Designed specifically for the European market, the Cruze shows that Chevrolet is determined to become a serious competitor over here. Using a new platform shared with the Vauxhall Astra, the success of this new car is a big deal for the giant carmaker.
It also introduces us to Chevy's new house style, with a horizontally split grille, angular headlights, and a sleek, sporty profile. Inside, there's a double cockpit-style layout, sculpted seats, and switchgear and instruments from Vauxhall's upmarket Insignia saloon, which is part of GM's parts sharing scheme, intended to exploit economies of scale in the production process. Build quality is also impressive, and the soft-touch plastics are unexpectedly good. All of which makes for a very smart, robust product that's a far cry from Chevy's overtly bargain basement efforts of recent years. Space is good in the front and rear cabin, comfortably seating four adults, and the boot offers respectable volume.
Two petrol and two diesel engines are available. The oil-burners are variations on the same 2.0-litre unit, producing 125bhp and 150bhp, with the latter providing reasonable urge and smoothness, hitting 62mph in 8.2sec. The 1.6- and 1.8-litre petrol engines, yielding 112bhp and 140bhp, both need to be kept on the boil to perform, but you couldn't call either a strong performer. All engines emit around 150g/km of CO2, which is below par for this class, but economy of around 40mpg for the petrol versions and 50mpg for the diesels is not too bad.
There's a choice of three trims, although even the basic model gets a good amount of kit. Top-dollar LT specification is available with the two most powerful engines, and includes impressive equipment such as 17-inch alloys, chrome accents, full climate control, photosensitive rear-view mirror, cruise control and an improved sound system.
Not the ideal weapon of choice for a B-road blast, the Cruze lags behind its classmates for outright ability, and readily tends towards understeer and body roll. On the other hand, it excels on long, smooth overland slogs, with a refined ride, well-geared steering and good noise insulation.
Brand snobbery, emissions and a few dynamic shortcomings aside, the Cruze is a pretty comprehensive proposition, even before you consider its price. The fact that it costs significantly less than many rivals just makes it even more impressive.