2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT, LTZ Earn 24/36 EPA Rating with Automatic

18 months ago I was excited about the future potential for GM. The Volt was intended to be a halo car, and the Cruze was expected to sell in the volume that'll save GM.

I simply don't think it'll happen anymore. This is just disappointing.

"A bit of a letdown" Understatement, I say. For probably the same amount of money you can buy a Hyundai Sonata automatic with 198 HP that gets 22/35 (not to mention the 6 speed manual which gets 24/35)

Toyota Camry--- 23/33
AWD Subaru Legacy-- 23/31

The amount of money one would save with the Cruze-- a compact car, versus the 3 midsized cars I have noted above-- would be laughably puny, especially when you enter in all the other benefits of these midsize cars.

And the list goes on. What is the problem with GM? Where is the engineering that they should have to at least equal an upstart manufacturer like Hyundai-- especially considering the Cruze is a COMPACT car. How many years has Hyundai even been making cars?

I am angry about this. I want American cars to succeed. But it won't happen unless GM and the others can be competitive. You would think that's a given, wouldn't you?

Now that both Korean and Japanese cars are made here by American workers, what is my incentive to buy American cars that are made in Mexico?

"Now that both Korean and Japanese cars are made here by American workers, what is my incentive to buy American cars that are made in Mexico?"

A free enchilada with every purchase?

I'll chime in and admit that I too am a bit let down by this announcement. Normally when a special fuel economy package is available for a car, it only boosts mileage by 1 or 2 mpg, usually from extra underbody trim and special tires. But for the Cruze to get a 4 mpg boost (potentially) with the Eco model over the normal model raises a flag for me.

Basically, the Cruze has been billed as this ultra refined, quiet and comfy compact car. That's fine. But if the normal versions only get 36 on the highway, just how much soundproofing and weight shaving did they have to do to boost the mileage up to 40 for the Eco model? I read somewhere that the active louvers they'll be using only account for an extra .5 mpg or something like that. So yeah, if they can squeak out 40 mpg but at the cost of soundproofing and weight loss that makes the car seem less solid, that seems kind of cheap to me.

I was expecting the Cruze to get 38 mpg or so in regular trim, and then the Eco might add 1 or 2 mpg. But 4? I just get this feeling that they had to cut something in terms of refinement to get to that number, but I'll be the first to admit I'm wrong after a test drive.

"I simply don't think it'll happen anymore. This is just disappointing."

They plan to market this car as a near midsize with great fuel economy and lots of features. I thought the city number would be better but I think this car weighs about 3100lbs which likely kept the figure down to 24mpg in the city. As it stands now the car basically matches the fuel economy of the segment leaders while offering far more standard equipment so that hardly seems like a recipe for failure in my book. The Cobalt XFE got 25/37 but that car was manual only and couldnt be purchased with most popular options. It was truly a stripper car. The models described here will appeal to a much broader audience.

@1487: It matches the fuel economy of segment leaders on platforms that are several years old. In 18 months time, the Cruze will have to play catch up, only its next generation will be 4 years away. I was expecting 2011 Hyundai Sonata mpg comparative advantages from the Cruze's a 1.4 cylinder direct injected turbo.

What's really disappointing is that the Cruze is not even a new vehicle, but bringing it over to America requires so much work it shows how poorly GM carries out global product planning.

I've lost any expectation and optimism I had for GM.

goes on sale next week? Are they really hitting dealer lots that soon?

"@1487: It matches the fuel economy of segment leaders on platforms that are several years old. In 18 months time, the Cruze will have to play catch up, only its next generation will be 4 years away. I was expecting 2011 Hyundai Sonata mpg comparative advantages from the Cruze's a 1.4 cylinder direct injected turbo."

Get your facts straight. the Corolla debuted in 2008 which means a new model is about 4 years away. It's true that the Civic will be new next year but Honda hasnt been improving fuel economy on models lately. They have focused on adding size and hp, not mileage. The 3 came out as a 2009 model so its 2 years old and likely 3-4 years from a redesign. The Sonata gets 22/35 so I fail to see how its superior to the Cruze in mileage. Please explain that one to me. The reality is that only two major Cruze competitor will be new within the next year- Focus and Civic. The Focus will have a 2L engine standard and that is aimed more at performance than fuel efficiency and Ford has made no mention of the car's efficiency. I'd be surprised if it was superior to the current model. As with GM models, Ford's recent products have been heavier than average. The Fiesta achieves between 37-40mpg highway with a 1.8L engine and a 2800lb curb weight. Dont think the Focus will beat that.

BTW, the cruze is supposedly going to get updated in 2 years.

Please... I'll rather not play asinine semantics here. Several = more than 2, less than 10.

But considering that the Corolla became available in North America in the beginning of 2008, um... yah it has been over two years hasn't it?

The Sonata redesign created nice comparative advantages to its direct competitors, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. A more powerful engine that was also more fuel efficient. That's the point of redesigning - upping your competition.

After GM spent the last 18 months promoting its "new" GM economy car performance, it just doesn't make me a believer when its mpg and engine performance match the competition with the consumer cost and complexities of a 1.4 turbo.

Perhaps I wasn't being clear, my fault - but you really need to put down the koolaid and stop being an apologist for all things GM.

abc:

Let's get one thing straight- you are the one making inaccurate comments in order to bolster your anti GM argument. You are the one that said the major players in this segment are about to be redesigned. The #1 seller in this class is NOT about to be redesigned. Period. On top of that Chevy made is clear the ECO model, not the LT or LTZ models would get the best mileage. Until we know the final figures for those models its too soon to suggest this car is an also ran. Get all the facts first and then try and make intelligent comments. As it stands now the STANDARD model matches the combined figures of Corolla and Civic and the ECO model is likely to exceed them. Doing that with a car that is larger and heavier than the competition is impressive in my book. But, hey that's just the Kool aid talking. I'll let someone objective like yourself tell me what counts as impressive engineering.

BTW, what consumer costs are you talking about? Since the car is comparably priced to the competition while offering more standard equipment there is no justification for your claims that its pricier due to the "complexities" of the turbo. What evidence are you basing this assumption on? The car starts at $17k.

The Sonata's mileage advantage boils down to 1mpg on the highway. The Fusion gets 23/34 as does the the 2011 Accord. The hp advantage is nice but you are making a huge deal out of what boils down to a 1-2mpg advantage over competitors. Malibu is 22/33 with auto and Camry is 22/32. I don't think anyone is going to chose the Sonata solely because it gets 2mpg more than some competitors on the highway.

"The reality is that only two major Cruze competitor will be new within the next year- Focus and Civic."

The next Elantra will be here by January. The current gets 26/34 with 4AT and MPI. If it gets the Theta II and 6AT like Edmunds seems to think, it should do even better than the Forte gets now with the 5AT, which is 27/36. But if it gets the new Nu GDI and the 6AT, like Hyundai had been saying in the past, it'll probably do even better still. That said, I anxiously await CR's formal fuel cycle tests and cross my fingers the Cruze does better.

Forgot about the elantra. Hyundai has its work cut out for it if it wants to meet or exceed 40mpg. I wouldnt count on it. The Sonata is already pretty light (not much heavier than Cruze) and it gets 35mpg. Gaining 5mpg isn't easy.

Who's talking 40MPG? Even in this class, the heart of the market is automatics and the Elantra will easily beat the Cruze. There's no forgetting the Elantra. It's one of the top sellers in the class.

"Who's talking 40MPG? Even in this class, the heart of the market is automatics and the Elantra will easily beat the Cruze. There's no forgetting the Elantra. It's one of the top sellers in the class. "

No its not. Civic, Cobalt, Corolla and focus routinely outsell the Elantra. How can you say it will "easily" beat 36mpg? The eco will be available with an auto, but it probably wont get 40mpg.