Cruze well in control
27/Apr/2012
By Bill Buys, Community Newspaper Group motoring editor
The Series II Cruze is available with several added features.
THE Cruze is one of Holden's biggest success stories.
The car, now entirely produced in Australia, has found instant favour with the many buyers looking for style, comfort, space, driveability and more than a touch of chutzpah.
It overtook perennial favourite Commodore in sales some months ago, and its lead is increasing with each successive month as people realise it does almost everything its big brother can do, and does some even better.
The homegrown Cruze celebrated its best-ever March result, with 2880 sales for the month, to claim the third highest-selling model in the small car segment with a 13.4 per cent share and fifth in the market overall.
Cruzes come in a big choice of engine, transmission and body style, encompassing all of 32 combinations.
All are well specified, their coupe-like design housing standard features such as Bluetooth with voice recognition, USB input with iPod compatibility, audio controls on the steering wheel, auto-on headlights, power windows, cruise control and a maximum five-star Ancap safety rating.
Other standard items include six airbags and electronic stability control.
They can be had with 1.4, 1.8litre petrol or 2.0 litre diesel engines, five or six speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions, and in hatch or sedan body styles, and the 1.4 turbo models get electric power steering.
The cars have been a hit with all age and gender sectors because they're virtually tailor-made for today's traffic and economic conditions.
Good performance, top-class comfort, generous space, secure handling, easy driving and excellent visibility are all hallmarks of the Series II Cruze.
Right now, at Gibbons Holden, the limited edition Equipe model has become available, which throws in more than $1500 worth of gear for next to nothing extra.
Equipes add rear parking sensors and stylish 17-inch alloy wheels and special badging to the already comprehensive kit on the 1.8litre CD models.
The whole package is $21,990 for the five-speed manual, $24,290 for the automatic.
And there's no price difference between a sedan and a hatch.
The car's specs include a 104kW/176Nm 1.8litre engine, fuel economy of 7.0litres/100km, 413litres of boot space and a 60litre fuel tank, giving a range of up to 850km.
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