2011 Chevy Cruze: Can it live up to the hype?

There’s something to be said for under-promising and over-delivering on one’s goals; just ask Stephen Harper… or any one of the Vancouver Canucks, for that matter. People are sadistic individuals (again, reference Vancouver) just looking for a way to get a leg up on their fellow man by any means possible (ahem… Vancouver), and nothing sets them up for greater success in this endeavor than to overpromise and under-deliver. So it was with some trepidation that I approached the single most-hyped car I’ve ever encountered. 

Yes indeed, the Chevy Cruze is a big deal. Bearing evidence of this seems to be nearly every bus stop, newspaper, and television set in Canada. Even my non-automotively enthused friends perked up at the car’s mention as they enjoyed their first ever utterance of “Oh, I’ve heard of that car!” But approaching it in Carter GM’s parking lot, I struggled to see why. Granted, it looks a damn sight better than any Cavalier that came before, but it’s still far from exciting to gaze upon. Then again, maybe its looks are a product of its global market… if the awards are any indication, it certainly is big in Europe. But here on North American soil where such aggressively vulgar (in an awesome way) vehicles as Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs, Challengers, and Vipers set the tone, the Cruze’s homogenous shape is a bit staid. Certainly handsome, but staid. 

Ah, but then there’s the interior. Typically an area in which General Motors’ products suffer, the Cruze’s interior is little short of a revelation. Looking vastly more fashionable than I had expected, it looks to be more a product of the Buick/Cadillac interior design teams than any Chevy yet. With a complex and curvaceous dashboard seemingly flowing into the well orchestrated centre stack, the Cruze’s frost seats are treated to quite an attractive array of controls, vents, and storage bins. I found the controls, and their layout, to be of particular interest as it felt remarkably similar to the Buick Regal I’d recently driven; a real boon for would-be Cruze buyers, in my mind. And just like the Buick, everything was easy to find and even easier to use. 

But, there’s still some of the same problems that have plagued GM cars for years; most notably, their choice in materials… plastics, to be precise. In the Cruze, there’s only one really offensive plastic to be found, but sadly, it’s the most popular variety: the hard, pebbled textured sort upon which the entire interior is constructed. Found adorning large areas of the doors and the lowest portion of the centre console, it’s akin to a particularly loathsome material I’ve come to hate in Honda and Acura vehicles, being too hard to the touch and notoriously prone to scratching. Thankfully though, Chevy’s finally wised up and chosen to cover this material with either cloth, soft-touch rubbery foam, or black and silver trim in the most crucial places. In fact, when equipped with the basic cloth-covered dashboard and door panels, it can look very interesting indeed, and feel just as good. 

Now, all this wouldn’t amount to the proverbial hill of beans if it didn’t drive well, and I can say with all the conviction in the world that this is certainly the case. The little 1.4 litre turbocharged four cylinder produces just enough absolute power, but the turbocharger’s powerband pairs exceptionally well with CVT transmission behind it. The combination makes for very linear acceleration, not to mention excellent fuel economy regardless of the driving conditions. In city traffic, it’s reasonably well mannered and doesn’t do the whiplash-inducing squat-n-squirt that so many other CVT gearboxes suffer from, instead responding to throttle inputs smoothly and gradually. The brakes are equally well modulated, and the steering, although being somewhat on the pedestrian side, is still quite good. But it’s when you get it out on the highway that it really comes into its own. 

Once up to speed, the Cruze proves that General Motors isn’t kidding around when they claim the car spent some serious time lapping Europe during its development. Extremely well sorted for a car carrying its price tag, the Cruze’s suspension is nigh perfectly damped. The steering, although merely alright in the city, weights up well with a little bit of speed behind it, and the handling feels quite neutral as you progress through a corner. The turbocharged engine and CVT transmission can end up a step behind your intentions, but the chassis is more than willing to play, leaving me wondering when we can expect a lustier engine and manual gearbox below the hood of an SS model. 

Overall, it’s hard to fault the Cruze… and that’s a bit of a surprise, given how long it’s been thrust in our faces and how much time we’ve had to concoct reasons behind disliking it. But at the end of the day, it’s just not a bad car. However, that might not be enough. After all, this is the year that will go down in history as seeing a revised Corolla, Focus, and Civic enter the fray, not to mention any number of imposing opposition from Korea and elsewhere. But, whatever the case, any would be buyer would be remiss to avoid taking a Cruze out for a… well, you know.