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2012 Chevy Cruze Philadelphia

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Introduction - the 2012 Chevy Cruze

No matter which Cruze a buyer chooses, it comes with the most standard safety features in its class, including advanced electronic stability control, ABS, and a full compliment of 10 airbags. There are knee-protection airbags for front passengers, side-impact airbags for rear passengers, and head-protection curtains with rollover deployment. Every Cruze comes with GM's OnStar telematics system, including a six-month subscription for automatic accident response and other services. The Cruze debuted last year as an all-new model and has gone on to be both a sales and critical success. The reasons are multifold, but the bottom line is that the Cruze is simply a quality car.

2012 Chevy Cruze Design

It's designed to fit seamlessly into your ever-evolving life. Cruze offers more cargo space3, more safety with best-in-class 10 standard air bag. Cruze leaves a lasting impression with its bold exterior design, but don't forget those curves, lines and angles do more than just please the eye and turn heads. In general, the Cruze is more angular than other recent Chevrolet sedans, including the popular Malibu. Its front end mimics the Volt plug-in sedan, no doubt deliberately, with a prominent Chevrolet Bowtie logo. The headlight housings are large, sweeping upward and around the front edges of the car.

Interior of the 2012 Chevy Cruze

The Cruze's front seats are a bit narrow, which might be an issue for some drivers, but they offer plenty of adjustment and are both supportive and comfortable. Cruze is smart about how to use all that space with 60/40 folding rear seats so you can find the room for larger items. There's even refined touches such as rich colors, bold dials and details like available leather-appointed seats that give Cruze a premium feel. The steering wheel is thick and grippy; with the optional leather, it feels great in the hands. The wheel tilts and telescopes in all models, though the redundant audio controls on its right spoke are available only on higher-trim Cruze variants. The cruise-control switches on the left spoke are the best in the business. There's an on/off master switch and a big cancel button, sandwiching a thumbwheel that flicks down to set or add speed, and up to resume or reduce speed.

2012 Chevy Cruze Lineup

The Cruze LTZ is the high-zoot model, with the turbo engine and automatic transmission. It comes standard with the contents of the 2LT package and adds even more features, including automatic climate control, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, ultrasonic rear-parking assist and 18-inch alloy wheels with four-wheel disc brakes.

The Cruise LT is powered by the same frugal turbocharged engine, with the automatic transmission standard. It also adds painted power side mirrors, and it can be equipped with a lot more options than the base LS. Foremost is the 2LT package, which adds a six-way power driver seat, leather seating surfaces, heated seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, Bluetooth phone connectivity, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, remote vehicle start and 16-inch alloy wheels.

The Cruze LS  is powered by 1.8-liter inline four delivering 138 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque, with a standard 6-speed manual. The LS comes with plenty of features, including air conditioning, power windows, power door locks with remote keyless entry, and six-speaker audio with single CD, an auxiliary jack and XM satellite radio. The standard wheels are 16-inch steel. The 6-speed automatic is optional.

Conclusion

Chevrolet finally has a quality small car in the form of the 2012 Cruze.. The 2012 Chevrolet Cruze impresses with capable handling and a quiet cabin. Measured by features, mileage and ride-handling balance, or interior noise, space and quality, the Cruze matches or beats the best. It falls off a bit in power or engine performance, and it gets pricey at the high end of the model range. The base Cruze LS or a moderately-equipped LT look quite reasonable, but an LTZ loaded with navigation and premium audio bleeds well into the territory of larger, well-equipped mid-size sedans.

Some information for this review was obtained from NewCarTestDrive.com