Chevrolet takes covers off new 2016 Cruze, India entry in 2017

Chevrolet unveiled the second-generation Cruze sedan at a world premiere at the Filmore Theatre in Detroit. The brand's best-selling global car now features a redesigned exterior and interior and now rides on GM’s new D2 FWD platform.

The new Chevrolet Cruze sedan varies in its exterior styling from the one unveiled for the Chinese market last year. Its design gets styling inspired from the present-day Chevrolet models including the recently-unveiled Chevrolet Volt electric car. On the exterior, it gets projector headlamps and LED daytime running lamps on higher models.

Like the current car, the new Chevrolet Cruze’s interior gets a dual-cockpit design and comes with a piano-black or brushed aluminum finish along with multiple soft-touch surfaces on the dash and other parts. A large screen sits at the centre of the dash and is surrounded by two vertical AC vents.

The new Cruze is longer than its predecessor; it adds 15mm more to its wheelbase and 69mm to its overall length of 4666mm. It also offers more interior room than the earlier model and additional rear knee room of 51mm. The new Chevrolet Cruze petrol sold in North America is lighter than its predecessor by around 113kg. According to GM, it features one of the “most mass-efficient” chassis systems currently available in the market. It also features 27 percent stiffer body as compared to its predecessor.

Two new engine options for India
The all-new Cruze is likely to come to India with two new engine options. The 2-litre diesel will be replaced by a smaller, state-of-the-art 1.6 variable geometry turbo-diesel, which GM’s powertrain engineer claims is ‘whisper quiet’ and sets a new benchmark for refinement. Featuring the latest injection technology and new low friction components, this 1.6 diesel is expected to be very fuel efficient too. The power and torque for this new engine has not been revealed but company sources hint that figures could be close to the earlier 2-litre engine.  With demand for petrol motors returning, Chevrolet, for the first time in India, will offer the Cruze with a petrol engine – the Ecotec 1.4 turbo-petrol with direct-injection developing 153bhp and 24.47kgm of torque (cutaway illustration depicted below).

“The new Ecotec family is a globally designed and manufactured engine designed to offer class-leading performance, efficiency and refinement in a wide variety of applications around the world,” said Dan Nicholson, vice-president, GM Global Powertrain. “Each variant is designed for a specific application or local market, but all share design, performance and refinement traits that make the new architecture one of the most adaptable in the industry.”

The new Chevrolet Cruze for North America gets MacPherson strut suspension up front and a torsion beam axle on the lower models and an enhanced Z-link design on higher trims. It gets 15-inch wheels for the lower-specced trims while the higher variants get 17-inch or 18-inch wheels.

Safety features such as 10 airbags, ESP, rollover mitigation and ABS are standard on all trims. The sedan also gets four-wheel disc brakes, a rearview camera and available GM OnStar with a 4G LTE system along with a Wi-Fi hotspot feature. Available advanced safety features include Side Blind Zone Alert, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Lane Keep Assist and Forward Collision Alert

The new Chevrolet Cruze also gets GM’s MyLink Infotainment system equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen that is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Andriod Auto. Also available is the MyLink radio with larger 8-inch display that also gets navigation and Apple CarPlay. It also gets features including wireless phone charging, heated rear leather seats and heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel for higher trims.

The new Chevrolet Cruze will be eventually sold in 40 international markets and will be available in both left-hand and right-hand drive configurations.  It is expected to reach Indian showrooms in 2017.