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It?s really tough to see how either of the new Cruzes could better serve their intended users. Photo Gallery
Paul Pottinger road tests and reviews the Holden Cruze Series II at its Australian launch.
Holden’s first Australian-made small car in decades will challenge the Corolla and Mazda3 for popularity and rivals the Golf for sophistication and quality. Yes, the Cruze Series II is that good. Well, the two new versions are.
Carsguide can say this after exclusive time with each of them; 200km with the 1.4iTi turbo petrol and the whole 760 kay way from Port Melbourne to Adelaide in the new 2.0-litre turbo Diesel.
The Cruze might well be less than 50 per cent a local hero in terms of components. In fact if it was edible, it would be fusion cuisine with major ingredients from Korea and engines from Austria and Italy.
Yet the Cruze works so thoroughly in the cut throat competition of small sedan and hatch segment because it’s been refined here by a local carmaker for local people. So well, in fact, that it when the hatchback comes online later this year, the Cruze will surely come to outsell the Commodore too.
VALUE
We’ll ignore the carry-over 1.8 petrol engine versions here; even Holden admit the $20,990 CD and $24,990 CDX remain mainly to provide entry price points.
Things become interesting with the new 1.4. It comes in CD trim ($22,2400), SRi ($24,490) and range topping Sri-V ($27,990). The Diesel (called just that, not another tangled acronym as with its rivals) is $24,990 (CD) and $28,490 (CDX).
A six speed auto adds $2000, “premium” paint $500. To break that down, CDs come standard with 16-inch steel wheels, the full safety package including auto headlights, cruise control and audio buttons on the steering wheel. CDXs add leather trim, 17-inch alloys, colour coded door handles, front fogs and somewhere to stash your shades.
The SRi is basically a CD with chrome inserts, 17s, good to grip wheel, skirts and a lip spoiler. The Sri-V gets the lot: leather-faced seats, heated front seats, keyless entry and start, integrated sat-nav, 7-inch colour LCD screen, premium sound and rear park assist. Bluetooth is optional.
These packages are to the fore of the Cruze’s crowded class. Warranty is the average three years/100,000km. Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Kia give you five.
TECHNOLOGY
There’s a distinct danger the unknowing will be out off by the numeral “1.4”. Holden, unlike Volkswagen, don’t hide the engine’s size in the badging.
Hopefully they’ll get the message out that this small turbo unit is far more efficient than some 2.0-litre petrol engines. The same Austrian-built engine that also comes later this year in the Opel Astra is good for 103kW at 4900 revs and 200Nm over a very useful 1850-4900rpm. As a six-speed manual (also sourced from the land of strudel) it's rated at 6.4 litres/100km - enough for a 1000-kilometre touring on a tank, Holden claim. The six speed auto (from Korea), with manual gate, gets 6.9-litres. Premium 95 RON is recommended.
Those figures approach those of the new Italian-made 2.0-litre turbo diesel with its 120kW and fat class-leading 360 units of torque, a unit shared with the Captiva SUV. The manual is Australia’s most economical car at 5.6L, superior to the endlessly hyped Camry Hybrid. The auto “blows out” to 6.7, but a marked improvement over the previous oiler.
The 1.4’s Watts-link rear suspension is said to be better than in terms of packaging and road noise than other multi-link set-ups. This too is part of the forthcoming Astra.
DESIGN
The Cruze sedan appeals to Commodore people who just don’t need the space or a V6 juice bill. Not only is it a four door with a boot, thus a “proper” car in their eyes, the family resemblance has been made plainer with new fascia, trapezoidal grille, wheels and headlight treatment.
Already big for a supposedly small car, these minor but telling treatments move the Cruze more obviously into the Holden, as opposed to broader GM, family. Passing any number of Korean import Cruzes on our epic trip, the difference becomes obvious.
Within, the top-spec SRi-V loses nothing to Japanese or German imports in terms of tactile comfort and finish. Though it’s easy to engage the right driving position, changing up with the notchy manual stick will bring the elbow into contact with the centre storage compartment. It’s mildly annoying.
SAFETY
It’s all there, with six airbags, stability program and anti-skid brakes accessed through a pedal that how one should be, with just enough progression before they bite. Cruze is already a five star crash safety winner. The spare is a 16-incher.
DRIVING
It’s really tough to see how either of the new Cruzes could better serve their intended users. Here the refinement and comfort traditionally the preserve of bigger car with the efficiency of a smaller model with arguably more success than anything else to be had.
The marriage of the small turbo petrol and its “old” style torque converter auto works more smoothly than the pairing of similar engines with any twin-clutch transmission. Suppression of road noise, vibration and harshness is also class-leading – the wildly successful Mazda3 seems raucous by comparison.
Though covered with go fast kit, the new petrol engine car is decidedly not a boy racer mobile. It’s a responsive even agile performer that steers, handles and (aptly enough) cruises with complete assurance. It would seem comfortably familiar to a Golf owner, who pays more for less kit and painfully more for service and maintenance.
It’s a great pity that the Diesel with make up only 20 per cent of Cruze sales, and the manual a fraction within that. For the greater part of the time you could be unaware that this is not a petrol engine, so quiet is it on the move. Then you move to overtake and that surge of torque pours on smoothly but assertively, a process served by the clutch’s perfect take up point.
Holden’s home development work serves it well.
VERDICT
The top version of the car that will come to outsell the Commodore shows that less might not be more, but it’s more than enough. 75/100
HOLDEN CRUZE SERIES II
Price: From $22,240 (1.4); $24,990 (Diesel)
Engine: 1.4-litre turbo petrol 4-cylinder; 103kW/200Nm or 2.0-litre turbo diesel; 120kW/360Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic; 6-speed automatic;
Thirst: 6.9L/100km (1.4 auto); 6.7L/100km (Diesel)
RIVALS
Ford Focus (from $21,490)
Honda Civic (from $22,490)
Hyundai i30 (from $19,590)
Kia Cerato Si (from $22,490)
Mazda3 (from $21,330)
Renault Megane (from $22,990)
Skoda Octavia (from $24,990)
Subaru Impreza (from $23,490)
Toyota Corolla (from $20,990)
Volkswagen Golf (from $22,990)
