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By MURRAY
HUBBARD
25 May 2009
Holden
is putting its faith in safety and economy as it seeks to plant a
bigger footprint on the booming Australian small car market
segment. It has launched Cruze to carry the torch in the small car
rush which accounts for 23 cars out of every 100 passenger
vehicles sold in Australia.
At the same time the company admitted under-performer Viva had
reached the end of the road, while small car flag-bearer,
European-built Astra would more than likely fall victim to
currency exchange rates. This will mean Cruze will replace the two
cars and simplify the Holden stable as it faces uncertain times in
the current world financial situation. Cruze is the result of a
global development project costing more than $4 billion.
In meetings with Holden dealers Australia-wide, the latter have
backed the Cruze as the Holden small car of the future.
Cruze, not to be confused with a previous compact Holden SUV of
the same name, offers stability control and six airbags as
standard starting from $20,990. It's a standard package not
available from any of its competitors. But, those competitors are
heavy-hitters: Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, Hyundai i30, Ford Focus,
Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer.
Cruze sedan will arrive in Holden showrooms in mid-June with six
variants including two engines, two transmissions and two
equipment levels, CD and CDX. A hatch variant is likely to follow
early next year.
Currently built in South Korea, Cruze will eventually be
manufactured in Adelaide.
Holden is setting an agenda of safety – it has a five star ANCAP
rating - and economy in a small car that has the comfort and
trappings of a large car.
“This car is a big launch for us, as big as any Commodore launch
in history,” said Alan Batey, Holden's executive director, sales
and marketing.
“This is the car we wanted. It makes a major statement in regard
to safety and economy,” he said. “And the styling fits Holden
as a brand.”
Although it could never be mistaken for a Holden Commodore, Cruze
bears some resemblance to its bigger sibling. Even the car's road
stance is wide like Commodore and the shape not dissimilar.
Holden is seeking to simplify not only its model line-up, but also
the variants within models. The Cruze now sits above light-car
Barina and below medium size Epica and in effect replaces Viva and
Astra in the small car segment. It is powered by two familiar
engines, Holden’s 1.8-litre, four-cylinder Ecotec petrol engine
and the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged common rail diesel,
also found in Epica and Captiva.
Buyers have a choice of either engine mated to a five-speed manual
transmission or a six-speed auto, with Active Select changing.
Holden claim the CD manual uses as little as 5.7 litres per 100
kilometres for the diesel and 7.0 L/100 km for the petrol in
manual variants.
For a small car, the Cruze is big in size. It is 4579 mm long with
a 2685 mm wheelbase and offers excellent leg and shoulder room for
rear seat passengers. The rear seats have a 60/40 split and give
access to the boot, with the seats folding to almost flat. The
boot offers 400 litres of storage space, although the boot hinges
intrude into the cargo area.
GM Holden chairman and managing director, Mark Reuss said Cruze
was a “world-class small car, delivering performance, safety and
value for money. There are no excuses needed for this car,” he
said.
Cruze CD comes with a host of standard inclusions including
Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Traction Control, Brake
Assist, six airbags, collapsible pedals, auto headlamps,
six-speaker audio system with MP3 compatible in-dash CD and radio.
The steering wheel has audio and cruise controls, there's a trip
computer and power windows, front and rear.
CDX gains 17-inch alloy wheels (CD has steel wheels), front fog
lamps, leather steering wheel, leather appointed seats and heated
front seats, rear parking sensors, body colored door handles and
chrome inserts and interior sports accents.
The petrol engine puts out 104 kW of power and 176 Nm of torque
with 90 per cent of the torque available between 2200 rpm to 6200
rpm. The 2.0-litre common rail diesel produces 110 kW of power and
a substantial 320 Nm of torque of which 90 per cent is on tap
between 1750 rpm and 3500 rpm.
We were able to drive four variants of the Cruze, the CD petrol
auto, CDX petrol manual, CD diesel auto and CD diesel manual. NVH
levels are low and comfort levels high. The car has excellent
all-round vision and the steering wheel has reach and height
adjustment. It's a good driving position, no matter the driver's
height or build.
We really liked the car's fit and finish, inside and out. In fact
we preferred the CD variant's cloth trim over the leather in the
CDX.
The petrol and diesel auto variants were responsive, but the
petrol seemed at times to hunt between the gears as it sought to
deliver the goods. The diesel simply answered every questioned
asked of it.
The manual variants were different. The diesel is beautifully
matched to the five-speed transmission and supplies plenty of
grunt, but can be a little noisy, unless you are accustomed to
diesel. At the same time the petrol/manual variant seemed to pale
in comparison to the diesel.
We did not get the opportunity to test handling to any great
degree, but for this car in this market we could detect no
shortcomings. There is no CDX diesel variant, but Holden say if
there's demand for it, they will include it in the range.
The complete Holden Cruze range, with prices (excluding on-road
costs) is:
CD 1.8-litre petrol: $20,990 (manual), $22,990 (automatic)
Cruze CDX 1.8-litre petrol: $23,990 (manual), $25,990 (automatic)
Cruze CD 2.0-litre diesel: $23,990 (manual), $25,990 (automatic)
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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