Chevrolet Cruze Launched at Rs. 13.85 Lakhs

It seems as if the companies in the Indian auto industry are setting a new trend of launching vehicles quietly and one after the other. After the soft launch of Chevrolet Captiva on 26th June, GM introduced the much awaited facelift of the best in class sedan, Chevrolet Cruze, just a few hours later i.e in the morning of 27th June. The new 2012 Chevrolet Cruze is sturdier, smoother, more comfortable and more powerful than its previous version, in fact when the market was expecting a facelift, GM India surprised the industry by bringing in an almost new Chevrolet Cruze instead. The new Cruze is priced at base price of Rs 13.85 lakh. The LTZ models are priced at Rs. 14.77 Lakhs for manual and Rs. 15.67 Lakhs for automatic.

Similar to the old Cruze, the new model has a 2.0 litre VCDi engine but with an enhanced displacement of 1998cc as compared to the previous 1991cc. As some reviews had already stated, the mill of the 2012 Cruze would now have a twin camshaft setup instead of a single one which result in a higher efficiency in terms of fuel and improved performance as well. The other problem that the previous version faced was that the turbocharger was located towards the cabin which resulted into hot air being taken in and the temperature had to be then brought down before it was allowed to enter the engine. This has been solved by moving the VGT towards the front with this the Cruze would be more powerful than before even if the difference in the displacement is just 7cc. The new and improved engine would also have very low NVH as well. For a layman all this sums up to the fact that this new sedan car would has a peak power of 163.73bhp at 3800rpm and a torque of 380Nmat 2,000rp. In comparison, the previous version delivered a power of 147.95bhp at 4000rpm and a torque of 327Nm at 2,600rpm, making the new version more powerful than the older one. Another major difference is that the old Cruze came mated with 5 speed manual transmission and 6 speed automatic transmission whereas the newer version has 6 speed transmission in both manual and automatic options. Due to the superb engine that it has, the 2012 Cruze would be able to accelerate from 0-100km in about 10.7seconds. The claimed mileage of the sedan is approximately 17.3kmpl. The suspension has been stiffened to cope with the heavier engine and kerb weight. In the front, the sedan uses McPherson Strut with Linear Cylindrical Coil Spring and Tubular Stabilizer Bar System and the rear suspension system includes the Compound Crank Type with Non-Linear, Mini-Block Coil Spring which reiterates the fact that the ride would be as comfortable as ever.

From the looks of it, nothing much has changed for this luxurious sedan. The dimensions of the car are still the same with an overall height of 1788mm, length of 4567mm and a width of 1477mm. The ground clearance also stays the same at 165mm. The wheelbase of the car is 2685mmand it has a minimum turning radius of 5.45 metres, which might make it a little difficult to take a u-turn in case of a crowded city road. The front grille is divided into two and has the signature bowtie embedded in the middle. Body colored bumpers, a classy body style, 16” alloy wheels, stylish combination lamps add to the masculinity of the car. There have been no changes made to the looks, which is probably adds to the appeal because in terms of style and design, Cruze stands next to none. Even though the facelift has been done after 3 years of its launch, the car looks as fresh in terms of designing.

Chevrolet Cruze has been one of the best sellers for GM India since its launch in 2009. GM has paid attention to the needs and requirements of the consumers and redesigned the Cruze accordingly. The end result proves that the 3 years long wait for a facelift has surely been worth it.From what we hear and have seen, Cruze has been taken a notch higher but whether or not would it be able to stand the Indian ruckus, time is going to be the best judge… let’s wait and watch. I shared that 2012 Chevrolet Captiva Launched at Rs. 18.74 Lakhs in the SUV Market of India.