I have a 2016 Malibu with a 1.5L and I also have a 2016 Cruze. My Cruze will blow the doors off my wife’s car. To me personally it doesn’t feel slow or sluggish. It actually has quite a bit of pep. Have you seen the interiors of others? Complete trash and base model looking. That’s why I went with Chevy. Best looking interior and gadgets. (Apple car play) have you seen the focus? 2” screen. LOL! Also I’m averaging 36mpg. Your number were way off. Very happy with my Cruze so far!
I have a 2017 Cruze and I totally agree with you. Its really sporty looking and the standard 7 inch display with back up camera is amazing. I laugh when I see other cars like the Fusion or Altima with a tiny 3 inch display lol
class leading size, connectivity, and interior space. not to mention much better reliability ratings from edmunds, KBB, consumer reports, and JD power compared to the likes of the dodge dart, nissan sentra and ford focus. to top it off the cruze offers more soft touch points compared to those competitors. well done chevy!
I just acquired a 2017, and it's great. Though I'm easy to please for don't care about high speed performance for retired and easy going. Took a while to get it adjusted, perfect for me, but improved over the Cobalt, which I loved for 17 years.
Michael Perkins and I even averaged 34mpg while climbing a 3000ft mountain incline. Maybe it's how you handle the throttle control. It is turbo. It will suck fuel in boost. So don't stay in boost. I'm used to that from my wrx. I could get 24mpg in a 400 hp car, so half hp, double fuel mileage. Makes sense to me
Michael Perkins not insulting your driving. I don't even know you lol. Just saying I have a tendancy to floor it often and get better fuel economy and better 0 to 60 times than stated in the video.
I have watched every single video review of this car, in the trim that offers the gasoline engine option, no one...and I mean no one that has tested this car saw 0-60 time in anything more than 8.0 seconds. This time simply isn't realistic. I don't even like/own GM, but this review has given Car Gurus a black eye.
Agreed his 0-60 was way slower than what pretty much every review I've seen showed. Theyre typically low 8's and I've even heard high 7's. And his MPG numbers were WAY off. Like 10+mpg off from averages of other reviews. Maybe he got a lemon? I almost feel like to get those kinds of numbers it would've had to be in limp mode.
Cruze is alot like a Honda Civic. Quick. Excellent on gas. Excellent torque. Down side is its front wheel drive. Its terrible in bad weather but its a money saver in hot weather. Great for sunny days and saving money.
Sean Renzi I'd only do it with the manual. It's a bit underpowered and the CVT, which is perhaps the worst on the market, only makes that worse. Not a big fan of the EyeSight system either, but thankfully it's not necessary. Otherwise, I love it.
Great test drive review, Michael! The Chevrolet Cruze seems like a decent choice in its class! I have not yet been lucky enough to review one, but I was able to review the new Civic (hatch and sedan) and Elantra (sedan)! This vehicle seems to fall just slightly behind them in many regards.... While, this isn't the worst competitor in its class, it most likely isn't the best! I feel, as if the overall design (especially on the sedan variant) already needs a rear-end face lift!😞 The hatchback on the other hand, has a very well proportioned body, but looks just a little more on the budget side (on the interior) when compared to the Civic Hatchback I reviewed. 😃 With that all to the side, you did an impeccable job showcasing this cars "ups" and "downs"! Keep up the great work, Car Gurus and Michael! 😉😃👊 -DriveAnBeDriven 🚘 "The Quest To Record The Best!"
I have a loaded premier with all packages. Negotiated a great price, much lower than 30k. Compact hatchbacks are still a hard sell for US dealers so there's definitely room there. I too am only getting 18-21mpg when all city driving. I achieve the highway rating, but GM totally got the city rating wrong on this car. I live on the flattest land there is. Yes, I am also a somewhat aggressive accelerator, but I'd have to crawl from every stop and coast to every stop for a super long distance to get anywhere near what GM claims for city. I've tried, and still can't do it.That said, gas is cheap and I love my Cruze hatch! I think it's the nicest looking 5-door compact in its class, and that matters to me. It provides a great touring drive with good and smooth acceleration. I have absolutely no issue with the stop/start system. It's as smooth as they come. If you want a sharp looking and practical touring compact, this is what this car does best.
TheSirUno The hills around here mean you've gotta floor it to get going half the time. I'm sure that didn't help. And I took it through some mountain twisties to see how much the watt's linkage affected handling - also not great for fuel economy. But I still did a lot of highway cruising too. At any rate - the numbers don't lie. Seems most testers have been falling short of the advertised numbers, though.
TheSirUno the hills in Las Vegas and the constant speeding still gives the car good gas mileage out here my impala(2011) with 3.5 average at 20 in the city, more than Googles EPA estimated of 18 in the city and it’s with speeding a bit, now I only get 19 to 18 when I’m really pushing it against a Camaro
i easily can get 45-48mpg (hwy) in my cruze...my best has been 51mpg. very pleased with my cruze overall with almost a year of owning it. the auto start/stop I find to be just fine, it is very quick and responsive. it is noticeable yes, but it does the job well and doesn't bother me at all. plus i got my cruze for a very good deal for the options/trim level.
Hmm, Ive owned my cruze for nearly 2 years now. 75k miles on it now, I see high 20s in heavy city driving and high 30s or low 40s on the hwy. Road trips I get even more Ive gotten a good nearly 300 miles averaging 55mpg+. Not to mention I recent modded and it too, that tune by it self improved everything for response and is much quicker now.
Omg just another one of those Chevy haters that say it’s slow, not smooth, not fun, not quiet. Are you a stop sign because stop. 😂 People that actually own the car really know the feeling of it you probably just don’t like it. I’ve sat in one, and driven one. Both did very well. Comfortable and smooth with a swift quietness. Gas mileage is way better than what you’re saying. Why don’t you show us the actual mpg on the gauge cluster.
Not a Chevy hater at all, just an honest reviewer who wants people to know what they're buying. Gas mileage is what it is, and about what I'd expect from a week of heavy traffic in the Bay and climbing hills. Didn't show the reading on the gauge cluster because by the time we got around to filming that, the mileage was even lower than I reported thanks to idling, stop-and-go and the like while filming.
Michael Perkins did you just rely on the car's computer for your mileage, or did you do the fill up-drive-re fill up and then calculate your mpg? Why I ask is that I own a 2014 Cruze LTZ, and the car's computer will tell me I'm only getting low 20s, maybe 25 mpg at highway speeds. Yet doing my own calculations (fill up/drive/re-fill up) I average 31-32 mpg weekly in my normal driving back and forth to work, heading into small city for groceries/eating out on weekend/movie theater/etc. I generally average 34-35 on a couple hour trip to a large city, drive around said large city, and then drive home. Last year I drove to St. Louis. On the trip there I filled up near home, drove 377 miles, re-filled up near St. Louis and put 8.979 gallons back in on fill-up (to pump handle shut-off, plus squeezing in a bit more). Do the math, that's WAY more than the 25 mpg the trip computer is saying I'm averaging...
Mike, I’d be interested if you got a Cruze Diesel and tried it out. I also wonder if you got a dud as a tester, because the numbers are usually not that far off.
The first generation Cruze was not plauged with problems,it was a very good car. To say it's several seconds slower then a civic 0 to 60 is very biased, and untrue.
that really is insanely slow. Given the price premium you could get a Focus ST, Elantra Sport, VW GTI, Honda Civic, just to name a few. Given no HID led light options for the headlights at that price seem unexcusible. Fantastic points on your comparison.
Thanks, Blake! Looking back, a few testers were able to do better on the 0-60, but not by much. Still, there seems to be a lot of great competition in this segment.
I said "entering GTI territory" at the Premier's price of $24,820. GTI MSRP is $25,595, just $800 more. And yeah, with my admittedly heavy foot and Bay-area hills, my several hundred mile average was 22mpg. Shocking, no?
Yeah, I guess, but I got 21MPG in city driving with my 2014 Buick Verano which had a turbo 4 at 250 HP. I'm sure the Cruze is around 400 lbs lighter. I certainly would love to get a GTI with dual clutch auto and Navigation for any place near to 26K. Thanks, I really enjoy your reviews.
Engine is very sluggish & already blew gasket on it at 18k. Paint chips easily & wheels also. It does not hold value for resale. The 18 model is the same junk but also offer diesel on it..
I own a 2017 Cruze LT and this guy doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. (Money talks, Bull💩 walks right?) You can override the auto stop by putting the shifter down into (L) mode and press the + button until you see the shift number change to 6 on the instrument panel. The transmission will shift regularly. Although the Cruze may not be fast... it is indeed VERY QUICK. It gets up in no time flat, you just need to know the powerband. So if you don't know this car Mr. "Car Garu," then don't give it any reviews, because you're giving false info.
EPA estimates will always be much higher than real-world numbers, especially with a small turbocharged engine, and I do have an admittedly heavy foot - but I just try and give buyers a more realistic look at what their actual mileage might look like. I don't try to get the best gas mileage, I just drive and use the car like I would if it were my own.
I have a 2016 Malibu with a 1.5L and I also have a 2016 Cruze. My Cruze will blow the doors off my wife’s car. To me personally it doesn’t feel slow or sluggish. It actually has quite a bit of pep. Have you seen the interiors of others? Complete trash and base model looking. That’s why I went with Chevy. Best looking interior and gadgets. (Apple car play) have you seen the focus? 2” screen. LOL! Also I’m averaging 36mpg. Your number were way off. Very happy with my Cruze so far!
jimmy199611 Glad you're happy with it.
I have a 2017 Cruze and I totally agree with you. Its really sporty looking and the standard 7 inch display with back up camera is amazing. I laugh when I see other cars like the Fusion or Altima with a tiny 3 inch display lol
Right?! SO many people say this car is weak and or slow, but I haven't found that at all.
class leading size, connectivity, and interior space. not to mention much better reliability ratings from edmunds, KBB, consumer reports, and JD power compared to the likes of the dodge dart, nissan sentra and ford focus. to top it off the cruze offers more soft touch points compared to those competitors. well done chevy!
I like the Cruze the best in this segment, Everybody has their own opinion and you can't please everybody.
t63409 yeah Cruze and imprezia are my favorite
Cruze is great. I’ve owned a 2017 and 2019.
Safe car. Great design inside and out.
I just acquired a 2017, and it's great.
Though I'm easy to please for don't care about high speed performance for retired and easy going.
Took a while to get it adjusted, perfect for me, but improved over the Cobalt, which I loved for 17 years.
I have a 17 cruze and I get 36mpg in the mountains avg, and 48mpg highway. Lowest is about 28mpg holding it wide open
ragalyisp Damn, did better than I could.
Michael Perkins my gf got 52mpg in it, but I have a lead foot. My last car was a 400whp subaru so it feels slow, but I love the car all together
Michael Perkins and I even averaged 34mpg while climbing a 3000ft mountain incline. Maybe it's how you handle the throttle control. It is turbo. It will suck fuel in boost. So don't stay in boost. I'm used to that from my wrx. I could get 24mpg in a 400 hp car, so half hp, double fuel mileage. Makes sense to me
ragalyisp I mean, I've driven a turbo or 12 in my career ...
Michael Perkins not insulting your driving. I don't even know you lol. Just saying I have a tendancy to floor it often and get better fuel economy and better 0 to 60 times than stated in the video.
I have watched every single video review of this car, in the trim that offers the gasoline engine option, no one...and I mean no one that has tested this car saw 0-60 time in anything more than 8.0 seconds. This time simply isn't realistic. I don't even like/own GM, but this review has given Car Gurus a black eye.
Agreed his 0-60 was way slower than what pretty much every review I've seen showed. Theyre typically low 8's and I've even heard high 7's. And his MPG numbers were WAY off. Like 10+mpg off from averages of other reviews.
Maybe he got a lemon? I almost feel like to get those kinds of numbers it would've had to be in limp mode.
Cruze is alot like a Honda Civic. Quick. Excellent on gas. Excellent torque. Down side is its front wheel drive. Its terrible in bad weather but its a money saver in hot weather. Great for sunny days and saving money.
I wish this guy did all car guru videos he's a great car reviewer
Sean Renzi Thanks! I agree!
Michael Perkins what do you think about the new Subaru Impreza I'm thinking about buying a impreza
Sean Renzi I'd only do it with the manual. It's a bit underpowered and the CVT, which is perhaps the worst on the market, only makes that worse. Not a big fan of the EyeSight system either, but thankfully it's not necessary. Otherwise, I love it.
i needed him to talk more about NVH and rough-road ride smoothness.
Great test drive review, Michael! The Chevrolet Cruze seems like a decent choice in its class! I have not yet been lucky enough to review one, but I was able to review the new Civic (hatch and sedan) and Elantra (sedan)! This vehicle seems to fall just slightly behind them in many regards.... While, this isn't the worst competitor in its class, it most likely isn't the best!
I feel, as if the overall design (especially on the sedan variant) already needs a rear-end face lift!😞
The hatchback on the other hand, has a very well proportioned body, but looks just a little more on the budget side (on the interior) when compared to the Civic Hatchback I reviewed. 😃
With that all to the side, you did an impeccable job showcasing this cars "ups" and "downs"! Keep up the great work, Car Gurus and Michael! 😉😃👊
-DriveAnBeDriven 🚘
"The Quest To Record The Best!"
I beg to differ in regards to the gas mileage. I have never been under 31mg.
I have a loaded premier with all packages. Negotiated a great price, much lower than 30k. Compact hatchbacks are still a hard sell for US dealers so there's definitely room there. I too am only getting 18-21mpg when all city driving. I achieve the highway rating, but GM totally got the city rating wrong on this car. I live on the flattest land there is. Yes, I am also a somewhat aggressive accelerator, but I'd have to crawl from every stop and coast to every stop for a super long distance to get anywhere near what GM claims for city. I've tried, and still can't do it.That said, gas is cheap and I love my Cruze hatch! I think it's the nicest looking 5-door compact in its class, and that matters to me. It provides a great touring drive with good and smooth acceleration. I have absolutely no issue with the stop/start system. It's as smooth as they come. If you want a sharp looking and practical touring compact, this is what this car does best.
i GET 44 mpg ON THE ROAD. WRONG autostop can be disabled, shift to L. Combined mileage 37
I have the 2018 diesel I have no issues picking up speed. I went 500mi on one tank.
Jeebus! What in the heck did you do get such low numbers? These are way off from what everyone has been getting over a week's testing. Like...WAY off.
TheSirUno The hills around here mean you've gotta floor it to get going half the time. I'm sure that didn't help. And I took it through some mountain twisties to see how much the watt's linkage affected handling - also not great for fuel economy. But I still did a lot of highway cruising too. At any rate - the numbers don't lie. Seems most testers have been falling short of the advertised numbers, though.
TheSirUno the hills in Las Vegas and the constant speeding still gives the car good gas mileage out here my impala(2011) with 3.5 average at 20 in the city, more than Googles EPA estimated of 18 in the city and it’s with speeding a bit, now I only get 19 to 18 when I’m really pushing it against a Camaro
i easily can get 45-48mpg (hwy) in my cruze...my best has been 51mpg. very pleased with my cruze overall with almost a year of owning it. the auto start/stop I find to be just fine, it is very quick and responsive. it is noticeable yes, but it does the job well and doesn't bother me at all. plus i got my cruze for a very good deal for the options/trim level.
Not sure where u got all your numbers from. 22 mpg is way way off, no way that’s true and a 0-60 of 9.6 seconds. Everyone else gets around 8
Hmm, Ive owned my cruze for nearly 2 years now. 75k miles on it now, I see high 20s in heavy city driving and high 30s or low 40s on the hwy. Road trips I get even more Ive gotten a good nearly 300 miles averaging 55mpg+. Not to mention I recent modded and it too, that tune by it self improved everything for response and is much quicker now.
Omg just another one of those Chevy haters that say it’s slow, not smooth, not fun, not quiet. Are you a stop sign because stop. 😂 People that actually own the car really know the feeling of it you probably just don’t like it. I’ve sat in one, and driven one. Both did very well. Comfortable and smooth with a swift quietness. Gas mileage is way better than what you’re saying. Why don’t you show us the actual mpg on the gauge cluster.
Not a Chevy hater at all, just an honest reviewer who wants people to know what they're buying. Gas mileage is what it is, and about what I'd expect from a week of heavy traffic in the Bay and climbing hills. Didn't show the reading on the gauge cluster because by the time we got around to filming that, the mileage was even lower than I reported thanks to idling, stop-and-go and the like while filming.
Michael Perkins did you just rely on the car's computer for your mileage, or did you do the fill up-drive-re fill up and then calculate your mpg? Why I ask is that I own a 2014 Cruze LTZ, and the car's computer will tell me I'm only getting low 20s, maybe 25 mpg at highway speeds. Yet doing my own calculations (fill up/drive/re-fill up) I average 31-32 mpg weekly in my normal driving back and forth to work, heading into small city for groceries/eating out on weekend/movie theater/etc. I generally average 34-35 on a couple hour trip to a large city, drive around said large city, and then drive home. Last year I drove to St. Louis. On the trip there I filled up near home, drove 377 miles, re-filled up near St. Louis and put 8.979 gallons back in on fill-up (to pump handle shut-off, plus squeezing in a bit more). Do the math, that's WAY more than the 25 mpg the trip computer is saying I'm averaging...
ummm... I get more than 40mpg in my 2017 Cruze hatch. Are you Mario Andretti?
I have a Cruze and I average 37 miles to the gallon. I live in the state of Florida and I drive over 80 miles an hour
Armando Gomez As flat as FL is, I don't doubt it.
Mike, I’d be interested if you got a Cruze Diesel and tried it out. I also wonder if you got a dud as a tester, because the numbers are usually not that far off.
Ask and ye shall receive - ua-cam.com/video/sBSYMMtG_8E/v-deo.html
Michael Perkins thanks, I missed that because Diesel wasn’t in the title. Thanks for letting me know!
it shuts off at lights it feels like with mine.
nah, 0 to 60 is 7.7 sec
ultrakool Not by my stopwatch!
where did you test it? driving up market st? lol
As flat a road as I could find. Seriously though, I haven't seen anyone able to replicate 7.7.
My researched 0 to 60 and found 7.7.
Perhaps a misprint? I couldn't get anywhere near 7.7.
The first generation Cruze was not plauged with problems,it was a very good car. To say it's several seconds slower then a civic 0 to 60 is very biased, and untrue.
daryl wizzard Numbers don't lie.
Umm... I don't know what world you're living in, but I've gotten in the high 7 second range for 0-60 in my Cruze
that really is insanely slow. Given the price premium you could get a Focus ST, Elantra Sport, VW GTI, Honda Civic, just to name a few. Given no HID led light options for the headlights at that price seem unexcusible. Fantastic points on your comparison.
Thanks, Blake! Looking back, a few testers were able to do better on the 0-60, but not by much. Still, there seems to be a lot of great competition in this segment.
0-60 is 7.4-7.8 seconds okay....
GTI for 24K ??? 22MPG combined?? I don't know about this review.
I said "entering GTI territory" at the Premier's price of $24,820. GTI MSRP is $25,595, just $800 more. And yeah, with my admittedly heavy foot and Bay-area hills, my several hundred mile average was 22mpg. Shocking, no?
Yeah, I guess, but I got 21MPG in city driving with my 2014 Buick Verano which had a turbo 4 at 250 HP. I'm sure the Cruze is around 400 lbs lighter. I certainly would love to get a GTI with dual clutch auto and Navigation for any place near to 26K. Thanks, I really enjoy your reviews.
Appreciate it! Yeah, turbo 4s are tough - they can vary so much in performance and character.
This guy must work for Honda lol
9mm james Not even close. I'm an independent journalist.
get your shit together diesel is a 1.6 td engine and not a 1.4
elhore01 Isn't that what I said?
Michael Perkins not in the description. no biggie tho 😉
9.6 hmm 🤔 last time I checked, a person did a 0-60 to 7.5 seconds, or 7.7. Lies that those people say
Engine is very sluggish & already blew gasket on it at 18k. Paint chips easily & wheels also. It does not hold value for resale. The 18 model is the same junk but also offer diesel on it..
I own a 2017 Cruze LT and this guy doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. (Money talks, Bull💩 walks right?) You can override the auto stop by putting the shifter down into (L) mode and press the + button until you see the shift number change to 6 on the instrument panel. The transmission will shift regularly.
Although the Cruze may not be fast... it is indeed VERY QUICK. It gets up in no time flat, you just need to know the powerband. So if you don't know this car Mr. "Car Garu," then don't give it any reviews, because you're giving false info.
Whatttt,? The cruze is slow? dont suck they run faster what tha hell do you talk .
Great Review MP. Not sure why GM still has trouble meeting or exceed EPA estimates. This new Cruze supposedly loss significant weight. Oh well.
EPA estimates will always be much higher than real-world numbers, especially with a small turbocharged engine, and I do have an admittedly heavy foot - but I just try and give buyers a more realistic look at what their actual mileage might look like. I don't try to get the best gas mileage, I just drive and use the car like I would if it were my own.