Just Cruising Through

Vehicle Tested: Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 LS


Have you ever thought to yourself, that car should be called the whatever ‘Pile-Of-Junk’? Or that SUV should have been dubbed the ‘Can’t-Go-Up-A-Hill’?
Well, following that trail of thought, I believe that Chevrolet hit the nail on the head when they called their newest sedan the Cruze.

When Auto House Piet Retief first introduced me to the Cruze, I really didn’t think much of it. I mean granted, it is far from being an ugly car, but at the same time it isn’t a jaw dropping beautiful piece of artwork. It’s a car with stop-and-stare presence. And if you are the type of person who wants to be noticed, that’s a good thing.

The Cruze is your typical sedan, and manages to tick the Family Sedan checklist in all the right places. It has a 1.6 liter engine which manages 80 kW and 150 Nm, 6 airbags, ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, Radio/MP3 CD player with an Auxiliary connection, a really good air con, and so on. Like I said, the usual check list stuff.

I did, however, put the Cruze through a new test. Seasoned journalists have all sorts of equipment to measure and record things like 0 – 100 times, stopping distances, stopping times and, and, and.
I, on the other hand, have something a lot more sinister. My secret weapon can find faults that no computer has ever thought of. I have…a teenage sister.
She leaves no element unturned, from the cup holder that needs to be able to accommodate her KFC milkshake, to the size of the vanity mirror she uses to check her hair 600 times on the way to school in the mornings.

As I mentioned in the beginning, the Cruze does what it’s name suggests very well. It is a fantastic cruising vehicle. Out on the open road it is a dream to drive with it’s refined cabin and soothing road manners. I honestly felt that the 1.6 liter petrol was slightly underpowered, but then again, its spec level and pricing have been aimed at giving the 1.3 Toyota Corolla a hard time. On top of that, I managed to drive the 1.8 Cruze the following day, and that was absolutely bang on.

It was at this point in time that my assistant duly informed me to shut up, stop speaking ‘engine’, and stare at the pretty blue lights on the dashboard.
She had a point. All the instrumentation on the dashboard is illuminated by almost UFO blue backlighting which makes the Cruze feel like something you’ve never really found yourself in before. Ergonomically, I can find very little fault with the Cruze.
Driving around town, I discovered a flaw with my ingenious plan…she was human. My co-driver told me that the Cruze’s drive was making her sleepy, but in a good way. She was completely relaxed, and I had to agree. I really wasn’t expecting this from a sedan.

The following morning, as schools bags were being loaded into the boot, I was told that it was huge, and had so much more space than the car I currently own. I wasn’t going to fight; the Cruze has more than sufficient boot space.
As we pulled out of the driveway, down came the visor and so began the repositioning of three stubborn hairs.
Instead of leaving you with my five cents worth regarding the Cruze, I will leave you with the last thing my sister said before I had to hand the car back, and hope that says it all.
“I really like this car. Can’t we keep it?”