- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.8i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
104kW, 176Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 7L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Tiny truck with twitches
With the Cruze, Holden has tried to morph a mini car into a small 4WD. It failed, says Bill McKinnon. Good: Small exterior/big interior packaging. Sharp styling. Well equipped. Drive transfer system works smoothly. High seating position. Easy entry and exit.
Bad: Performance. Refinement. Quality. Handling. Steering. Fuel consumption. Gearbox. Low-speed ride. Compromises such as the lack of a left footrest, stepped load floor, no centre lap-sash belt, inconvenient child restraint anchor location, space-saver spare.
Verdict: Neither a good small car nor a good 4WD.
Stars: 1.5 (out of 5)
The past five years have seen Holden put together its best ever line-up of A-grade cars.
The European-sourced Barina, Astra and Vectra, as well as the locally built Commodore, Statesman and Monaro, all have that Holden feel – they're solid, refined, responsive, comfortable and, most importantly, involving and enjoyable from the driver's seat.
In their relevant classes, Holdens tend to shine because their engineering works on the road. Within the limitations imposed by relatively tight development budgets, Holden's white coats usually deliver a remarkably sophisticated drive.
Not this time. The new Cruze – a mini wagon with 4WD pretensions – is based on the Suzuki Ignis, a $13,990 shopping trolley.
Despite Holden's efforts to hoist the hardware above mediocrity, the end result is still basically the same. Only it now carries a $19,990 pricetag.
GM has a stake in the Japanese maker; the Cruze was originally commissioned by GM's Chevrolet division as a show car in 1999. Holden's designers were asked to create the butch exterior; for the production version, Suzuki replaced the Ignis's front-drive layout with four-wheel-drive.
The Cruze is first and foremost a marketing exercise. Every man and his dog in the car business is chasing the under-35 Gen Y market, especially women, with so-called recreational crossover vehicles – compact 4WD wagons that push outdoorsy, free-spirit, independent self-perception buttons.
Holden missed the boat completely in RAV4/CR-V territory, but it has got in early with the Cruze in the mini-sized crossover class, where its only true rivals at present are Daihatsu's Terios and Suzuki's Jimny.
There's little doubt that this niche will grow substantially in the years ahead, especially when more heavyweight players inevitably join in.
The Cruze has a 1.5-litre 74kW Suzuki engine, which drives the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. If the fronts lose traction on a slippery surface, a viscous coupling sends some torque to the rears.
The 1.5 is straight out of the 1980s – a raucuous, buzzy device that goes hard enough at the top end but is gutless elsewhere. It dies on a decent hill and requires several downchanges to maintain momentum. It's also relatively thirsty.
The five-speed gearbox is similarly agricultural. The shift action is loose and noisy; gears engage with the occasional crunch.
Holden's chassis engineers have skilfully adapted such European products as the Barina and Astra to the demands of our B-grade roads by modifying suspension and steering, choosing the right tyres and adding strength and durability.
They have tried to do the same in switching the Ignis to Cruze mode.
The widened track improves stability, specific spring/damper rates were chosen for more controlled dynamics on poor surfaces and the steering recalibrated for greater feel and precision at highway speeds. The 15-inch alloy wheels are shod with Bridgestone 175/65 tyres.
Ground clearance has been raised to 180mm for off-bitumen excursions, and to qualify the Cruze for the 4WD import tariff discount.
Bad move. The last thing you want to do, if you're after better handling, is take a short, tall, skinny car like the Ignis and jack it up. This simply raises its centre of gravity, which makes bad dynamics infinitely worse.
Holden's chassis tweaks fail to ameliorate the effects of this fundamental backward step. The Cruze is a bottom feeder in the handling pond. Compared with a conventional small car, it leans precariously into tighter corners, doesn't like quick changes of direction and generally feels like the top-heavy, twitchy little truck that it is.
On rough roads, especially dirt tracks, the Cruze needs careful treatment. Potholes easily trip the front end, in turn flicking the back end sideways with occasionally scary consequences.
On dirt, the 4WD system cuts in smoothly enough, but the front wheels will keep spinning if you're a bit heavy on the accelerator as the tyres struggle for traction.
With poor on-centre feel at highway speeds, the steering is light, vague and not particularly direct, a characteristic that would only exacerbate the Cruze's nervous behaviour in bends.
The disc/drum brakes are just adequate.
Around town, the ride verges on harsh but it is acceptably compliant at highway speeds. Engine, wind and suspension noise are excessive.
The driver sits high on a firmly padded seat with reasonable support. Vision is clear around the car. Height adjusters are provided for the seat and the wheel; tall drivers might require more seat travel.
In the absence of a left foot rest – a silly omission – a size-10 boot can get caught between the clutch and the side of the footwell.
The dash is basic cheap Japan Inc, with sludge grey plastics relieved by fake metal highlights. There's plenty of oddment storage, including a tray under the passenger's seat. The radio/CD head unit is too far away to reach easily, the buttons are small and sound quality is dreadful.
Standard equipment includes dual airbags, air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors, remote central locking and roof rails.
The flat, high rear seat is tight for leg room if there are tallish occupants up front. Access is good, but there's a lap-only belt and no head restraint for the centre position. Two child restraint anchors are located under the one-piece tailgate, so fitting restraints will compromise load capacity.
There's more boot volume to play with than in a hatchback, though floor space is short. A flexible cover is provided. The 50/50 split-folding rear seat allows you to carry more gear; only the seat backs fold forward so the extended floor has a big step in the middle. Underneath is a space-saver spare.
The Cruze is a tinny, poor-handling, never-mind-the-quality fashion piece, thrown together on the cheap. Holden has compromised its badge values in pursuit of some sales action in a niche which, it obviously believe, values style over substance.
A different set of priorities is evident in its other small car, the Barina. That is a fair dinkum Holden.
Vital signs
Holden Cruze
Engine: 1.5-litre 16-valve fuel-injected four-cylinder
Power: 74kW at 6000rpm (average)
Performance: 0-100kmh in 13.1 seconds (slowish)
Brakes: Disc/drum (adequate)
Economy: 9.3 litres/100km (250km city/highway/dirt road loop)
Price: Recommended retail – $19,990
Street price: A bit early for deals
Main options: Four-speed automatic $2000; ABS $700; metallic paint $240
Warranty: Three years/100,000km (average)
Safety rating: Not yet tested
Residual value: No model history
Alternatives:
Daihatsu Terios 1.3 – $18,790
Suzuki Jimny 1.3 – $19,990