in the pre-facelift Cruze. Only addition is the new MyLink infotainment system which is pretty smart. You get Internet radio, voice recognition and if you have an Apple phone, you get Siri Eyes Free technology too! The MyLink system also doubles up as reverse camera. But the system itself is guarded by thick plastic border, which makes it really difficult for the driver to reach out and operate the system.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift interiors
The black leather seats themselves are very well cushioned and has contours at the right places to keep you fixed even while taking corners at good speed. Driver seat is electrically adjustable in 6-ways but the recline of the driver seat is manual. So, the seat is not fully-electrically adjustable.
Chevrolet has been always generous with the place to keep your belongings safe when you’re at the wheels. Cruze also features bottle holders on all four doors and has cubby holes that takes up small objects. In the rear though, the things are pretty cramped. Two adults can fit very comfortably but space for third person is not so generous. The transmission tunnel stands like a dam in the rear. Also, Cruze is not a car for rear passengers. There is no AC vents there, only a charging socket. The small sunroof in the top-end continues to be there but we really think that a bigger roof would have been so much better for this car.
The boot space is huge, 450 litres of space in the boot can take up all your luggage and then can fit the extra luggage of your neighbour too. Chevrolet has smartly snuggled in a full-size spare wheel with alloy under it. Sadly, this smart engineering is not shown in the cabin of the car.The passengers of the Cruze are protected by 4-airbags, two in front and two on the windows, plus there is ABS and EBD to take care of emergency situations.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift sunroof control
The plastic quality should have been better at places like the sunroof-plastic cover which is manual. The dual tone interiors dominated by black colour do feel good to look at though. The steering wheel is good to hold and has lot of functions on it like Bluetooth phone control and the cruise control.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift speedometer console
The driver console also remains the same with blue-illuminated three pod design. While the right one shows the speed and left one is for the tachometer. The middle one is taken up by a big LCD that shows instant average, overall average, average speed while two small dials on the top of the LCD shows the engine oil temperature and fuel level.
Engine and Driving:
Chevrolet did not change here too. The car still draws power from the 1,998cc, 16-valve, turbo engine that produces huge power surge. Cruze is the most powerful car in its segment. The engine produces a maximum of 166 PS at 3,800 rpm while the torque maximizes at 360 Nm at 2,000 rpm.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift
Now here is a catch. Even though the Cruze is the most powerful in its segment, it is not the fastest one because it weighs more than 1.5 ton and the power-to-weight ratio goes for a toss. Nonetheless, the car has enough to bury you in seat when the pedal is pushed aggressively. The car gets a normal automatic transmission and it changes pretty smoothly even during the low-speeds of the crowded city but for the car it is, Chevrolet should have added a “Sport mode” or/and “paddle shifters” to make it more enthusiast oriented. There is manual mode in the car but an addition of sport mode should not have hurt too much.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift
The Cruze feels fast, it is not scary fast but it is adequately fast in its segment. The fuel efficiency is 14.8 km to a litre with the automatic transmission, which is good given the fact that you do get a powerful car and automatic gear changes.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift transmission
The steering of the Cruze can’t be called precise, it will go where you want it to go but there is not enough feedback from the steering. It also is very light to operate. It would give enthusiasts nightmares on the fast highways but if you get used to it, it is a bliss during slow-moving crowded city car parades.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift
The ride quality is also very good, the car soaks up the bumps and pot-holes very nicely but the tyres are meant for high-speed turns. Sudden high-speed direction changes and the tyres will scream to you to slow down a bit.
Verdict:
Chevrolet Cruze recently went though a price cut which sets the starting price of the Cruze at Rs. 13.95 lakh and the Automatic variant at Rs. 16.95 lakh, both at ex-showroom, Delhi.
Chevrolet Cruze facelift front three quarters
Now this makes the cheapest car in the competition and also, the most powerful one. We would have loved if Chevrolet made few smart changes like the key FOB still has flip-key but the car is key-less start/stop. Also, the absence of navigation and rear AC vents make it a little difficult choice, but if you do like going fast and do not want to stretch your budget too much, this car is the one for you!
Video Review of Chevrolet Cruze:
