Faults:

There was a recall for some sensors (2) in the exhaust system. The dealer broke one while removing it and therefore damaged the exhaust. Well, they changed it but the part had to be ordered; a two day delay instead of an hour recall.

General Comments:

The car is very comfortable on nice pavement, but it can get a little choppier on some very bad pavement. The handling isn't bad at all, it's no racing car, but a great commuter.

The cabin is very well insulated, but you can still hear the subdued clattering of the diesel engine. The engine feels strong, it has a quite good amount of torque and is quite fun when you pass another vehicle. The transmission is quirky when it downshifts too quickly; maybe a change of the transmission fluid wouldn't hurt.

I dislike the assembly gaps all around the vehicle; it looks like it was assembled by a bunch of drunks that couldn't align the panel properly; the same applied in the inside. My VW was assembled in Mexico and was very well done in comparison.

The fuel economy is on average of 6,3 l/100 km, just like the Jetta TDI. But you see quite a difference if you only do highway driving; my drive is composed of 40 percent city and 60 percent highway.

There is a decent 9 speaker Pioneer radio, navigation, WiFi, and Bluetooth with voice command. Lots of buttons on the steering wheels for calls, volume, and cruise control, all at hand and easy to use.

Faults:

I spent a lot of money to fix something that mechanics at dealership could not explain clearly, except telling me there was an electrical problem. The car shut down on me twice, completely killing the power so even the key would not come out of ignition. No signal or any sign of life to check for what might have been the problem.

General Comments:

Very good gas mileage and a very comfy car on the road, city or highway.

Faults:

Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with the car since I have owned it.

General Comments:

Very pleased indeed with my purchase. We initially had one as a rental car, and I was surprised by how well it handled and how good the build quality was.

Our Cruze LT handles great for a car of its size; it has reasonably firm (for North American standards) suspension, it's very chuckable around corners, and I dare say it has a slightly sporty feel. Composed and refined over bumps (there's plenty of these in Nova Scotia), after test driving many other cars (Mazda 323/626, new Toyota Corolla, Nissan Altima and many more) this was the best for the ride.

Small engine, but you wouldn't know it - I thought it was a 2 litre in the rental car (our car is the 1.4L turbo). Only a little turbo lag, but for regular driving you wouldn't know it. Put your foot down and it goes at a reasonable pace.

Build quality is very good. Interior materials are not very high quality, but very acceptable for a vehicle of its price range. Exterior is good, our car is an ex-rental car and there are barely any scratches or chips on the outside. Feels like there has been a bit more of an effort protecting the areas where the sheet metal folds over from rust; the edges are all sealed with some kind of flexible strip and painted over.

The body feels very rigid, no creaks or sounds within the cabin. It feels like you are driving a much more expensive car, it's fairly quiet. Steering is on the light side, but it's effortless to drive, particularly around town. The body rigidity probably helps with making the ride so good.

Interior is thoughtfully laid out; go for the reversing camera option as the infotainment screen is way better than the basic one, and the reversing camera is actually quite handy.

Only downsides for me are the closeness of the dash and centre console to your knees, the small legroom in the rear (just about OK for big kids), and the tightness of the front seats. I'm slim-ish, but find that the seat bolsters squish my butt on a long drive. Chevrolet should have made the interior slightly longer and the engine bay slightly smaller - there's quite some room around the engine.

Not quite as good on fuel as I was hoping (average 7.5 litres/100km) but I guess not bad either for 50/50 city/highway driving.

If you are considering a new car, the Cruze may surprise you.