When is GM going to come out with a performance Cruze?

Absolutely! I drove a Cruze for the greater part of a year. It was a 2011 2LT — a beautiful car — not an econobox by any means. Here it is the week I bought it:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/gallery/alexs-2011-chevrolet-cruze-2lt/

If I would have had the option, I would have payed for more power. The car is simply too good to waste on a measly engine.

I’m voting for the Z-Spec moniker!

I’d say the 2.0 turbo — even in low-output form — would be right at home in a Cruze Z-Spec!

Question should go like. If GM ok’s a performance Cruze, what will the performance be?

@ Alex, You don’t have your Cruze no more?

I was wondering the same, do you not have your Cruze anymore Alex.

PS: PontiacRulz. I’d buy a CRUZE with a 2.4L vvt ecotec. Rather have a 2.4L DI vvt, or the new 2.5L DI vvt. As the CRUZE is now I’ll not buy one.

@Lex and @yabadabadoo Not right now. Alternating between a Volvo S40 as well as a 2012 Mustang. Hoping to drive a Camaro for a few months next 😀

@RJlON If the Cruze ever gets a performance variant, it will have a bigger/more powerful version of a boosted four-banger. The 2.5 is only destined for midsized vehicles off the Epsilon II and several crossovers.

What do you have against, say a 2.0 turbo with around 200 horses?

200hp putting more weight on the scale then my Redline ION …. no thanks. The 2.4L or 2.5 litre with 190hp would be a nice addition no matter what gm has it “destined” for. If GM were to build a “performance” Cruze I think 260hp 2.0L turbo would be a good start.

Agreed. That 2.0 ECOTEC could make anywhere from 220 to 300. So 260 is a nice number to land at, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. My prediction? 200.

I don’t see it happening, nor do I see a 190hp non turbo happening. Me buying a new CRUZE ,,,,,,,,,,, I don’t see that happening either.

@ Alex, My sister has an S40 she loves it, how does it compare to the Cruze…

It’s time 4 a performance, limited edition Cruze like an M3 type version with only so many produced… Something that would indeed blow our minds.

RjION; is your ION a redline, I have considered one but they seem hard to find with reasonable miles.

@yabadabadoo The S40 is a great car. Mine is a 2006 so it lacks the popular tech features of the day (like USB, Aux jack, Bluetooth). It also has a few quirks that are particular to Volvos (like poor door handle design inside & out) as well as some rattles and squeaks; and don’t even get me started on that transversely-mounted 5 cylinder — that thing is louder than an LS3 small block from a cold start.

But at 80+ MPH, it’s rock-solid, and handles like a dream — especially in the twisties.

The Cruze is a more modern car — and is a better car in my opinion. It’s much quieter, weighs less, handles better, has all of the amenities (and more) of the S40, and is less comlex. But there’s something about the Volvo that makes me thoroughly enjoy it — even though I can’t quite put my finger on it.

@yabadabadoo A limited-production performance versions sounds interesting. But what happens when they run out of stock while the unlimited-production Focus ST and Civic Si continue to sell?

Chevy won’t want to invest the resources into making a model that will eventually be outsold by the competition… and I don’t think this is the right segment for a cult-following halo car.

Solstice 2.4L shifter
ION-3 Sedan 2.4L auto
Redline Cpe 2.0L shfter

Thats what we drive. Come to the mountains

@ Alex I was just thinking what if GM Authority had a car review section for the readers; where readers could post how they like there vehicles. They could rate there experience, it would expand your user base ect.and be a place 4 discusion regarding existing vehicles. Of course GM cars would be listed only 4 review and comment.

@yabadabadoo Something along those lines is in our plans. Hope to share something in the next several months.

Just like GM, we have “competitors” — and we don’t want to give anything away too early 😀

Sweeeeeet…

I’ve been giving the subject of a performance-oriented Cruze some thought. For starters, it needs to make at least 220 horses; doesn’t matter if it’s from a 2.0 or a 1.6 or something else entirely, but 220 is the minimum to compete with the Focus ST — which will be the segment leader from everything I’ve been seeing.

Secondly, the Cruze is simply too good of a car to waste to NOT have a performance variant. It handles perfectly, looks great, and has a great cabin. There’s not one big “negative” aspect about the vehicle through and through. Sure, there are some minor things we would like changed here and there — like these items:

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2011/04/wish-list-what-would-make-the-chevy-cruze-even-more-competitive/

… but nothing major. Needs to happen!

The CRUZE has one HUGE negative for me ………….. the hp.

My thought exactly: it’s too good of a car to waste on a weak engine.

The CRUZE is everything right that was wrong with the Saturn Astra except the HUGE lack of hp and torque.

Even then, the Astra’s most powerful engine was the 1.8 ECOTEC that’s now the base powerplant in the Cruze LS. At least the Cruze 1.4T and 1.8 get better economy than the Astra. Other than that, the Astra handled just fine by my standards, as well. Cruze handles better, but Astra wasn’t far behind.

Saturn Astra 200-300 lbs lighter then the Cruze yet the Astra is gutless. The Astra had no console, no useable cupholders, no aux input for an ipod or any other device, the DIC is like ms-dos, the manual tranny grinds when ever you try to put it in reverse, no gain in mpg over the car it replaced. The ASTRA did come with more equipment, and did cost about $4K more then what it replaced. The Astra handles better and most of that better is because the ASTRA does not have the power to push it or get in to deep. Slow cars always seem to handle well. Slow cars always seem to have good brakes.

Come to think of it, the Astra I drove always grinded when put in reverse… And the DIC was very DOS-like. Good call.

But the thing is that why Chevrolet don’t put DI in the 1.4T?

The thing is, why doesn’t Chevy offer the DI 2.4L vvt in the Cruze?

Isn’t the 2.4 for midsize? or they can put the new 2.5

@Vic1212 The 1.4 is an old engine; it has received gradual updates but it’s still a 20-year-old design. GM is working on an all-new design for its small engines that will be more fuel-efficient, much more quiet, and more power-dense.

@Loud_R Not necessarily; an engine isn’t necessarily for a certain-sized car, per se. The 2.5 certainly would fit into the Cruze, but may not deliver much more performance than a 1.6 turbo unit, if any. Albeit, it may not even deliver as high power figures as a 1.6T.

But then they never put out the 1.6T to America and they only put that engine to the rest of the world.

I talked about the 2.5 since the Mazda3 also put a larger displacement into their cars.

@Loud_R They haven’t brought the 1.6 to the ‘States… yet. It’s a slight variation of the 1.4T found in the Cruze — very possible to make it on the same line in Austria and import it in the same way as the 1.4.

Also, the reason Mazda uses higher-displacement four-bangers in its vehicles is because it doesn’t have anything smaller to use, not yet — at least. I think they’re working on a turbo-charged 1.8 liter unit, though.

The Cruze is one of those cars that’s just too good to waste with a weak engine. The handling, body/chassis control, and driving dynamics are near perfect. I’m hopeful 😀

I think people at auto guide and gminsidenews.com says there will be one

Really? Have a link?

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/12/performance-focused-chevy-cruze-model-coming.html?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

Thanks! Very interesting.

Let us dig into this a bit. 😀

i would loooove a performance based cruze and how bout a coupe
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/30/copyofmonoblockcopy8967.jpg/
there

I wonder when is Chevrolet gonna come out with sonic boom?