Trendy Chevy cruises in

Jun 22 2009 John Connor

Trendy Chevy cruises in

Sometimes good looks really are only skin deep.

The new Chevrolet Cruze, for example, is definitely trendy and boasts a comfortable interior but the automatic gearbox fitted to the 1.8 petrol model is disappointingly sluggish.

Hesitant in kick down, it made overtaking a complicated manoeuvre, and while its a smooth operator when cruising, the overall effect had me marking down this new model from the outset.

All that changed however with the five speed manual diesel. It is a superb motorway car.

It holds the road well and overtaking is easy, as the finely tuned gears allied to precise power steering and powerful brakes, responded instantly to driving instructions.

The two cars were as different as chalk and cheese, and the diesel deserves to become the best seller in a line-up of value for money models.

Chevrolet is an established name across the globe and the foray into the UK with this Korean built saloon priced from £11,995 to £15,195, should give it some edge in the selling stakes.

Based on the same platform as the new Vauxhall Astra the line-up will include a 1.6 and 1.8 petrol and two diesels the 125PS and the 150PS turbo.

Strangely enough I got the same fuel return of around 36mpg, out of the auto petrol and diesel. The official figures say that the 118-mph 1.8 petrol version returns 48.7mpg on the extra urban cycle, whilst the 130-mph diesel is far better with a fuel return in the region of 58.9mpg.

Incidentally, the best diesel figures reach are shown by the 125ps 122mph version which reach 61.4mpg. The highest petrol fuel returns, are those of the 1.6 models which come out at 51.4mpg.

Built to suit European tastes the new model is extra special when it comes to its on-board kit. Air conditioning is standard across the range.

Amongst the specification are curtain airbags, seat airbags, climate control, auto lighting and wipers.

The trendy cabin can seat four adults in comfort while the boot will swallow between 450 and 649 litres of luggage. The use of soft touch material through the cabin adds the the overall ambience of executive style motoring.

The Cruze range should attract buyers on price, interior comfort and good looks with diesels appealing more to both private and fleet buyers thanks to their responsive performance and miserly fuel figures.