Test Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze

By Kevin Harrison

I recently went to Vancouver for business related to my day job and I must admit, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had been to Vancouver once before but I was about 14 years old so I didn’t remember much, but there were two noticeable differences this time around.

1) The Vancouver Canucks are a way bigger deal now then they were back in 1994. That was even the year they got to the finals but the New York Rangers ultimately won the cup. I even saw a playoff game between Vancouver and Calgary but I don’t remember 100,000 people littering the streets downtown and cops high-fiving random people in the streets after a Canucks win.

2) I don’t remember there being so many rare and expensive cars being around.

Honestly, the typical cars you see around in Halifax are Civics and Corollas. But in Vancouver their Civics and Corollas are BMW’s and Benz’s. In order to stand out in this crowd you need to be driving a Lamborghini, Ferrari or Maserati to get noticed, and even then you’ll only get noticed if the car is modded to the gills.

But in fact there’s one car that will get you noticed in this performance car haven and it won’t cost you your house either. It’s the Chevy Cruze.

Since “regular” cars aren’t exactly the norm in Vancouver, they actually end up sticking out more than the Benz’s and BMW’s. And that’s exactly what happened when I picked up the Cruze LS for this review. People walking the streets almost gave themselves whiplash as they did double takes when I drove by. It got to the point where I thought the automotive equivalent of “kick me” must have been written on the side of the Cruze or something. I actually only saw one other Cruze the entire time I was in Vancouver, so the rarity of this car had something to do with it for sure, but no doubt it’s rather appealing looks had something to do with it as well.

The Cruze has an aggressive front facia – much better than the Cobalt it replaces. With the corporate bar across the grille, the oversized Chevy badge and the shapely headlights, the Cruze’s best side is definitely the front end of the car. The side profile is decent with hubcaps that don’t actually look like hubcaps (which is nice for a change) but the rear end is sort of where things go a bit astray for me. The rear tail light design does not seem like it was thought out. It kind of makes it look like, well, a $15,000 car. Match that with the unfortunate wannabe chrome on the trunk lid and a hidden tailpipe and you’re left with a pretty uninspiring rear design. Still, the overall look of the Cruze is ~~miles~~ kilometers ahead of the Cobalt.

Same goes for the interior. It really is a pleasant place to be. The seats are made from high quality feeling cloth, though they can start to feel a bit uncomfortable for longer trips. Interior room is plentiful for its size, though when I put the driver’s seat back to my preferred driving position, there isn’t much leg room in the rear seat.There are lots of hard plastics, however I’ll give the Cruze a pass on that considering the class its in. Black inlays along with a bright, well-lit dash help keep the interior from feeling too much like an economy car.

Speaking of economy, GM has made sure to make it a priority in the Cruze. The my base LS tester had a 1.8 litre four cylinder engine with variable valve timing that’s capable of producing 136 horsepower but returns 7.8 L/100 kms in the city and 5.4 highway. In mixed city and highway driving I returned 8.8 L/100 kms. Not so great when compared to the ratings, but that’s on par with cars like the Mazda3 and Mitsubishi Lancer. If fuel efficiency is a high priority, GM also offers an “eco” model of the Cruze which gets a 1.4 litre turbo rated at 7.2 L/100 kms city and 4.6 L/100 kms highway. If performance is your vice, then GM offers the same 1.4 litre turbo, but with more torque at lower RPMs.

The 1.8 litre is adequate for city driving, but I found it lacking a bit for highway. I was never quite confident enough that it would get up to speed while merging on the highway and the 6-speed automatic seemed to rob it of power at the most inopportune times. Shifts seemed delayed and jolty, but shifting the gears yourself helped out in this regard.

One thing that very much surprised me was, despite the jolty transmission, the Cruze can actually be a fairly fun car to drive. Handling is good. Very good, in fact. I took a drive up to Whistler and the road on the way up made me wish I was in a BMW or a Porsche, but I must admit, the Cruze handled it quite well (excuse the pun). It felt sure footed in the bends with minimal body roll. It could use a bit more feedback in the steering wheel, but it definitely is more fun to drive than, say, a Corolla. Unfortunately the slushy feeling brakes induced early braking in some corners, but the Cruze feels like a solid car for the most part.

Despite the unexpected handling abilities, the Cruze feels comfortable and more at home in the city. It handles bumps and potholes with ease and the light steering helps to make the Cruze a bit more manoeuvrable. It’s easy to park, but the high deck lid makes backing up a bit trickier.

But at the end of the day the Cruze is a very good car. I’ve been fairly hard on GM products of the past, most notably the Cobalt, but GM has come out with a very competitive vehicle for this segment. In fact, I’d even wager to say it could beat certain vehicles in the segment.

In Vancouver, you might not fit in without a BMW or a Benz, but in a Cruze you definitely stick out for all the right reasons. It’s a car that is made for this type of environment and it does it well.

Base Price: $14,995

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