2011 Chevy Cruze Eco / XFE will have 1.4 turbo, 42 mpg (US) hwy rating

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by dcb

Glad it gets 40+ hiway, and glad to have a manual option, and costs less than $40k. But, as others have noted, whys it gotta weigh 3000lbs? Thats why the city mileage blows.

Less than $40,000?? Try less than half of that amount for the model I seen on the lot. It had a 2.8L, EPA 35MPG, sticker price somewhere around 17K to 18K with a few options. Combine the mileage with the very positive reviews with the price, I feel this car will be very competitive unless GM has some recall- I would not expect any major safety recall with their car given the hours of testing it had.

Did I read somewhere that GM is charging MORE for the ECONO Cruise? If true, that is something they did NOT do with the XFE Cobalts, they were priced very closed to the regular Cobalts that had EPA values reflecting 3 to 4 miles per gallon less, depending on year of model.

[cfg83]

Jammer -

Originally Posted by Jammer

...

Did I read somewhere that GM is charging MORE for the ECONO Cruise? If true, that is something they did NOT do with the XFE Cobalts, they were priced very closed to the regular Cobalts that had EPA values reflecting 3 to 4 miles per gallon less, depending on year of model.

Yeah, I think it's a ~$2000 premium over the base model when you get the Eco model. Go to chevrolet.com and "build your own". I would prefer a $1K premium, but $2K is livable for me.

CarloSW2

[Frank Lee]

$2000 buys me about 10 cars, or, oh, a year's fuel?

[cfg83]

Frank -

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

$2000 buys me about 10 cars, or, oh, a year's fuel?

Ha ha, we both know I'm not as smart as you.

PS - Without people like me, how will you ever get your well-cared-for used jalopies someday?

CarloSW2

[Frank Lee]

I ain't so smart, I've just been doing this a looong time.

God Bless the new car buyers!

And... looks more like about THREE years' fuel!

[cfg83]

Old Tele man -

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...yes it is, 4¼" by 9¼", to be exact!

I looked at it today. It *is* the largest bowtie of the Chevys I looked at (Impala, Cruze, Volt).

They had a Cruze Eco, but it was up on the rotating dais, so I couldn't get any close-up detail pix. It does use the Volt tires, Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires.

CarloSW2

[MetroMPG]

First dedicated review of the Cruze ECO I've seen:

Quick Spin: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco — Autoblog

Relevant bit, from a 130 mile mostly interstate trip in southern California (ie. warm conditions):

...during our time behind the wheel, we saw a maximum average fuel economy of 42.8 mpg. After a few unplanned adventures off the interstate, we saw that number dip to 41.8 with an average speed of around 65 mph.

[cfg83]

MetroMPG -

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

First dedicated review of the Cruze ECO I've seen:

Quick Spin: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco — Autoblog

Relevant bit, from a 130 mile mostly interstate trip in southern California (ie. warm conditions):

This is what I find interesting :

On the aerodynamic front, GM bolted on a complete underbody tray to reduce wind turbulence, and small plastic spats were installed ahead of each tire to better control airflow around the wheels. Additionally, the engineers made the decision to reduce the Eco's tow rating (yes, the Cruze has a tow rating), allowing them to further close off the front grille while still maintaining proper engine temperature.

This is a reduction of the specs of the car for Ecoformance. This is obvious to us because if we were to tow something, we would be opening/removing our grill blocks to do it. However, for the manufacturer to do it, they have to reduce the stated capabilities of the car.

Overall it has a lot of the goodies we like. I still say that equivalent crash test results will make the Eco Cruze weight changes filter down to the base Cruze.

I've never had a 6-speed. I could skip-shift to my heart's content!

CarloSW2

[gone-ot]

...unless they're describing something different, all model Cruzes have the underbody trays...at least our LTZ does up-front.

[MetroMPG]

Carlos: I noticed that too. Interesting.

Popular Mechanics just released their impressions of the Cruze ECO first drive.

I like this line

Chevy has essentially eco-modded a Cruze to deliver hybrid levels of fuel economy.

2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco Test Drive - Chevy Cruze Eco Review - Popular Mechanics

Ecoformance - like that too!