I really would've liked to have bought a Cruze diesel, however, for the price. It's not worth it...Who honestly needs a diesel when you have the Eco hitting 40+mpg? Do a little gas -> diesel price figuring and see how long it'll take to break even.
If I remember correctly, I would have to drive the diesel Cruze like 300,000mi to break even!
If the diesel were hitting 60+mpg, it only then may actually be justifiable. For a $5k-$7k price difference. They can keep it. Just my honest opinion.
You're missing some key points as Kpax and diesel pointed out. First and foremost, you
cannot fairly compare the diesel Cruze price point to the Eco. It was never meant to be. In a way that's like comparing a V6 Camero to a ZL1.
The diesel isn't about saving money. It never was. You're buying a premium product. For the price of a Prius, you're getting high mileage
and much better performance. It's no different than paying extra for a sporty car, except in this case, you not only get better performance than the gas Cruze, you get better mileage! Talk about a win/win!!
If saving money is all you're about, for those of you who keep preaching the MT Cruze Eco as the end-all be-all, why do you even own one of those? Why not a Cruze LS? You'd have to drive your Eco MT nearly 200,000 miles to pay off the price premium of the Eco MT over the LS. Heck, if saving money is all you're about, why not a Sonic or even a Spark? You could drive your MT Eco for 300,000 miles and not pay off the premium over a Sonic LS, and that's all highway miles. Add in city miles and it gets even higher.
So why do you have a MT Eco?
Because you wanted more car than a Sonic or even a Cruze LS gave you. You wanted more space than a Sonic, and more features than a Cruze LS, and you found in a MT Eco you got the car you wanted with the added benefit of high mileage.
The same exact principle applies for the diesel. For the price you pay, you get
far more than just a diesel engine. You get all the premium features of the 2LT
plus some extra stuff not offered on any other Cruze as was mentioned earlier,
plus you get a much better performing car, and the cherry on top is you get the highest highway mileage of any non-hybrid car on the market.
So if you're a MT purist, I can understand that. I'd like to see a MT diesel as well, but as far as the rest of it goes, you really can't compare the diesel to the gas Cruze as they are essentially two different cars.
If saving money is all you care about, the Cruze LS buyers on here are the best off of all of us.
(One final aside, much of the "premium" paid for diesel engines is made up for in resale value, which you forgot in your calculations. Assuming resale is even 10% higher than a gasser Cruze, the diesel purchase premium becomes almost moot.)
EDIT: In case I confused anyone, I am not contradicting my previous post. If a lower level Cruze diesel (especially MT) was available, it would be nice, but I am also fully aware of what I am getting with the existing Cruze diesel and therefore don't see it as unreasonable.