Comments on: 2009 Holden Cruze – First Steer

By: Paul C

Paul C — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:31:02 +0000

OK, my Family has just bought one of the 1.8 CD manual Cruzes. Traded in a pretty thirsty Territory with a few looming issues and only 62k on the clock. I digress though.
Look, I like some Holdens, but also some Fords, and other individual cars amongst other brands. No car is perfect, and they all have their issues somewhere along the line. I like to think I call it as I see it. Firstly, I’m not coming on here to try and justify my decision. My decision is my decision, you make your own. My interest is reaching those who are thinking about one of these cars and would like an intelligent and unbiased opinion. You’ll either like or hate the styling, I like it, so tick for that. We were looking for a small/medium car to run our 3 kids around town for the million short trips you make as a parent. Coming down from a big car, safety was my number 1 priority, followed by fuel economy, but also enough room for a couple of car seats in the back for the short term and one in the long term. I did not find any car that came close for features (and there are plenty), safety (6 airbags plus ABS ESP traction control EBD etc etc) for the money, approx $23990 on the road for CD manual. Fuel ecomony around 7.0 1/100k combined, tick as well. ANCAP 5 star safety rating for this car, really important to me. Some are critical on engine performance for the 1.8 petrol. Let me assure you, it has more than enough power for normal daily driving. If you want to race people between traffic lights, then 1. Don’t buy a Cruze & 2. Stay away from me & my family! I’m more interested in how much it costs to fuel it each week so I can feed my kids, not quarter mile times.
Now, to those who are worried, it is not a Daewoo. Got it! When GM Bought out Daewoo naturally at that time GM got lumbered with ‘Legacy’ vehicles such as the Lacitti and others. And, yes they did badge them as Holden’s, Chev’s etc. However fast forward to now. The Cruze is a wholly GM design with major input from Holden, GM Europe, Chevrolet, GM Canada and no doubt others as well. A truely Global car built on an Astra platform. You’ve only got to sit in it to know it’s no Daewoo. The interior in my opinion is truely outstanding. Can I say being a big car fan, I am amazed at how planted this thing feels on the road, truely un-small car like, solid and stable. No doubt at 1300 kg’s this adds to that solid feel, but also adds to the safety too. See ANCAP 5 star rating. Long term, reliability is unknown as with any new car. Time will tell. Remember though that even amongst traditionally reliable cars you can always get a lemon. Personally if your looking for a small to medium run-about for a new driver or even a smaller family car my suggestion is at least check out the Holden Cruze.
One more thing to think about. As of next year these will be built in Australia by Holden along side Commodore. It’s important to Holden that this car hits the ground running so when local production starts it will have the Sales momentum behind it. So far it appears to be selling well, and we could all do worse than support Aussie jobs, True?

By: Goodfa

Goodfa — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:21:37 +0000

Timing Belt change for Cruze is 10 Years or 150,000Km’s(Whichever occurs first).

Parts should be cheaper than Astra since they are made in Korea and later on in Australia.

By: Mazdaman

Mazdaman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:39:36 +0000

good point
not unlike the Mitsubishi idea with the hyundai 2,4 in the top spec lancer
the 2.2 from the last vectra was supposed be a good motor wasn’t it?

By: tosca

tosca — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:21:47 +0000

I won’t look at another Holden because I don’t like their gouging attitude on parts. Everything I’ve had to replace on my Astra (wipers, flip-key (twice!) etc) has been much more expensive than other makes. Timing belt was due for replacement at a lousy 60K and my mechanic says the Cruze is the same. No doubt the Cruze is a fun drive while it’s young, but wait til it’s age starts to show, which will be the moment the warranty expires.

By: Sorry

Sorry — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:56:44 +0000

Gee you reckon you found all that out in 15 minutes. Pity you are wrong.
The Cruze is designed and built by GM Daewoo in Korea. The platform on which it is based is also designed by GM Daewoo, for use with the Cruze and other GM variants. There was input from other GM divisions, but nothing really substantial enough to even call it jointly developed.
Australian input was limited to the hatch variant.

By: Xeryus

Xeryus — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:39:50 +0000

So much bad mouthing this car for what reason, its a great car, not a single bad review about it. I just dont get why people have allied themselves to a certain manufacturer and stick with them even when they build crap cars, the jokes on you isnt it really?. if its a good car and it does what you want it too do then buy it, what does it matter if its a Nissan or a Holden or a Ford??.
PS ive only just spent 15 mins looking at this car and i already know this car isnt built by daewoo wholly, its made from 4 or more manufacturers under the GM banner. kinda touched on that in this article.
Needs bigger engine? cant overtake? people saying this are the twits you see on the news dead or resposible for killing innocent motorists for your lack of patience!!!!

By: cliff

cliff — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:28:38 +0000

The engines across the cruze range are from the last family of astras holden sold in australia. The 1.8 petrol was across the astra range and the diesel engine was from the astra diesel.

What would be nice is if Holden can get their hands on the new 1.4L turbo from the brand new 2009 astra which was released durin the middle of the year.

By: Mazdaman

Mazdaman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:55:35 +0000

1. Why wasn’t Honda capable of designing a 5 star car in 2006?
2.Why was Australia just about the only market in the world not have stability control standard until toyota added it to corollas?
3. Why did honda increase the price of the hybrid $4-5000 last year ‘because of exchange rates’, are they lowering them now the exchange rate has gone down again?
4. Why would you pay $7-10 000 for the hybrid option when every road test done on them can’t come even close their claimed fuel economy?
5. Why assume Thai build quality is better than korean?
6. Why can’t Australian buyers option safety features in base model civics?
7. Why isn’t honda an automotive leader like it was 10-15 years ago?

I used to be a big honda fan, now they are nothing more than a toyota clone

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:56:54 +0000

WHY WHY WHY CANT THE MAKERS OFFER A 2.5 LITRE OPTION?…There’s NO way any 1.8 can have enough torque for safety power needed in all round driving in an auto no matter how many gears it has..and forget diesel..its a pig to fill, a pig to fix, and a pig on the highway..try passing a double b on an up hill at 90kph and see how long it takes..it a characteristic of diesel..LOW end grunt…when in times of trouble you need everything at once..whatever the speed. Heated seats???????
Better to fit Yokohama tyres thanks. I think it looks great, but, the CD with a 2.5 litre auto would seem to fit WAY more family profiles.

By: Safety Frist

Safety Frist — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:13:14 +0000

Umm Sorry to burst anyones bubbles, but the engines used in Daewoo’s previous to GM-DAT’s existance were GM engines except the 3cyl in Matiz being a Suzuki engine (funded by GM at the time) and the Ssangyong Mercedes engines towards the end.

The main engine group were Family Four motors out of Fishermans bend. The 1.5 was the same engine as fitted to Opel Cadets during the 80’s, the 2.0 & 2.2 exact same motor as fitted to Vectra. Even the engine numbers were the same. The gearboxes were GM Canada and the steering systems were GM Opel…. That is what was printed on them when you looked at them fro underneath.

I point this out so that you can make a more educated decision. I am NOT casting aspersions either way. I spent many years selling Daewoos (I do not have trouble sleeping at night) and still have customers who bought them from me. If you are concerned about the quality of the vehicle I would not be asking on a site like this I would be fronting up at Avis or Hertz or such and spending a couple of hundred to hire one for a week. Try to get one that has done a few K’s and see what you find.

By: Goodfa

Goodfa — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:56:34 +0000

Holden also did a customer satisfaction survey on the first 200 Cruze’s sold and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

By: Elyshia

Elyshia — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:19:39 +0000

Thanks for your advice guys. Much appreciated.

By: DE

DE — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:52:52 +0000

YES it is a Daewoo engine.
BUT it is a good unit for Daewoo, and probably industry average. Be no worse or better than many of it’s competitors.

By: toxic_horse

toxic_horse — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:47:46 +0000

I doubt you will have any problems with the engine or drivetrain.
if there was to be quality issues you would more likley find them with the fit and finish but I don’t think you will have a problem.

By: Goodfa

Goodfa — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:43:02 +0000

I believe the engine is basically identical to the engine in the latest AH Astra.

By: Elyshia

Elyshia — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:22:04 +0000

I am really close to buying the Holden Cruze CD manual petrol model. The only worry I have with it is the Daewoo engine. Is it actually a Daewoo engine and if it is, has it been improved since previous Daewoo engines? I am sold on the rest of the car, I just don’t want it to be costing me heaps of money two or three years down the track!

By: Goodfa

Goodfa — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:53:49 +0000

Cassie is it a petrol version and how much did you pay?

If it is a petrol how do you find it power wise as this seems to be the biggest criticism of the Cruze?

By: DE

DE — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:35:18 +0000

Good Luck, hope you don’t need it.

Don’t know why everybody is congratulating “Holden” for this badge engineering exercise though – it’s more “great work GM”

By: Frenchie

Frenchie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:07:56 +0000

Congratulations Cassie, hope the car provides you with some years of fun and reliability. Just one point though, park assist imo is brillant, however you had a budget and glad the car meets/exceeds your expectations,

By: Cassie

Cassie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:30:42 +0000

i brought my cruze about 10 weeks agao and have just recieved it today, i brought the CD moel in an automatic and in black with tinted windows, i have to say i love cars and i am so happy with mine it looks wicked and not only does it look good it drives like a gem, i couldn’t be anymore happier with my choice, this is only my second car but i am really pleased with my choice and the price i payed for it! i wouldn’t have minded the CDX but didn’t find leather seats, heated seats and rear parking assit neccessary!
great work holden i think the cruze is amazing!!!