The turbo in the Cruze in not very big. In addition, it is extremely well integrated into the drive train and you really don't notice it unless you accelerating hard. Then you notice a slight kick above 2000 RPM. What the turbo in the Cruze does do, however, is give you a very large and flat power curve starting at 2000 RPM (auto) and 2500 RPM (manual) up to peak horsepower at 4700 RPM. Very few, including most turbocharged and supercharged, cars can make this claim.

 

A good point to throw out as well too, is the turbo is in the Cruze for economical pursposes only. The VW has a turbo for some performance, Cruze has a turbo for fuel economy..

If you bought a Cruze for speed, you made the wrong decision sir. The size of the engine, 1.4L, should've told you from the beginning.

 

That VW has more displacement to work with, which means more power before the turbo picks up. Because of this, they can use a larger turbo without immense lag from a stop and have more air through the engine to spool up a bigger turbo. Turbos run off the exhaust air, and something needs to push that turbine to get it going. 1.4 liters of displacement isn't much to turn a bigger turbo.

The Cruze's turbo is the size of a baseball, of course you can't tell. They actually went to great lengths to minimize turbo lag and minimize the turbo sound on this car - full power comes in around 1850-2500 RPM depending on the transmission, and then it's already giving you everything it's got. It's not a performance car, and like Taurus said, with a 1.4 liter engine, what the heck did you expect?!

My Volvo had something this massive under the hood and sounded like a big semi truck when it spooled up, but full power didn't pick up til 3000 RPM. Holy crap was that annoying sometimes.

 

There are a few mods to hear the turbo more. First off is deleting the resonator ahead of the airbox. If that's not enough noise, a cold air intake is next. Next is getting a tune from one of the vendors on here. That'll make the turbo kick in more noticeably.

Secondly, I'd agree, this car is meant for good fuel economy, not throw one back in the seat performance.

Lastly, your LTZ is an automatic. The torque converter does a great job of masking the turbo spooling up in stock configuration thanks to sloshing all that ATF around before it locks up. It's much more noticeable with a manual transmission.

 

One of the selling features of the Cruze is how quiet it is for what it is. And that is one of the reasons I picked it over other makes. I like the quiet. If I wanted something with a noisy engine then I would have chosen appropriately.

 

Go check my build thread you will dinf a cruze with some guts! Not a race car but can be fast.

 

Just out of curiosity, what's the pickup like @ low RPM?

 

If you want to feel/hear the turbo, then sprint up to about 4500 rpm and come off the gas quickly. Even with the windows up in the LTZ, you can notice, subtly, the blow-off valve releasing the excess pressure. This is even more noticeable in the manual, so I've heard, and very noticeable with some of the intake mods. You should also be feeling more torque come online as you spool past about 2,000 rpm.

Another thing to be aware of (I sound like a broken record here), is that running it on high octane will improve performance noticeably.

 

Im betting its not a typical bov... probably a recirculating kind im betting. In other words I dont think the bov in the cruze vents to atmostphere. My wrx's didnt and it ran a **** of a much bigger turbo.

 

You Want a faster Cruze then buy a Verano or the 250 HP Verano turbo that starts production this month.

 

You Want a faster Cruze than buy a Verano or the 250 HP Verano turbo that starts production this month.

or just go to the cool path to heavly modify the cruze! it can be fast!

 

These cars are way better on a road course than a drag strip I've done both. But its easier to build this car for road racing that's what I'm doing.

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I definetely agree with this comment that this car is more suited for road courses than straight line. What makes up for the lack of straight line power is the handling and the torque and response of the smaller turbo. Add the trifecta tune and things become fun. Ive got the holden cruze sri and I had some fun along the Great Ocean Rd in victoria

 

i bought my car because it had a turbo. i know nothing about cars and i thought turbo meant race car. now im goint to make a thread about my disappointment with this car because im a moron that thinks turbo means race car... the op is a derp

 

Can't believe no one has mentioned this to him yet... If you buy and install the K&N Intake or the Injen Intake, our turbo's get pretty loud

 

Easy on the criticism. We can do without the name-calling..

To the OP, there are mods that can be done to get more umph out of the Cruze. However, don't expect to beat a WRX STI or an EVO without dumping as much money into the engine as your Cruze is worth. Might I suggest you start with a Trifecta Tune and either the K&N or Injen intake system. It's a good start and you will feel and hear a noticable difference in power. Many have gotten in the 15's for 1/4mile, which for as little as the engine is, it's very impressive.

You should have done some research before purchasing your car. 99% of us bought the Cruze for the exceptional fuel economy and the overall look and quality the Cruze gives us. Sure, I'd love to see someone get some serious power out of the little 1.4, but to me it's not practical, as you could've easily spent the money you would on a platform built to handle 300+hp. If you have the funds, go for it. If not, enjoy the luxuries and less trips to the pump that we all like. That's all I can say.

 

This is a European-style turbo engine that's using the turbo for midrange power instead of an American-style turbo engine that uses the turbo for high-end power only. Lots of European cars are running around with tiny little turbos on tiny little engines that still make respectable power without slurping so much $6 or more per gallon gasoline.

I'll take a little less power for less fuel cost. This car is easily capable of getting 45+ mpg all the time while offering good handling, a quiet interior, and enough power to move smartly when it needs to. It's a highway car, not a stoplight racer.

For a stoplight racer, I'd get a NB Miata and LS-swap it. That's easily a 13 second car, assuming enough grip. Throw a cam onto it, and 12's or high 11's are doable.