The Chevy Cruze is one of the most fuel-efficient used compact cars that is widely available in the United States, according to the editors over at Consumer Reports.
The market research publication recently published a list of what it has deemed to be the most fuel-efficient compact cars that are widely available on the second-and market today. This list’s publication comes amid rising gas prices in the United States and across the globe, which are partially due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The second-generation Chevy Cruze was included in this list thanks to the fuel-sipping nature of its standard turbocharged 1.4-liter LE2 engine, which is rated at 153 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. In the 2017 Chevy Cruze sedan with the available six-speed automatic transmission, this engine returns 30 mpg city and 40 mpg highway for a combined rating of 34 mpg, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Manual models are rated at 28 mpg city, 39 mpg highway and 32 mpg combined.
Consumer Reports readers report similar real-world efficiency as the EPA’s tests. The owner reported combined MPG rating for the second-generation Chevy Cruze, according to the publication’s data, is 32 mpg.
Consumer Reports also praised the Chevy Cruze for its available 1.6-liter diesel engine. When equipped in the 2017 Chevy Cruze sedan with the six-speed manual transmission, this engine returns an impressive 30 mpg city and 52 mpg highway for a combined rating of 37 mpg. When equipped with the optional six-speed automatic, the Cruze diesel returns 31 mpg city and 47 mpg highway for a combined rating of 37 mpg.
“The Cruze boasts a comfortable ride, relatively roomy interior, and effortless power,” Consumer Reports says of the now-defunct GM compact car. “It’s a fully competitive entry that stands out in a class dominated by imported cars. The diesel version is particularly impressive. In our tests we measured 42 mpg overall and an outstanding 60 mpg on the highway, along with a massive 810-mile cruising range. The suspension mutes and swallows bumps in a way that’s rare for a compact car of the era.”
Other vehicles featured on this list include the 2017 Honda Civic, 2017 Toyota Yaris and Yaris iA, 2017 Honda Fit, 2017 Hyundai Elantra, 2017 Kia Forte, 2017 Mazda 3, 2017 Toyota Corolla and 2017 VW Jetta.
Subscribe to GM Authority as we bring you the latest Chevy Cruze news, Chevrolet news and ongoing GM news coverage.
Comments
I love reading these articles about the good vehicles gm canceled. Careful CT4 & CT5 your next.
Ricky
Too bad these magazines never have anything nice to say about GM vehicles when they are still in production.
Motor1 spoke highly of the Cruze and sonic. I’ve seen a lot of praise for the Malibu to over the last few years. But I don’t read any print automotive magazines I do read a few articles online so you might be right.
Screw digital keep print alive!
Matt: I agree when it comes to things like this. There’s just something about turning the pages on a nice auto magazine and looking at those cars. Plus, it’s much easier to take a magazine into the bathroom! haha.
Do you THINK the non-car CEO cares????? She’ll care when GM files for bankruptcy AGAIN or totally fails!
We started with a 2011 Cruze and loved it. Bought another to replace another GM vehicle. Then we put or son in a third Cruze. Then we we so impressed with the economy, fun handling, performance that our son had to have a VOLT. Cruze’s and Volt with that same engine have been best compact cars. 30.5 mpg city and always 39 mpg hwy. … and son averages (wait for it…) 789 mpg in a combination of suburban driving with nightly plug-in. We are going to just keep diving these little sedans! Love em.
This seems sort of obvious. My Cruze Diesel was supposed to be the most efficient non-hybrid made at the time. I can only assume the small gasoline engines weren’t doing too bad.
What I mean is, this is simple data that you can look up. You don’t need CR to tell you what the gas mileage was.
Well the 1.4 Turbo gas engine is a pile of junk.
The Car Wizard did a great video on it in the past couple days.
If your 1.4 Turbo blows up good luck getting a replacement engine.
There are many different variants of the 1.4t. Some are Iron blocks, some are aluminum, some are direct injection. Car Wizard didn’t go so far as to specify which variant specifically probably because he didn’t really know what he was talking about… Most of today’s engines are all pretty good with proper maintenance.
Ummm that’s a lie.
2.4 Ecotec oil burning
5.3/6.2 Lifter issues
1.5 Turbo melting cylinders
3.6 Timing chains.
And that’s just from GM in the past decade.
Honda 1.5 Turbo Oil dilution problem.
Chrysler Pentastar V6 cracked cylinder head
Ford 3 Valve 5.4 Triton engine failure
Kia/Hyundai 2.4 engine fires & other issues
Any engine made by BMW with its cheap low quality plastic and poorly designed oil seals.
Mercedes M156 engine headbolts & cam issues
Mercedes OM642 oil cooler.
Ford 3 cylinder Ecoboost cylinder head issues.
I could list more if needed. Modern Engines are not more reliable than late 1990s-mid 2000s engines and you are fooling yourself if you seriously think modern engines are good.
Your not kidding
It’s a jungle of junk out there. Then you hear from a few people that got a good one. Most are junk today.
Hey but they come with a warranty right?
Witch the dealers try and wiggle there way out of. And just what we want is a very expensive vehicle sitting at the dealer for weeks waiting on parts.
Today’s vehicles SUCK
With the price of diesel you are no better than the rest of us.
I get 44 mpg going the speed limit and many times 5 mph above the speed limit in my normal city, highway commute week. Even with diesel at $4.799 per gallon my weekly commute cost is $20 for diesel. This diesel idles efficiency and with the engine auto stop feature, it is very fuel efficient in heavy, slow traffic. On the highway it is good too. On a trip from Cincinnati to Indianapolis I got 50 mpg which included some city driving. I have the 9 speed automatic. I have heard the manual is even more efficient.
I have the Colorado diesel and it gets amazing fuel milage.
I was lucky to get 20mpg in my Ranger. I get 30+ In the Colorado and that’s with a very heavy foot.
Diesel is very impressive
False.
Diesel is only 15% more expensive but with 40-50% better fuel economy.
Math is hard…..
Well thank goodness we have this car as an option for new car buyers with gas prices so high and all!!
Oh, wait. wrong country. It’s a good thing GM has all those SUV’s for new car buyers with gas prices so high and all!!
Lol right.
EXACTLY! ANOTHER MARY BARRA IDIOTIC DECISION! GET RID OF CARS AND PUT THEM IN TANKS! ON SECOND THOUGHT, IN TODAY’S WORLD, WE MIGHT NEED THOSE TANKS IF WE GET ATTACKED NEXT!
Fastdriver: I agree with you. But your hurting my eyes. haha. Please take the all caps off.
Nice car, I loved mine. It suffered the classic Chevrolet problem: cheap interior, and the classic GM problem: the lack of efforts to keep it competitive.
Now lets give full disclosure.
The first Cruze did very well and Lordstown was running 3 shifts and working lunch to keep up .
Once they changed to the second gen the car started to decline fast. Shifts were pulled and cars sat on the lots. Part was the second gen was not as loved as the first and the advent of the small SUV came and took away the sales.
Being unlike most of the other small cars still sold this one was not sold globally in the same numbers.
Like wagons and all the other cars people say they will buy the truth is when they are needed they are not buying.
The public discovered they could still get good MPG and more usable space in a small CUV. If it was not a GM it would be someone else.
I would say it was a GM problem if Ford, Chrysler had not already killed their cars and if the Honda and Toyota cars were not seeing a decline in sales.
I liked the first gen, my neighbor has one with well over 200K miles but the harsh truth is people just were not buying in numbers and there were other vehicles they could invest in and make more return.
They also had commercials back then. Advertising does matter. Maybe I’m wrong but I remember the commercial they had for the sonic that showed it zipping through the city it was a neat commercial I’m sure YouTube still has it and they had commercials for the cruze then they just stopped. Maybe I’m wrong and they did continue to advertise both I just don’t remember.
Max: As far as I know, you are 100% correct. The powers that be seem to look at things differently than I believe the average person does. I for one find it completely stupid and counter-productive to advertise the heck out of your best selling model or models. Why do that? If they are already the best selling, why advertise them? My theory has always been you look at your product, pick what isn’t selling as well, look into why it isn’t selling as well, make proper changes to the product (speaking of things like trim levels or option/safety features) and then advertise the life out of it. Once again this goes back to people in the ivory tower making way too much money, who really don’t know s**t about the product.
Yup I found the sonic commercial on YouTube, one thing that made it so cool was it was acting like the sonic was a skateboard and grinding on railings and things like that. The reason I find it appealing is because it showed how the car could fit into spaces easily and get around big cities with no problem. I was reading the comments under the commercial and I saw a lot of people saying this commercial helped them decide to get the vehicle and they are happy they did. You’re right Dan why advertise the Silverado or Tahoe or f150 or any of those everyone knows what they are they have been here for a long time and will sell regardless but the small sedans need help promoting them and unfortunately gm abandoned that. I love my Malibu I have a 2018 and the commercial definitely helped make my mind up.
DAN! YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!
Small SUV’s do not offer good MPG compared to a sedan.
40+ mpg highway in a Cruze trumps 30 mpg in an equinox or trailblazer any day.
I love my 2014 Cruze Diesel. My lifetime mpg numbers around 100K miles were right at 40mpg. I ordered this car from a local small dealership, and ran the Midwest as a Regional Sales Manager in the transportation industry. I simply love driving this car on the open road. It rarely downshifts going up steep long grades and is very comfortable and quiet. Currently it has 129K on it and my daughter drives it now so it doesn’t get as many long trips as before and is sitting at over 37mpg lifetime.
As far as CR and other “magazines”, I don’t put a lot of stock in what they put out. Recently MotorTrend bashed the Jeep Gladiator in a towing review for not handling well with a travel trailer. The part they left out is they did not use a weight distributing hitch or sway control. I can bet the tongue weight was exceeded and the weight on the rear axle. But hey, they are supposed be the experts?
My personal opinion on sales lagging and GM killing the Cruze is when they moved to the second generation, they made it look like every other rental car on the planet. Something Grandma would drive. The first gen had younger folks customizing, lowering, and other mods. The sharp lines were gone and the car was doomed.
GM needs new leadership
I never seen a commercial stating the MPG or tow rating of my Colorado.
This is something that would have driven sales, but nothing from GM…..
Mary needs to go. She puts to much effort into Cadillac.
I predicted high fuel prices long ago when buying full sized trucks was very popular.
I sure am glad I don’t own one now.
Consumer reports among other automotive publications lambasted american compact cars for so long, there was no way the automotive ignorant were going to give up their Corolla’s. Now as the markets need competitive small cars, the likes of Mary’s lower-case gm have been left flat footed and the Asians are more than happy to fill the void. They may have a bit more room, but the penalty box CUV’s will never be as attractive, nice, or efficient to drive as a small sedan or coupe.
MRB: You just nailed it. Well said.
M&M (Mary and Mark) bonus’s are highly dependent on the margins they produce rather than sales volume or share. Hence dropping low margin vehicles, continuously raising prices on what they do still produce and cutting every penny they possibly can out both products and operating costs.
Been there and watched it in action.
JL: It’s not that I don’t agree with you for the most part. But don’t you feel that nearly every auto company does the same thing? Heck, not even just auto industry. With food priced being up so much, I’ve noticed that the same meal now seems smaller and with a higher price.
I get that a company is in business to make money. I don’t begrudge them that. What I’m really starting to have issues with is the over-paid execs making decisions that truly don’t take into account the buyers true interest or needs and this applies to every sector and/or type of business. The income gap in this country is now so bad that I’m not sure we can sustain life if we don’t make big changes that positively affect millions of Americans. I say these execs pay needs to be capped and that same money could be put towards product and investment in something more than just SUV’s and pure electrics.
It’s just a matter of time before we start seeing CEO’s be assassinated in this country.
Ditto for politicians. Americans have enough guns that the wealthy should wake up before it’s to late.
MacKenzie Scott understands it. She just gave away another billion+ to charity.
And GM’s market share, quality control and reputation are continually suffering for it. They never learn or are happy with a decent profit or bonus these days. Greed is what is has always been about.
Fortunately rising interest rates & gas prices will kill the high margin Truck fad. Let the Repo’s begin.
Then Marry can be shown the door.
I own a 2018 Chevrolet Cruze LT diesel hatchback that I bought new. Previous to the Cruze I owned a Toyota Corolla LE, two Honda Civic EX’s, and two Honda Accord EX’s all that I bought new. The Cruze is the best of the lot.
Eric: Your story is one that I just love to hear, as you were one who had the “buying the imports” bug and then moved over to a GM with a happy outcome. And then GM kills it. How sad.
My question to you is this. When the time comes for you to replace the Cruze, assuming that they have no cars like it to replace it with, will you consider sticking with GM and just going with an SUV/CUV? Or will you move onto another brand in order to stay with a car?
My Cruze has 42,000 miles on it and I plan on keeping it until it has about 100,000 miles. I will have to see what is available when I am back in the market which might be 5 years from now. I intend to buy GM when the time comes.
pretty sad that you can’t get any of GM’s small cars and suvs (equinox, terrain) in diesel anymore…they were so fuel efficient.
The Cruze was and still is a great car I know people who owned the first generation in that was for sale in the USA and people love the looks and gas mileage and they are pretty reliable cars as well. We need cars again I mean don’t get me wrong CUV & SUV’s are fine but what happened to commuter cars?? Even the Japanese are slowly giving up on small cars Honda pushes the CRV a lot more then the civic and Toyota wants you to buy a RAV4 instead of a camary! The world is going backwards! Consumer reports are biased they only praise what they get payed to praise think the government and the mainstream media!
Time to bring it back to the US market
I never owned a Cruze but did have a loaner for 2 days and I really it. It was the sport version burnt orange color hatchback. Compared to my 19 Impala Premier, it felt like a go-cart…lol
The people I knew that owned them were very pleased.
My bother in law bought a used diesel Cruze a year 1/2 ago, and just raves above it. He’s a DIY’er but he lets gm change the oil. He says there’s stuff in the away and for the cost of an oil and filter change, it’s worth the cost. He literally drives approximately 35 miles one way to work (divorce stuff – can’t move) and says he gets great mileage and would buy another one if they still made the Cruze.
Mary Barra needs to be unallocated. She is fumbling her way to another bankruptcy.
Did you see what her pay is……….. It is crazy.. I I made that much I wouldn’t give a crap about my customers ether.
Just like the service you get from the Phone or power companies..
They don’t care about the the rest of us ..we are so far below them.
Get rid of Mary and get GM back on track.
The Cruze was going to be my next car, where else could you get an equipped car with a manual transmission, but again it doesn’t exist and right now it is hard to find one on the used market. Keep looking at the Malibu but would only consider the Premier for the 2.0T and non-cvt transmission, but it has way too much stuff in it I don’t want. Too bad they don’t offer the RS with the 2.0T.