2017 Chevy Cruze – Cincinnati, OH

For some reason, there is a belief that compact vehicles are less safe, likely to crumple like a tuna can in an accident. This couldn’t be any further from the truth, and the fact of the matter is the Cruze is actually made with a high-strength steel safety cage. While that’s reassuring, it’s important to understand that the Cruze is also equipped with a multitude of preventive safety features. Therefore, it’s unlikely that that safety cage will even be touched by another car. On the performance side of things, it’s both efficient and zippy enough to get around town. It might not be as fast or powerful as some of the competitors, but as a result, the Cruze is able to beat them when it comes to MPG. Just like the safety, the Cruze is loaded with plenty of state-of-the-art and entertaining technology features on the inside. You’ll find all the standard goodies, like Chevy MyLink powered on a high-resolution touch screen, smart phone integration, plenty of music options, and a lot more.

Before we jump into talking about the greatest aspects of the Cruze, it’s important to note that the design of the Cruze hasn’t changed from the last redesign it experienced — which happened recently in 2016. But, that’s okay. It still looks sleek and sharp, and the redesign is still fresh enough to be exciting. What Chevy did do, is add a hatchback model to the Cruze lineup for fall 2016. Apart from the obvious changes in appearance and price, the hatchback model also sacrifices fuel economy (slightly) for more space. Other than that, the sedan and hatchback both have the same tech, safety, and powertrains.

The 2017 Chevy Cruze is a front-wheel drive model, and it utilizes a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that’s pumping out 153 horsepower and 177 lb.-ft. of torque. This engine is mated to a six-speed transmission on the L, LS, and LT trim, and a six-speed automatic is optional on the LS and LT. The Premier trim gets this automatic transmission as a standard item. Opting for the automatic transmission is a good idea for those who experience a lot of stop and go traffic, since the automatic has a stop-start engine feature designed to save you some fuel when the car isn’t in motion.

Zero to 60 time is 9.6 seconds, which is one second slower than other compact sedans. But remember, that’s because the Cruze is focusing on fuel-efficiency — not power. Besides, that’s still plenty of get-up-and-go for merging on the highway, or passing on a back road in Cincinnati, OH.

EPA estimates for the Cruze come in at 28 mpg city, 39 mpg highway, and 32 mpg combined with the manual transmission. The optional automatic jumps up to 30 mpg city, 40 mpg highway, and 34 mpg combined. The Premier trim and hatchback model experience slightly less fuel economy, coming in anywhere from 1-2 mpg less.

The fuel economy numbers are great for a compact sedan, and even the hatchback model isn’t bad compared to other vehicles in its segment.

The inside of the Cruze isn’t just stylish — it’s also loaded with many entertaining technology features. The first one you’ll notice is the 7-inch diagonal color touch-screen, which is powered by Chevrolet MyLink, one of the most well-loved telematic systems in the industry. If you are looking to get more out of your touch-screen, besides having an abundance of apps and music choices available, thanks to the built-in 4G LTE wi-fi, then you can grab one of the available mobile phone integration programs.

The Cruze was the first vehicle in its class to offer support for both Apple CarPlay AND Android Auto. With how important cell phones are in 2016, buying the Cruze also lands you a historical milestone for technology in the compact car segment. With this technology, the versatility of the touch-screen is increased even further. Now, you can interact with maps, texts, music, and many more features found on your phone through your vehicle. It also brings voice command technology to the table, which allows you to operate certain functions of your phone verbally when hooked up to MyLink. With the amount of hands-free laws being passed, this is a must-have feature.

If you opt for the Sun and Sound package, your Cruze entertainment experience is taken to new heights. An 8-inch touchscreen is now equipped, along with a sunroof, color driver information center, ambient interior lighting, and the most important feature of all: a nine-speaker Bose audio sound system.

This only touched the tip of the iceberg, and there are still plenty of other technology features in place to make your drive more fun and exciting.

More important than entertainment technology, there’s also a plethora of advanced safety features found on the 2017 Chevy Cruze. The high-strength steel safety cage and 10 airbags are a final defense against an accident, but the accident prevention technology on-board helps the Cruze keep you out of harms way entirely.

Front collision alert leads the way, and uses a camera to scan traffic for any stopped or slowing vehicles in your path. If it detects one, it will promptly provide an audible alert so you can take action if needed. In reverse, rear cross traffic alert works in a similar manner, but instead uses radar sensors to monitor any vehicles passing behind you. It will use the rear vision camera to provide a visual alert, as well.

Lane keep assist will alert you if you unintentionally drift out of your lane (if the blinker is not activated), and side blind zone alert can tell you if there is a vehicle in your blind spot or not, and provide a warning if it’s not safe to change lanes at that time.

Accidents are unfortunate and, in some cases, unavoidable. Fortunately, Chevy understands that, and equips all of its models with the OnStar Automatic Crash Response System. This program is part of their Guidance Program, and comes standard for three months on a new Cruze (24 months for LT and Premier trims). But, it’s worth paying extra for it. Since important accident information like your location is sent to OnStar Advisors, who are then able to contact emergency services for you if prompted. Even if you can’t respond to the Advisor, they will still contact emergency services on your behalf.

Teen Driver technology is also on board, and is accessed by inputing a pin that you (the parent) sets on Chevrolet MyLink display. This is a technology suite that’s able to do things like: mute audio when front seat occupants aren’t wearing safety belts; provide audible and visual warnings if the vehicle travels over preset speeds; and report information on how your teen drove the vehicle solo, such as the number of times certain safety features were triggered, or even if the vehicle went over the speed you selected.