The Chevrolet Cruze arrives in Malaysia
Having seen the Forte arrive late last year, Malaysians are now suddenly spoilt for choice in the C-segment market as the much-awaited Chevrolet Cruze sedan has finally arrived on our shores. Designed from the onset as Chevrolet’s global car, the Cruze was launched to critical success in markets such as Singapore, Australia, India, China, and Europe.
For our market, the Cruze is offered with only one powertrain option – a 1,796cc 16-valve twin cam engine with Double Continuous Variable Cam Phasing (DCVCP) and Variable Intake System (VIS). Tuned to Euro IV emission standards, the Cruze 1.8 is rated to produce 140hp @ 6,200rpm, and 176Nm @ 3,799rpm. Specs sheet also indicate that the engine is RON 91 compatible.
Power goes to the front wheels by means of the GM Hydramatic 6T40 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission with manual override. Compared to other C-segment alternatives, the Honda Civic offers 5-speeds, while the Nissan Sylphy is equipped with a CVT; most other rivals are still running on 4-speed automatic gearboxes.
Stopping power is supplied by 15″ discs all-round (front ventilated) aided by Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD). A conventional hydraulic assisted rack & pinion setup is used for steering, which should represent good news in terms of feedback.
Chevrolet has placed a great deal of marketing weightage on the engineering of the Cruze’s chassis. Its monocoque chassis is built using the Body Frame Integral technique said to give improved overall stiffness and stability. It is suspended up front with independent MacPherson struts, while the rear is held up by a Compound Crank Axle.
According to a source in General Motors, the Compound Crank Axle essentially a torsion beam design. It has a double-walled U-shaped profile, and is attached to the suspension trailing arms, forming a H-shaped pattern. It is claimed that this design combines the space saving advantages of a conventional torsion beam and still allows for consistent wheel camber control.
Indeed, the Cruze’s chassis is also engineered to high crash standards being certified with 5 stars by the European New Car Assessment Programe (Euro NCAP). The car officially crash tested by Euro NCAP was a 1.6 LS left-hand drive version, although the Euro NCAP has declared the ratings valid for all other variants. (ed: We have included a link to the official Euro NCAP report for the Cruze at the bottom of the page.)
A point to note is that the Euro NCAP tested car also had side airbags, which are not offered in Malaysian-spec vehicles. However, items that are included in the Cruze are dual frontal airbags, traction control, electronic stability control, anti-pinch power windows, tilt & telescopic steering wheel, and trip computer.
The Cruze arrives at our shores fully imported from South Korea, which makes its selling price of RM98,767.60 (OTR without Insurance) to be a jaw-dropping figure. Our insurance calculator estimates a premium in the region of RM2,800 for a year’s coverage, pushing the final price just over the RM100k mark, which does not appear to be bad value at all.
