2017 Cruze hachback

I understand that some around here hold the current (outgoing) Chevy Cruze in low regard. Honestly, they've been one of the few good normal GM cars, with pretty good mileage (I've seen 42mpg on quite a few) and pretty solid reliability. The Cruze got a ground-up redesign for 2016 (the '14s and '15s were just the old body style with a different front treatment) and it was just announced that for 2017 we will receive the 5-door hatchback.

Looks pretty snazzy honestly. Might be an interesting option. And it still has the 1.4T plus the hatch automatically gets IRS no matter the trim level. Hopefully they will offer it with the 2.0L diesel

EDIT: Ah, E36 M3, just realized I misspelled the thread title. Ugh, that'll haunt me forever.

hatchback

Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: *hatchback*

Yeah, I know. Ughhh. I usually am very particular about spelling. Completely missed that one

Just picking on ya

I really liked the old cruze. I really wanted to mimic the BTCC cars with one. But when we were shopping the wife looked the Elantra much better. It was her car so my fantasies had little say.

I read "hachback" in German. Sounds awful.

The car, however, looks ausgezeichnet.

an internally combustible engine motivated Bolt

Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: Just picking on ya I really liked the old cruze. I really wanted to mimic the BTCC cars with one. But when we were shopping the wife looked the Elantra much better. It was her car so my fantasies had little say.

It'd be cool if GM would use the new hatchback for the BTCC but I doubt they would.

Honestly, the new GM design language is pretty good. The '16 Malibus look gorgeous, way better than the awkward '14-'15s. I'm curious how those move with the new 1.5L Turbo powerplant.

looks pretty good to me. Kind of has some cues from both the Mazda 3 and the Focus, and I like both of them.

Looks like an elantra 5 door. I dont hate it. Too bad chevy cruze.

mndsm wrote: Looks like an elantra 5 door. I dont hate it. Too bad chevy cruze.

Yeah, definitely some Hyundai cues in the surfacing, but it doesn't come off looking like a melting buck-toothed catfish like all new Hyundais do, so I declare it a win on GM's part.

I honestly don't get the Cruze hate. Is it the most luxuriously appointed or inspiring-to-drive car out there? No. But it is good, cheap, fuel-efficient transportation with solid reliability (water pumps and negative battery cables are the only major malfunctions I see and we got Cruzes coming in with 100+K miles now)

They need to take that body and but the Volt driveline under it

And sell it at Cruze $$$$$

Praying for the diesel - pretty good setup actually! The Olds Verano version they made for 2 years with the 300hp turbo 2.0 was surprising rowdy.

That's a nice Forte5 there. Didn't realize they offered that color.

Can we have the team that tweaked the Cobalt SS turbo sedan into one of the greatest sleepers of it's era get set loose on this thing and give us a legit SS model? Something to make the Focus ST/GTI/etc. take notice?

84FSP wrote: Praying for the diesel - pretty good setup actually! The Olds Verano version they made for 2 years with the 300hp turbo 2.0 was surprising rowdy.

Yeah, the diesel Cruzes are pretty zippy cars to drive. And shockingly reliable.

As a '14 6speed 1.4t owner, I am conflicted. Hatch is a plus. New design language is a plus (really don't like the '15 refresh). IRS is a plus. But, unless they are willing to sacrifice economy for additional power by unclamping the tune a little, it's going to underwhelm on an epic scale thanks to the additional weight a 5 door brings to the table.

Mine isn't slow, and it's been terrific both in the city and across the country...very comfy, decent economy with my heavy foot, and handles incredibly well (better than I would expect a beam axled econobox to). But, at nearly the same point in the dyno curve that things start getting interesting, the ecu cuts timing and fuel with a heavy hand, and it runs out of breath like a smoker on a treadmill. Intake manifold design is another big torque killer as well.

The upside is there are several tuning shops doing good work improving the 1.4t, even without changing the stock equipment...if the mill truly stays the same into '17, interesting things could come out of this.

Also, interested to see if it's at all possible to swap IRS bits over to sedans...

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

Yeah, I did get thinking that without more power (Well, its rated at 153hp, so it's a whole 5hp extra) this could be the Pokey Little Puppy. But it sounds like it's basically the same 1.4t, so improvement is there. Of course, the diesel would fix the issue too.

I do hope that color is offered. It's sharp

84FSP wrote: Praying for the diesel - pretty good setup actually! The Olds Verano version they made for 2 years with the 300hp turbo 2.0 was surprising rowdy.

I believe you mean Buick Verano. And the 2.0L Turbo made 250hp in those, they were a real ripper. Not sure if you can get that combo anymore though. Same architecture as a Cruze, so that engine should fit. It also made 260hp in the Malibu Turbo and 276hp in the Regal GS (a car that sadly deserved more attention)

NickD wrote: 276hp in the Regal GS (a car that sadly deserved more attention)

Indeed! Sad to see the manual option go away for '16. There are still unclaimed '15s out there...still trying to convince SWMBO they we NEEEEED to put one in the space the Cruze currently occupies in our garage. She does not share my opinion. I really have been a big fan of the GS since it was launched. Lots of car there, in a spousaly friendly trim.

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

Buick and turbos just seem to go together so well. Even the Regal Turbos, with the slushbox, are pretty peppy cars. Drove one the other day and accidentally spun the tires pretty hard. It's a pity we never got the GS in the rumored AWD, that would have been really interesting.

NickD wrote: In reply to 4cylndrfury: It's a pity we never got the GS in the rumored AWD, that would have been really interesting.

They DID build this.

Here's one.

They said originally that we'd get the Opel Insignia OPC, which has a twin turbo V6 and AWD. We only got the 2.0T with AWD, and you have to get an automatic. I've heard bad things about the manual GS's, though.

GS AWD is automatic only. Just finished a search for used AWDs. Out to 500 miles yea but nothing in a 100 mile radius . For a car that's the #1 trade-in (people must hate it they presume) I can't find one local. Or maybe they're just counting FWDs.

fasted58 wrote: GS AWD is automatic only. Just finished a search for used AWDs. Out to 500 miles yea but nothing in a 100 mile radius . For a car that's the #1 trade-in (people must hate it they presume) I can't find one local. Or maybe they're just counting FWDs.

I considered the GS for a little while, but the Caddy ATS seems to be a much better car for nearly the same money. And you can get one with a stick and RWD if you want.

NickD wrote: I honestly don't get the Cruze hate

I've driven the Cruze many times as a rental. Had one once for about 3 weeks straight and put a ton of miles on it, so got very familiar with it. I think hate is a strong word. For whatever reason, the sum of the parts just didn't blend well for me. It was a fine highway cruiser, I wasn't expecting it to be fast or sporty. But I just didn't like the "feel" of the car. I actually really liked the feel of the Sonic and some other recent GM offerings I've driven, so I was kind of surprised by how meh I felt the Cruze was.

I do like this new hatch quite a bit, at least from the looks. Definitely a lot of Kia look in the rear end, but that's not a bad thing.