Auto Review For reason of price

For reason of price

• Published: 24/01/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: Life

As with Thai tradition, the petrol version of the Cruze is the main seller with the 1.8 making up some 70% of total sales, according to Chevrolet. That is also due to the fact that the 1.8 is priced lower in the 875,000-998,000 baht range than the 2.0 diesel, which costs 1.165 million baht.

You already might be asking why the 1.8 has comparatively higher prices than rivals like the Honda Civic, Mitsubishi Lancer and Toyota Corolla? That's because the Cruze has more features.
In LTZ form, as tested here, the 1.8 has outstanding features like four airbags. In fact, the equipment level is equivalent to the 2.0 diesel, as driven in the main story on the left of this page.
There are also lesser variants in LT and LS forms, but that will ultimately depend on what buyers need because it's tit for tat when it comes to price and specification balance.
If you ask whether it's worth saving 167,000 baht for the 1.8 petrol over the 2.0 diesel in LTZ spec, the answer is most likely no. It's not for the fact that the 2.0 has better fuel consumption than the 1.8 (see graph), but it has got superior drivability thanks to the turbo.
Performance in the 1.8 is very much like before, that is, flawed on the move. The Ecotec (Opel's speak for petrol efficiency) unit lacks low-rev flexibility and needs to be pushed to high revs when you want to extract a higher level of grunt.Auto Review , auto shipping reviews

The 1.8-litre petrol engine lacks flexibility.

If you compare this motor with that of the Civic or Corolla, the Cruze is behind, especially against the Toyota, which has recently been updated with an efficient engine and CVT transmission.
And even though the Cruze's 1.8 is smooth and refined when not pushed, it has a resonating sound near the redline that's nearly as awful to hear as in Proton's Campro engine.
But what seems to be better in the 1.8 than in the 2.0 diesel is the chassis balance in which the former has a plusher ride. And if you move down the Cruze's range, the LS and LT have smaller 16-inch wheels shod with thicker 60 aspect ratio tyres.
In the end, however, the Cruze is at its best in diesel form. The only reason why you would really be craving the 1.8 would naturally be due to the availability of the LT and LS, which are priced at 936,000 and 875,000 baht, respectively.
But if those substantial savings are important to you, then there's also good reason to recheck the status of its competition.Auto Review , auto shipping reviews

The 1.8-litre petrol engine lacks flexibility. LTZ trim is lavish on specs—and price.

Ride is noticeably plusher than in diesel Cruze.

 

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