Holden’s latest import, the Cruze, is all set to go on sale here next month, with pricing to start at a very competitive $20,990 for the Cruze CD manual.
It’ll slot into Holden’s lineup where the dearly departed Astra used to sit, however it won’t directly replace it. That’s the job of the Australian-built Cruze hatch, which is expected to arrive in 2010.
But hatch or no hatch, the Cruze should have no trouble generating sales for Holden. It’ll come in three basic flavours: CD petrol, CD diesel and CDX petrol; with each available with either a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. The 1.8 litre petrol motor delivers 104kW and 176Nm of torque, while the 2 litre common-rail diesel thumps out 110kW and 320Nm of twist and is the same unit used by the Captiva and Epica.
The petrol engine should return an average economy figure of 7.0l/100km when hooked up to the manual gearbox, while the diesel boasts a claimed consumption of just 5.7l/100km. Not too shabby.
Both owe much of their economy to their engine’s generous distribution of torque, with 90 percent of the petrol motor’s 176Nm available between 2200rpm and 6200rpm, and 90 percent of the diesel’s 320Nm spread between 1750rpm and 3500rpm.
Both engines comply with Euro IV standards, with the 2.0 diesel manual emitting just 149 grams of carbon per km.
It’ll be packed with a healthy amount of standard kit too, with airconditioning, auto-on headlights, six-speaker MP3-compatible stereo, power windows, cruise control, a trip computer and steering wheel-mounted audio controls all included in the base model CD’s price.
The up-spec CDX gets even more, with 17-inch alloys replacing the CD’s 16-inch steel rims and a set of foglights getting grafted to its snout. It also gets leather seats (heated in the front), a leather-bound steering wheel, rear parking sensors and subtle lashings of chrome.
Both CD and CDX benefit from a comprehensive suite of safety aids too, with electronic stability control, traction control, ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution, brake assist all fitted as standard. All Cruze’s will ship with six airbags too, one each for the driver and front passenger, two side airbags for the front seats and a full-length curtain airbag along each side.
Not only that, but buyers can also take comfort in the knowledge that the Cruze was recently awarded a full five-star safety rating under the rigorous ANCAP crash-testing regime.
Priced from $20,990, the Cruze will undercut it’s two primary competitors - the Corolla sedan and Mazda3 sedan - by a good $750. Not only that, but it gets more safety gear, more standard equipment, slightly more power, the choice of a diesel powertrain and it also chews less fuel. Korean origins or not, it looks like Holden has a winner on its hands.
- Cruze CD 1.8 litre petrol man / auto: $20,990 / $22,990
- Cruze CDX 1.8 litre petrol man / auto: $23,990 / $25,990
- Cruze CD 2.0 litre diesel man / auto: $23,990 / $25,990
