General Motors has launched the Chevrolet Cruze with a new engine today. The American automaker has chosen not to give the Chevrolet Cruze any cosmetic updates, which is quite an absurd decision as the Cruze has been in the Indian market sans a facelift for three years now! Just recently GM Korea unveiled the facelifted Cruze at the Busan motor show and GM should have brought the same to India with the new features such as MyLink Infotainment system. Probably GM plans to launch the facelift version after the segment killer, Hyundai’s fluidic Elantra arrives in July.
GM is calling the Cruze with the new engine as the all new Cruze. The Cruze is powered by a 2000cc Z-series diesel engine, which produces 166 PS of power at 3800 RPM (16 PS up on the old engine) and 380 Nm of torque at 2000 RPM (63 Nm up on the old engine). This new engine uses a chain drive camshaft instead of a belt driven one and is mated to a new 6-speed gearbox (the old engine was mated to a 5-speed gearbox). This new engine in the Cruze does not make it faster, infact the old engined Cruze is quicker to the 100 km/h. However the Z-Series engine offers better drive-ability in the city along with quicker in-gear acceleration. Turbo lag has been reduced too.
General Motors has also slipped in a few features on the updated Cruze, which now has a dead pedal as standard. The drivers seat is now 6-way power adjustable while the power windows now feature anti-pinch technology. A new audio system with surround sound has been added as well. However the prices have been increased by Rs. 60,000 – 90,000/- across the range, making the Cruze lose its value for money tag to a certain extent.
2012 Chevrolet Cruze Price (ex-showroom, Delhi)
- Cruze LT – Rs. 13.85 lakhs
- Cruze LTZ – Rs. 14.77 lakhs
- Cruze LTZ Automatic – Rs. 15.67 lakhs
