I am an avid reader of reviews on this site and felt the cruze deserves much better than what I have read, so far. Would like to share my experience at the dealer as well as the test drive on the CRUZE LTZ. The dealer was Pashankar Auto Wheels, Pune, very courteous, patiently explained all the aspects. Though I had already done quite a bit of reading about this car and went to have an actual look and feel.
Looks: A real beauty on the exterior (atleast the front and side views) as well as the interior, though the car does not look as "big" as the measured dimensions show. Probably the height to length proportions and the sloping rear end reduce that BIG feel. Very proportionate tyres and beautiful lines.
Features: Buttons all over the console, neatly arranged and organised, in terms of function grouping. The sunroof overhead was really cool. Though I suspect it would increase air drag if opened during a drive. Good sounding player, decent bass balance. Plus a lot of car info on display (observed during the drive). Massive boot with a very well thought "escape" feature in case all the doors jam.
Seating space and comfort : Driver space did seem a bit too much around the driver, with the wrap around console feel a little too close to the knees, but not obtrusive and conveniently within reach. Something one gets used to while driving the car. Rear seating space - I feel an Optra offers more space in the rear. But when seated with my family at the back, we didn’t feel cramped, it was comfortable though my head and shoulders felt slightly constrained for space due to the sloping rear.
Test Drive: The test car arrived, as promised after calling and confirming my availability. This was the first time I saw the car outside the showroom and it’s a real beauty. I first asked the dealers driver to drive while I sat at the back with my family.The ride on bad roads was also smooth and comfortable with the AC really maintaining a comfortable temperature in the cab on a hot summer afternoon. We did’nt feel the 120 kmph and noticed it first on the speedo dial. The ground clearance was an issue though and the exhaust( I was told by the dealers representative) lightly escaped one of the steeper bumps on the way out of my residential society. (On the return this did not happen).
Next I drove the car around the narrow path around my building and what surprised me was the powerful braking and brake pedal sensitivity. Once we maneuvered out onto the road , I drove at low rpms to feel the turbo lag. I must admit it was a minor disappointment, but once the 1500 rpm point is crossed in 3rd gear , things quickly change and the surge rapidly increases. The rate of surge rapidly increases by 1700 rpm and then it really moves. At 120 kmph I slammed the brakes and the car stopped smoothly in a straight line, terrific. Very silent interiors considering such a big diesel is churning all the torque in front. The steering was chunky but felt a pleasure to handle. the buttons were placed very accurately and the side indicator audio warning has a nice sound.
I tried reversing it on a narrow road and found no difficulty with maneuvering a 90 degree trun into this road in reverse.The AC was really doing it’s job and the FM was clear and tonally balanced. Though on second thoughts the bass and treble should have been higher. I didn’t check the players settings. The last thing I asked the dealer’d rep to do was park the car in my narrow garage. It was achieved after about 5 minutes of forward and backward and the rear proximity sensors I realized were pretty sensitive even when there was still a 1.5 foot gap from the pots behind it.
Overall, the experience was great, awaiting the cost of spares.