[GTO]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

IMO there should be a good petrol unit as well, maybe the 1.4L Turbopetrol that they have launched elsewhere, but not in India.

Considering that petrol customers are diminishing by the day, you can't argue with GM's logic of bringing only the diesel Cruze here.

Originally Posted by mobike008

I reckon its time to head to the Racing Dynamics dealer to ward off the onslaught of the increased BHP of the new Cruze

Until you see a new Cruze with a Race Dynamics . If the old Cruze engine can get 20 - 30 BHP with after-market treatment, so can the new engine. Comparisons should be made between stock to stock Cruze, or both with after-market tuning.

Originally Posted by shivasuma

GM has fiddled with the top upholstery at the rear (near the sunroof) in an effort to release some head room.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Has GM reduced the inclination of rear seat backrest? In the new one backrest looks a little more straight compared to old one.

We couldn't see any difference at all on the rear seat. If there is an improvement, it's a "blink and you'll miss it" kind.

Originally Posted by ashish22

I for one have the oldest batches of the cruze which rolled out in 2009 (I bought mine in Jan, 2010) which has the worst turbo lag out of all the cruze variants. But for sure i'll never let go of its turbo kick which i get beyond 1800 rpms. Its a trade off for the turbo lag but then who's complaining?

That's like saying you prefer to fall sick because you love the soft hospital bed or the sweet-tasting medicines! Sorry, but I don't agree with this "give me turbo lag for the punch" bit at all. We spend 90% of our driving kms in the city where the new Cruze is the superior.

The old Cruze' turbo-lag completely negates the real benefits of a diesel : Low-end torque and lugging ability. It is, without doubt, a flawed diesel motor. Then, there is the horrendously aggressive clutch that the '09 Cruze had.

I have no doubt that the 2012 Cruze is an improvement and, as an enthusiast, the one I'd prefer to live with.

Originally Posted by drchernish

Well to cut long story short rejected due to malpractices by the dealer. Jetta dealer could not arrange a test drive in 1.5 months- still waiting. Elantra interiors rejected by wifey. Left is cruze which is most probably the choice if Jetta people don't show up with a test drive. How very simple something in life can turnout to be!!!

Time spent with the sales personnel : 2 - 10 hours cumulative (tops)
Time spent with the car : 5 - 10 years

I had a terrible experience with the Nissan dealerships. Yet, I really liked the Sunny and bought it. Mahindra & Honda have poor dealership experiences, yet you'll see a 4x4 and a Civic in my garage .

Please don't let idiotic salesmen blow you off. The car is important, not the person selling it.

Originally Posted by oxyzen

For pure fun of driving which one would you choose?
Cruze or Jetta?

Coincidentally, I just spent the weekend with a Jetta & FreeLander2. We took the cars to beautiful Pawna. I drove the entire way, switching between the two cars. The Cruze was still fresh in my mind as I'd driven it only last week.

The Jetta is superior in nearly every way. The engine is far more driveable, the gearbox slicker, the ride & handling a level or two up, more space on the inside and better quality too. It just feels like a more "complete" car. The one area where the Cruze might emerge on top is long-term reliability (Korean vs European reliability).

For pure driving pleasure, I'd choose the Jetta. In my books, its worth every penny of the 2.xx lakh premium.

Originally Posted by MDe

As Mobike008 mentioned, we can always get the extra power and reduced turbo lag with a RD or Pete's box.

A power box will increase the horsepower. But it won't reduce the turbolag.

[anb]

Originally Posted by justin.das

Is the above mentioned engine a GM version of Fiat Multijet 2.0 ?As per the
Wikipedia information there is a GM derived version of Fiat Multijet in use.Details follows

Thanks for the information Justin. The 164bhp engine is not the fiat motor. It's 1998cc , not 1956cc. Also the bore and stroke are completely different. It's the FAM Z 2.0-litre diesel engine developed by GM, AFAIK.

Originally Posted by GTO

A power box will increase the horsepower. But it won't reduce the turbolag.

Yes. But if the tuningbox increases the rail pressure, the low end torque might improve slightly.

[drchernish]

Originally Posted by GTO

Time spent with the sales personnel : 2 - 10 hours cumulative (tops)
Time spent with the car : 5 - 10 years

I had a terrible experience with the Nissan dealerships. Yet, I really liked the Sunny and bought it. Mahindra & Honda have poor dealership experiences, yet you'll see a 4x4 and a Civic in my garage .

Please don't let idiotic salesmen blow you off. The car is important, not the person selling it.



Coincidentally, I just spent the weekend with a Jetta & FreeLander2. We took the cars to beautiful Pawna. I drove the entire way, switching between the two cars. The Cruze was still fresh in my mind as I'd driven it only last week.

The Jetta is superior in nearly every way. The engine is far more driveable, the gearbox slicker, the ride & handling a level or two up, more space on the inside and better quality too. It just feels like a more "complete" car. The one area where the Cruze might emerge on top is long-term reliability (Korean vs European reliability).

For pure driving pleasure, I'd choose the Jetta. In my books, its worth every penny of the 2.xx lakh premium.

I agree with you on the time spent with salesman but you can get the overall picture of the dealer just by experiencing the sales process.Just yesterday my friends new ford fiesta got broken into through rear window glass at 5 pm.A quick phone to both the dealers confirmed the presence of the spare part and within an hour he was again driving his car as if nothing had happened.If he had a Jetta God knows how many weeks before the car could be back on road.(the glass is imported from Germany and having spare part is highly unlikely when they could not arrange a test drive vehicle in 1.5 months.Sorry I know the car is better than cruze and I am ready to pay 3 lacs extra also but can it give me a peace of mind?) Until then I am better off with my cruze or elantra or altis .....you get the drift.

[narayan]

With the Elantra priced very competitively, I wonder what the USP of the Cruze can be ? Power ? How may of those 600-800 units sold every month are purely for the power ? As an all rounder the Cruze definetly falls short of the Elantra. The sales chart should show this soon in the coming months

[drchernish]

The usp of cruze are it's looks( it does not look like an enlarged aveo or optra), engine refinement and power ,zero reliability issues ,fully loaded To the brim and acceptable ride n handling.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by i_nv

According to me two big let down in 2009 cruise are JK Vectra tyre and the headlamps as rightly observed by you. I need a Tyre change now and would be grateful if the right stock could be suggested to me for a change.

I changed my Cruze's tyres as soon as I bought it. Moved to same tyre spec as stock tyres and went with Continental Premium Contact 2 (CPC2)

Absolutely glorious tyres. Benefits are :-

a) Zero noise. Even now after 30,000kms of completion

b) Wet Grip. It grips the road like a leech on wet and gravelly conditions

c) Longetivity. After 30,00kms of run, looking at the tread depth. I think it can go on for another 15,000kms-20,000kms easily.

Originally Posted by i_nv

Regarding headlamp, especially on the highway they are not at all confidence inspiring hence its difficult to cruise beyond 100 kmph at night.

I never felt the need to upgrade the stock lights. I just move the light throw switch to "0" when on highway and return to 1 or 2 when in city.

I have done much higher speeds on highway in dark ( Infact, returned from a long trip last night) on stock lights without feeling uncomfortable.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Well, that feeling of the turbo-kick isn't gone, actually. It's more spread out, so you don't get the volatile (to quote GTO) surge any more, but make no mistake - the performance is still very much there. If you're getting the RD box, please let me know. I had it on my Swift, and I need to wait till I cover about 6,000 km on my Cruze before I can get it on the Cruze now. I'd love to get your feedback.

I will surely get the RD box for the Cruze. That's confirmed. When I will get it depends on my mood as i am pretty happy with stock power

How was your experience of RD box on the Swift? Is it a reliable product?

Originally Posted by F150

Chevy should have updated the tail lamps at least to the E class look alike lamps.

+1. Those lamps would have bumped up its sales by a slight notch. And, they should have introduced a beige interior version too as an option to make the interiors look a bit more premium.

Originally Posted by noopster

In fact, it was a little out of my budget and the rear seat was claustrphobic otherwise the diesel AT may have well been resting in my garage by now!

When I bought the car i was heavily affected by abnormal behaviour usually associated with Team-BHPian's. I just wrote a check knowing how it feels to drive the car and discounted all other aspects including the cramped interior

Originally Posted by GTO

A power box will increase the horsepower. But it won't reduce the turbolag.

Sorry, I disagree. I drove my previous Accent CRDI on Pete Box for more than 35000kms and a powerbox will definetly improve your driveability apart from bumping up the horsepower.

Accent CRDi didnt have as much turbolag as the Cruze so maybe the difference was promiment. But, there is a good amount of difference in turbolag decrease by using a powerbox.

Originally Posted by anb

Yes. But if the tuningbox increases the rail pressure, the low end torque might improve slightly.

From my personal experience, there is an improvement to driveability by using a powerbox.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by mobike008

How was your experience of RD box on the Swift? Is it a reliable product?

Extremely. The best money I've EVER spent on a car. I'm getting mine for the Cruze pretty soon (need to cover a little more mileage first).

Originally Posted by mobike008

+1. Those lamps would have bumped up its sales by a slight notch. And, they should have introduced a beige interior version too as an option to make the interiors look a bit more premium.

Totally agree with you about the lamps, those E-class tails look absolutely spectacular. I'm not a fan of beige interiors though, and when you through in those tacky faux wood accents I believe they look even worse. One of the reasons I prefer the Cruze to the Laura is because of this very reason - I'm a huge fan of piano black / grey / chrome / silver.
What I feel they should have done to bump up the interiors a bit was to use better soft-touch plastics all around and change the central screen - either make it multicolour or increase the resolution and make it black and white with better fonts / icons. Personally, I think the switchgear quality's pretty good, as is the overall attention to detail. Have you noticed the outsides of your seatbelt holders (down near the front seats) are padded with felt on the outside? This is to prevent any noise whatsoever from them clacking against the handbrake / central storage housing. Super!

Originally Posted by mobike008

Sorry, I disagree. I drove my previous Accent CRDI on Pete Box for more than 35000kms and a powerbox will definetly improve your driveability apart from bumping up the horsepower.
Accent CRDi didnt have as much turbolag as the Cruze so maybe the difference was promiment. But, there is a good amount of difference in turbolag decrease by using a powerbox.
From my personal experience, there is an improvement to driveability by using a powerbox.

I believe you're right about this. With the RD box in my Swift DDiS, the power delivery came on a LOT earlier, virtually curing the car of about two-thirds of the existing turbo lag as compared to stock, and believe me when I tell you these weren't psychological gains.
Check BHPian's Kryptonite's thread about his RD'd Rapid and you'll see the same thing - that the (already minimal) turbo lag in his Rapid was further reduced after the tuning box.

[Omtoatom]

Splendid stuff GTO. Your attention to detail is matchless and it shows again and again!

Originally Posted by GTO

This is GM's FAM Z 2.0L diesel. So, what's new?

• 16 additional BHP of peak power (@ 200 rpm earlier) and 53 Nm more peak torque (@ 600 rpm earlier).

Don't mean to nitpick, but surely you mean peak power and torque @ 2000 rpm and @ 6000 rpm respectively there. Perhaps one of those typos that somehow tend to creep in? Do correct if I'm right in my assumption. Thanks!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Omtoatom

Don't mean to nitpick, but surely you mean peak power and torque @ 2000 rpm and @ 6000 rpm respectively there. Perhaps one of those typos that somehow tend to creep in? Do correct if I'm right in my assumption. Thanks!

I dont think GTO made a mistake in his description.

I think he meant the peak power now comes 200 rpm earlier. If i am not wrong the older Cruze peak power of 150bhp comes at 4000rpm, so GTO meant now for new Cruze, 166 bhp comes at 3800 rpm.

Same case for the torque figures.

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by Omtoatom

Splendid stuff GTO. Your attention to detail is matchless and it shows again and again!



Don't mean to nitpick, but surely you mean peak power and torque @ 2000 rpm and @ 6000 rpm respectively there. Perhaps one of those typos that somehow tend to creep in? Do correct if I'm right in my assumption. Thanks!

I think what GTO meant was the peak torque comes in 600rpm earlier than the previous Cruze and the peak power comes in at 200rpm earlier than the old cruze.

[kch82]

Team BHPians....I am have reached a stage where I am stuck without a car (having sold my 7 year old Swift a month and half back). I was on the verge of booking the new Cruze AT until I was informed by reliable sources that the proper upgrade of the Cruze is due around Diwali. Now I am not sure whether to wait for another 3 months (atleast) or buy an alternative car/suv (such as Duster) and be done with it.

I test drove the Duster and without getting into the details, I think it is a VFM no frills vehicle. But as I wanted my purchase to be a vehicle that can give good driving pleasure mixed with features and preferably automatic, I am totally confused to whether buy the existing Cruze (which I think is overpriced for what they offer) or wait for 3 months for the new Cruze or just buy a basic/simpler Duster and use it to commute from point A to B.

Heart says to wait for the new Cruze. Mind says buy a Duster which will be far more practical.

All help will be greatly appreciated.

[Reality]

Originally Posted by kch82

Team BHPians....I am have reached a stage where I am stuck without a car (having sold my 7 year old Swift a month and half back). I was on the verge of booking the new Cruze AT until I was informed by reliable sources that the proper upgrade of the Cruze is due around Diwali. Now I am not sure whether to wait for another 3 months (atleast) or buy an alternative car/suv (such as Duster) and be done with it.

I test drove the Duster and without getting into the details, I think it is a VFM no frills vehicle. But as I wanted my purchase to be a vehicle that can give good driving pleasure mixed with features and preferably automatic, I am totally confused to whether buy the existing Cruze (which I think is overpriced for what they offer) or wait for 3 months for the new Cruze or just buy a basic/simpler Duster and use it to commute from point A to B.

Heart says to wait for the new Cruze. Mind says buy a Duster which will be far more practical.

All help will be greatly appreciated.

I suggest book the duster and wait for the cruze. Anyways the duster will take around 3 months to be delivered unless you have some contacts. If the new cruze is launched then you can always cancel the duster and book it. But if not then you'll get your duster by dec. Dont want to confuse you but also check out the xuv500.

[drchernish]

Paid the booking amount for Cruze LTZ black,no not in black but white (sorry for pj but the heart skips when i think what I would be driving 10 days down).Well have ordered primacy plc(inspite of having bad roads-promise to be careful cpc2 not available and advised against yokos dbs) in stock size to be changed at delivery and sill plates lighted also ordered.The sales adviser also advised for rear tail light garnish chrome and c pillar garnish-don't know for sure probably will decide at delivery itself-any advice from team members?

[kch82]

Originally Posted by Reality

I suggest book the duster and wait for the cruze. Anyways the duster will take around 3 months to be delivered unless you have some contacts. If the new cruze is launched then you can always cancel the duster and book it. But if not then you'll get your duster by dec. Dont want to confuse you but also check out the xuv500.

Thanks for the advise. Useful. But I think I will be able to manage the duster much before 2-3 months. What is frustrating me is that we are so unsure on whether the Cruze around Diwali will be a proper upgrade or just another facelift ? i still fail to understand that why could not GM launch the Curze upgrade properly once and for all ?? I have come to the conclusion that there is a dearth of good cars in India in a decent price bracket (15 L- 16 L). The global companies offer completely stripped down versions for India at double the cost. When in the world will we ever see the Challengers, Camaros and Mustangs at a realistic price in India ? Guess after a generation or two.

[ghostrider]

GM's seriously contemplating a Cruze Hatchback for North American (and possibly European, where the car's also been extremely well received in it's sedan avatar) markets in 2013.
These are some official (leaked) CAD/CAM renderings of what it could possibly look like. No official word on whether the hatch is definitely coming or not, much less on whether this would be the basis for the final design.

In my opinion, it doesn't work as a hatch at all. This design especially, makes the front and rear halves seem like they belong to two different cars. In side profile it sort of reminds of me the previous-gen Focus, but that works and this doesn't. This is more wagon and less hatch to my eyes.

MODS: Please move the post if it's OT.