Road Test: Ten Reasons Why the 2011 Chevy Cruze Might Be Your First New American Small Car

Before the 2011 Chevy Cruze can do anything to help with the long term prospects of General Motors, it is going to have to become a label within the bowtie brand with positive associations like the Honda Civic, VW Jetta, Mazda3 or Toyota Corolla enjoy. There are good reasons why Chevy abandoned their compact small car names in the past-Citation, Cavalier and Cobalt stand as pillars to little more than mediocrity.

But I have to tell you that with every honest fiber of my being I believe that the 2011 Chevy Cruze is different. I would be willing to hang my entire professional reputation on the overall "goodness" of this compact family sedan so I figured I would give you ten solid reasons why the 2011 Cruze isn't your Aunt Mary's 1978 Chevette.

It is a Screaming Bargain but It Looks and Feels like a Grown-Up Car

Simply put, you can't find this level of interior build quality, roominess, features content or safety advancements in a compact car anywhere near my loaded to the gill's Cruze 2LT tester's $20,675 base price. Keep in mind that my Cruze tester also average 32 miles per gallon in mixed driving conditions where I rarely laid off the 1.4 liter 138 horsepower motor's addictive turbo adrenaline rush.

That price includes a six-speed automatic, heated front seats, high quality leather covering the seats and steering wheel, Bluetooth, automatic headlights, a power driver's seat, XM satellite radio, USB/iPod integration, a smooth 6-speed automatic, climate control, remote starting, 16-inch alloy wheels, steering wheel mounted audio/Bluetooth/cruise control, floormats, On-Star with turn by turn navigation and a crystal clear 6-speaker standard AM/FM/CD audio system.

The Cruze has the Nicest Leather Seats in its Price Class

The 2011 Chevy Cruze uses a grade of leather that I have never seen inside a car that costs this much or was this small except perhaps in a Mini Cooper S or an Audi A3. Chevy went above and beyond with the chrome-effect interior detailing around the air conditioning vents and with the expertly contrasting plastic trim on the dash and doors.

You may think that a light interior color will show dirt but I highly recommend the Cocoa/Light Neutral leather interior as it withstood the worst that a slobber and scratch prone Boxer could throw at it. Plastics and materials feel sturdy yet also manage to look classy in a very simple, straightforward way.

The 2011 Chevy Cruze is Fun to Drive

I realize that an economical, four door family sedan with a 1.4 liter engine doesn't shout "fun" from the rooftops but once you are behind the wheel of the 2011 Cruze you will begin to understand its fizzy and energetic spirit. You always have enough power and the steering calibration is perfect with no lazy slop like you find in so many other family cars. Every time I drove the Cruze, I was left with a smile on my face.

All of the Controls are Chunky, Easy to Read and User Friendly

From the Bluetooth functionality to the USB interface to the climate controls to the radio-the 2011 Chevy Cruze is the most user friendly new model I have ever tested. And I test a lot of new cars.

OnStar is an Invaluable Standard Feature

If you have an accident and your airbags go off the police are immediately summoned by Onstar along with emergency crews. They can also give you turn by turn instructions that illuminate in the central screen between your speedometer and tachometer. A navigation unit (with the upgraded audio system) is optional but not really necessary.

It's Incredibly Safe

The 2011 Chevy Cruze has ten airbags and is an IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) "Top Safety Pick" for 2011. The Government's NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) gave the Cruze the full five stars in all categories except rollover where it earned a still impressive four stars. That is impressive because the NHTSA's tests in 2011 are much, much harder than they were in 2010.

The Trunk is Huge!

15.4 cubic feet is nothing to sniff at! You'd have to go up a whole size class to a 2011 Sonata to even beat that by part of a cubic foot. And then you'd be stuck with a Sonata.

The Cruze Actually Got 32 Miles per Gallon in the Real World

I never get anywhere near the EPA estimates with any of the cars I test and that probably has more to do with my driving style than anything. But even pushing it hard the Chevy's 1.4 liter returned about 32 miles per gallon at a steady rate.

There's Room Inside for Four Fully Grown Adults

Riding around in the 2011 Chevy Cruze 2LT was no hardship as the sightlines out of the driver's seat and from every perch were all near perfect. There is none of that "am I riding inside a mailbox?" sensation when you are a passenger in a 2011 Chevy Cruze. The light interior color of my tester helped matters here.

The 2011 Chevy Cruze Literally Saved My Life

Have you ever had one of those moments behind the wheel of a car where you have no idea how you survived a near cataclysmic chain of events? Well, something a bit like this happened to me when I was driving this 2011 Chevy Cruze down the Pacific Coast Highway one evening with my parents and their dog Peyton. Luckily, everyone was wearing a seat belt or safety harness. Why did that matter?

Because an absent minded driver in a Lexus SUV veered into my lane and to avoid that collision I was forced into a dangerous fishtailing swerve into oncoming traffic. Mind you, all of this went on at 45 miles per hour but never once did I feel like I had anything less than total control of the Cruze. How it managed to miss all of the oncoming cars and accelerate past the Lexus is something only God or Chevy engineers know the answer to. So consider this review a thank you to them both.

Or go one further and buy yourself a 2011 Chevy Cruze 2LT. It may just sound like a sales pitch to you but I really feel like this car saved my life. I am positive that if I had been in another test vehicle I would have had a horrible accident where I would have instead been testing those ten airbags and OnStar.

Source: Chevy.com