I just found this site (glad I did) so this is my first post here.
I have owed the 2011 Cruze LT Turbo for 1 month and have found it to be better than I anticipated in all areas so far.
In the past I mostly have purchased Toyota's and Nissan's Brand New (that's 6 of them). I have not purchased a GM made car in over 25 years (last one being a new 1980 Buick). I bought into all the Camry and Nissan HYPE over the years because of the reliability but I found that they had their on set of problems (see below).
For me I fell that Chevy has turned the corner and in my opinion may have surpassed these two. The styling looks great and everything has tight tolerances and appears well made.
The interior is very well layed out and sharp looking and at night looks amazing. Nothing cheap about it. In comparison to the other Japenese and Korean car makers the Chevy is on par if not better. I am actually very happy with the Cruze in terms of look and feel.
I have a Maxima and Camry and I have had numerous issues with them. Some minor and some major. A few problems are listed below just to show you that they are not as perfect as they put themselves out to be. So do some reasearch and don't just drink the juice.
On the Maxima GLE (top of the line) I had the Oxygen sensors go out right after the warranty expired ($350 repair). The brake rotors were warped at 55,000 miles and had to be replaced. The original tires had to be replaced at 22,000 miles. The Bose 6cd Stereo went out at 5,000 miles and out again at around 40,000 miles. That's about a $1200.00 stereo. An internet search will show that this is a major issue but not recognized by Nissan - go figure. There is also excessive wind noise in the car as well. So as you can see there are quality issues with Nissan's flagship car.
On the Camry LE (top model) I had major engine repairs around 50,000 miles. Hydraulic lifters went out as well The digital dash went out completely right after the warranty expired. Also had other small issues. Toyota has a lot of quality issues that past few years.
Three cars that I looked at before I settled on the Cruze.
1. Corolla - Has a small feel about it and the style is sub par. Nothing exciting about it.
2. Elantra - From a distance looked ok but after really looking at it I felt that it was cheaply made and not as powerful. I know a lot of people that have Hyndai's and everyone that I know has problems with them. Quality is not there. They only buy them because they can be had cheaper than most other brands but you will pay when it leaves you stranded.
3. Civic - Small car and looking at it side by side with the Cruze there is no comparison that the Cruze is sharper looking.
I really want the Cruze to work out well and hope that I don't have problems with it. I have checked everything, Interior, Under Carriage, Engine etc.. and it all appears very well designed and well layed out. I have the Turbo engine and I can't believe how much pickup this car has for a 4 cyl. From a design standpoint you can tell a lot of thought went into this car.
My only concern are the Firestone tires that came on this car. They are B/B tires- that is Temperture B and Tread B. I'm not a big fan of Firestone because in the past I had noting but problems with them. Then again I have never had any luck with new cars original tires anyway. But right now they give a very smooth ride and handle well so no complaints so far with these tires.