King of the road

The first time I saw the Cruze manual I thought what an awesome muscular looking car, let’s see if it drives well. The next day when I test-drove it I liked it but found that the clutch is too hard and if dis-engaged quickly by mistake, the car lurches forward, no way I’m buying this car. Then a friend insisted I try the Automatic. I always wanted Diesel Automatic, so I thought why not. The car feels almost royal with the Auto Box, smoothly accelerating with gear shifts so smooth that you have to concentrate to feel them. The pick up can be extremely slow and smooth or tyre spinningly brutal, depends on your mood and the road ahead. What amazed me is that the Automatic actually gives this car a Jekyll and Hyde kind of personality. It can be driven peacefully like an old man would drive and at the same time can also be driven like a toyboy racer with brutally fast pickup if driven in anger. The turbo lag in the manual is gone. It changes gears according to the pressure on the pedal. The diesel has a huge amount of torque as it is the same engine as the captiva. I somehow feel that SUV engines are always more sturdy, so that’s a good thing. The best part of this car is that it is comfortable in Mumbai traffic but it is almost like a Bmw on the freeway (and probably safer than a 3 series anyway). The brakes too have ABS and have a nice feel and bite to them. The interiors are very stylish, just look at the dashboard and you will know, its close to the Accord. There are some people who say that it looks cheap because they are used to the FAKE wood (which to me looks ultra cheap). I am infact glad that there is no wood at all, if you want wood go buy furniture.  The rear space is slightly cramped (for 6 footers only) as the roofline is low, but the seating is far better than the old Skoda Octavia atleast. The car is good for people who mostly drive alone or with 1-2 people and with young families. I found it sportier than a laura. The mileage I got on the highway was 14.5 kmpl and city with traffic was 9.5 kmpl, both figures with A.C. on full time. The only thing I changed was the tyres to another make as I thought that the JK tyres would become hard later on. Spent 10k on that. The dealership experience was not bad, but some refresher training can be given to the sales department and a follow up enquiry directly/ independently from the company would give it a good and direct insight to customer preferences and suggestions. This is my first Diesel and my first Automatic. In the end Drive it to believe it, but drive the Automatic preferably, it’s far better and less stressful. Bought this car not because I had to but because I wanted to.