2012 Chevrolet Cruze Eco

[Dozernut]

The wife needed a new car as her old Mitsubishi bit the dust at 200,000 miles. We were looking at several different brands when we found a new 2012 Chevy Cruse Eco, locally.
The little econo box is a Cobalt blue sedan with a 1.4T engine (four cylinder with a turbo) and a six speed automatic transmission. The little Cruze has OnStar, GPS, a nice internet radio, cd and Blue Tooth with terrific sound. The wife loves this little car.

There is a discussion going on about the hybrids and how good/bad they are and the fuel economy. The Cruze is consistently getting 39-40 mpg mixed driving and I suspect that straight highway usage with the cruise control set at the speed limit it would pull in the 50's. There have been reports of mileage in the 60 mpg range. Not too shabby for a gas powered engine in a Chevy. The Cruze is supposedly the best small car for mpg at this time.

Not claiming this is the best car around or better than the Ford/ Toyota/ Honda or what ever. I think that it is interesting that a little four cylinder turbo is pulling in mpg's that are as good or better than a hybrid that cost twice as much.

 

[two_bit_score]

For the money it's supposed to be pretty good. The ones I've seen look well made.



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[tcartwri]

There are mid sized turbo diesel sedans running around Europe that have been eclipsing 60mpg for a while now. And they're not 100hp slugs either.

 

[Dmace]

They're nice cars, we test drove a few while shopping for a new fuel efficient vehicle. It was comfortable and rode pretty nice. What pushed us away was the cheap feeling of so much plastic inside, corner cutting like the manual mirror adjustments (one which broke while I was adjusting it) and it felt underpowered. I will say I love the looks and seats, I was ready to take it home and forget the little annoyances for good mpgs.

We had the papers ready but decided to look at the Mazda3 first. It has a brand new direct injected 155hp 4cyl 2.0l and all new 6 speed auto rated at 28 cty/40 hwy. We both loved it! Driving was much sportier and it felt like a little sports car, not an economy car. More standard options and soft touch interior like a leather wrapped steering wheel. With 4k miles on the clock, we have an overall average of 38mpg with an average speed of just 36 mph so very little highway miles. $20k out the door.

 

[Deere40Fan]

I thought the Cruze Eco only came with the manual transmission? I have looked at them at the dealer while I was getting my truck serviced. It is on mine and my wifes short list of vehicles when we will look at something for her...

 

[camer]

My sister in law bought a new cruze. Had it about 6 months and gets great gas mileage because it in the shop more then on the road. She said its the worst car she ever had. Didnt have it a month and they had to pull the engine apart for something.

 

[dgl24087]

I thought the Cruze Eco only came with the manual transmission? I have looked at them at the dealer while I was getting my truck serviced. It is on mine and my wifes short list of vehicles when we will look at something for her...

Cruze Eco has AT available. A local dealer has one as well as a manual.

 

[Dozernut]

The wife's Cruze is pretty much tricked out. It has power mirrors, door locks, windows, drivers seat, tire pressure monitors, turn by turn GPS, spare tire and some others I don't remember at this time. The only things it doesn't have are leather heated seats and fog lamps. The car has a good safety rating and has eight (8) air bags for collision protection.

I received a private message stating that they assumed it was found on a used car lot. It is a brand new car with no previous owner. They also said the gearing was poor and over all quality was poor. The car has a lot of torque and very good acceleration and I see no problem with the gearing. We looked at other brands and the quality was no better or worse than the Cruze, in the price range we were looking at.

We needed a car and found this one locally. We did not have to travel 50+ miles as there are no Honda, Toyota or other prominent small car dealerships in this neck of the woods. The car is fun to drive but the bad thing is she won't let me drive it.

 

[bryte]

The wife's Cruze is pretty much tricked out. It has power mirrors, door locks, windows, drivers seat, tire pressure monitors, turn by turn GPS, spare tire and some others I don't remember at this time. The only things it doesn't have are leather heated seats and fog lamps. The car has a good safety rating and has eight (8) air bags for collision protection.

I received a private message stating that they assumed it was found on a used car lot. It is a brand new car with no previous owner. They also said the gearing was poor and over all quality was poor. The car has a lot of torque and very good acceleration and I see no problem with the gearing. We looked at other brands and the quality was no better or worse than the Cruze, in the price range we were looking at.

We needed a car and found this one locally. We did not have to travel 50+ miles as there are no Honda, Toyota or other prominent small car dealerships in this neck of the woods. The car is fun to drive but the bad thing is she won't let me drive it.

She will let you drive it one day soon!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[bp fick]

We have a friend who travels in his job and he also has the Cruise ECO. Loves it and gets 40+ mpg. We looked at the Cruise, the Sonic, the Fiesta, the Focus, Mazda 3, Toyota Yaris, Nissan, well, you get the idea.

Point being that there are quite a few genuine 40 mpg gassers out there to choose from. Finding one with a bit of "utility" is somewhat harder, as the boxier style, which provides the utility, also cuts the mileage a bit.