Chevy Cruze diesel scores on fuel economy, torque
Many American buyers shop for small SUVs when a hatchback would serve their needs.
Imagine stomping your foot and demanding a walk-in closet when all your stuff will fit in a foot locker.
SUV-lovers will tell you that they feel safer with more ground clearance and an elevated seating position; never mind that a raised center of gravity slightly increases the odds that a vehicle will cartwheel and land greasy side up in an accident.
Let’s just admit that the SUV preference is a twist on the American instinct that “bigger is always better”; and, secondarily, that anything popular in Europe (like hatchbacks) must be somehow inferior.
End of sermon, but today’s Quick Spin tester, a 2018 Chevy Cruze LT Diesel, is a good example of a perfectly practical four-door hatchback with enough cargo space for most folks’ everyday needs.
With hybrids and full-electric vehicles gaining traction among manufacturers, small diesel vehicles have fallen out of fashion. Still, it’s good to keep cars like the Cruze Diesel on the radar.
The wedge-shaped compact looks like it was designed in a wind tunnel for a reason. The government estimates it will get 45 mpg highway and 30 mpg city. Even when you factor in a 10 percent cost premium for diesel — over regular gas — that’s still a tempting price proposition.
The Cruze diesel also is a handsome package, with crisp, compact lines that flow from front to back and gather in the rear for a wrap around look. The two-tone interior, shown
in our tester in jet black and Kalahari Brown, provides a warm nest, especially with optional leather upholstery.
JUST THE BASICS:
The Cruze is a compact hatchback that weighs just 3,211 pounds and includes room for five passengers. It’s powered by an inline, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that makes 137 horsepower; but more importantly 240 poundfeet of wheel-spinning torque. A nine-speed automatic transmission supplies power to the front wheels.
WORTHWHILE OPTIONS:
The leather seating surfaces are a bargain at $1,125, and Chevy even throws in a heated steering wheel with the leather package. On a recent morning when the mercury was at 5 degrees Fahrenheit, that heated wheel was a godsend.
GOOD FOR CHATTANOOGA BUYERS BECAUSE:
The diesel engine, in addition to being a fuel-efficient package, provides low-end torque that helps propel the car up our mountain roads. That low-end grunt is much greater than the car’s 137 horsepower would lead you to believe. Expect a zero-to-60 miles per hour time of about 8.4 seconds.
WE COULD LIVE WITHOUT:
On a cold morning the diesel takes a few minutes to warm up. Before that, it clatters like a diesel pick-up truck — an odd sound coming from a small hatchback.
WHERE TO FIND IT:
Integrity Chevrolet on Chapman Road has 17 Cruzes in inventory this week. Finding a diesel version, though, may take a little shopping around.
WHILE YOU ARE LOOKING:
Compacts that compete with the Cruze include the Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and the Volkswagen Golf.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-645-8937.