[Jmaj]

I got a $50 test drive coupon from Chevy, so I decided to take an extended test drive in a diesel. Car is MBM with leather package, 35 miles on the odometer. I'll skip over the "common to all Cruze's" and focus on what's unique to the diesel.

1) Quiet diesel is correct, especially after the engine warms up.
2) Nine speed auto shifts quickly and smoothly.
3) Acceleration is zesty - even the 70-80 test had some punch.
4) Tires - I'll mention this because the car has the low rolling resistance Goodyear Assurance tires than Volt owners hate so much. Actually they work better on the much lighter Cruze. I went around some entrance ramps way above posted speeds and the tires stuck fine without complaining. Note - one of the main complaints about the Assurance is the thin sidewalls leading to high incidence of flats. Unlike the Volt, the Cruze has a spare tire rather than a goop machine.
5) Mileage - 50F day with a light winds. Downwind leg, off ramp, over a bridge, on ramp, then a longer leg into the wind. Average speed 75 mph with cruise control, at the end the reading stabilized at 45 mpg. Mix in the earlier city traffic and I think 40 mpg overall is a no-brainer in this car. With a broken in car and a warmer day don't see why 50 mpg wouldn't be possible at 75 mph. Speed limits are going up on this expressway come November - 80+ mph speeds will be routine then.

 

[IndyDiesel]

I got a $50 test drive coupon from Chevy, so I decided to take an extended test drive in a diesel. Car is MBM with leather package, 35 miles on the odometer. I'll skip over the "common to all Cruze's" and focus on what's unique to the diesel.

1) Quiet diesel is correct, especially after the engine warms up.
2) Nine speed auto shifts quickly and smoothly.
3) Acceleration is zesty - even the 70-80 test had some punch.
4) Tires - I'll mention this because the car has the low rolling resistance Goodyear Assurance tires than Volt owners hate so much. Actually they work better on the much lighter Cruze. I went around some entrance ramps way above posted speeds and the tires stuck fine without complaining. Note - one of the main complaints about the Assurance is the thin sidewalls leading to high incidence of flats. Unlike the Volt, the Cruze has a spare tire rather than a goop machine.
5) Mileage - 50F day with a light winds. Downwind leg, off ramp, over a bridge, on ramp, then a longer leg into the wind. Average speed 75 mph with cruise control, at the end the reading stabilized at 45 mpg. Mix in the earlier city traffic and I think 40 mpg overall is a no-brainer in this car. With a broken in car and a warmer day don't see why 50 mpg wouldn't be possible at 75 mph. Speed limits are going up on this expressway come November - 80+ mph speeds will be routine then.

I test drive a 17 ctd auto this week. I liked the car, but just couldn't justify purchase when I have a 15ctd with low miles. I liked the drive but frustrated they removed stuff I like from the car, 16 wheels seems small, I didn't see a rear view mirror with onstar, the list goes on. I liked the electronics on the new one.

I might have an interest in new Equinox with a ctd when available.

 

[Jmaj]

I hate the rearview mirror with onstar. When I flip to night my thumb just wants to oppose the first finger and it presses right on the onstar button. Till of course the onstar subscription expires then it doesn't matter.

Never drove or rode in a Gen I diesel so I don't know what features I should me missing.

With you on the Equinox but I am guessing they won't be cheap.

 

[EricSmit]

The Onstar button is above the rear view mirror now instead of on the mirror.

 

[IndyDiesel]

The Onstar button is above the rear view mirror now instead of on the mirror.

Ok, but don't think the one I drove had auto dimming, just seemed like they took stuff away from it I liked. But doesn't matter at this point, gonna drive my 15 unless I get into accident.

 

[MP81]

4) Tires - I'll mention this because the car has the low rolling resistance Goodyear Assurance tires than Volt owners hate so much. Actually they work better on the much lighter Cruze. I went around some entrance ramps way above posted speeds and the tires stuck fine without complaining. Note - one of the main complaints about the Assurance is the thin sidewalls leading to high incidence of flats. Unlike the Volt, the Cruze has a spare tire rather than a goop machine..

The Assurance Fuel Max tires are the same tires used on the 1st gen Cruze Eco and Diesel, along with the 1st gen Volt. My 2nd gen Volt has Michelin Energy Savers.

I don't have an issue with how either tire handles.

 

[Aussie]

Glad to see the new diesel has a spare. When I bought my CTD no spare would have stopped me from buying. I do an occasional country trip and lose cell coverage when in the middle of nowhere and am not prepared to take the risk. After nearly 5 years I still love the Cruze.

 

[jblackburn]

I drove one this weekend that a GM employee brought down to Lordstown.

It sounds a little dieselly from the outside of the car, but it's very quiet - nowhere near as loud as the 2.0 TD.

From the inside, you cannot tell that it's a diesel AT ALL. It sounds like a gas motor as it revs. It's quite punchy in the lower gears (1-2 are traction challenged, which is surprising), and when it's settled down to a lower RPM, a quick prod of the pedal will pick up speed without a downshift or drama. It's not very quick flat to the floor - I'd reckon it's dead even with the new 1.4T, but it will pick up speed at lower throttle inputs with ease.

The 9-speed auto, on first impression, is way smoother than the 6-speed units in the gas Cruzens or the 6-speed Aisin in the old diesel.

That stupid programmed throttle response lag in gears 1-2 that was there in the 1st gen 2.0TD is GONE, I'm happy to report. Stomp on the pedal and it responds instantly.

 

[MP81]

the 6-speed Aisin in the old diesel.

Probably one of my least favorite automatic transmissions - next to the garbage Toyota automatic in the 2nd gen Pontiac Vibe - that I have ever driven. Half the time, I'd swear the 3T40 my Cavalier had was more intelligent - and quicker to comply with my demands.

 

[jblackburn]

Probably one of my least favorite automatic transmissions - next to the garbage Toyota automatic in the 2nd gen Pontiac Vibe - that I have ever driven. Half the time, I'd swear the 3T40 my Cavalier had was more intelligent - and quicker to comply with my demands.

Lmao, have you driven a 1st gen 6T40? Holy crap...

 

[MP81]

Lmao, have you driven a 1st gen 6T40? Holy crap...

Yup - we took a '14 2LT to North Carolina half a year before we bought the CTD. I never experienced any issues.

Our Aisin has been getting worse and worse, so it's possible it's related to the fluid, which I need to change.

 

[jblackburn]

Yup - we took a '14 2LT to North Carolina half a year before we bought the CTD. I never experienced any issues.

Our Aisin has been getting worse and worse, so it's possible it's related to the fluid, which I need to change.

They're fine on the highway, but miserable in stop and go or city traffic. The earlier years were much worse programming-wise. I think they had similarly confused programming on the Diesel trans.

The 6T35 is just a revision of the old 6T30, and the programming is much, much better, but can still be a little bit jerky in slow traffic or ~25 MPH driving where it's fumbling through short ratios to get into the highest gear it can as quickly as possible. The only time I felt the 9T hesitate on my short little test drive was when slowing for a left turn, then getting on the gas again - a very brief hesitation as it decided to drop down a gear.

 

[MP81]

Ahh, yes, we hardly drove it around in the city. And if we did anything city, it was not stop and go. But also being a '14, maybe it had some of the bugs worked out.

The diesel's programming is usually fine in regular driving - but when I put my foot to the floor (generally when I've merged onto the freeway and am hopping over a lane to avoid extremely slow traffic, or when passing someone in oncoming) and it takes seconds to even realize it should downshift, and then a couple seconds more to actually do it - that's a big issue.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by the tuned 4T45E I have in my Cobalt which seemingly knows just the right gear to be in all the time - likely assisted by the fact it only has four to choose from.

If I put my foot down, there is no hesitation on a downshift or to which gear. And if you're going below 40, it's accompanied by a nice ritual of lighting the tires up.

 

[jblackburn]

Ahh, yes, we hardly drove it around in the city. And if we did anything city, it was not stop and go. But also being a '14, maybe it had some of the bugs worked out.

The diesel's programming is usually fine in regular driving - but when I put my foot to the floor (generally when I've merged onto the freeway and am hopping over a lane to avoid extremely slow traffic, or when passing someone in oncoming) and it takes seconds to even realize it should downshift, and then a couple seconds more to actually do it - that's a big issue.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by the tuned 4T45E I have in my Cobalt which seemingly knows just the right gear to be in all the time - likely assisted by the fact it only has four to choose from.

If I put my foot down, there is no hesitation on a downshift or to which gear. And if you're going below 40, it's accompanied by a nice ritual of lighting the tires up.

That's exactly what I like about my 16. There is a bit of turbo lag if you floor it from a dead stop, but otherwise it does not hesitate to downshift at all if you floorboard it - very quick response. Our Camry is often accompanied by a very severe lag before it drops gears and ramps the engine power back up, which can be dangerous if you suddenly dart out into traffic. The 1.6TD seemed fairly eager to downshift at 45-60 MPH speeds when put to the floor, but with the torque rush at 1500-3000 RPM, I wouldn't say that you need it to drop to...whatever gear it would need to be to get the RPMs way up, either.