General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Cruze in India in 2009 for replacing the Chevrolet Optra, which did pretty well in its hay days. The Cruze was further appreciated by the Indian audience with its appealing performance and styling. However, some people were not happy with the pronounced turbolag and lethargic 5-speed automatic transmission. Consequently, General Motors updated the Cruze with a new engine and 6-speed transmission in 2012. Now the styling of the Cruze was getting too long in the tooth and here they are with a facelift that comes with some updates.
Exteriors – The changes aren’t drastic but people will notice a sharper front profile of the Cruze. The bumper has been revised with big fog lamp housing that gets chrome outlining, looks good. If you compare the dual port grille with the pre-facelift version, you notice that the pattern has been changed from honeycomb to horizontal black slats. On the side profile we appreciate the new sporty alloys with 5 dual-spoke pattern. Now you also get turn indicators neatly integrated on the ORVMs. Not much has changed at the rear apart from the sleeker bumper. The changes make it look a bit fresh but some rivals of the Cruze are better in the styling department. Facelifts are usually mild cosmetic updates but we would have appreciated revised headlamps and tail lamps. No wonder we see so many jazzy aftermarket lights of the Cruze these days.
Exteriors – The changes aren’t drastic but people will notice a sharper front profile of the Cruze. The bumper has been revised with big fog lamp housing that gets chrome outlining, looks good. If you compare the dual port grille with the pre-facelift version, you notice that the pattern has been changed from honeycomb to horizontal black slats. On the side profile we appreciate the new sporty alloys with 5 dual-spoke pattern. Now you also get turn indicators neatly integrated on the ORVMs. Not much has changed at the rear apart from the sleeker bumper. The changes make it look a bit fresh but some rivals of the Cruze are better in the styling department. Facelifts are usually mild cosmetic updates but we would have appreciated revised headlamps and tail lamps. No wonder we see so many jazzy aftermarket lights of the Cruze these days.
Interiors – The styling inside the cabin is tastefully done and looks quite premium. The smooth flowing dual tone dashboard makes you feel cocooned in comfort, especially the continual effect from the doors to the centre console with beige trim. The V shaped centre console has superb quality metal finish with a sweet texture that grabs your attention. The Chevrolet Camaro inspired steering unit looks premium and feels good to hold as well. The instrument cluster is funky and easy to read with MID in the middle. The engine start/stop button was rectangular earlier, which is now circular. The media system screen size was decent at the time of its launch in 2009 but now with the growing competition they could have featured a bigger screen with more drama inside. The layout of all the controls in the screen is quite simple and Bluetooth is a big task to find.
Performance – As we mentioned earlier, the Chevrolet Cruze initially came with a 1991cc diesel engine with SOHC layout that had deep turbolag and was not so fuel efficient because of its air intake positioning. Now the new 1998cc engine has been strengthened with DOHC, better fueling and more power and torque at lower RPMs. The 2.0-litre oil burner churns out an impressive 164 BHP of power at 3800 RPM and 360 Nm of torque at 2000 RPM. This results in mind numbing straight line performance. The turbo lag is there but it’s negotiable now and post 1800 RPM you won’t be able to keep track of the tachometer because post that there is a strong mid-range pushback to enjoy. The engine revs smoothly with good power delivery across the rev range but mid-range is where the explosive performance comes out, no wonder they say that the Cruze has a bomb of an engine.
