OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Nothing wrong with being a GM guy Nick. There are "guys" of every brand.
Anyway, glad to hear you are enjoying the car!
Anyway, glad to hear you are enjoying the car!
2011 Cruze- 1 month review
- Thread starter Nick R
- Start date
- Status
Quote:
The Turbo starts spooling at 1,850RPM and reaches full boost by 2,000RPM. It's a tiny turbo too. But even when the turbo isn't spooled, locked into high gear in manual mode, the engine has decent torque, starting at 1,500RPM. Then, in drive, once that turbo spools, there is just so much torque. The power band of this engine is happiest from 2,500RPM-5000RPM. Over that, it kinda loses steam (confirmed by the torque and horsepower numbers. Torque is 148lb/ft from 1,850-4,900RPM, Horsepower peaks at 4900RM and drops off after, to the redline of 6,500). This means that any time you put your foot down enough to keep it in this powerband, it just goes like you would never expect a tiny 1.4L to pull.
This menas that going up hills, and accelerating under light foot means that even without downshifting, it will pull decently. It can't really be described without driving a turbo car. If you haven't driven one, you probably don't know what it feels like. You don't expect a four cylinder, especially one this tiny, to have gobs of torque at just above 2000RPM. The engine itself is pretty fantastic so far. There is a danger of turbo engines though- one that I will get to in a bit.
We just bought a new 2011 Regal 2.0 Turbo, and you have described it's behavior perfectly. Having never owned a Turbo car, I am VERY impressed with how much torque this tiny engine has at 2000 rpm. Feels much more responsive than the naturally Aspirated GM 3.8 V6 we had in our last car (Impala).
The Turbo starts spooling at 1,850RPM and reaches full boost by 2,000RPM. It's a tiny turbo too. But even when the turbo isn't spooled, locked into high gear in manual mode, the engine has decent torque, starting at 1,500RPM. Then, in drive, once that turbo spools, there is just so much torque. The power band of this engine is happiest from 2,500RPM-5000RPM. Over that, it kinda loses steam (confirmed by the torque and horsepower numbers. Torque is 148lb/ft from 1,850-4,900RPM, Horsepower peaks at 4900RM and drops off after, to the redline of 6,500). This means that any time you put your foot down enough to keep it in this powerband, it just goes like you would never expect a tiny 1.4L to pull.
This menas that going up hills, and accelerating under light foot means that even without downshifting, it will pull decently. It can't really be described without driving a turbo car. If you haven't driven one, you probably don't know what it feels like. You don't expect a four cylinder, especially one this tiny, to have gobs of torque at just above 2000RPM. The engine itself is pretty fantastic so far. There is a danger of turbo engines though- one that I will get to in a bit.
We just bought a new 2011 Regal 2.0 Turbo, and you have described it's behavior perfectly. Having never owned a Turbo car, I am VERY impressed with how much torque this tiny engine has at 2000 rpm. Feels much more responsive than the naturally Aspirated GM 3.8 V6 we had in our last car (Impala).
Originally Posted By: GMFan
NickR,
I know I'm a car nut when I enjoy looking under the hood of a car more than the sheet metal!
Looking at your pics was entertaining, thank you. GM has come a LONG way. Glad to hear you are enjoying the Cruze.
+1
Love the write up...looking forward to a Cruze myself...
NickR,
I know I'm a car nut when I enjoy looking under the hood of a car more than the sheet metal!
Looking at your pics was entertaining, thank you. GM has come a LONG way. Glad to hear you are enjoying the Cruze.
+1
Love the write up...looking forward to a Cruze myself...
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Truly a global car
I noticed that on the LS I had in the shop the other day. Lots of Korea and Germany. Like an Asian design with German underpinnings
GM changed their colors on the wiring though. That was challenging
Truly a global car
I noticed that on the LS I had in the shop the other day. Lots of Korea and Germany. Like an Asian design with German underpinnings
GM changed their colors on the wiring though. That was challenging
Thanks for the reviews on the Cruze. Just picked my 2012 1LT 6A last night. Tranny is a little clunky like you describe. Only have 33 miles on it though. Average mpg is at 30.7 so far. Tom
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Truly a global car
I noticed that on the LS I had in the shop the other day. Lots of Korea and Germany. Like an Asian design with German underpinnings
GM changed their colors on the wiring though. That was challenging
That's exactly right, actually. The bodywork design was done by Daewoo, or GM Korea, and the actual engineering, engine, transmission, chassis, etc was done by Opel- or GM of Germany.
Made in Lordstown Ohio with somewhere above ~64% Domestic Parts Content, iirc with the US assembled engine and transmission.
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Truly a global car
I noticed that on the LS I had in the shop the other day. Lots of Korea and Germany. Like an Asian design with German underpinnings
GM changed their colors on the wiring though. That was challenging
That's exactly right, actually. The bodywork design was done by Daewoo, or GM Korea, and the actual engineering, engine, transmission, chassis, etc was done by Opel- or GM of Germany.
Made in Lordstown Ohio with somewhere above ~64% Domestic Parts Content, iirc with the US assembled engine and transmission.
Nick, I just put a deposit down on a Cruze Eco, so hopefully I'll have a review of my own to write shortly.
Got the Eco, and it's a very nice car. Will post initial impressions later.
There is a lot of really good information in this thread regarding small turbo charged engines in relation to performance and fuel economy. And gearing.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32477
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32477
4100 Miles on the car, and nothing to note about. Transmission is still improving daily, 2nd still can shift a little high, but other than that it's predictable and like any other automatic now. No rattles, no problems. Will keep updated.
Nick, my interior is starting to rattle like mad with 1400 miles on the car. Especially the instrument cluster cover, that's the worst offender. It's noticeable over rougher roads, and over large bumps. The driver's side A-pillar cover is also loose, where it can be pushed back into position. I'm going to raise Cain with the local dealer on a day off. A 1400 mile car made a month ago shouldn't have a single rattle. Our Honda's interior is still fairly rattle-free at 2.5 years and 45k miles.
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Nick, my interior is starting to rattle like mad with 1400 miles on the car. Especially the instrument cluster cover, that's the worst offender. It's noticeable over rougher roads, and over large bumps. The driver's side A-pillar cover is also loose, where it can be pushed back into position. I'm going to raise Cain with the local dealer on a day off. A 1400 mile car made a month ago shouldn't have a single rattle. Our Honda's interior is still fairly rattle-free at 2.5 years and 45k miles.
Dude, that sucks. Mine is as quiet as it's ever been. I just drove 60 miles with the radio off (headache) on the highway and not a single rattle anywhere. I'd talk to teh dealership, that shouldn't be doing that.
Nick, my interior is starting to rattle like mad with 1400 miles on the car. Especially the instrument cluster cover, that's the worst offender. It's noticeable over rougher roads, and over large bumps. The driver's side A-pillar cover is also loose, where it can be pushed back into position. I'm going to raise Cain with the local dealer on a day off. A 1400 mile car made a month ago shouldn't have a single rattle. Our Honda's interior is still fairly rattle-free at 2.5 years and 45k miles.
Dude, that sucks. Mine is as quiet as it's ever been. I just drove 60 miles with the radio off (headache) on the highway and not a single rattle anywhere. I'd talk to teh dealership, that shouldn't be doing that.
I can't understand why GM did not go with a 0W-20 oil in the tiny turbo engine. Oh, wait, maybe because it's not heavy enough for sufficient protection?
Looks like a really cool little car. I hope they hold up well.
Looks like a really cool little car. I hope they hold up well.
I set up an appointment for next Friday when I'm a few blocks away from a dealer. I got the usual small-town dealer "you didn't buy it from us, why expect us to service it" attitude. I'm not trying to be a jerk, only to get my under-warranty car looked at...
I don't have any concerns about the engine holding up. It's the interior.
I don't have any concerns about the engine holding up. It's the interior.
Okay, the rattles were only happening on certain near-moonscape roads, and silent during the rest of my driving today. Unfortunately a lot of the roads I have to drive on are nearly moonscape, so that doesn't do me any good. Fortunately they're repaving some of the worst offenders right now.
I'm still taking it in. It should be dead silent over everything at this point.
I'm still taking it in. It should be dead silent over everything at this point.
Originally Posted By: sciphi
I set up an appointment for next Friday when I'm a few blocks away from a dealer. I got the usual small-town dealer "you didn't buy it from us, why expect us to service it" attitude. I'm not trying to be a jerk, only to get my under-warranty car looked at...
I don't have any concerns about the engine holding up. It's the interior.
I love the "you didn't buy from us" I tell them I came to them first and they refused to deal. I actually got a price from a distant dealer which was 10% cheaper even though I had to travel 350Mi and they paid the air far, I asked the local to match and they said "no"; they thought I'd not travel that far.
WRONG
I set up an appointment for next Friday when I'm a few blocks away from a dealer. I got the usual small-town dealer "you didn't buy it from us, why expect us to service it" attitude. I'm not trying to be a jerk, only to get my under-warranty car looked at...
I don't have any concerns about the engine holding up. It's the interior.
I love the "you didn't buy from us" I tell them I came to them first and they refused to deal. I actually got a price from a distant dealer which was 10% cheaper even though I had to travel 350Mi and they paid the air far, I asked the local to match and they said "no"; they thought I'd not travel that far.
WRONG
Strange. I've bought used and had no issues at GM dealers getting them to work on the car.
Originally Posted By: Smoky14
Originally Posted By: sciphi
I set up an appointment for next Friday when I'm a few blocks away from a dealer. I got the usual small-town dealer "you didn't buy it from us, why expect us to service it" attitude. I'm not trying to be a jerk, only to get my under-warranty car looked at...
I don't have any concerns about the engine holding up. It's the interior.
I love the "you didn't buy from us" I tell them I came to them first and they refused to deal. I actually got a price from a distant dealer which was 10% cheaper even though I had to travel 350Mi and they paid the air far, I asked the local to match and they said "no"; they thought I'd not travel that far.
WRONG
When they asked if I had purchased from them, I replied quite truthfully that I had inquired about buying a car from them and they never got back to me. Like you, I traveled outside the area to get this car since the dealers around me either didn't respond to my inquiries or didn't move on price. Quite a change going to a distant city where the dealer I purchased from was quite happy to both respond the same day and make me a good deal.
cchase, around me there's a HUGE "buy it here or don't bother getting it serviced here" mentality. The local yokels know they are the only dealers around for 30-40 miles in each direction, and have folks over a barrel unless they travel out of the area like I did.
Originally Posted By: sciphi
I set up an appointment for next Friday when I'm a few blocks away from a dealer. I got the usual small-town dealer "you didn't buy it from us, why expect us to service it" attitude. I'm not trying to be a jerk, only to get my under-warranty car looked at...
I don't have any concerns about the engine holding up. It's the interior.
I love the "you didn't buy from us" I tell them I came to them first and they refused to deal. I actually got a price from a distant dealer which was 10% cheaper even though I had to travel 350Mi and they paid the air far, I asked the local to match and they said "no"; they thought I'd not travel that far.
WRONG
When they asked if I had purchased from them, I replied quite truthfully that I had inquired about buying a car from them and they never got back to me. Like you, I traveled outside the area to get this car since the dealers around me either didn't respond to my inquiries or didn't move on price. Quite a change going to a distant city where the dealer I purchased from was quite happy to both respond the same day and make me a good deal.
cchase, around me there's a HUGE "buy it here or don't bother getting it serviced here" mentality. The local yokels know they are the only dealers around for 30-40 miles in each direction, and have folks over a barrel unless they travel out of the area like I did.
Last edited:
All the paint marks on the hoses, electrical connections, etc are the marks by "verification station" operators. In all our GM plants there are several VS stations thru out the production process. They verify the parts are present, correct and installed correctly. They are required to paint mark the item to prove the inspected it. I personally hate seeing all the marks on my engine - but knowing that it was checked feels good too. At my plant we use green for 1st shift and yellow for 2nd shift. Not sure about Lordstown where the Cruze is built - but since GM is very big on standardized processes that are common, I bet your car was a 1st shift built car. If you PM me your VIN, I can run all the specs on your car - when it was built, options, if there was any repairs done at the factory etc and email you them.
GMBoy, thanks! That explains the green paint everywhere in the engine bay.
- Status
