Holden Cruze CDX Diesel 2010 Review

Price guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $29,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Nil
Crash rating (ANCAP): Five-stars
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 6.9
CO2 emissions (g/km): 183
Also consider: Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI

About our ratings

When Holden first released Cruze in 2008, its attractive, arch-topped proportions gave it the same standout appeal among its competitors as the muscular VE Commodore did a couple of segments up. In the form we have here, the Cruze's cause is helped by its combination of diesel engine and sedan layout, making it almost unique in the small car sector.

Cruze has performed well for the company since launch, taking up residence among Australia's ten best selling cars and making top-five in October 2010. As base material for the upcoming Volt PHEV and other models include Hatch and potentially wagon or SUV variants, the global platform on which it's built is here for a while. Proof positive is Holden is readying its local plant for production of the car in two body styles  in 2011.

One of the roomiest cars in the small car segment, it offers the most affordable diesel option for a sedan of its size. With 110kW on tap, the diesel is unusual in offering more power than its 1.8 litre petrol counterpart -- albeit only 6kW and at an uncomfortable 4000rpm.

More importantly, it delivers nearly 80 per cent more torque, making its 320Nm available at 2000 rpm. It's the pick of the current powertrains, even with the $3500 premium it commands.

I'd spend the money on the turbodiesel engine (over the petrol) and save $2000 on the auto transmission. Diesels have enough low-end torque to take much of the ‘rowing' work out of a manual gearbox. Also Cruze's six-speed auto is ill-mapped enough for this engine as to render the five-cog manual the luxury option. It seems not to understand it's talking to a low-rev, high-torque oiler, refusing to let go each gear until well beyond the optimal rev threshold.

This does no favours for an engine with that's already no symphonic work of art. It has a joke-manual mode if you're in the mood, but it behaves like a hungover teenager, taking hours to get out of bed and treating shift orders as optional.

The mismatch shows at the pump and on paper, too, with a claimed 5.7L/100 km combined for the manual, 6.9 for the auto. Our five day stint with it, which included two days in the Blue Mountains, yielded a 7.9 average. With its 60-litre fuel tank, that makes the Cruze good for many a mile between fuel stops.

Holden claims CO2 emissions of 149g/km for the manual and 183 for the auto. That turns into a 7.5 out of 10 greenhouse gas emissions rating for the manual from the Federal Government's Green Vehicle, while the auto gets 6.5 out of 10.

Where Holden has a done a terrific job is in the ride-handling compromise. The steering is reasonably tactile and responsive in cornering, while the gas-damped front Macpherson struts and rear compound crank axle keep it flat and take the worst of the bumpy stuff in their stride.

It's well sorted for wind and road noise at freeway speeds too, with surface noise only interrupting the diesel castanets on the coarsest of tar.

For interior space, the Cruze is among the best in its class, with enough shoulder and hip room to accommodate three youngsters or two adults. Rear legroom and rake of the turret might elicit complaint from taller grown-ups, but for young families it's ideal. More so thanks to a decent 400-litre boot of sufficient depth for prams and the like. This is expandable forward by virtue of a 60:40 split-fold rear seat.

Up front, the driver's seat is reasonably comfortable and adjustable for height. But I struggled in vain to find a driving position that comfortably accommodated my accelerator leg for any length of time.

The online spec sheet takes padding to new levels by listing 'rear tail lamps' as part of the Cruze's standard equipment. But you do get a fair amount of kit for your $30K: leather interior, heating for the front seats and wing mirrors, six-speaker audio with iPod interface, rear parking beepers, auto headlights, foglamps and 17-inch alloys are all part of the CDX spec. Missing? Rain-sensing wipers and while Holden has no doubt noticed the downmarket creep of Bluetooth connectivity, for now it remains a $550 option.

Important to the Cruze's value formula is a decent safety equipment list, helping earn it a five-star ANCAP rating. Below stairs it gets stability and traction control and antilock brakes with emergency brake distribution and brake assist. Inside, driver and passengers get six airbags (front, front-side, full curtain), front seatbelt pretensioning and collapsible pedals.

Elements of the interior betray the car's cut-price origins. A lot of the plastics feel brittle, and some of the secondary switchgear on our test car felt a mite flimsy -- although the stubby column stalks for major functions seemed set for a decent lifespan.

The Cruze is also a bit over-ornate round the console and instrument binnacle. At least the dash ergonomics are generally good, with major and minor controls intuitive enough to get familiar in minutes. There are some irritating reflections from the instrument pod under midday sun, and from the console lighting at night. But that's sometimes the price when the price is right.

And for the moment and for the foreseeable future that's what the Cruze has in its favour: the price, or at least the lack of competitors combining an oil-burner at one end and a boot at the other for anything like the price.

Equipment levels, five-star safety and ease of use are bonuses.

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