Cruze Diesel = 46 MPG Hwy

[sarguy01]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

We'll always be better off buying a $2000 Civic/Corolla/Metro/Saturn in terms of total cost of ownership.

I'll never own a Cruze diesel, but I'm still impressed by the big numbers.

I am really impressed as well. These cars are all steps in the right direction.

[Blue Angel]

Originally Posted by sarguy01

...it will start at $25,600, according to the article. Ouch. 46 mpg is awesome, but it costs what, $9,000ish more than a regular gas Cruze? So, if we were speaking strictly on price, the Cruze diesel would never really break even over the 42 mpg hwy Cruze Eco...

GM is benchmarking the price of the TDI Jetta. With an automatic transmission the Jetta TDI costs about $900 less than the Cruze TD; GM justifies the difference by including lots of additional features, like a leather interior.

The Cruze TD has two major flaws:

1. It is offered as a loaded line topping model only
2. It is not offered with a manual transmission

If they offered a TD option with manual transmission on the Cruze Eco for $1500 extra they would have a hit on their hands... it would cost appreciably less than the Jetta TDI and offer better fuel economy. Instead they have gone the BMW E90 335d route and made it the highest spec and most expensive model in the range.

It's almost like they don't want to sell them...

[PressEnter[]]

Not bad. I test-drove a Cruze Eco 6-speed earlier this year and liked it, but not as much as the Jetta (as you can see ). I realize I may get a skewed perspective being on car forums, but it seems like TDI fans love their manuals. I think Chevy is making a mistake not offering it.

[sarguy01]

Originally Posted by Blue Angel

GM is benchmarking the price of the TDI Jetta. With an automatic transmission the Jetta TDI costs about $900 less than the Cruze TD; GM justifies the difference by including lots of additional features, like a leather interior.

The Cruze TD has two major flaws:

1. It is offered as a loaded line topping model only
2. It is not offered with a manual transmission

If they offered a TD option with manual transmission on the Cruze Eco for $1500 extra they would have a hit on their hands... it would cost appreciably less than the Jetta TDI and offer better fuel economy. Instead they have gone the BMW E90 335d route and made it the highest spec and most expensive model in the range.

It's almost like they don't want to sell them...

I think they are marketing it towards people who want a luxurious car that gets great gas mileage. Hence, no manual and only comes fully loaded. I think this the same as someone getting a brand new Prius (starting at $24,200). But, that person can get a brand new Civic, that doesn't get the same mileage, but will cost $6,000 less to purchase. It would take (by some very, very rough math...) 200,000 miles to recoup the cost, assuming maintenance costs are equal and that person bought the base model, etc. They both are nice cars. But, who keeps a brand new car for that long? Not too many people! It is the concept of high MPG that people are buying (or getting a loan for). If they are going to spend that much, why not get a hybrid?? They aren't adding up the cost, they just want to drive it.

I don't think the average American wants a bare bones car that gets great mileage. Plus, the car manufacturer wouldn't make much of a profit selling really cheap cars.

[redpoint5]

I too wish it had a manual option at a reduced price. Auto transmissions cost more, so the savings should be passed on to the customer.

The sad truth is that wealthier people are the ones able to afford to save money. What I mean by this, is that cash-strapped shoppers can't pay the hybrid or diesel premium to save money on fuel later. So, this diesel gets a lot of luxury standard (auto trans is perceived as luxury) and the price reflects this.

[Blue Angel]

Originally Posted by PressEnter[]

...it seems like TDI fans love their manuals. I think Chevy is making a mistake not offering it.

I agree 100%

VW has never stopped selling diesels in North America (I think?), and has been the only company offering small diesel powered cars since the 80's. Just about everyone knows by now that if you want a diesel you go to a VW dealer... TDI has almost become its own "brand".

GM is entering new territory with the Cruze TD. I guarantee that the general public will remain oblivious to its existence unless GM fires up a huge $$$ marketing campaign. Hardly anyone walking into a GM dealership is going to be headed there to investigate the Cruze TD... I believe most of their sales are going to be from "up-selling" people who were already looking at a Cruze LTZ. That doesn't look good.

The people who WILL know about the Cruze TD are the ones on the internet reading the car blogs and hanging out in forums like this... the ENTHUSIASTS. All of the "free" advertising hype surrounding the launch of the car will be getting to the very people who GM is not targetting by not offering a MUCH cheaper model with a manual transmission, since a large percentage of the enthusiasts are the ones who would want a manual.

The impact of the enthusiast should not be overlooked. If it were not for the enthusiasts, the internet would be all but void of interesting car related stuff. The only thing on the internet would be company websites and stale car reviews watered down for the general public.

[PressEnter[]]

VW has stuck with the diesel, but I think there was a gap for the 2007 and 2008 model years, where the old 1.9 PD engine was replaced with the current 2.0L CRD.

[tjts1]

And only 27mpg city, 1 shy of the $5000 cheaper Cruze ECO. Do I have to mention the price of diesel fuel?

Yeah thats what I thought.

[PressEnter[]]

If the diesel Cruze is anything like the TDI's, it will not be hard to beat the EPA rating, even without careful driving. So far for me it looks like 40/50+

While the cost of the diesel engine is significant, I don't feel like the price of diesel fuel is. I'm not a math genius, but I did some calculations before I bought the Jetta, and my estimate is that you need an extra 4 mpg to break even with the cost of diesel compared to regular unleaded. In real world driving, I expect the diesel Cruze will return this over the Cruze Eco.

[tjts1]

Originally Posted by PressEnter[]

If the diesel Cruze is anything like the TDI's, it will not be hard to beat the EPA rating, even without careful driving. So far for me it looks like 40/50+

And its not hard to beat the EPA rating with the gasoline engine either.
CruzeEco1.4t 6mt (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
2012 Chevy Cruze Eco 6MT (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
2012 Cruze Eco MT (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
Penelope (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
Cruze ECO manual (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
Cruze Eco (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
ECO (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
Cruze (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
Cruze Eco M/T (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
2012 Cruze (Chevrolet Cruze) | Fuelly
The diesel has NO advantage in this department. This seems to be a really popular argument with TDI fans for some reason. They seem to think that gasoline engine can't beat their EPA numbers but diesels can. Thats simply not true. You can very easily do so with both.

They way GM packaged the diesel Cruze for the US market is a colossal failure. They should have offered the same 1.7L engine they sell in the rest of the world with both a manual and automatic and built it on the Cruze eco platform which is substantially different from all other cruze models. That would have been an honest 40/50mpg car. Instead they brought over this bloated over priced barge. Nobody buys a $26000 cruze. In a couple of years after these cars languished on dealer lots with cash on the hood for months and months, GM is going to point at the diesel cruze and say "SEE? Americans don't want diesels and thats the end of that".