[jblackburn]

Glad your daughter made it out of that ok!

Is the 1.8 a better reliability choice, so far, than the 1.4T in the first-gen cars? I'm thinking simpler and more displacement are good things for a heavier compact like a Cruze. (BTW, I own a '17 Cruze LT).

In short - yes. It's gutless, though.

The later 1.4's are less problem-prone, but you'll still have the typical 1.4 PCV and water pump issues at some point in the car's life.

I see the 1.8 has a timing belt though--ugh. What's a dealer get for replacing that and all related stuff in that job?

Generally in the $6-800 range.

I'm not sure what your exact budget is, but you can also pick up a NEW 2016.5/2017 LS for pretty cheap these days when they go up on a special sale/tag clearance event.