The last of my long-winded personal car reviews!
This is my wife's car, she bought it new a month after I bought my SS sedan in 2017. It's her first brand new car and she loves it to death. Her previous ride was a 2-door 2008 Chevy Cobalt Sport (2.4L/4A). The difference in quality is staggering, but to its credit, the Cobalt was mostly trouble free for 100k miles and was traded in still running fine.
My wife wanted something practical and efficient, and she prefers a smaller footprint. I nudged her toward the hatchback body style because owning two sedans between us would have been needlessly limiting. I also think the Cruze hatchback looks better.
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After some option hunting, we found her a Premier hatchback in Graphite metallic (dark teal, almost gray) with the light color leather interior she wanted after burning her legs on the Cobalt's black fake leather seats for 6+ years.
Today, the Cruze has 105,000 miles and the ownership experience has been so positive that my wife dreads the thought of replacing it as the odometer creeps higher. The car still feels tight and has few squeaks and rattles. I vacuumed and wiped down the interior and you'd swear this car had less than half the mileage.
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Let's get into how it drives:
The second generation 1.4T ecotec makes 153 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque and the hatchback weighs just under 3,000 lbs. Not a bad combination. It does have start/stop which I would erase from the industry if possible, but GM makes a pretty tolerable system.
After a bit of lag, the Cruze takes off with a hint of the charm the old 3100 V6 had in cars like the Grand Am GT. A Car & Driver test of a hatchback premier with nearly identical options ran 7.7 seconds to 60 mph, and a 16 flat @ 87 mph. Not fast, but it gets out of its own way better than many economy cars and the torque is real-world useful.
The 6-speed automatic is reasonably well sorted, but still likes to bog the engine for fuel economy at times which can be annoying. It downshifts noticeably better than earlier versions.
The handling is surprisingly good. While not fully independent, the Premier has an upgraded rear with a watts z-link suspension, and the 225 section tires on the standard 17s offer a significant contact patch for a light-weight compact. The EPS is numb, but not over-boosted and doesn't kill the experience.
The ride is taut and controlled while being comfortable. You won't confuse this car for a soul-sucking, floaty crossover, which my wife and I both like.
The brakes (4-wheel disk, ABS) are adequate. Pedal feel is a weak spot. It's placed a little too high vs the accelerator which makes for clumsy transitions when you're not used to it and doesn't bite like I want.
Fuel economy has been a highlight of ownership. We used this car for 500 mile road trips and 40 mpg highway is almost a foregone conclusion. Once we hand-calculated 42 mpg with both of us and our luggage. This is especially welcome considering the decent power it has. It rarely dips below 30 mpg for any reason.
Inside the car, the cabin is the quietest with the most comfortable seats of any compact or economy car I've driven or ridden in. The interior has great fit and finish, an attractive design, and intuitive controls/features. The steering wheel has those rubber pads for buttons which I hate as far as looks and tactile feel, but somehow they look brand new after a wipe down so they're not all bad.
![Image]()
Cabin space feels like a midsize with room for 4 full size adults comfortably, plus a 5th penalty seat in a pinch. It currently has two easily anchored child seats in back. Cargo room with the hatch opening and split folding seats swallows everything we ever needed it to.
The premium stereo is the Bose centerpoint nonsense GM put in everything. Factory settings are terrible, but the system sounds decent when adjusted properly.
![Image]()
For my wife, who used to commute 300 miles per week on a busy highway, the Cruze was a revelation, and probably why she loves it so much. It's not sporty in its manners, but it makes usable power and handles well. It's like it was engineered to make driving easy, just not necessarily "fun."
Reliability:
+..Wife never stranded, no major failures.
+..Original battery lasted 7 years, no issues with any parts related to start/stop.
+..Original brakes are still on the car with some life left (I'll be changing them soon anyway).
-..TWO of the 17 inch alloy wheels have bent from pothole impacts, and we don't live in Detroit, one repaired and the other needed replacement.
-..The cabin filter is a 30 minute job because you have to tear the passenger area trim apart instead of just dropping the glove compartment.
This is my wife's car, she bought it new a month after I bought my SS sedan in 2017. It's her first brand new car and she loves it to death. Her previous ride was a 2-door 2008 Chevy Cobalt Sport (2.4L/4A). The difference in quality is staggering, but to its credit, the Cobalt was mostly trouble free for 100k miles and was traded in still running fine.
My wife wanted something practical and efficient, and she prefers a smaller footprint. I nudged her toward the hatchback body style because owning two sedans between us would have been needlessly limiting. I also think the Cruze hatchback looks better.
After some option hunting, we found her a Premier hatchback in Graphite metallic (dark teal, almost gray) with the light color leather interior she wanted after burning her legs on the Cobalt's black fake leather seats for 6+ years.
Today, the Cruze has 105,000 miles and the ownership experience has been so positive that my wife dreads the thought of replacing it as the odometer creeps higher. The car still feels tight and has few squeaks and rattles. I vacuumed and wiped down the interior and you'd swear this car had less than half the mileage.
Let's get into how it drives:
The second generation 1.4T ecotec makes 153 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque and the hatchback weighs just under 3,000 lbs. Not a bad combination. It does have start/stop which I would erase from the industry if possible, but GM makes a pretty tolerable system.
After a bit of lag, the Cruze takes off with a hint of the charm the old 3100 V6 had in cars like the Grand Am GT. A Car & Driver test of a hatchback premier with nearly identical options ran 7.7 seconds to 60 mph, and a 16 flat @ 87 mph. Not fast, but it gets out of its own way better than many economy cars and the torque is real-world useful.
The 6-speed automatic is reasonably well sorted, but still likes to bog the engine for fuel economy at times which can be annoying. It downshifts noticeably better than earlier versions.
The handling is surprisingly good. While not fully independent, the Premier has an upgraded rear with a watts z-link suspension, and the 225 section tires on the standard 17s offer a significant contact patch for a light-weight compact. The EPS is numb, but not over-boosted and doesn't kill the experience.
The ride is taut and controlled while being comfortable. You won't confuse this car for a soul-sucking, floaty crossover, which my wife and I both like.
The brakes (4-wheel disk, ABS) are adequate. Pedal feel is a weak spot. It's placed a little too high vs the accelerator which makes for clumsy transitions when you're not used to it and doesn't bite like I want.
Fuel economy has been a highlight of ownership. We used this car for 500 mile road trips and 40 mpg highway is almost a foregone conclusion. Once we hand-calculated 42 mpg with both of us and our luggage. This is especially welcome considering the decent power it has. It rarely dips below 30 mpg for any reason.
Inside the car, the cabin is the quietest with the most comfortable seats of any compact or economy car I've driven or ridden in. The interior has great fit and finish, an attractive design, and intuitive controls/features. The steering wheel has those rubber pads for buttons which I hate as far as looks and tactile feel, but somehow they look brand new after a wipe down so they're not all bad.
Cabin space feels like a midsize with room for 4 full size adults comfortably, plus a 5th penalty seat in a pinch. It currently has two easily anchored child seats in back. Cargo room with the hatch opening and split folding seats swallows everything we ever needed it to.
The premium stereo is the Bose centerpoint nonsense GM put in everything. Factory settings are terrible, but the system sounds decent when adjusted properly.
For my wife, who used to commute 300 miles per week on a busy highway, the Cruze was a revelation, and probably why she loves it so much. It's not sporty in its manners, but it makes usable power and handles well. It's like it was engineered to make driving easy, just not necessarily "fun."
Reliability:
+..Wife never stranded, no major failures.
+..Original battery lasted 7 years, no issues with any parts related to start/stop.
+..Original brakes are still on the car with some life left (I'll be changing them soon anyway).
-..TWO of the 17 inch alloy wheels have bent from pothole impacts, and we don't live in Detroit, one repaired and the other needed replacement.
-..The cabin filter is a 30 minute job because you have to tear the passenger area trim apart instead of just dropping the glove compartment.
