Motors North

Chevrolet Cruze 1.8 LT

AS budget cars go, the Chevrolet Cruze saloon has a lot on its side.

For a start, the name on the badge will trigger nostalgic thoughts of a once-famous American car maker.

Then there’s its generous specification. Thirdly it comes with an excellent 96 per cent EuroNCAP occupant protection score and five stars.

Standard safety gear on all models includes electronic stability control, traction control, anti-lock brakes, brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution, and six airbags including front side and curtain air bags. Impressive stuff.

But crucially, it is also cheap for its size. Let’s be honest. This is not a car for the badge proud.

It is what it is – a cheap and cheerful booted four-door alternative to other more expensive General Motors products such as Vauxhall’s Astra and Insignia.

That explains its harsh ride, its tacky interior trim, and its shared power plants.

But there’s more to the Cruze craze than sub-standard aspirations.

Its five-star safety rating tells you a lot about its sound design. Its standard equipment delivers a lot more than equivalent cars, and its appearance is not without its admirers.

The first Cruze models cruised into the UK by sea from South Korea last July – a product of a highly efficient General Motors plant in the city of Kunsan.

Like most of the cars that spew from this crowded Far East manufacturing nation, it’s exceptionally well assembled but lightly skinned and built down to a price.

That means low purchase costs, modest running bills, and easy servicing.

The downside is a lack of state-of-the art refinement, and a steep depreciation curve. But if you can live with that and see this as more easyCruze than Cunard Cruise, the saloon is not a bad car.

Chevrolet raised a few smiles when it launched this car as a “coupé” – err, no. It’s a four-door booted saloon with an attractive coupé-like swoop to its roof line. But a coupé it is not.

However, it is a comfortable five seater. The fabric-covered seats are well upholstered and should stand up to family life without much trouble.

The interior trim, particularly around the dash, gives away the car’s modest background. It’s cheap.

The plastics are hard and unyielding, and Chevrolet’s attempt to disguise the obvious by slapping a panel of fabric in the dash in front of the passenger does little to divert your attention from the obvious.

But in design terms the dash works well. The dials are big, well-lit at night with a soft blue hue, and switchgear is intelligently laid out and moves with a surprising level of precision.

As a family load carrier it ought to give good service. The rear seats split and fold and though they don’t lie perfectly flat with the boot floor, the lip that’s left is only an inch.

Sadly, part of the car’s structure limits width when loading larger items but the 450-litre boot space is generous and the additional cargo area available with the seats folded away is still useful.

The 141bhp £14,190 1.8-litre petrol LT test car uses the same engine as you get in the £17,640 Vauxhall Insignia Exclusiv five-door, and is one model up from the £12,795 1.6S petrol version – a 113bhp Astra-engined model.

But despite the LT’s relative low price, you get a lot of gear as standard: rear parking sensors, climate control, cruise control, remote central locking, alloys, power steering, four electric windows and powered mirrors.

Metallic paint costs £400 extra, satellite navigation £750, and an electric sunroof £500.

But with servicing required only every 12,000 miles, a standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty, insurance in affordable Group 7, and an easy achievable average of 40mpg, this is a sizeable four-door that won’t break the bank. With exhaust emissions of 159g/km it falls into band G (£150 a year).

At 4.6 metres long and 1.78 metres wide it’s not a small car, but it is extremely light and tips the scales at under 1.3 tonnes.

I was surprised that Chevrolet claims it will tow up to 1.2 tonnes – quite a load compared to its kerbside weight.

It is the thin-skinning on the Cruze that puts me off. The boot lid feels so light that you’d swear it would crease if you slammed it too hard, and the door panels and bonnet “clang” like empty oil drums.

But it’s weight-saving in these areas that keeps the price down and maximises fuel economy. You can’t have it all ways.

On the road the well-proven Vauxhall 1.8-litre injected engine performs well. The 141bhp output and healthy torque bless it with raucous pulling power, and the standard five-speed manual box has an easy enough gate.

But don’t expect on-road refinement. There’s a reasonable amount of road noise from the 17-inch wheels, and the ride quality is hard.

Handling is safe and predictable, but the front drive set-up is hardly inspiring and a long trip is more of a sentence than a holiday.

I had to negotiate the A9 between the Highlands and Glasgow and found it tedious. Even breaking the return drive north by diverting west through Crianlarich, Glencoe, Fort William and the A86 did little to lift the experience.

The Cruze shuddered where more modern or upmarket family cars would have taken rough surfaces in their stride.

It was not a damning lack of ride comfort, but one that showed up the Chevrolet’s budget origin.

The Cruze is actually a good car. Its light build is a bit of a disappointment, but I can’t fault the assembly.

Like most South Korean vehicles it is meticulously put together – it’s just a pity the makers don’t use a little more weight in the shell, or at least sound-deaden large panels.

But the car’s biggest cross is the lack of dealers in Scotland – only 11 at the last count, and none closer to the Highlands than Aberdeen.

On that basis it’s a bit of a non-starter in the north of Scotland – although to be fair, any Vauxhall dealer could easily service a Chevrolet.

An interesting recent development is the addition of a six-speed automatic option to the Korean-designed 150bhp two-litre VCDi LT common rail turbodiesel model.

On paper it looks as if it might suit the Cruze, but it’s on the pricey side at £17,145.

So should a Cruze be on your buy list? If it’s new, then only if you get a discount that’s impossible to turn down or you find a heavily devalued used example that substantially reduces the purchase cost.

Interestingly, General Motors imported 1,000 Cruze models last year, and sold every one.

It had planned on 2,000 for 2010 but, on the basis of its popularity in the budget sector, this year will see 2,500 being shipped to Blighty.

With engines, transmissions and running gear common to current Vauxhall models it should prove reliable, but you should not expect an inspired drive – and always be aware that it will shed value that might make a House of Commons expenses claim look like a bargain.

Rating: 6.5/10

FINAL THOUGHT: Lightly built budget offering from General Motors is adequate rather than impressive. Ride is harsh, but safety rating is good. Cheap to buy, but will devalue steeply on the used market.

Chevrolet Cruze 1.8 LT

Price: £14,190 (£15,340 as tested)
Capacity: 1796cc
Power: 141bhp
0-62mph: 10 seconds
Maximum speed: 124mph
Economy: Combined 41.5mpg; Urban 30.4mpg
CO2 emissions: 159g/km
ESP: Standard
Insurance: Group 7

Make

Model

Area

Price From

Price To

Your Local Newspaper

Chevrolet Cruze 1.8 LT