regfootball

True but the current 2.0 is rated as high as 295 lb ft in some applications. The new mill doesn't crank that amount out either. No I think this engine is new.

It's encouraging that GM has developed a new motor here but the power specs are not as encouraging. If the torque band is lower and more punchy then I hope that bears it out. They could be releasing the all new engine in lower tune to make sure it doesn't self destruct, or it's the guinea pig for real world durability testing before it gets rolled out to other models within GM. The mpg doesn't look like it benefits from the detuning so we will just have to see what the deal is when the vehicle actually hits the street. Usually new motors match their old specs and even can improve on mpg and reliability without any detuning.

I won't write this as long as my other reviews. At the auto show a few weeks ago, they had a way for people to test drive (a few city blocks) some of the new vehicles. I managed a little time in a new Chevrolet Bolt EV!! I had been wanting to try out the new Bolt. I'm a fan of the Volt, but could leaving out the gas engine in fact be the way to go? The Volt is small outside, but it's skateboard platform allows for tremendous packaging efficiency. It doesn't seem at first to be much more than something the size of a Sonic or Encore, but it manages to be big enough inside to feel generally spacious. The unique dash and console design returns much space to the user, too. The seating position is straight up chairlike, and the shifter takes little room. The view outside this bubble car is vast. A tremendous evolution of interior design is the use of the large touchscreen in more of a laydown position. It's easily within reach and readable, but not up high on the dash. All of the displays are done nicely, as the digital and screen displays have now come to more desirable than old school gauges, finally (imagine if the mid eighties Buicks with the 'touch screens' and digital displays had been this good). And, even the often maligned GM joystick shifter works well here and falls to hand nicely. There's a lot of interesting new surface textures and materials inside the Bolt you don't see in other GM rides, and they are all interesting to me. As a commuter device, this car would rock. I really enjoyed driving it thinking of it as a get around town car. Due to the electric propulsion, it has sweet torque now! Few cars this small have the grunt and burst this thing has. It's fun! And the quiet of the electric powertrain is something one will get used to very quickly...such as to leave you wondering, "how did i ever put up listening to that loud gas thing for so many DECADES"? It really is new experience. You can call it a go kart if you like, and yes it is that. But it is a very nice go kart. Refined, pleasant, useful. This where GM excels and Tesla may not. This is a polished offering. Switches and controls feel good. Seats and comfort are there. The electric grunt when you use it, And the simplicity to drive...... you can even set it to not have to use the brake almost at all. It's very appealing in a different way than we all are yet used to. This doesn't put out to pasture our love for what cars are now, or have been in our past. But i can guarantee you, if hundreds of thousands of these were available on the market today, at super affordable prices, the revolution would be under way. (Assuming we would have convenient charging methods all figured out). This car is a snapshot in time of what many typical commuters would like to use every day as a device. It's a real car, I'd encourage GM to get to work and make a full lineup of cars like this. Bigger, sedans, several different styles, sizes, etc. And help figure out the charging networks, including at homes. GM still has the best chance to lead in EV's offered going into the future and they are teetering on the edge of not being able to take advantage of their past history and expertise once other companies get their money in there.

I won't write this as long as my other reviews. At the auto show a few weeks ago, they had a way for people to test drive (a few city blocks) some of the new vehicles. I managed a little time in a new leather optioned Equinox diesel. I had been wanting to try out the new GM diesel. I'm not a huge fan of the new Equinox, but could the diesel engine in fact be the way to go? It helped that this Equinox was trimmed out nicely. Even had the BAMR (big ass moon roof). As a contrast to my quite loathed test drive of a 1.5 LS equinox not too long ago, the impression of the vehicle was very different. What had felt cheap and shitty in many ways with the anemic 1.5 and terrible interior, left me far more favorable impressions. The interior was a better place to be (while still feeling a bit narrow inside). The weak looking exterior looked more palatable with more chrome, more tinted glass...better wheels etc. Overall i still think the new Equinox is a bit smaller than it should be, especially with the new CRV and now RAV4 likely to burn the sales charts. What stood out was how pleasant the diesel was to drive. It was grumbly at stoplight idle, but not offensive. It isn't a rattly kind of idle noise like diesels I remember. But it is more coarse than a humming gas motor. I didn't find it offensive or overly loud....just noticeable. Best part is it had a nice pleasing push when accelerating and it didn't mind revving either. Seemed like it would be very usable in city driving. Had some elasticity to it and is wayyyyy better than the 1.5. This is likely a great highway cruising machine. Thing is, on the Equinox it puts up good numbers but not stunning numbers. Diesel is still priced way higher so if you get this engine, it's because you like how it feels, and the added the mpg is more or less just a bonus. I would like to see how it feels in the Cruze. Thanks Chevy for the diesel option.

Some pics

Since my dealer thought my oil pan might be leaking again on my 16 Malibu, I brought it in for them to fix it (turns out they said it wasn't but after an ECU update my autostop doesn't work now either) but in any case they gave me a loaner sedan Cruze which I didn't drive the tar out of but logged about 50 miles driving home and back. It was an LT with basic wheels (not sure if 16" or 17") and cloth heated seats. The small 7 inch touchscreen also and driver's power seat also. No blind spot or cross path or any other notable newer equipment. Engine was the 1.4t gas and likely the 6 speed automatic. It is also interesting to see how my thoughts match or contrast when i did my original drive impression of the new gen Cruze awhile back. HIGHS: -Quiet for a small economy sedan; quiet powertrain and quiet from road noise for its class. -Apart from the plain grain on the GM legacy plastic it actually has a nice mix of texture, soft touch surfaces and materials on the interior, for its class. I even like the cloth inserts on the dash. Overall this interior is trimmed out nicer than the one in my Malibu. -Very very good sightlines and visibility in the vehicle to the outside from all angles (which is rare for GM vehicles these days). Nice big perfectly place side mirrors which really help what is going on outside. This combined with a non obstructive dash design really gives you confidence driving. -Capable of big mpg (I pulled 44.4 mpg including dead stop and go freeway time on almost 25 miles on return trip to dealer) -Decent front row space for this class of car. Center console is narrow and shifter moves back such that one has good place to put their gas leg and have room and comfort. Center armrest is plush and well placed. Back seats have good shoulder and hip room as well. -This may be an instance where it makes sense to get the sedan over the hatch. The trunk is huge...very tall, wide, and deep and simply but nicely trimmed. Whereby the trunk in the hatch is seemingly much less useful when the rear seats are up, in comparison. -Nice to have cloth heated seats available. -In highway cruising mode, or situations where you don't need power or are going stoplight to stoplight, the tiny turbo is sprite and when settled in, cruzes extremely well. This makes this car a great road car for its class. -Some nice styling details on the headlight and taillights. Nice beefy door handles. -In fact, overall the whole car feels solid, secure, and smooth.....great for this class of car (and way nicer than my old Cobalt!) -Nice size car for those who have space concerns....a lot of interior and trunk space for this size of car. LOWS: -Styling is a bit tame overall and lacks overall excitement. The target seemed to be to play it down to the last gen Civic or Toyotas in general. -6 speed automatic is klunky at times, particularly on the downshift. I should verify it was in fact the 6 speed. Whatever the case, it wasn't completely smooth with the small engine if you needed to do anything besides undisturbed cruising. -Overall then, i might recommend the 1.5t is made standard or at least optional and that a 1.8t or 2.0t is made optional for those that want actual performance in lieu of the mpg only 1.4t. -Perhaps due to trim / tire and suspension package; no real driving thrill. The steering feel was mushy and neither connected or disconnected. The suspension probably got its cushion more from the soft and higher profile tires than anything. There's a nice opportunity here for a vehicle with sharply tuned steering and handling that is practically begging for some excitement and unless the upper trims and other tire packages are giving it the wow, it's quite bluh to drive in that regard. -Some of the bounciness of ride of a smaller car seems evident at times. Not really a huge knock, but these days it doesn't take many extra dollars to move up to the midsize class for a more stable ride on the highway. -Rear leg room is in fact tight, but this is economy car. The drivers seat was not amazing comfortable. Something more substantial and supportive in the front buckets would be nice, I think. Upgrade the cloth a bit too while you are at it. -I know this is the LT trim but the market is moving to gauges and displays with more bling and more color. Time for Chevy to bling the displays up some, and maybe even make the 8.4 standard. -The first ever Cruze had a swagger or edge to it, inside and out,that helped its popularity. This 'second ever' Cruze seems to do what it can to not carry any of that over (which in addition to crossovers may be why its not selling big). -Really CHEAP of GM to have not leather wrap wheel here when the car has heated seats and a power seat. LT's should have leather wheels. -Need a way to turn off autostop when you want. -Some manufacturers are including blind spot and cross path as standard on their cars. I missed not having it here (as it have it on both our vehicles now). In 2019 I would expect even Chevy Cruze and all Malibu and all Buicks to have at least those two safety features standard. SUMMARY: I maybe would temper the enthusiasm of my previous new gen Cruze review here after some more miles and less of the 'all new' factor in mind. I still think the Cruze is a great entry though. I think apart from the crossover craze, the exterior styling is not as sharp as the last gen was. Chevy could figure out a way to spice it up and refresh it....the basic greenhouse on the sedan is good. And despite cool looking headlights and grille, it just doesn't have the overall presence it maybe needs. Likewise inside, it is nice but doesn't have the same bling it used to. The car benefits from the maturity by being a better overall car...just not as sporty or edgy. Anything GM can do to sex up the car will help. I think additional engine options, better trannies, more bling inside, handling packages, value equipment packages etc. Nothing should be off the table. They can't really increase the interior size to match the newest Civic on this platform, but they should at least try to make it kind of sporty like the new Civic is in overall feel. The next all new Cruze should be made larger to keep up with the size of the Civic. If i didn't love the extra width and space of my current 16 Malibu, I'd have no issue driving the Cruze daily... I may be interested in a diesel though. And then there is the notion I can get a Volt that is the same size too. If Chevy doesn't try to keep this car interesting, it will be left to sell with the way it is now ....a solid car with good value but no edge. And many other choices on the market. I'll still give it a B+ but i challenge Chevy to do some real work here and not just let the car die without attention. I mean, maybe its time to Beretta or Grand Am this thing and even throw some cladding on it too.

Mixed feelings. It's going to continue to sell fine (especially to fleets). It goes the obligatory way of no v6. Interior becomes even more rote. These UJS sedans blend together even more. 2.5 as base engine seems to fit Nissan. Cvt I don't mind in a car like this but if I get a preference I will stick with traditional automatic. I would trust them more. Glad to see it's still spacious although the mfrs keep lowering the rooflines on these Styling is sort of Chinese knockoff dull in the side view and some regressive proportions (trunk and hood very well defined and long) Is the maxima doomed? at least this is a real alternative to the accord

What is that new Volvo small crossover? Xc40? I sat in that at the auto show and thought it was the schizzle. And shocking people room and space. The new e pace was cool too. I sure hope caddy xt4 doesn't come off as small and Chevy cheap in comparison.

Getting sick of crossovers

One of my faves of the recent auto show here was the countryman and that was primarily due to it being a larger vehicle. It really is a sweet package. And then I asked myself. Is this as large as a mini can get? I got out of the vehicle and looked at the msrp. Almost 50 grand. Cant sell in volume if you are 'mini' at that price.

Styling wise they did ok but I might have thought it was a smaller Ford Edge from the side profile caddy played it safe with styling here because they almost had to interior quality will be a concern but the design of it looks good 35k is more of a Buick price point ? not enough power in that 2.0 liter. Why is it detuned? cargo area figures seem small. Makes me wonder just how small this thing is. This essentially replaces the function of the ATS. except they should make sales volume with this which will keep caddys doors open enough to sell ct6's. There's no premise of performance here and the plain styling doesn't command big prices. This becomes caddys lease special queen. If anything it should bring new customers to the brand finally. Problem is this may be cheap enough to steal what really should be buick customers. Hell if this were cheap enough I might even want one Overall still i worry about why GM is overall still behind the curve in crossovers. GM needs to awake from their stupor of dumping huge $$$ on stuff like autonomous vehicles and earn back some market segments. It feels like GM has no product types in the company any more. Just 'marketing' types. Is it stempel era again? At least the xt4 should help win some business back. It signals a pretty passionless future for Cadillac though if every thing following is this neutered.

Vw continues to get smart. Where is the GM / Chevy competitor to this and the edge?

nice, but wasnt there just a 2 row atlas concept? if they plug that dike in their US market here, it will be with a 2 row (cheaper) Atlas. I think in limited numbers and with the right engine this could sell a few here.

I actually think the MKz is a nice looking car. Very distinctive. However it never has had a very good interior. They could keep the MKz, put a completely new interior in it and at least get some sales volume out of it for 3-4 more years as a brand entry device.

MKS was well below the target but at least it wasn't a cartoon show like this is. the exterior i can live with but the interior just doesn't qualify as luxury. it's a cobbled together discombobulated interior that maybe would be considered luxury compared to a 90's hyundai. if ford replaces this it can only be good

nice write

obviously aerodynamics is a concern here, but at least you could see out of this. and this, but this is for sure not very testosterone

the camaro visibility problem is real. the car performs unbelievably but daily driving is sacrificed so badly that i would bet it would sell 50% better with equally sexy styling but much better visibility. GM may need to move off the transformers / retro styling soon with the Camaro and pumping up the greenhouse a bit may be the way to go. Won't surprise me if the Camaro goes hatchback again. The Ascent, your comments are pretty similar to some other comments i read somewhere from someone who saw and got in the Ascent first hand. I really do believe Subaru just tried to supersize a Forester (and its still not really big but bigger than Subaru fans are used to). Anyone looking at a CX-9 or Ascent, these people need to check out the new Enclave, it is seriously deluxe inside vs the Ascent as far as interiors and has more space than the CX-9 all around.

i just priced a stupid terrain 'denali' at over 46 grand on gmc website. 46 grand for a pop can / skate like the new Terrain is a perfect example of OVERPRICED

love the chevy, love this, both home runs. the interior of the chevy is kinda cheap but its not going to keep anyone from liking the truck. they each have their own look. both done well. GM scored bullseye with these new trucks as well as the Traverse / Enclave. Curious why they can't seem to hit dead center with some of the other products like the bizarre new Equinox, FUBARred Acadia etc. Can't wait for the Yukon / tahoe / Suburbans that get birthed from this.

pour some sugar on MEH

just me or is this boring as sh-t???

gas prices some day going up, is why we have cruzes and mid size cars that post mpg north of 35 these days......even if they don't sell well when gas is 2.50 and people buy trucks and SUV's again, they are ready to go when gas shoots up again.

i have a dark theory.... as some buyer groups get younger and younger, and some of them buy their first cars even, the percentage of buyer pool that sees the American brands as tainted (despite them being quite good) increases, and in particular, the love for BMW, Audi, Mercedes continues......... the side point is that GM in particular has few market bullseyes these days. and many of its new models are overpriced or non discounted.....

a faux version of the original virtue signalling car queen how is it in faux? It's time we just normalize these powertrains as options into regular shaped and dynamically appealing vehicles.