Chevrolet Cruze

The Chevrolet Cruze was a compact sedan marketed by General Motors across the globe. Mainly developed by GM Korea, the Cruze replaced the Chevrolet Cobalt and spanned two generations.

Notably, the Cruze takes its name from the Holden Cruze, a five-door hatchback developed by GM’s Australian subsidiary in only 12 weeks back in 2001 by “maverick” designer Peter Hughes. The original YG Cruze was developed as an offshoot of another compact hatchback Holden had a major hand in designing, the Suzuki Ignis.

The resulting vehicle – with its wider stance accommodating 15-inch five-spoke wheels, a bigger 1.5L engine, 4WD, tougher-looking styling with a roof spoiler, and beefy bumpers – had an eight-year run ending with the 2008 model year, and was soon to lend its name to the small front-wheel drive sedan that was one of GM’s first attempts at a “global” vehicle model.

First Generation

2014 Chevrolet Cruze

The first generation Chevy Cruze was revealed in the form of renderings and images in Summer 2008, and then debuted in the United States at the February 2010 Chicago Auto Show.

Sales of the first-gen Cruze were helped by its affordability and fuel economy in the Great Recession period, while the compact sedan assisted GM’s rebound from its own Chapter 11 bankruptcy. North American production took place at the GM Lordstown plant in Ohio, while many other production facilities assembled the Cruze worldwide, in locations ranging from China to the remote steppes of Kazakhstan. Start of regular production (SORP) in the U.S. kicked off on September 8^th, 2010.

2013 Chevrolet Cruze

The car’s trim levels initially consisted of the LS, LT, and LTZ trims, but later added 1LT, 2LT, and RS trim levels above the LT and below the LTZ in the lineup. The LS got the naturally aspirated 1.8L I4 LUW gasoline engine developing 138 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque, while higher trims featured the turbocharged 1.4L I4 LUV gasoline engine producing an output of 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque.

The first generation received a minor refresh for the 2013 model year, as well as a more significant refresh in the 2015 model year that included a reworked grille and more aggressive front fascia styling cues borrowed from the Chevy Malibu sedan. The first-gen Cruze was produced in sedan, station wagon, and hatchback configurations, though the hatchback was offered in Europe rather than North America.

Chevy Cruze Eco

For the 2011 to 2013 model years GM also released the Chevy Cruze Eco, which boasted a starting MSRP of $18,994. The Eco was visually similar to the regular variants of the Cruze, distinguishable mostly by an inconspicuous “Eco” badge on the left side of the trunk lid, a set of lightweight 17-inch Alcoa forged aluminum wheels, and a grille one inch narrower than standard Cruze models.

2012 Chevrolet Cruze Eco

However, the Eco offered a then-impressive 42 miles-per-gallon fuel economy, the best available at the time in a non-hybrid passenger car. GM achieved this result by reducing weight wherever possible, removing the spare tire, shaving welds, adding a lighter rear axle assembly borrowed from the Chevy Volt, removing sound deadening panels, and use of the aforementioned aluminum wheels. These measures reduced weight by 125- to 200-pounds, depending on the source.

The Eco also made use of a number of aerodynamic features to improve fuel economy. These included electronically adjustable shutters in the grille, a deeper air dam at the front, aerodynamic trays on the underside, and a rear spoiler. Low rolling resistance tires, again sourced from the Chevy Volt, were used to wrap the 17-inch wheels.

The Chevy Cruze Eco also had several touches making it something of a mildly-enhanced performance variant, offering a 7.9-second zero-to-sixty time compared to the standard Cruze’s nine seconds. Its six-speed manual transmission featured short gears for first through third gear, and overdrive gears for fourth through sixth.

Problems and Recalls

Despite its high fuel efficiency and affordability, the first-generation Chevy Cruze developed an unfortunate reputation for unreliability. The 2011 Chevy Cruze garnered a laundry list of complaints relating to engine overheating due to coolant and oil leakage, along with sub-100,000-mile transmission failures.

The 2012 Chevy Cruise experienced problems with failing brakes and defective airbags. GM issued no less than seven safety recalls for the 2012 model year. Airbag inflator issues dogged the 2014 Chevy Cruze, and a defective drive axle that could fracture under stress prompted another recall.

Second Generation

2017 Chevrolet Cruze

The second-generation Chevy Cruze launched in May 2016 with the 2016 model year, with the 2017 model year arriving in late calendar 2016. GM reworked the trim level lineup, with the base LS carrying forward, the LT, 1LT, and 2LT trim levels folded into a single LT trim, the Eco trim discontinued, and the range-topping Premier model replacing the LTZ trim. The General also added a five-door hatchback configuration produced at the GM Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico. while the sedan continued to be built at Lordstown.

All-new exterior styling distinguishes the second-gen Cruze from its first-gen predecessor. At the front, the vehicle got a split grille design with a narrow, backswept, gullwing upper grille and larger lower grille panel. The compact sedan’s profile received a fastback roofline inspired by earlier China-variant styling cues, ditching the three-box body style of the older generation.

2018 Chevrolet Cruze

New tech features for the second generation included available Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The cockpit got a seven-inch touchscreen display as standard and an eight-inch screen optionally. The interior also became more spacious, especially in regard to the previously somewhat cramped rear seating area, along with additional features and higher-quality materials.

Under the hood, the second-gen Cruze was motivated by a new powerplant, the turbocharged 1.4L I4 LE2 gasoline engine. Equipped as standard fare on all trim levels, this four-banger developed 153 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque.

Zero-to-sixty times decreased from nine to eight seconds, in part thanks to relentless re-engineering paring over 250 pounds off the Cruze’s weight, which in turn boosted fuel economy to around 40 mpg. Drivetrain configurations included a 6-speed manual transmission or 7-speed automatic transmission.

Chevy Cruze Diesel

While standard second-gen Cruze fuel economy ratings were already rivaling that of the first-gen Eco variant, GM released the Chevy Cruze diesel as a new version of the 2017 Chevy Cruze. This configuration featured the turbocharged 1.6L I4 LH7 engine, rated at a peak output of 137 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque.

2019 Chevrolet Cruze

The diesel powerplant was mated to either a 6-speed manual or 9-speed automatic transmission, and was shared with the 2018 Chevy Equinox. GM produced the diesel in both sedan and hatchback configurations for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 model years, with a fuel economy rating of 55 mpg to 60 mpg, according to various sources.

North American Discontinuation

Chevy Cruze sales numbers peaked in the 2014 calendar year at 273,060 units, and began falling off thereafter. GM ended production of the nameplate in North America with the 2019 Chevy Cruze, as the final unit rolled off the Lordstown assembly line in early March 2019.

2020 Chevrolet Cruze

With that in mind, the Chevy Cruze continued to be produced in South America, with GM Mercosur President Carlos Zarlenga declaring that the “Cruze has become a tank for our Chevrolet brand and we will continue investing in this product.”

It’s worth noting that the Chinese-market also received a second-generation Cruze model. However, this sedan was considered a separate model, and was only produced from 2014 to 2016.