Holden Cruze Sportwagon CDX 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $29,490
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic Paint $550
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: 91 RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 7.4
CO2 emissions (g/km): 175
Also consider: Hyundai i30 Tourer (from $22,990); Opel Astra Sports Tourer (from $27,990); Peugeot 308 wagon (from $31,990); Volkswagen Golf wagon (from $26,990)

So if you’ve been recently reading about all the updates and changes to the Model Year 2014 Holden Cruze small car, forget it. What we are talking about here is the Model Year 2013 Sportwagon.

Unlike the locally-built sedan and hatch, the wagon is imported from South Korea and its specification remains as it was when launched last December.

So that means Sportwagon misses out on many of the updates being touted by the locally-built Cruzes, including the Mylink infotainment system, and gets none of the price cuts, either.

There will inevitably be an MY14 Cruze Sportwagon but don’t expect to see it until after Holden gets over the hump of launching a rather significant range of large cars in the next few months…

So what we are road testing here is the CDX version of the Sportwagon, which is priced at $29,490 (plus ORCs) and comes only with a 1.8-litre ECOTEC four-cylinder petrol mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

You can buy a CD version -- it hasn’t swapped yet to the Equipe designation adopted by the sedan and hatch -- of the 1.8-litre/auto Sportwagon for $25,790, while 2.0-litre turbo-diesel/auto CD is the most expensive car in the range at $29,790.

Standard CD equipment includes cloth seats, CD/MP3 audio with six speakers, 16-inch steel wheels, air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors, cruise control, Bluetooth with audio streaming, automatic headlights and roof-rails.

CDX additions include leather-accented trim, heated front seats, climate-control, 17-inch alloy wheels, leather-bound steering wheel and gear knob, an auxiliary (12V) power outlet for rear-seat passengers, a sliding centre console lidded bin, body coloured doorhandles and front foglights.

A spare wheel is optional for both cars, or you make do with tyre sealant and air compressor kit.

Like the sedan and hatch, the Cruze Sportwagon has a five-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). Safety features include six airbags, rear parking sensors and electronic stability control including anti-lock braking system and traction control.

The Sportwagon’s stylish body sits over the same 2685mm wheelbase as them, but extends by as much 157mm. Luggage space grows to 686 litres from the sedan’s 445 litres and the hatch’s 413 litres. Drop the 60:40 split-fold bench seat and there’s a commodious 1478 litres of space for long and awkward items.

The problem is the more affordable 1.8-litre engine is also the less capable choice. It knocks out 104kW at 6300rpm and 175Nm at 3800rpm and averages 7.4L/100km, emitting 175g CO2/km in the process. Holden doesn’t make performance claims but in Europe, where the Cruze is sold as a Chevrolet, the official 0-100km/h time is 11.5 secs.

We wouldn’t say that’s optimistic -- if you’re travelling one up without luggage. But the Sportwagon can fit four adults and a lot of stuff quite comfortably. Then things start to slow down. The engine is noisy, a bit vibey and lacks rev range flexibility. The GM 6T30 transmission, which comes in the latest Gen II specification, is busier than a one-armed fiddle player up hills and there’s even the occasional rather uncouth flare between gears.

The good news is that lots of heavy throttle use didn’t seem to hurt the fuel consumption too much, which after a week of (mostly highway) testing managed to still record a competitive 8.0L/100km.

Still, we reckon the diesel engine is the better choice for load lugging (if not up-front cost), but so would be the 1.4-litre or 1.6-litre petrol-turbo engines offered with various Cruze sedan and hatch variants – if they were available.

The Sportwagon may be pretty slow, but at least it’s also quite comfortable. There’s no particular sophistication to its ride tune, but it does manage to shield the worst excesses of Australia’s crap roads. The standard Kumho Solus 215/50R17 tyres are a bit noisy on coarse surfaces, but the more significant NVH issue seems to be a lack of underbody cladding judging by the amount of spattering on gravel roads.

Our test car also had a significant squeak out of the rear-end on rough stuff, and that followed on from a squeaking dash in the car we drove at the launch last December.

From the driver’s seat, the Cruze is a nice enough experience. It’s worth noting the Sportwagon comes with electrically-assisted power steering when the locally-made Cruze’s with the 1.8 and 2.0s are still hydraulically-assisted. It seemed much of a muchness. While lacking the involvement of something like a Focus or all-round assurance of a Golf, it is entirely acceptable.

Around town and at car park speeds the steering is easily twirled, and there is terrific visibility for manoeuvring thanks to large windows.

Where the driver and other passengers will notice a distinct shortfall is in the quality of the interior appointments and trim. It looks stylish the way the centre stack cascades into the centre console, but the surfaces are hard and the front seats also lack both cushioning and bolstering. A sample of the cloth dash trim and seats of the CD around the same time actually seemed a nice choice.

In the rear, the passengers gain a few extra mm of headroom compared to the sedan and hatch, while kneeroom is acceptable for an 180cm adult sitting behind another 180cm adult. But things start to get tight if you are taller, or try to add another passenger in the middle-rear seat.

The interaction between passengers and the Sportwagon’s controls and dials is quite straight forward. There are useful storage bins and pockets for phones, tablets, drinks, food and the various other add-ons of modern life. The luggage loading height is low, the tailgate opens easily and there is a cargo blind for added security.

It all adds up to a pretty decent package, with just one rather significant issue; the engine. We’d love to see one of the torquier turbo-petrol engines punching away in this car and we reckon it would make all the difference.

Hopefully, we’ll find out when MY14 is launched.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site