DIGITAL EDITOR ANDREW STOY:
The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco has a lot riding on it, which makes the car that much more frustrating to me. It's good--surprisingly good, since I was not expecting to like the Chevy Cruze as much as the sportier (looking, anyway) Ford Focus. And this was a Cruze Eco which brought back memories of the Chevette Scooter and the Geo Metro XFi.
In short, the 1.4-liter turbocharged engine is a gem, and the six-speed manual to which it's mated is geared to take full advantage of what output is available. The only time I felt myself wanting more was when lugging it in second gear. Otherwise, I found this engine much better suited to the car than the Focus was to its normally aspirated, direct-injection 2.0-liter.
It wasn't too hard to get the economy-minded tires to howl in hard cornering, but on the highway they were smooth and quiet. The brakes were another story: While they worked well once activated, there was a full two inches of pedal travel before I got any response from the binders. I got used to it, but I never liked it, nor did it inspire confidence.
The biggest flaws were ergonomic: The armrest has almost no padding, making it an incredibly uncomfortable place to rest one's arm, and, while it slides fore and aft, it has no detents, meaning minor pressure causes the armrest to slowly slide back to its full aft position.
Also, the OBD II diagnostic port is located directly above the area between the dead pedal and the clutch pedal, forcing at least this driver's foot to brush it nearly every time I shifted gears. It's annoying in the least, and an electrical nightmare six months or a year down the road when I finally knock the thing off.
Nitpicking? Perhaps, but this is the easy stuff to get right so it's all that much more irritating when it isn't, particularly when the car around which it's centered is a good compact sedan.
EDITOR WES RAYNAL:
I opted out of an Alpina B7 last night so I could drive this instead. Why? Because as gasoline prices climb, I find this car more interesting. I wanted to see whether five-buck-a-gallon gasoline will bring driving heartache. Am I an idiot? (Don't answer.) Though I knew this would be a huge improvement over the Cobalt it replaces, I still thought swapping the keys a worthy experiment: Is it at all possible to sip fuel and have a little fun?
Indeed it is. Like Stoy, I mostly liked the car. It takes some getting used to the high gearing, but once that's figured out and the revs are kept where they'll do the most good, it scoots along well enough. I did find myself downshifting a lot.
I was fairly impressed with the chassis and the suspension, which soaked up Detroit's legendary not-yet-repaired potholes. Out on the freeway it cruises along nicely--actually like a bigger, more expensive car, quiet and tight.
I liked the interior. I found the design interesting and the materials decent and the seats comfortable. On the other hand, a passenger jumped in last night and said, "This interior is awful! What is with the carpeting on the dash and door panels?" So different strokes, I guess. For the money, I thought it was fine.
NEWS EDITOR GREG MIGLIORE:
The smooth-shifting six-speed manual is perhaps the single most fun element of this 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco for enthusiasts. It's fun to whip through the gears, and it thoroughly wrings the most power and interaction out of this small-displacement four-cylinder. Clutch takeup is buttery easy, and the throws are satisfying to the driver.
I like the looks of the sheetmetal, though it's a rather conventional sedan--nothing really flashy. I think I like the Focus looks slightly better, especially the hatch. The chassis is well done and the steering is light yet offers some feedback to the user. I like the road view, and it was easy to secure a comfortable seating position.
The one disappointment was the interior materials, which I thought looked artificially inexpensive with that rug on the dash. Otherwise, this is a sharp, fun-to-drive car that's nicely loaded for the price. It's the economical Chevy we've been waiting for years to arrive.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR--AUTOWEEK.COM BOB GRITZINGER:
Between this and the Hyundai Elantra, the small-sedan class has two new leaders in my estimation. I recently complained about the newest Honda Civic's lack of nimble, small-car feel and attention to detail, and now I know where it went: to the Cruze. In this setup with the six-speed stick and the turbo four, this car feels light on its feet and responsive while still being reasonably quiet and solid. With the stick, you can get the most out of the high-revving turbo engine when you need or want some responsiveness, but you also get highway fuel-economy gearing at the other end. The shifter is precise and clean, and the clutch takeup is light and smooth. No wonder this was the car of choice in the past two weeks for some of our staffers working on their clutch-driving skills.
Potential buyers need to know that even though this is called the Eco model, that's strictly about fuel economy--it's not a stripper, value-priced, low-contented car. It's still a well-trimmed car, with the little niceties like rubberized flooring in the cubbies to prevent items from sliding around or rattling, and softly upholstered door armrests.
As to fuel economy, I suspect our enthusiastic driving along with the aforementioned clutch-training work likely hurt the Cruze's mpg numbers.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco
Base Price: $18,895
As-Tested Price: $19,745
Drivetrain: 1.4-liter turbocharged I4; FWD, six-speed manual
Output: 138 hp @ 4,900 rpm, 148 lb-ft @ 2,500 rpm
Curb Weight: 3,155 lb
Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 33/26.4 mpg
Options: Connectivity plus cruise package including cruise control, USB audio interface, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift lever, Bluetooth, steering-wheel controls ($525); crystal red metallic tintcoat paint ($325)
