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Chevy cruze initial impressions.

8K views 41 replies 15 participants last post by  jblackburn 
My Cruze replaced a Dodge Neon, very similar to your Saturn Ion.
It has more low end torque, but my Neon pulled harder once I hit 4k RPM.
At least, that's what I felt.
I drove the thing much harder too, since it cost me like 1/6th the price of my Cruze, and it averaged at 23MPG.
The Cruze averages at 33MPG, mostly because I tend to drive it more careful, and I can see how to increase MPG on the dash display (which the Neon didn't do).

You can still tow with a cruze, just that, perhaps you'll need some weight in the trunk, and keep 5th gear on the highways.
And I wouldn't tow anything larger than a rowboat or small mini trailer. (~1000LBS)
 
I think a lot of people don't know that Chevy had tuned the final gear drive a bit on the newer cars.
A little more torque, traded for a little MPG.
About 2MPG less, translated to 5% more torque.

More than likely, the car will accelerate almost the same as the old gearing, but with a more narrow gear spacing, the needle may reach redline quicker.

I prefer my 2012 eco gearing; tall, but not too tall.
It reaches 3k RPM at 80MPH, and I wished it would have a 7th gear for the highway (doing 2500-2750rpm at 80MPH); cause that's where the engine would run at it's peak efficiency.
I mean, it's peak efficiency is actually closer to 2250RPM, but I don't think a 1.4l would run well at that RPM range at 80MPH.
 
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