2016 Chevrolet Cruze: We're Driving it This Week

This week, The Car Guide will be headed to Nashville, otherwise known as Music City U.S.A, for the first drive program of the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze.

We won't have a chance to check out the Grand Ole Opry or the Country Music Hall of Fame, but we will get a chance to take the second-generation compact sedan on a drive through the rolling hills and picturesque valleys that Middle Tennessee offers.

• Also: 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback: Coming This Fall
• Also: 2016 Chevrolet Cruze: A New, More Refined Gen

The 2016 model gets a new exterior look and feel, plus a brand new 1.4-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 153 hp and 177 lb.-ft. of torque, geared towards vastly improving its fuel economy numbers. Furthermore, the Cruze has shed 250 lbs. from its previous generation with the use of more high-strength steel.

We don't have the official fuel economy ratings as of yet, but we will make sure to have them after our test drives of the various six trim levels that range from L to Premier.

We are only three months into 2016, but so far the current Cruze only trails the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla in the competitive compact sedan market. We've been told ahead of the event that there will be an opportunity to test the Cruze against some of its competition, and we would expect for some of those listed above to be there.

**Our full review of the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze is now online**