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Cruze Diesel = 46 MPG Hwy
I'm putting this in success stories because I think creating the car with the highest highway fuel efficiency available in North America is a real success. And it has an Automatic transmission!
Click the link: Chevy Cruze Diesel Bests Jetta TDI With 46 MPG | AutoGuide.com News |
From the horse's mouth:
Chevrolet Cruze Diesel 46 MPG Sets Highway Fuel Economy Benchmark I hope it's available with a manual as well, and gets the same rating in a manual. I'm hopeful about its potential rating, since the gas Eco with manual was rated higher than the auto. Sadly, I'm not hopeful about a manual being offered. |
It's a success story, but that subforum is meant for members' accomplishments. Moved to general efficiency! :P
And, wow, that's quite the jump from the Jetta's highway number. Just yesterday, Mitsu announced the fuel economy of the Mirage for Canada with a 4.4 L/100 km highway rating. That unseated the Cruze Eco highway rating as the previous best among non-hybrids in Canada. One day later, GM takes it back with Cruze diesel. :D I love the competition! |
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Looking at the "city" driving loop (varying speeds, acceleration, deceleration) I wonder if the hybrids actually get better real highway mileage than non-hybrids, i.e. cruise control set at a certain speed for long stretches of highway? Their hybrid systems wouldn't really be much benefit on level ground at steady speed? I could see the Prius' aerodynamic shape being a great benefit, but what about other hybrids that are based on normal (good looking) cars? |
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Oh, and agreed about the move to this forum. I was torn between the two, but the description for this one was a little off for the topic, I thought: "Transportation & efficiency topics that don't really fit in any of the above." I had a 50/50 chance and I got it wrong... happens all the time! :D |
Hybrid: Reality - Road & Track
Conclusion: the Prius beat the TDI's mileage in ALL conditions, including cruise control highway. That may change with the new set of DEF-equipped diesels, though. The fuel burned during DPF regeneration really hurts the mileage, and DEF removes that problem. |
My frugal mind is thinking, "How much does the Cruze Diesel cost??"
Answer, 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, considering the cost of diesel is higher than the cost of gas. So, one would pay a lot more for the diesel option, then more for diesel at the pump and finally, more for diesel maintenance, correct? This is also assuming that one is set on buying a Cruze and no other car model. Of course, I am basing this off of price alone and using EPA ratings and that article's estimations. I am not taking into account the gains that can be had by driving, modding, etc. I am just throwing this out there as food for thought. |
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I'll never own a Cruze diesel, but I'm still impressed by the big numbers. |
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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. :confused: :( :rolleyes: It's almost like they don't want to sell them... |
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 :p ). 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.
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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. |
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. |
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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. |
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.
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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. |
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. |
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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". |
huh?
So as far as you know, it is not going to offered manual, and not even with the "Eco"s mods of belly pans and active front grill shutters etc?
I had a "bit" higher hopes for the new GM to be more in tune and current with trends, and not lagging behind so much what would make sense. They need to hire Dr. Spock as a logic consultant. |
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The TD will weigh more than the Eco. It is a loaded model with an automatic transmission, leather, even more sound deadening than a standard Cruze (the Eco has less), and a urea tank in the spare tire well. There's also no mention of special wheels, so I'm assuming the car has heavy cast wheels like the other Cruze models (the Eco has 17.8lb alcoa forged wheels, 17x7). Quote:
My greatest fear is not that GM will give up on diesels, but that other manufacturers will based on GM's experiment. Let's face it; fuel efficiency is not the #1 concern of the average buyer in our markets. At $26k there are MUCH nicer cars available than a Cruze, especially since the Cruze TD LOOKS the same as a base model... they could have at least dressed it up a bit with the LTZ RS body bits to make it look a little better! It doesn't even have fog lights! |
No MT is a huge deal breaker for me, even if I looked at one in the used market 3-5 years down the line.
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I suspect that they do this because the actual additional cost of a diesel that meets our stringent EPA requirements isn't recouped by the price of the diesel option alone. So, it gets packaged with other "options" to get the margins to acceptable levels. |
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I recently came to the conclusion that I need a Jetta Wagon TDI manual gearbox in the 2003 or similar model year. Was such a vehicle even offered in the US? I can't find any. |
For a period of time, VW did not (could not) sell diesels in USA because they didn't meet the newly tightened EPA emission requirements. Look in the EPA Fuel Economy listings and you won't see ANY small VW diesels listed for certain years.
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Anywho, a quick search on ye ol' list of Craig found four near me: 2005 VW Jetta tdi wagon 5speed manual GLS diesel only 92k mi VW TDI WAGON, 2003 5spd manual trans, Baltic Green w/Black interior 2005 VW Jetta Wagon tdi - Rare 5 speed manual - Inspected & Serviced - 2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDI Wagon - 5 speed manual So, looks like they are available. Funny, three of those are also in Portland Craigslist (local to you?). |
If this diesel has a urea tank, perhaps it can be fueled with B100 unlike the new VWs. If that's the case, I will consider getting one because it is one of the only options to use 100% renewable fuel. I will never get another gasser, even a hybrid, but I am considering an all-electric.
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Maybe I'm looking for a year 2002 or 2003 Mk4 TDI; one that doesn't have a lot of emission control devices and gets the best fuel economy. Fueleconomy.gov shows the '04 and later models getting 4 less mpg. Portland is my market, so that is convenient, but Seattle is within the range I'm willing to travel. Besides, I haven't been to Sea-town since I was a kid. As much as I dislike VW, I absolutely loath stealerships. I'm going to avoid them if at all possible, but sometimes that is the only option when looking for a rare vehicle. I still don't know why trading in vehicles is more popular than selling private party. All of my experiences have been very easy and pleasant. I made $1000 from purchasing an Outback, driving it for a month, and then selling it. I'd like to see someone pull that off with a dealer purchased vehicle. I'm basically sold on either the TDI wagon, and old Subaru Legacy, a Corolla, or a 2nd gen Prius. |
Good luck redpoint...have you started shopping around? If not, don't be surprised by high prices, especially in areas that don't use a lot of road salt.
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The green '03 appears to be for sale by owner if the miles aren't too high for you. Looks like the original owner with good service records. |
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What I know is that automatics sell more pure and simple and they are only looking at the numbers of the many and not the few. So they think they can offset the price difference by going automatic. Personally I would have liked to see a manual option as well however they do have the automatic geared pretty well for fuel economy and the diesel powerplant. I think they will sell but I am unsure just how much. The cruze is appealing to many people but the fact still remains its diesel and here in the states it takes a back seat to gas powered vehicles. Only time will tell and I am looking forward to its debut in the US marketplace. GH |
The only saving-grace to GM's *current* diesel Cruze marketing *plan* is that diesels ARE highly sought in both Canada and Mexico, the *other* two North America markets that Lordstown builds 100% of Cruze vehicles for.
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Huh. I didn't know Canadians used donkeys.
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Well now you do.
http://rlv.zcache.com/kiss_my_canadi..._8nhmf_512.jpg |
Loving that T-Shirt! Ha!
The Cruze TD's Canadian consumption is out: 4.2 L/100km Hwy Chevrolet Cruze Diesel 4.2 L/100km Sets Highway Fuel Consumption Benchmark Darn impressive... I wonder what it would do with a manual transmission and some nice tall gearing? :) |
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