2010 Holden Cruze CD Diesel Review

When I last wrote about the Holden Cruze I wasn't exactly glowing about it. In fact words like 'underdeveloped' and 'underpowered' kept popping up, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that Holden let me have another one. But this is the diesel version and I had heard from fellow journos that this was the one to go for.

Visually there's not much difference between petrol and diesel with the main difference being an audible diesel sound and a green badge on the car.

Like the petrol you get a reasonably good looking car with a respectably futuristic looking dashboard and a surprisingly comfortable driving position thanks to the fully adjustable steering wheel. You also get a six speed auto in this NZ$33,750 Cruze CD, although for most of the time it could well be a five speeder, as sixth doesn't kick in until just over 100km/h (62mph).

If you've got an MP3 player there's an auxiliary port, which is something every car on sale today should have. You also get six airbags, ABS, ESP, and Brake Assistance.

So far, so good.

On paper the diesel is a much better car than the petrol and you'd have to be certifiable to consider the petrol. But there is one fly in the ointment, and for me it's a pretty big one.

With any sort of turbocharged car you don't expect razor sharp throttle response, but in the Cruze CDi you don't get any response at all. There's a very pregnant pause between when your foot hits the throttle and the car does anything. It's especially bad when starting off from rest, which can be very frustrating when you're at a roundabout.

Interestingly enough it's thte same sort of thing I found in the diesel powered Kia Carnival/Sedona, although in the Cruze it's a constant problem all the time. Whenever you need power the car seems to take a while to think about it before reacting.

I can only imagine that this is some sort of Korean thing (as well as the Carnival the Cruze is built in Korea) which could very well be the Land of Leisurely Acceleration for all I know.

Once the car has thought about accelerating though, it does tend to go like a rocket. As with most modern diesels this engine supplies great gobs of torque, which thee car then easily changes into acceleration.

In fact there's so much acceleration that the best mileage I got out of the car in an urban area was 10.8 L/100km. For a modern diesel that's not really a good look.

It's a pity though that the car is a reasonably indifferent handler. It's good enough for most people and you're not buying a sports car anyway, but this is one of those cars that always feels more like an appliance than something you could reasonably expect to have a good time in.

So the diesel Cruze is better than the petrol, but only just. Solve that acceleration problem and you'd have a decent car.