2016 Chevrolet Cruze 1.4T Automatic

A middle school teacher wood-shop once told this writer to hand-sand project DVD-wood shelves until the surface is "smoother than a baby's bottom." Teacher's name long forgotten, but the quote that stuck-end business image infant ensure much-and it applies as appropriate for the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze as sandpaper is not for wood.

Cruze is a serious car smooth, sleek shape for the event from the door closed with wumpf muffled. Mostly, the smooth Cruze is derived from its compliant suspension impeccably. In the case of cars, it was smooth. And the Cruze does not come much better than mid-grade LT tested here, with automatic transmission and 16-inch wheels. Premier models are available with the largest available wheels (18-inch) may be less smooth, while the base Cruze L with the 15-inch tires and their higher sidewalls may be more subtle still. But cutting lineup in the middle and you're still talking baby-bottom smooth.

Sanding Edge Off

Dimensions, Cruze wheelbase is 0.6 inches longer than its predecessor while the overall length of up to 2.7 inches, placing it at the end of a big compact class. But by sanding the edges off erect as a sedan, three boxes previous Cruze, Chevrolet lowering the roof 0.7 inches and reduce nearly every major interior measurements save for legislative and rear knee room. Think of it as a sort of coup packaging that car somehow feels more spacious than before. steeply raked windshield, which is located away from the driver at the end of the dashboard deeper, giving the front seat occupants airier environment, whereas the increase in rear-seat knee room (2.0 inches) and rear legroom (0.7 inches) lend the rear quarter smell luxury limo. Well, there is plenty of space behind the seats down low-headroom in the back remained tight.

Cruze's chassis tuning contributes to the sensation of a bigger size, too, by mimicking a comfortable, solid-feeling mid-size Malibu. General Motors of excellence 'in the calibration of the suspension is on full display here, where the humble component-front struts and rear torsion beam axle - tuned to provide exceptional stability and comfort. Sporty obviously not the target, but not the stability of the Cruze is also reasonable control driver distracted even while absorbing ruts and bumps like a larger car. It does not appear in the ho-hum performance skidpad 0.82-g sedan or the 168-foot stopping distance from 70 mph, but the important thing is that the maneuvers emergency such aggressive lane change sooner or panic braking while turning, the rear end stays planted, and when car gave up the handle, the safe, predictable understeer. In accordance with the common mission of the car, the steering is light but direct, with zones of different on-center that allows the driver to maintain a straight-ahead tracking Interstate just use the thumb wheel.

More Power, Less Weight, better

The second replaces the previous generation Cruze base 1.8-liter four and the available 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine is the sole powerplant, an all-new 1.4-liter turbo four. (A diesel variant will be back in 2017.) Although similar in displacement to the old turbo engine, this one is 35 cubic centimeters larger, newly designed, and feature cast aluminum instead of iron block. It's 44 pounds lighter than the 1.4T-old is also lighter than the old naturally aspirated 1.8-liter four and back with both six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission fitted to our test car. With 153 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque, the new engine bests the old 1.4T with 15 horsepower and 29 lb-ft.

a more powerful engine Cruze has less to carry around. Chevrolet mass removed from almost every field sedan, including 24 pounds of automatic transmission and 53 pounds of steel unibody. our test car hairy scales at 2944 pounds, 262 pounds lighter than the previous generation Cruze LTZ we tested in 2010 and 199 pounds lighter than the non-turbo, Cruze LS is sparsely furnished we evaluated in 2011. It was a huge mass reduction, and help the 2016 Cruze shifted to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds, 1.3 seconds faster than the previous 1.4T.

These dramatic performance improvements on paper, but it does not feel like tuning the performance. This machine is set to operate at a relaxed pace, more diesel-like fire breath. Peak torque comes at just 2,000 rpm, and a six-speed automatic transmission selecting the highest gear possible to keep the engine in this zone. Hold the gas pedal, and the engine rumbled to the summit of the 5600-rpm horsepower, but you will not spend a lot of time to exploit releases 153 horses there for the transmission upshifts between 5500 and 5700 rpm, well short of the 6500-rpm redline. (One look at the engine power curve shift programming reveals no accident-horsepower dropped dramatically after 5600-rpm peak, leaving the point of holding the gear outside the engine rev.) The shift itself is surprisingly fast and, yes, fine. programming insist on choosing a gear on what the driver may choose, however, which means that even when the transmission downshifts, the Cruze could feel flat feet out of the corner because it was still in gear too high. The result is that the revs stay low almost all the time, which contributes to fuel economy of 33 mpg we observed, and reliance on low rpm torque means the engine throttle application even without a downshift Cruze small accelerate rude. Smooth.

American ride

Having established now that the Cruze is suitable for, ahem, cruising, it's time to discuss the improvement of the car's interior. While many small cars suffered front seats short left foot cushion occupants' unsupported, Cruze front seats are large and cosseting, hugs consistent from the back of someone's knee all the way up to the shoulder. We Cruze LT comes equipped with an optional driver's seat strength offered to cushion tilt adjustment, seat height, lumbar and backrest angle, all of which make finding a comfortable driving position is easy. The main disturbance is that the brake pedal is positioned about two inches closer to the driver on the gas pedal, requiring more footwork than should be necessary to apply the brakes.

Chevrolet classed-up relative to the dashboard old Cruze unit, too, adding rubber plastic material to the surface, carrying more than usual patch trim fabric. There are also a lot more chrome, and has been applied in thick pieces; we'll leave it to you to decide if you like it. Regardless, the cabin looks smart, even in our LT quite optioned. Our car came with only $ 1,150 Convenience package and the $ 1,495 Sun and Sound package, together adding things like heated seats front, seat that power the driver, sunroof, proximity access-key, the screen color driver-information, larger 8 , 0-inch touchscreen in a standard 7.0-inch unit, and a Bose audio system. So equipped, the car cost us $ 25,035, including $ 395 in a special red paint.

And the working environment better than it looks, with a touchscreen running menu is easy to use Chevrolet MyLink infotainment and control hard-button operation with subtlety muted. Usefulness abound: There is a storage drawer at the door, heaps of places to phone ahead of the shifter, and a total of six cupholders. Front center armrest slides forward and back. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration built in, and when the iPhone is connected using a USB cable, the driver can call the command Siri or manage a large selection of music via the touchscreen or a secondary screen on the meter using the steering-wheel control pads. (The same goes for Android phones, though with Google, not Siri, a personal assistant.) Yes, GM 4G LTE data connectivity and hotspot Wi-Fi is standard, and, yes, we used either to send some emails while stopped side of the road.

Between the cabins accommodating, supple suspension and strong but muted engine, Cruze offers a lot to recommend it. Oh, and did we mention the luggage is kept large and useful shaped measuring 14 cubic feet? If the batter us on the phone, we still will choose Mazda 3 or Honda Civic, which is more satisfying to drive. But for buyers who do not care about the feel of the steering wheel or knife-edged chassis response, the Cruze is a damned good car.

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