In this week’s Five-Point Inspection we put Chevrolet’s fuel sipper, the Cruze Eco, to the test. With good and bad in the mix, the Cruze Eco will deliver on what you want, and might even surprise you as a decent daily driver, although there is room for improvement.
Read on to see why.
Driving the Chevrolet Cruze Eco is like bringing someone who hates wine on a vineyard tour: they’ll sip the liquid slowly and drink the cheap stuff without complaint.
Refreshing and unusual like an episode of Judge Judy that doesn’t involve perjury, the Cruze Eco actually met its EPA fuel estimated 28/42 mpg in the city and on the highway. In fact at times it beat the highway figures, averaging as much as 45 mpg on a long drive.
Best of all, even with 87 octane priced around $4 per gallon, the Cruze Eco is cheap to fill thanks to a stomach-stapled 10.5 gallon tank compared to the usual 13-gallon equipment found on other Cruze models.
A front fascia with chiseled lines like the cheekbones on a medieval knight’s helmet does more than make the Cruze look handsome. In the Eco model an “active” front fascia closes airflow passages to cut drag and improve fuel economy.
Handsome styling continues with a high belt line and small rear spoiler that further help the mild-mannered car maintain a sporty look. Furthermore, polished alloy wheels and a lower suspension than other models help to reduce drag, cut weight and ultimately boost mileage.
As a globally marketed vehicle, the Cruze is aimed at much more than the U.S. market. From American auto journos to car pundits across the Atlantic, interior quality is a consistent complaint with American cars. That’s an area Chevrolet addressed, to some extent, with the Cruze.
The steering wheel does feel cheap — something that plagues much of the interior. But that’s where things get interesting: gazing around the cabin, mesh cloth accents make it much easier to forget you’re sitting in an econobox by covering the molded panels and pieces.
Better still, the car feels roomier than you might guess from the outside. There’s plenty of headroom, and the poor visibility that commonly comes with the aforementioned high belt line is pleasantly absent.
Turbocharged with a lowered suspension and rear spoiler usually signal performance, but that couldn’t be farther from the case here.
A noticeable power increase kicks in around 4000 rpm when the small turbo spools up, and while that’s a welcome boost, it’s just enough to find highway speeds before running out of room with shorter on-ramps.
Don’t expect to pass anyone either. Aggressive downshifting makes for marginal gains and maddening noise as the engine screams in agony.
Everyone loves a bonus, which is why the Cruze Eco’s fuel mileage is so nice, but there’s another extra the company won’t tell you about. Chevy shucked the traditional spare tire and its usual steel wheel in favor of a pump and tire repair kit to save weight.
Rather than the flat panel covering most spare tires, the Cruze Eco’s trunk liner conforms to offer the tire well as added storage capacity big enough to carry a gym bag.
While that probably doesn’t bump the overall capacity up much, each extra cubic inch counts when every seatbelt is being used and the Cruze already boasts cargo room that matches most mid-size cars, even though it’s marketed as a compact.
Interested in shopping for a Chevrolet Cruze Eco? Check out our new cars section, which allows you to build the vehicle the way you want it, and then compare prices.
Click here for the Chevrolet new cars section. If you want to skip straight to the Cruze Eco, click here.