Fast facts
- Model: 2016 Chevrolet Cruze Premier - Exterior color: Silver Ice Metallic - Interior color: Jet Black/Kalahari - Engine: Four-cylinder, 1.4-liter turbo - Horsepower: 153 - Transmission: Six-speed automatic * Fuel economy: 42 mpg highway, 30 mpg city * Chattanooga Dealers: Mountain View Chevrolet, Integrity Chevrolet * Price (as tested): $28,640
The interior of the 2016 Chevy Cruze is attractive and sophisticated.
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The Chevrolet Cruze refutes all of the compact car cliches: Cramped interior. (Nope.) Under-powered engine. (Negative.) Lack of refinement. (No way.)
Instead, the Cruze has all the space, power and panache of a mid-sized luxury car of a decade ago, along with a basket of high-tech entertainment and safety goodies that weren't yet on any buyer's wish list in 2006.
Far from a compromise car, our Cruze tester is an option-packed cruiser with a plush ride, a responsive power train and a two-tone interior that would look at home in a starter Cadillac.
Jason Whittle, general manager of Mountain View Chevrolet in Chattanooga, says his dealership has about 70 Cruzes in stock this week. "It's one of our best sellers," he added. "For the money, you can't beat it. It gives you lots of bang for the buck."
Our Silver Ice Metallic tester, built in Lordstown, Ohio, comes in top-of-the-line Premier trim. With virtually every available option added, the sticker price is $28,640. A base version starts at $16,620, and a popular LS model with automatic transmission starts at $19,120.
Fuel economy is rated at 42 mpg highway and 30 mpg city, and the government says to expect about 34 mpg in combined driving.
The Cruze competes in the compact class against the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and other models.
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STYLING AND COMFORT
Our test Cruze looks like a silver bullet, with swept headlamps that melt into the side panels. Deeply recessed fog lights help define the fascia, and a raked windshield flows into a coupelike roof line. Overall, the design looks bold and exciting in the mold of modern Kia and Hyundai sedans.
An RS package ($995) spices up the Cruze's appearance with special 18-inch alloys, a rear spoiler and ornamental RS lettering. The split-spoke wheels are especially attractive, and well worth the RS package price all by themselves.
In Premiere Trim the Cruze has a healthy standard equipment list that includes an EZ Key passive entry system, keyless start, a 7-inch touch screen, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, XM radio, and an available 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spot.
Compared to the competition, the interior of the Cruze looks a level above. Our tester comes with a two-tone interior, Jet Black and Kalahari, a shade I'd like to rename "Football Brown." The contrast gives the cockpit much more personality than a single-shade interior. Dash and center-stack components are surrounded in a piano-black finish, with generous use of chrome-colored accents.
The touch screen showcases GM's excellent MyLink audio system which operates much like an app-filled mobile phone screen. A sun-and-sound package combines a sun roof, upgraded Bose stereo and navigation for $1,995. The Enhanced Convenience Package ($865) adds wireless device charging, heated seats, and a 110-volt power outlet. A $790 Driver Confidence Package layers on rear park assist, forward collision alert, rear cross-traffic alert and lane-keep assist.
The Cruze is powered by a stout and fuel efficient little 1.4-liter turbocharged engine that makes 153 horsepower and launches the compact from zero-to-60 miles per hour in 7.6 seconds. While not a blistering pace, it's still among the best times in the segment. Chevy says the Cruze will average 42 mpg in highway driving.
A delightful diesel version of the Cruze has been put on the shelf for 2016, but will be back in the line-up in 2017, according to GM.
DRIVING EXPERIENCE
For a four-cylinder gasoline engine with such small displacement, the Cruze is amazingly powerful. Scampering up on-ramps in downtown Chattanooga was a pleasure in the little compact.
The redesigned Cruze is 262 pounds lighter than before, which results in a perceptible improvement in ride quality and maneuverability. The loss of weight, along with GMs start-stop technology, enhances city fuel economy, which is estimated at 30 mpg.
We used the Cruze for a week as a family hauler, and found it sufficiently big for three teen-age boys and a driver carpooling to lacrosse practice.
BOTTOM LINE
Compact cars have come a long way from the little econoboxes of the 1980s and 1990s. The Cruze is leading the charge toward a much more refined driving experience that yields nothing, except a few inches of shoulder and knee room, to larger mid-size cars.
As more and more families abandon sedans for crossovers, cars like the Cruze have rushed to fill the void for empty nesters, couples and small families looking for improved fuel economy served up with a pinch of luxury.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645. Follow him on Twitter @TFPCOLUMNIST. Subscribe to his Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/mkennedycolumnist.