Chevrolet Cruze / Cruze Eco - 2012
03/01/2012
Chevrolet
The Chevrolet Cruze - now Chevrolet's best-selling car around the world - provides the amenities, quietness, safety features, infotainment and roominess expected of a larger, more expensive sedan, but with the efficiency of a compact car.
The only car in its class with 10 standard air bags, the Cruze received an overall five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the highest score possible. The Cruze is available in LS, LT and LTZ trim levels, as well as a gas-sipping Eco model that achieves an EPA-estimated 42 mpg highway.
Cruze Eco achieves its hybrid-like highway fuel economy using a 1.4L Ecotec turbocharged engine, six-speed manual transmission and features that improve its aerodynamics, minimize weight and reduce rolling resistance. Cruze Eco also is available with an automatic transmission, rated at 39 mpg highway.
A sporty RS appearance package is available on LT and LTZ models. It includes unique fascias, rocker moldings, rear spoiler and fog lamps. An uplevel instrument cluster is also part of the package and includes chrome accent rings in place of the standard silver finish, as well as opaque cluster bezels that allow the cluster's ice blue backlighting to shine through for a sporty nighttime appearance.
Cruze design
Chevrolet's global signature face - a two-tier grille with the gold bowtie logo.
Arching roofline connects a steeply raked windshield and fast-sloping rear pillars that provide a sporty, coupe-like proportion.
Prominent headlamp housings wrap around the corners and sweep upward in the fenders and hood, as well as a short rear deck typically found on sport coupes.
Wheels are planted at the corners with minimal front and rear overhangs.
Repeatable gap tolerances of 3 mm or less between most exterior panels mean a better-looking car when new and one that feels solid for years to come.
Twin-cockpit motif is matched with high-quality interior materials and exceptional assembly tolerances. Grained, soft-touch components and low-gloss trim panels exude a quality that is uncommon in the segment.
The instrument panel features richly detailed instruments backlit with light-emitting diode (LED) technology.
Integrated center stack houses the infotainment display, climate controls and radio controls, and blends harmoniously with the instrument panel.
The interior pillar and other moldings are color and grain-matched to the headliner, while seat inserts are color-matched to the color of the instrument panel accent trim, giving the cabin the detailed appearance of a larger, more upscale sedan.
Cruze interior - standard and available features
All Cruze interiors include premium materials and a lengthy roster of unexpected standard equipment, including air conditioning, vehicle anti-theft system, adjustable steering wheel, stereo system that includes MP3 playback capability with six speakers and auxiliary jack for personal playback devices, power outlet and a trial subscription to SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
The 2LS Cruze model includes premium cloth bucket seats, air conditioning, driver information center, remote keyless entry, power windows with express down on all windows, power door locks, carpeted front and rear floor mats, and available Connectivity Package including Bluetooth for select phones, UBS port in the center console and steering wheel-mounted audio controls.
The 1LT Cruze adds cruise control, standard Connectivity Package, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, 16-inch alloy wheels and outside power-adjustable, body-color mirrors. Available 1LT All-Star Package featuring a power sunroof and premium Pioneer audio system.
The 2LT Cruze adds front bucket seats with leather seating surfaces, six-way power driver seat and heated driver and front passenger seats, and available navigation with touch screen seven-inch color display system with AM/FM stereo system with CD player and MP3 playback capability, available premium Pioneer nine-speaker audio system, 17-inch alloy wheels with four-wheel disc brakes and rear park assist. Factory remote start is included when the automatic transmission is selected.
The LTZ Cruze adds automatic climate control, auto-dimming inside rearview mirror, uplevel instrument panel with chrome trim rings, driver and front-passenger illuminated vanity mirrors, outside heated, power-adjustable, body-color mirrors, front fog lamps, chrome door handles, 18-inch alloy wheels, available navigation and premium audio and available power sunroof.
Chassis and suspension
The Cruze features a strong body structure and chassis system that enabled engineers to more precisely tune the chassis for comfort and driving control. StabiliTrak electronic stability control with traction control is standard. Additional features include:
A MacPherson strut front suspension.
A technically advanced Z-link design is used with the rear suspension. It helps delivers a more balanced driving experience, as the rear suspension better follows the lead of the front suspension (not available on Eco with the manual transmission).
StabiliTrak electronic stability control with rollover mitigation, traction control and anti-lock brakes are standard.
Rack-mounted electric power steering is also standard on all models, and helps save fuel because it removes the conventional power steering pump from the engine's driven accessories.
Hydraulic ride bushings and an isolated engine cradle reduce or eliminate vibration pathways that could otherwise be transmitted to the passenger compartment.
Family of 16-, 17- and 18-inch wheels and tires.
Noise-reducing and noise-cancelling technologies are employed throughout the body structure, including 30 distinctive acoustical treatments (not available on Eco with the manual transmission).
Efficient, proven powertrains
Cruze models sold in North America are equipped with one of two efficient four-cylinder engines and a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. At 42 mpg highway, the Cruze Eco with the manual transmission is the most fuel-efficient, gas-powered/non-hybrid car in America.
Standard on LS models is the 138-horsepower (103 kW) Ecotec 1.8L four-cylinder with valve timing that optimizes performance and fuel economy across the rpm band. EPA-estimated fuel economy is 25 mpg city and 36 mpg on the highway with the manual transmission and 22 mpg city and 35 mpg highway with the automatic.
Standard on LT, LTZ and Eco models is an Ecotec 1.4L turbo. Its exhaust-driven turbocharger helps the engine perform like a larger engine when needed, but retains the efficiency of a small-displacement four-cylinder in most driving conditions.
Also rated at 138 horsepower (103kW) with 148 lb.-ft. of torque (200 Nm), the Ecotec 1.4L turbo enables a cruising range of more than 500 miles (800 km), meaning it can go longer between fill-ups. EPA fuel economy is 26 mpg city and 38 mpg highway on LT and LTZ and 28 mpg city and 42 mpg highway on Eco when equipped with the manual transmission. With the automatic transmission, Cruze Eco highway fuel economy increases to 39 mpg.
Backing the Cruze's four-cylinder engines are six-speed manual and automatic transmissions. Each contributes to Cruze's excellent fuel economy.
Cruze is backed by GM's five-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty - the best coverage in America.
Safety and crash-avoidance features
Cruze offers more standard safety features than any vehicle in its class, each contributing to Chevrolet's goal of protecting passengers before, during and after a crash.
Only car in its segment with 10 standard air bags, including frontal driver and passenger air bags, roof rail-mounted head curtain side air bags that help protect the front and outboard rear seating positions; seat-mounted side-impact air bags (front and rear); and front knee air bags.
Front passenger seat occupant sensing system and rollover sensing and protection system.
Collapsible pedal assembly to help protect against lower-extremity injuries.
StabiliTrak electronic stability control, traction control and anti-lock brakes.
Three-point safety belts in all five seating positions, safety belt retractor pretensioners and lap pretensioners in the driver and front-passenger positions, and safety belt load limiters (with pretensioners) in the front safety belt retractors.
LATCH child seat latching system in the rear seat.
Tire pressure monitoring system, daytime running lamps and automatic headlamps.
Four-wheel disc brakes and rear-parking assist on 2LT and LTZ models.
Strong, unitized body structure that incorporates high-strength steel (HSS) in key areas to enhance strength and crash protection. It is used to help prevent intrusion into passenger compartment.
Underbody main rails that extend from the front of the structure all the way to the rear, further enhancing the body's strength and stiffness. A cross-structure beam behind the instrument panel supports the body during side-impact crashes.
OnStar details
All Cruze models are equipped with standard OnStar 9.0 that includes Automatic Crash Response, hands-free calling, vehicle diagnostics, emergency service support, Directions and Connections plan for hands-free route guidance, and Injury Severity Prediction for six months. This feature helps OnStar advisors alert first responders when a vehicle crash is likely to have caused serious injury to the occupants.
The Advanced Crash Response System uses vehicle sensors, GPS and digital cellular phone technology to summon emergency responders in the event of a moderate to severe crash, even when the vehicle's occupants are unable to do so.
Directions and Connections technology provides voice-activated route guidance support and eNav service that allows drivers to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
Stolen Vehicle Location capability helps law enforcement officials find a subscriber's vehicle in the event it is stolen.
Stolen Vehicle Slowdown technology allows an OnStar advisor to remotely cut off power to a stolen vehicle in the event it is involved in a police chase.
OnStar 9.0 technology offers improved voice recognition capabilities for regional phrases and dialects.
OnStar Mylink mobile application