The 2012 Cruze — the Cruze to solve all the many issues of the 2011 Cruze… and then some!
For starters, the 2012 Cruze will provide the 1LT and 2LT trim levels with a six-speed stick — standard. The 2011 Cruze, on the other hand, only offered the stick in the thrifty ECO as well as the bare-bones LS, where it was mated to the (very) unexciting 1.8 ECOTEC.
As GM Authorty exclusively reported earlier this year, the 2012 model will do away with the Imperial Blue Metallic exterior color and rear center headrest but will add Blue Topaz Metallic, Victory Red (for the RS model only), keyless entry with keyless start, and touch-screen navigation.
Moreover, the two front seats will lose a 2-way adjustment — since the manual seat bottom tilt will be deleted on both chairs, the Connectivity Plus Package will become standard equipment on the 1LT (marking the discontinuation of the package altogether), the compact spare tire and wheel will become standard on all models except for the ECO manual and 1LS, and fog lights will become standard equipment on LTZ trim. The RPO sheet doesn’t contain any information about a revised rear seat or an updated front arm rest detent.
16″ machined-face alloy wheels and 17″ flangeless alloy wheels with 4-wheel disc brakes will become standard equipment on 1LT and 2LT trim levels, respectively; both were optional for the 2011 model year, with the 17s being part of the Cruze sport suspension package.
Rounding out the changes is the bottom-of-the-line LS, which will add floor mats to its list of standard equipment along with newly-designed wheel covers. The LS will also convert the instrument panel storage bin into a storage shelf (we wonder how that one’s gonna look).
Unfortunately, it looks like a backup camera is not in the cards for the 2012 Cruze — which is a major disadvantage given that the 2012 Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, and Honda Civic all offer it. All in all, our wish list for the 2012 Cruze wasn’t completely fulfilled… but this is a good starting point. Perhaps the 2013 model year will bring everything we wished for (like a diesel engine)… and a bag Z-Spec high performance goodness to boot?
Here are the RPO codes straight from The General himself:
Deletions
- (GAP) Imperial Blue Metallic exterior color
- (EN4) Cargo cover compartment
- Rear center headrest on all trims
New Features
- (GTS) Blue Topaz Metallic exterior color
- (GCN) Victory Red exterior color (RS model only)
- (ATH) Keyless entry, available on 2LT with (MH8) automatic transmission, standard on LTZ
- (BTM) Keyless start switch, included with (ATH) Keyless entry on 2LT with (MH8) automatic transmission, standard on LTZ
- (DT4) Smoker’s Package
- (MR5) 6-speed manual transmission standard on 1LT and 2LT
Changes
- (GAO) Gold Mist Metallic exterior color is now available on 2LS
- (UYS) AM/FM stereo with navigation is replaced with (UEW) AM/FM stereo with lower cost, touch-screen navigation
- (AH4) Driver 8-way seat adjuster is replaced with (AH3) driver 6-way seat adjuster (manual seat bottom tilt deleted)
- Front passenger 8-way seat adjuster is replaced with (AG6) front passenger 6-way seat adjuster (manual seat bottom tilt deleted)
- (PCL) Connectivity Plus Package content is now standard on 1LT, therefore package is no longer offered
- (PDC) 1LT/1XF Driver Convenience Package contains (BTV) remote start when (MH8) automatic transmission is ordered on 1LT and ECO
- RPO code for the compact spare tire and wheel is now (RU5) and it is now standard on all models except ECO manual and 1FL
- RPO code for the tire sealant and inflator kit is now (KTI)
- (B34) Floor mats are now standard on LS
- Newly designed wheel cover on LS
- (WR6) 16″ 5-spoke machined-face alloy wheels are now standard on 1LT
- (RBU) 17″ 5-spoke alloy wheels with 4-wheel disc brakes are now standard on 2LT
- (T3U) Fog lamps are now standard on LTZ
- Instrument panel storage bin becomes a storage shelf on LS
- New sew patterns on seat inserts
- 2 MPG highway improvement on models with the 1.4L Turbo equipped with an automatic transmission
Comments
Still no standard cruise control? Booooo.
Agreed.
Cruise-control should be mandatory.
4 wheel discs across the board, I say. Can’t tolerate any car with drums at the rear…hate them hate them hate them!
While I’m glad that 17″s are now standard on the 2LT, I’m bummed that Chevy decided to change the design. The new wheels are lacking something in the style department. To me they’re quite bland, unlike the 2011 Flangeless wheels. I wonder if I could trade.