Exclusive First Drive: Chevrolet Cruze


350Z

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So very luckily I just stumbled upon this thread and saw these posts. Many congratulations on your buy, CRDi. It was a good decision to choose the cruze.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
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Thats one VFM car that Chevrolet has put into the territories of the Civic and Corolla. It is sure to appeal to sporty drivers. Hope it does well...
 
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Re: Hyundai Xcent S 1.2 - My Daily Commute - Owner's View

First Drive Impression of Cruze D AT(with Sunroof)!

So yesterday my uncle just visited me all of a suddent. He recently bought a Cruze Diesel LTZ AT variant and it's just 2 weeks I guess. He already finished 1.9k kms and came here for his first service.

Since he decided to stay for a day, I thought why not take it for a spin! So I planned to take it out after 10pm when most of the roads are deserted. First of all, I'm not going to talk about exterior styling or interiors. It has been discussed a lot here. All I am going to talk about is, how it drives, how i behaves in comparison with the cars I've driven(XUV, SX4, Xcent, Lancer etc!).

First of all. the car starts without any vibration. Yes, there is a slight vibration but I'm nitpicking here. After that it just settles straight away. As with any conventional AT, it has few milliseconds of lag, and we need to be aware of that. Just release the brake pedal and it starts rolling. Mild input in D mode is enough for regular sedate driving. But, even in D mode, when I do pedal to metal, it just whoosh past the cars and reach triple digits in no time. This is my first time to feel such violent, brutal acceleration. Before I realize I've crossed 120+ and I just slowed down!

NVH is good, but still you can hear the oil burner's work but it is kinda sweet! It doesn't growl, but it feels like turbo whine. Handling for such behemoth is excellent. Steering is just perfect size. Easy for all situations and weighs nicely in high speeds. It just dismiss all those road irregularities, which I have felt in Xcent, SX4! Only fly in the ointment is, I need to be very careful with speed breaker. But low slung sedan sure is a joy to ride. Suspension make sure you won't feel a thing during your drive. I hardly felt anything in my regular 4 lane driving route.

Regarding AT, I can rate it closer to DSG/DCT! Yes, it has that ms lag, but if planned well, it can let other cars eat dust, in D mode! With tiptronic, it was just grinning fun.

Overall, I was completely floored by this car. For a car of its size, it rides well, handling is good, ride quality is excellent(I can rate it much higher than Corolla Altis!) and moreover, it was fun riding this one, unlike Corolla!
 

bhvm

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Re: Hyundai Xcent S 1.2 - My Daily Commute - Owner's View

Whoa!
Yes Cruze 150HP is quite a bomb to drive, and will always leave you smiling.
I have'nt pitched a cruze against XUV,Lancer, Creta, duster etc but cruze due to low slung stance & higher BHP/Ton Ratio should come easy win.

Perhaps XUV may win at Uber high speeds (190+)

Nothing comes close to Cruze for Croozing at high speeds.
 
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Re: Hyundai Xcent S 1.2 - My Daily Commute - Owner's View

Whoa!
Yes Cruze 150HP is quite a bomb to drive, and will always leave you smiling.
I have'nt pitched a cruze against XUV,Lancer, Creta, duster etc but cruze due to low slung stance & higher BHP/Ton Ratio should come easy win.

Perhaps XUV may win at Uber high speeds (190+)

Nothing comes close to Cruze for Croozing at high speeds.
Yes. I agree XUV is rock solid at high speeds but then the plush ride quality and excellent vehicle manners just gives you the ear to ear grin! When I TD Corolla Altis 1.8G few months ago, I felt it was powerful but dull and not fun. But after driving this, now I get how it feels to drive a 2L monster under a sedan hood! It is a complete hoot to drive.

BTW I wasn't comparing the Cruze against XUV/Lancer etc, but my evaluations are based on those cars as I have never driven a 2L Diesel Sedan!
 
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Re: Hyundai Xcent S 1.2 - My Daily Commute - Owner's View

With due respect for my married seniors, I beg to differ.

IMO XUV is nothing but scary at high speeds, it feels good only till it is going straight but is still far from what we call rock solid or stable high speed ride. FD Saarji has floored because he may have driven a 165 bhp (it's no more 150 BHVM Saar) 2.0 diesel sedan for the first time. So the turbo push etc will definitely make it feel way way quicker than the relaxed N/A engine of Corolla.

My recommendation
Go and drive a Jetta TDi or an Octy 1.8 TSi and the thoughts of both of you will definitely change regarding the performance, handling and high speed stability. Cruze and XUV are nowhere close to Jetta in ride and handling and if you bring in the Octy 1.8 TSi (have owned Laura 1.8 in past and its performance is in 30l+ category) then Cruze or XUV will be out of water in absolutely every area (except GC for XUV); be it ballistic performance, awesome ride and handling, fantastic build, NVH or interior quality and comfort.
 
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bhvm

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Re: Hyundai Xcent S 1.2 - My Daily Commute - Owner's View

Saaarji,
Other than most of the OT stuff aside, why do I always feel that you've driven a faulty XUV? or one with bad tyres/Alignment? You can see Many youtube videos of XUV overtaking Merc & Audi at 200+ KMPH. Is the most Rock solid SUV at 170+. No doubt about it.

Comparing an SUV to VW sedans of course, is pointless as GC, Sprung weight and suspension will be different. I do look foward to beating a Crooze with my XUV now.

"premium" Vehicles beaten till date-
Merc C class ( think 230D or something)
Merc A Class
Merc ML 350
Audi A4 or something
Audi Q5 quattro
Suzuki GV
Toyota Fortuner 3.0 MT

All of these got beaten past 170~180.

Most fun was Beating ML 350, where the owner played hard to keep up. He even "Made his own lanes". Naah.Nada!.
Sorry for going OT.
 
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Re: Hyundai Xcent S 1.2 - My Daily Commute - Owner's View

With due respect for my married seniors, I beg to differ.

IMO XUV ......
When did I said I compared XUV to Cruze? Vipul, you need to clean your eyes with some good solution! [lol]

Anyways, comparing XUV to Cruze is apples to oranges! But I need to agree with one thing. Driving XUV anything beyond 150+ is little scary because it isn't a sedan and chances of getting toppled is pretty high even for slight mistake. Till today, my top speed at XUV on my regular commute with family is 120 and when I'm alone I will push it for 150 very occasionally! But with SX4, I do it very often and never felt the same. So yeah, SUV's aren't meant to be driven beyond certain speed and we need to be much more careful while handling one.

Whatever you say, a sedan is a sedan when it comes to ride and SUV is an SUV when it glides over uneven roads dismissing all small road irregularities.

So, end of OT.

Started enquiring for insurance renewal. Last year, with 5L IDV, premium was 12,173 but now, with 4.75L IDV and 25% NCB, insurance amount is 11,750!! They said for 3rd party some taxes were jacked up and so this.

While I know there were some changes, but for me, just 300 bucks reductions seems too low. Tried various online portals too, but still it comes close to 12k. Is it correct? Should I go with it?

Saaarji,
Other than most of the OT stuff aside, why do I always feel that you've driven a faulty XUV? or one with bad tyres/Alignment? You can see Many youtube videos of XUV overtaking Merc & Audi at 200+ KMPH. Is the most Rock solid SUV at 170+. No doubt about it.
Please don't do that! XUV is not meant to do such stunts. Straight line performance might be impressive, but on curvy roads it is just chaos waiting to happen. So please don't drive at such speeds and it is not a competition where you can show how many you have beaten so far! Drive safe buddy. Just wanted to say this, but sorry if I offended you of any sorts!
 
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bhvm

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Re: Hyundai Xcent S 1.2 - My Daily Commute - Owner's View

1. Thats the problem with Insurance. My XUV's last year and current quote came about same. IDV keeps reducing but Taxes keep increasing. They've almost doubled the taxes in current 3~4 years. Daylight Robbers.

2. No problem mate. I do some High speeds stints only once or twice when its perfectly safe. Here are the rules that I follow.
> For 150+ ateast 1km Straight with decent visiblity
> For 170+ atleast 2km Straight with VERY GOOD visiblity.
> Don't do it if vehicle dosent feel "Right" (Could be due to tyres, Temps or anything)
> Don't do around villages where children or cattle is likely to jump across.
...Any many more.

My Cruising speeds in XUV on decent 6 lanes is about 130~140. On bad/Congested roads its way slower than average Indian Traffic.

3. The joy & Safety of High speeds is in STRAIGHT LINES ONLY. Absolutely, utterly, Strictly don't do it on bends or curvy roads. You never know if there is an errant cyclist or failed truck at the next bend.

The Straight line ability of XUV satisfies me well. For sedans, well they'll be better on a race track. For overall Indian driving, its XUV all the way!

4. For High speed Tips over 200+, I would hand over the keys to our Vipul Sirji who has a small battalion of premium vehicles , Including V6 and constantly does 210+
 
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