While the Chevrolet Cruze five-door was available with a 2.0-litre VDCi engine at launch - alongside two petrol engines - the addition of a new 1.7-litre VDCi to the small family car range should spike the interest of fleets and business users again. Equipped with a 128bhp 1.7-litre diesel that emits 117g/km and can return a theoretical 62.7mpg on the combined cycle, the new Cruze goes on sale in May 2012 and should provide a boost to sales for Chevrolet UK. Due to an odd quirk of pricing, the older, less-efficient 2.0 diesel is less expensive than the new 1.7 - £17,200 and £17,825 respectively in LT trim. The new 1.7 diesel is as 'green' as the Cruze gets in terms of fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions. That means free road tax in the first year - £30 a year thereafter - and 17 per cent Benefit-In-Kind company car tax. But the Cruze is no slouch with the new diesel engine - it will clear 60mph in under ten seconds and go on to 124mph. It pulls strongly through the gears and will accelerate with little trouble even in sixth gear, no hard working of the gears required. Trim levels are the same as the rest of the Cruze line-up, meaning the £16,725 entry-level LS specification comes with stability control, aircon, and electric mirrors and electric front windows. With that kit as standard and a good, frugal diesel engine it's a strong proposition. LT trim adds adjustable and heated door mirrors, four-way adjustable seats, front fog lights, rear park assist, interior leather trim and 16-inch alloy wheels - it is the likely best-selling model. Range-topping LTZ adds cruise control, 17-inch alloy wheels, climate control and automatic windscreen wipers. It costs £18,685. Now available in four-door saloon and five-door hatch models, the Cruze range will be expanded further later this year with a Station Wagon estate variant later in 2012. New Cruze 1.7 VDCi first drive While there's already a larger diesel engine, the 1.7-litre VDCi diesel engine should give the Cruze a real boost in terms of sales, particularly in fleet and company car markets. For the record the new 1.7 returns 12.3mpg more than Cruze 2.0 VDCi models at 62.7mpg, with CO2 emissions 30g/km lower at 117g/km. The new diesel engine is quiet and refined and pulls strongly throughout the gears. There is no noticeable turbolag as there is on some diesel cars, where there's a noticeable gap between pressing the accelerators and feeling the engine responder as the turbocharger kicks in. Nor is there much in the way of drop-off if you lose revs. Due to the way that some diesels are geared, with narrow ratios between gears, you need to be in the right gear to suit the engine revs - otherwise the engine will struggle as you try to pick up speed. Not so on the Cruze - if you're up to 40mph or over you can probably use of three gears of the six available. Two transmissions are available. As ever, while the automatic will provide a more relaxing ride it will dent fuel economy. The manual has an easy, light gearchange and works well with the engine. When it comes to fuel economy, Chevrolet has introduced an 'eco' button will engage stop-start that will switch of the engine when you come to a stop, brake and disengage the clutch. Depress the clutch again and the engine will start up. I found the Cruze's stop-start a little hard to get to grips with at first. If a car is on the slow side to re-engage the engine you can attempt to pull away too early and stall the car. However, depressing the clutch again restarts the engine, so this is not a huge problem - and a few hours with a car with stop-start should be enough to gauge when the car is ready to move away. While the 1.7 VDCi Cruze can theoretically manage over 62mpg I only managed 31mpg on a drive that included a mix of fast back roads and stop-start driving. Should you need the help that's literally half of the official fuel economy, but the driving conditions were not typical and the car was brand new so that figure is unlikely to be typical. With some gentling - the dashboard will tell you the optimum time to change up a gear - the car should be able to manage at least mid-50s, according to the instant mileage reading on the dashboard that tells you how much fuel is being used in real time. The Cruze is reasonably enjoyable to drive, considering that it's also comfortable and relaxing to be in but the car has been optimised with comfort in mind, rather than chuckability. Steering is light, meaning it's easy to drive but not a huge amount of fun. Around town the Cruze feels nimble and easy to manoeuvre, rear parking sensors on the LT trim helping with parking. On motorways too the Cruze feels relaxed, though at lower speeds on poor road surfaces the Chevy hatch struggles in terms of ride comfort, the tyres communicating the imperfections in the tarmac. The diesel engine is very quiet, though there's some road noise that roars on poor surfaces. There's a lot of space up front for driver and front passenger. Rear passengers are reasonably served, with space in the back reasonable for the segment but not enormous. The Cruze does have a very well-sized standard boot at a 413 litres - a lot more than rivals like the Astra and Ford Focus in a sector where smaller standard boots that extend to big load spaces with the rear seats folded down seem to the fashion. Drop down the Cruze hatch's rear seats and there's 883 litres of space - and that figure doesn't compare especially well with competitors, nor is the load space flat. The Chevrolet Cruze hatch does show its heritage inside - it's very much a General Motors car and shares similarities with the Vauxhall Astra. It's not as pleasant inside as the new Astra, but by no means is it recognisable as a 'budget' car - modern Chevy interiors are much stronger than a few years ago. All told the new 1.7-litre diesel adds desirability to the Cruze hatch in terms of running costs - it should especially appeal to fleet users. While not a car that can stake a claim to be the best in the sector, the new 1.7 Cruze hatch does have practicality, size, impressive kit levels and a strong powertrain to its credit - that is bound to be attractive to motorists who value the simple things in their cars. The fact that the Cruze is smart, generally comfortable and a little bit different won't hurt either. Milestones Chevrolet Cruze 1.7 VDCi five-door Price: £17,825 Powertrain: 128bhp 1.7-litre diesel with six-speed manual; 221lb-ft of torque Performance: 0-60mph: 9.4 seconds; top speed 124mph Fuel consumption: 62.7mpg official (31.3mpg on test - see review); CO2 emissions 117g/km Road tax: Band F, £0 in first year, £30 per year afterwards B-I-K company car tax: 17% Boot space: 413 litres / 883 litres with rear seats folded down.
