2017 Chevy Cruze vs 2017 Toyota Corolla – Cincinnati, OH

Safety

For optional safety features, the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze far outclasses the 2017 Toyota Corolla. Not with just trivial features, either. In fact, these are quite substantial across the board.

For some reason, many automakers have a hard time capitalizing on the importance of simple safety/driver assist features, like rear cross traffic alert, rear park assist, and an automatic crash response system in case a collision does occur. Well, automakers aside from Chevy that is. Chevrolet offers all of these advanced safety features on all of its models, including the 2017 Cruze.

Rear cross traffic alert is a system that works in tandem with the blind spot monitoring system installed, and is able to alert the driver if a vehicle or pedestrian is crossing behind the Cruze from either the left or right side. If the system detects a car or person, it will provide the driver with a warning letting him or her know it’s not safe to back out.

Rear park assist works the same way, using sensors to provide an alert, but will also report how close a driver is approaching an object located behind the vehicle. This is only activated in low speeds.

Automatic Crash Response is provided by OnStar, and is a way for to quickly get help in the event of a collision. If the system’s sensors detect an accident, an OnStar Advisor will be automatically connected to your vehicle. He or she will then proceed to ask if you are okay and need help. If you do need help and say so, or are unable to respond, then the Advisor will send emergency services to your location through GPS tracking of your Cruze.

Teen Driver technology is also mentioned in the chart, and should be touched on briefly. Essentially, it’s a suite of technology that allows parents to monitor their teenager's driving habits, and help promote safe ones in various ways. You could, for example, set the controls so that the audio volume cannot be turned up until passengers are buckled in safely. Parents can also pre-set how far the Cruze should travel on a given trip. Then, you can check if any advanced safety systems were activated, the distance the car drove, how fast the driver went, and plenty of other information with the in-vehicle report card. All you need to do to access it is enter your PIN.

The ways the Cruze pulls ahead of the Corolla in safety for 2017 is astounding, and is enough to make up anyone’s mind, especially if safety is your top priority.

Performance

As far as performance goes, the 2017 Chevy Cruze vs 2017 Toyota Corolla debate is quite easy to determine with respect to which model is better. With the Cruze’s 1.4-liter engine able to produce 153 horsepower/177 lb.-ft. of torque, the Corolla’s 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, producing 132 horsepower/128 lb.-ft. of torque, seems quite pitiful in comparison.

Even more so when you realize the Cruze and Corolla are only offered with one engine option each. Which means the base performance on both vehicles is the only type of performance you’ll experience on these two models. The only differences concern whether or not you want to deal with a manual transmission, or opt for an automatic transmission. If you choose the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) on the Cruze — which is an automatic — the fuel economy goes up even further to 30 mpg city/40 mpg highway. The Corolla? Still sitting at the same 28 mpg city/36 mpg highway. For the Cruze’s base level trim with a manual transmission, fuel economy comes in at 28 mpg city/39 mpg highway. It’s still able to tie or beat (respectively) the Civic’s fuel economy. Even though the Civic comes with a CVT transmission standard.

As you go up in trim level on the Corolla, the fuel economy only gets worse, dropping down 1 mpg in the highway category. This means the only thing the Corolla has going for it is the CVT transmission is standard, whereas the six-speed manual is optional. The Cruze has that reversed, which means you’ll pay extra for the available automatic CVT. But, considering the starting MSRP of the Cruze compared to the Corolla, you’re better off just going to the automatic transmission on the next trim-level/price point and saving yourself some money in the process.

Interior/Cargo Volume

As far as interior/cargo volume goes, the 2017 Cruze again pulls ahead of the 2017 Corolla, and in more ways than one.

In the headroom category, the Cruze just beats the Corolla. With front headroom coming in at 38.90 inches, and rear headroom coming in at 37.30 inches. The Corolla gets 38/37.10 inches, respectively. In the front, that means there’s almost an inch more of headroom than the Corolla, which is a lot of space. Even the .20th of an inch in the rear will be noticeable when sitting in both cars, even if it’s just the difference between your hair touching the roof or not. When it comes to vehicles of this particular size, accommodating rear passengers comfortably really needs to be taken into consideration. This is particularly true if you carpool with colleagues or make it a habit to road-trip or unleash your weekend warrior with friends.

This is another reason why rear hip room is just as important, which determines the amount of space between rear passengers in the bench seats. The rear hip room of the Cruze is 51.90 inches and the back is 43.9 inches, translating to the Cruze boasting an extra 8-inches of rear hip room in the back bench seat. That’s a lot of extra space. And extra space is always appreciated by passengers, no matter how short or long the journey.

Finally, cargo volume is a no-contest situation. With the Cruze’s cargo coming in at 22.7 cu. ft. — one of the largest ratings in the class — and the Corolla’s coming in at 13 cu. ft.