Review: Chevrolet Cruze 2013 (Facelift)

Chevrolet India have launched a facelift of their premium sedan the Chevrolet Cruze with a price tag of 13.75-16.15 lakhs (ex-showroom delhi). This is the second facelift that Chevrolet has offered on the current generation vehicle. The previous version got a mildly tuned 2.0L diesel motor and all-black interiors. The Cruze has been getting in decent numbers for Chevrolet each month but it is literally annihilated by it's competitors like the Volkswagen Jetta and the newly launched Skoda Octavia. So in desperate attempts to gain back some market share Chevrolet have launched this facelift, but does it really click? Well we should get to know soon.

The Chevrolet Cruze if offered with only one engine option, a 1998cc VCDi four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing 166Ps of power at 3800rpm and 380Nm of torque at 2000rpm. It is available in two transmission options, a 6-speed manual transmission for purists and also a 6-speed automatic transmission for the people who want convenient and easy to drive vehicle. It is good to see that Chevrolet have never launched a petrol version as there is hardly any scope and demand for a petrol luxury sedan. This way they can concentrate on developing the diesel mill.

The motor has a lot of power and torque on tap which make it extremely fun to drive. The Cruze has a sophisticated suspension setup with gas-charged McPherson struts upfront suspension and U-shaped rear suspension with torsion beams and gas charged shock absorbers. This setup gives the Cruze a pliant and comfortable ride. The Cruze comes equipped with a four-wheel disc brake set-up which provides excellent stopping power.

Updates:
The updates on the Cruze facelift are purely cosmetic in nature. The facelift now gets a redesigned grille, which is marketed as a “dual port grille”. This is based on Chevrolet's all-new family look which it shares with the Beat and Spark facelift. The bumper has also been modified mainly around the fog lamp region which now gets a totally new housing and chrome inserts. Other than that there is a new alloy wheel design which has an uncanny resemblance to the ones seen on the Sail U-VA. The Cruze facelift is available in 3 variants:

• Cruze LT
• Cruze LTZ (manual transmission)
• Cruze LTZ (automatic transmission)

The Chevrolet Cruze interior has been carried on from the previous generation,no changes have been made. That said, this cockpit design inspired by the is quite futuristic and funky. Everything right from the dials to the console to the choice of materials is funky and eye-catching. The Chevrolet Cruze is generously equipped with features such as 16'' alloy wheels, 4-wheel disk brakes, ABS, EBD, four airbags(on LTZ) or two airbags(on LT), Power steering and windows, trip computer, integrated music player(supporting CD, radio, USB, Aux-in), steering mounted audio controls, follow me-home lights, push button start and cruze control.

So to conclude, Chevrolet have not done much work on this facelift. To sum it up,only a few changes to the front end and the addition of side airbags are the additional features over the previous version. In my opinion, these minor changes are not going to help Chevrolet in terms of volume at all. Hopefully the next-generation Chevrolet Cruze which is already under development and is set to launch in 2015 will be able to compete with strong competition!

Link to official site: http://www.chevrolet.co.in/cruze-sedan-luxury-car.html

Hope you liked the review and look forward to your comments.

Keep revving!
Speed pujari