For the Cruze Eco, Chevy cooked up a batch of aerodynamic trickery and weight reduction from recipes primarily based on the Volt. If planning the Volt was putting a person on the moon, the Cruze Eco is Tang and a pen that writes upside-down.
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| Chevrolet Cruze Eco Automatic |
For example, GM engineers designed a shutter that reduces drag by closing off the lower grille at high speeds. beside panels on the underbody, some closed-off vents at the highest of the grille, a spoiler and a ride-lowering sport suspension, the changes cut back drag 10 % and improve appearance immeasurably over the bottom Cruze.
With a stick shift, it weighs in at three,009 pounds, a savings of 214 pounds over a regular Cruze while not the Eco package. Sheet metal was reduced one mm in thickness in components, whereas weld flanges were reduced between one and a couple of mm in length. The wheel and tire decisions saved a further twenty one.2 pounds. Sure, we’ll take light-weight 17-inch alloys — for the surroundings, of course.
Having suffered through each Chevy compact from the miserable Monza to the comatose Cobalt, i used to be but optimistic whereas learning the keys, particularly since “weight savings” sounded suspiciously like “cost cutting.” However, once a really pleasant week during a 2011 Chevy Cruze Eco, i spotted I couldn’t are a lot of wrong.
The automatic Cruze Eco arrived for testing simply as gas inched higher than $3.50 a gallon. Even with a heavier foot than most, I managed thirty two.6 mpg over five hundred miles during a mixture of stop-and-go, suburban and highway traffic — near the EPA estimate of twenty six town and thirty seven highway. you'll expect even higher mileage from the manual, that is rated at twenty eight town and forty two highway.
It wasn’t simply the fuel economy that impressed me, however.
On the road, despite the burden savings, the Cruze looks like it’s held along by electromagnetic force. Handling is firm and steering is precise, if alittle numb for spirited driving. On paper, 138 horses would possibly sound tame, however the Cruze doles them out with gusto during a method that no hybrid I’ve driven will match.
In curves, there’s very little lean or body roll, and also the Cruze makes fast and entertaining work of onramps and highway sweepers alike. On straightaways, the Cruze effortlessly motors along at eighty, even in robust crosswinds. Everything regarding this automotive evokes confidence, and zilch regarding it looks like a soulless appliance.
The interior surfaces are pleasant to the eyes and fingertips. A padded, two-tone dash ensconces rows of well-placed managements and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with buttons for cruise control, stereo and phone. All buttons and switches move with a satisfying quantity of feedback that belie the car’s value, and even the fabric seats were snug once hours of driving. Trunk area is class-leading and also the rear seats fold down.
Most of the cutting-edge technology is on the outside of the automotive, though our tester featured OnStar, Bluetooth and XM, and USB and aux-in jacks. it had been conjointly equipped with Audio Facebook, that uses OnStar to browse and post standing updates with a minimum of distraction. I’d see a bit a lot of utility during a service that helps you to access Twitter, e-mail or texts — or one that converts speech-to-text for standing updates — however it’s a decent begin.
What’s to not like? Well, the take a look at automotive took a short time to shift out of 1st gear, and the 1.4-liter turbo displayed a little little bit of lag when hard-pressed throughout highway passing maneuvers.
It would be nice to own a canopy for the middle console cup holders, that accumulated loose modification rather than lattes. The storage space on prime of the dash can’t hold something that might be broken by heat from the sun, and also the rear seats would be tight for anyone taller than 5′11″.
The Volt may be forgiven for hogging the spotlight within the Chevrolet lineup. After all, it’s a technological tour de force that redefined the auto in but 5 years of development. However, it’s not getting to be a volume seller.
That mantle, hopefully, can belong to the Cruze — a spirited, solid automotive that’s as fun to drive because it is painless to stock up.
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