[WellHungSmurf]

Hello guys, in the market for a new car. Been looking at a lot of cars but the Cruze has caught my eye. I love the diesel MPG, but somehow more HP+torque it has worse 0-60 times then the gas 1.4L engine. I will want to do some light mods to the car if I pull the trigger. So I have some questions..

1) Not familiar with diesel engines, I know they have exhaust fluid. Does this mean no after market exhaust?

2) How is the aftermarket scene with Cruzes? Lots of available parts?

3) How happy are you with your Cruize? Handling, speed, interior quality?

I'm looking for LTZ model or diesel cant really decide as of yet..

Thanks in advace

 

[WellHungSmurf]

Thanks for all the replies.. I will be driving 22 miles one way, so 44 miles round trip. About 70% highway, but on weekends I'll be mostly city driving.. I MUST have a peppy car. So far I've driven mini cooper s, and Hyundai Veloster turbo.. Both were quick, two major problems with Diesel. No manual tranny and I'd like some simple mods to boost 0-60. I am going to test drive on this weekend.. I hope I can narrow it down soon

 

[WellHungSmurf]

I hate to say it but if we are competing against the the MiniS and Veloster turbo for a peppy car this may be a battle we cannot win, as much as I like my Cruze. When considering the diesel keep in mind that a lot more work went into it aside from just adding the engine; the brakes were upgraded for the additional weight, and a number of higher quality parts (mostly sourced from the Volt) were used to decrease the noise of the car. I think it is the best diesel on the road currently.

That said, if you want something peppy I would suggest looking at these four additional vehicles:
Buick Verano (same platform as the Cruze but the engine options are much better)
Ford Focus ST
Subaru BRZ (rear wheel drive is hard to find in this compact segment)
Mazda 3 (actually all engines are impressive. The 2014 year received some major changes and our Cruze petrol engines haven't received any attention for a while. If you wait a year or two I think the new Cruze will finally have a refreshed engine)


I hope I don't get chased out of the forums for this post. We are of course biased towards the Cruze. One added bonus of the Cruze over the Hyundai and Mini is that we are an American made high volume vehicle, so if you have mechanical troubles in the future you will be able to head to Autozone and get what you need almost always the day of.

If I went with Buick, I'd want the Buick Regal, I know the Cruze isn't fast, I was hoping it would be somewhat peppy. I'll test drive 3-4 cars this weekend and choose. Thanks for the useful info