The Chevrolet Cruze, General Motors South Africa’s newcomer in the high volume ‘C’ segment of the passenger car market has secured a high level of acceptance amongst the international media and car buyers alike. Exceptional build quality, high levels of safety and overall economy of operation have promoted a high level of acceptance for this global newcomer from Chevrolet.
The Cruze has been greeted with enthusiasm by the international motoring media who immediately placed the vehicle high on their candidate list for numerous regional and international Car of the Year accolades. The South African Guild of Motoring Journalists named the Cruze as one of just eight finalists for its 2010 COTY award.
Following this achievement came the news that a panel of 59 influential international automotive journalists had chosen the Cruze as one of its ten finalists for the World Car of the Year Award. The criteria for selection being overall merit as a new vehicle in the global market, value for money, safety, environmental responsibility, emotional appeal, and significance.
The European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP) awarded the Cruze its top five star rating. According to the EuroNCAP administrators the Cruze made history as the first passenger car to receive maximum scores in both the frontal offset collision test and the side impact crash test since the introduction of EuroNCAP crash test ratings in 1997. The Cruze also achieved best-in-class safety ratings in the Australian New Car Assessment Programme and in the Chinese New Car Assessment Programme.
As part of the initial assessment of finalists for the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists COTY Award a basket of service and wear parts prices was assessed for all potential contenders. Included in this parts basket are items such as filters, spark plugs, wiper blades and brake pads. In this assessment the Cruze enjoyed an advantage over all of its competitors in the 2010 COTY evaluation.
In the assessment of more expensive replacement parts that are likely to be required only later in a vehicle’s life after significant mileage has been accumulated the Cruze ranked second amongst the eight finalists selected by the SAGMJ. In the assessment of accident repair parts surveyed the Cruze was bettered only marginally by two of its competitors, both sub-compacts.
The value offering for the five-model Cruze range is completed by excellent fuel economy, a 15 000 kilometre service interval. A three-year/60 000 kilometre service plan, included in the price, takes care of normal servicing costs over this period leaving just normal wear parts and exceptional items for the customer’s account during this period. The global reputation of the iconic Chevrolet brand adds an element of security to the ownership experience.
