Cruze Diesel Review in Diesel World magazine...

[Chris Tobin]

Okay guys, the issue of Diesel World with my review of the Cruze Diesel is finally available. My subscription copy of the December 2013 issue was in the mailbox today so subscribers should have their copy any day now if they don't have it already and non-subscribers should be able to pick up a copy nationwide on the newsstand soon.

After you read the article let me know what you thought...

For those that don't/won't read Diesel World magazine here are my "Quick Takes" as given in the article:

LIKES:

• Powerful yet effecient turbo diesel engine
• Smooth-shifting automatic transmission
• Well-appointed car with leather interior, OnStar and other "upgrades" standard
• Comfortable interior
• Extremely quiet ride with very little road/wind noise and no noticable engine noise maintaining 70 mph on highway

DISLIKES:

• Programmed hesitation off the line
• No manual transmission available
• Fully loaded--would like bae model with cloth seats and less frills for an entry level price point
• No spare tire

To get more you'll have to read the article!

 

[truman]

Which fuel pump does it use?

 

[Chris Tobin]

I assume you are asking about the HPFP... The Cruze Diesel uses a Bosch CP1H which is NOT the same as the CP4.1 that the CR TDIs use. It is said to be of a much more robust design more similar to the venerable CP3 units used on Duramax and Cummins engines.

 

[aja8888]

Why is Onstar called a free (standard) "upgrade"? You have to pay for that service.

 

[Chris Tobin]

Why is Onstar called a free (standard) "upgrade"? You have to pay for that service.

I call it an included standard feature because the car comes with the capability as a standard feature and the first 6-months are included at no charge... The same way satellite radio is included with many cars (VW included) and free for the first 3-months, which by the way is also included in the Cruze Diesel...

I wouldn't use the concierge portion of the OnStar service but the accident response could very well save your life or the life of someone riding with you in the event of a serious accident, especially if it were a 1-car accident. Many other manufacturers are now trying to offer similar services to OnStar including BMW and others.

 

[pparks1]

My Sirius radio from VW only included 3 months of free service.

 

[Chris Tobin]

My Sirius radio from VW only included 3 months of free service.

I looked at the window sticker and 3-months sattelite radio with the Cruze Diesel too... And, the OnStar is 6-months included not one year... Sorry, if I caused any confusion, but it is still a good feature and it is included with the car.

 

[aja8888]

How did I manage driving without Onstar since 1961?

I have a cell phone and AAA.

 

[pparks1]

How did I manage driving without Onstar since 1961?
I have a cell phone and AAA.

But if you are knocked out during an accident, that won't help you. OnStar could.
Didn't have airbags in 1961 either, but now everything does.

 

[Chris Tobin]

How did I manage driving without Onstar since 1961?
I have a cell phone and AAA.

Many of us have managed to drive without it, but it is a good service. And just like AAA many of us drive without it just fine too... I didn't say it was necessary at all. I just said it was a good feature and it is included standard on the car. What is your problem with that???

But if you are knocked out during an accident, that won't help you. OnStar could.
Didn't have airbags in 1961 either, but now everything does.

It can also remotely unlock your car and track a stolen vehicle and other stuff that AAA and a cell phone can't do...

 

[pparks1]

It can also remotely unlock your car and track a stolen vehicle and other stuff that AAA and a cell phone can't do...

Yep. Some friends have had it, one friend used to work for them. I've never had a car which included it. < Then again, I don't change cars often either. I've only had 3 cars since 1997.

 

[Chris Tobin]

I've driven but not owned a car with OnStar... It has some good features and it is an added bonus feature to cars/trucks equipped with it, but certainly not a dealmaker or dealbreaker. It is just another one of the many standard features on the Cruze Diesel! It is a VERY nicely equipped car in base trim!

It is also AMAZINGLY quiet!!! I literally had to shut off the radio and AC to hear any road/wind noise at all when cruising on the highway at 70 mph! And, I could not hear the engine at all, even with the radio and AC off! They must put a lot of sound deadening into the car to make it soooo quiet. It is quieter than many luxury brand cars I have driven and WAY quieter than ANY VW I have ever driven!

 

[k1xv]

I leave my cellphone in an open console. If there were an accident, especially one with an overturned vehicle, the cell phone would go flying to parts unknown.

A funny but true story. I once stopped to render aid to an elderly gent who had run his pickup truck off the road and into a ditch. He was very concerned because the revolver he kept in the truck disappeared during the heavy jostling of the truck, and he could not find it, and the truck was about to be towed away.

 

[Chris Tobin]

I leave my cellphone in an open console. If there were an accident, especially one with an overturned vehicle, the cell phone would go flying to parts unknown.

A funny but true story. I once stopped to render aid to an elderly gent who had run his pickup truck off the road and into a ditch. He was very concerned because the revolver he kept in the truck disappeared during the heavy jostling of the truck, and he could not find it, and the truck was about to be towed away.

Now that is scary, especially if the revolver was loaded!!!

I was working on a truck once and realized that a handgun between the center console and the driver seat was pointed at my face while I was working in the back seat!!! I called the owner and he told me to be careful as it was loaded so I carefully removed it and locked it in my toolbox until I was finished working on his truck!

I keep my phone in my pocket typically, but a lot of the time in the car it is plugged into the charger and in the center console or between the shifter and the dash if I'm using the navigation so in an accident it would probably be lost too!

 

[aja8888]

Many of us have managed to drive without it, but it is a good service. And just like AAA many of us drive without it just fine too... I didn't say it was necessary at all. I just said it was a good feature and it is included standard on the car. What is your problem with that???

It can also remotely unlock your car and track a stolen vehicle and other stuff that AAA and a cell phone can't do...

Onstar is not free to have installed in the car. You pay for it in the price of the vehicle. Do you think GM gives it away for nothing? Whether or not there is a free use period has no bearing on it being an extra you are paying for. Personally, I don't like people telling me that I need a feature on a car. I am able to think for myself and decide what is a feature I want, not GM.

The main reason I have AAA is because I am driving a VW diesel and if the thing stops on its own and leaves me stuck on I-20 between Ft. Worth and Abilene, I want to have a 100 mile tow to a GURU paid for by AAA. The cell phone is to call AAA. I use my diesel for a living and go to places Onstar wouldn't be able to find.

 

[DPM]

I assume you are asking about the HPFP... The Cruze Diesel uses a Bosch CP1H which is NOT the same as the CP4.1 that the CR TDIs use. It is said to be of a much more robust design more similar to the venerable CP3 units used on Duramax and Cummins engines.

Yup, recent variant of the pump that's been used on many CRs since the turn of the century. Safe to say the bugs were beaten out of the design a while back...


here's some apps-
http://www.apdiesels.com/?page_id=125

 

[Chris Tobin]

Onstar is not free to have installed in the car. You pay for it in the price of the vehicle. Do you think GM gives it away for nothing? Whether or not there is a free use period has no bearing on it being an extra you are paying for. Personally, I don't like people telling me that I need a feature on a car. I am able to think for myself and decide what is a feature I want, not GM.
The main reason I have AAA is because I am driving a VW diesel and if the thing stops on its own and leaves me stuck on I-20 between Ft. Worth and Abilene, I want to have a 100 mile tow to a GURU paid for by AAA. The cell phone is to call AAA. I use my diesel for a living and go to places Onstar wouldn't be able to find.

So when VW decides what standard features are available in the car it is fine, but when Chevy does it it's bad... I get it now, thanks!

 

[Chris Tobin]

Yup, recent variant of the pump that's been used on many CRs since the turn of the century. Safe to say the bugs were beaten out of the design a while back...
here's some apps-
http://www.apdiesels.com/?page_id=125

Wow, that is a lot of models that use a that type of pump...

 

[aja8888]

So when VW decides what standard features are available in the car it is fine, but when Chevy does it it's bad... I get it now, thanks!

No, I just don't care for people like you telling me I need to have a feature or that its a good feature. You seem to think you have the last word on everything around here. It must have something to do with the exclamation points after most sentences !!!

 

[Chris Tobin]

No, I just don't care for people like you telling me I need to have a feature or that its a good feature. You seem to think you have the last word on everything around here. It must have something to do with the exclamation points after most sentences !!!

Sorry, but people like me get paid to tell people their opinion on what a good feature is... and in my opinion as I stated earlier OnStar is a good feature...

Sorry I disappointed you with my use of exclamation points!!! I'll try to do better. But, when something is exciting to me or I feel it needs emphasis, I will add the exclamation points as I feel they are needed.

But, if you don't want to read (or hear) what others think is a good feature I suggest you do not read a review, or a thread on a review then talk crap about it because you don't agree with the review! If you are a journalists and would like to write a review on the Cruze Diesel that contradicts mine, I suggest you contact GMs media department and set up the review process where you can have a vehicle delivered to you to review. But if you can't do that and you do want to know about the car then maybe reading a review. If on the other hand you just want to whine about the reviewer and punctuation maybe you should start your own thread instead of cluttering up this one...

 

[chittychittybangbang]

I reviewed the cruze diesel. It does get better high mpg than the Jetta but it's more sluggish in handling and throttle response. It's significantly louder at idle. It's a better value at similar trim levels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awOTNTw0bhw

 

[aja8888]

I reviewed the cruze diesel. It does get better high mpg than the Jetta but it's more sluggish in handling and throttle response. It's significantly louder at idle. It's a better value at similar trim levels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awOTNTw0bhw

Thanks Chtty, very well done unbiased and unpaid review. Nice to have an independent analysis. I'll have to check the new forum you started.

 

[Chris Tobin]

Thanks Chtty, very well done unbiased and unpaid review. Nice to have an independent analysis. I'll have to check the new forum you started.

So the problem that you have with my review is that I am a professional and get paid to write articles?

I get paid by the publisher, not by any manufacturers!!! I write unbiased articles and reviews. I report dyno tested results when possible (we tried to dyno the Cruze Diesel but were not able to get consistent results presumable due to the Stability Control System). Track times and mileage reports in my review are dead on accurate as per the fuel pump and trip odometer not the trip computer and the timing lights at the track.

Chevrolet is not an advertiser of Diesel World magazine, but even if they were, the ad sales department and editorial departments are completely independent and there has NEVER been a mandate of any kind to alter, inflate, deflate or misstate any editorial comments on ANY manufacturer's products that we are reviewing or writing about!!! When I wrote articles on TDI stuff and products that were tested/installed on my '06 Jetta TDI I reported on the installation process and provided the tested results where applicable and gave opinions where warranted. That is what professional writers/photographers do... I'm sorry if that offends or bothers you in some way! But I do not understand why on earth it would???

 

[Ski in NC]

Chris, I don't think AJ's comment was directed at you.

 

[ranger1]

Just read the review

Found it yesterday, good job Chris. I especially liked the pics of the engine bay, the underside of the car without the belly pans and the front axle/wheel area without the tire. Good stuff.

Especially impressive was the mixed mountain driving fuel economy you obtained, 39.9 mpg, if that included the Tail of the Dragon. I've driven that road and ~40 mpg in any vehicle is impressive.

When you mention the slight but definite pause on takeoff, was there any difference with/without traction control switched off? I've seen some transmission tunes on European sites for that tranny, perhaps thats the reason they exist.

How did you find the engine noise when accelerating from 20 - 40mph in everyday driving? I see the quiet ride at 70 mph is consistent in almost every review.

Good review Chris, appreciate reviews that aren't rehashed press copy.

 

[aja8888]

So the problem that you have with my review is that I am a professional and get paid to write articles?

Easy buddy, my comment to Chitty was specifically to him praising his efforts and had nothing to do with your work. Lighten up, please.

 

[steveg241]

The noise accelerating is not much of a bother to me and I have 4000+ miles on mine. Between 20 and 40 mph it isn't noticeable unless I have the windows open. With the radio on volume 10 and windows closed, I barely notice the engine noise.

I definitely notice the lag and it seems to happen in a more pronounced manner when the vehicle is cold after sitting all night and gets better after it warms up. I do also notice a slight roll back on hills as well. Noting that has ever had me worried and seems to be the way the transmission was designed. Honestly, I'm cruising at highway speeds over 80% of the time driving, so I can forgive any small issues at low speeds.

The biggest issue with the car now is the lack of full synthetic oils that are Dexos2 certified. The AC Delco Dexos2 synthetic blend is garbage based on some tests, and I have my oil at 4000 miles sent out for analysis at Blackstone Labs. I've switched to a Dexos2 equivalent which GM defines as an oil that is ACEA C3 compliant, which is pretty much every VW 507.00 certified oil. I'm using Mobil 1 ESP 5w30. If a Dexos2 oil became available at a good price, I would switch.

For some reason, the same engine in Europe uses a 5w40 oil, and there seem to be many more 5w40 Dexos2 oils than 5w30s. I think GM is really shooting themselves in the foot with the way they license Dexos oils. As you can see, the only issues are really with GM and not the car but I think things will get better when more of them are on the roads. I'm willing to accept these issues as an early adopter and from what I remember there were similar issues with availability of VW 507.00 oils when they first came out. Only time will tell how things go.

 

[Chris]

One additional thing OnStar can do is tell you what codes have been set if your MIL goes on.

 

[truman]

Liqui Moly Top Tec 4100 5w40 looks like a reasonable option- available at NAPA

 

[JM Popaleetus]

I use my diesel for a living and go to places Onstar wouldn't be able to find.

You take your diesel off planet? That's impressive.