GM’s last efforts to put diesel engines in U.S.-market passenger cars in
the 1980s were famously—or rather, infamously—half-baked, and turned
nearly a generation of American consumers against oil-burners. But in
Chevrolet’s new Cruze diesel, which is making its debut at the 2013 Chicago auto show,
GM probably doesn’t have to worry about its prior bad-diesel acts.
Compression-ignition engines have been gaining mainstream popularity
here in the U.S., largely due to their high fuel-economy numbers. That
the Cruze diesel is pretty far removed from a smoky ’86 Chevette bodes
well, too.
Chevy is positioning the Cruze diesel as a competitor to the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, and unsurprisingly, the sedan’s 2.0-liter diesel offers similar specs to the VW’s 2.0-liter oil-burner. The Cruze puts out 148 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque (an overboost function brings peak twist to 280 lb-ft for up to ten seconds at a time), numbers that compare favorably to the 140 hp and 236 lb-ft produced by the VW. Less favorable is the Cruze’s lack of a manual-transmission option; unlike the (rather sporty) Cruze Eco, which can be had with a six-speed manual, the diesel arrives only with a six-speed slushbox. It may not be sport, but Chevrolet estimates that the diesel will run from 0–60 mph in 8.6 seconds, a figure it says betters that of the Jetta TDI with its optional dual-clutch automatic.
Differentiating the diesel from regular Cruzes are a set of 17-inch aluminum wheels wrapped in low rolling-resistance tires, a taller 3.20:1 final-drive ratio, unique sound-deadening gear, standard leather seating, and an aerodynamics package cribbed from the Eco. Curiously, the Cruze diesel forgoes the Eco’s lowered sport suspension and lightweighting measures. In fact, between the 408-pound diesel engine and the addition of the exhaust-recirculation gear and 4.5-gallon urea tank (for the eponymous exhaust after-treatment fluid), the Cruze diesel’s quoted curb weight is more than 300 pounds heavier than that of the non-Eco Cruze turbo automatic.
The car’s porky weight penalty probably has a lot to do with its underwhelming fuel-economy parity with the lighter, gas-powered Eco. Chevy estimates the diesel will return an impressive 42 mpg on the highway, but—yes, there’s a giant “but” here—that figure is just three mpg higher than the auto-equipped Cruze Eco’s highway rating and matches the performance of the manual Cruze Eco. (However, we expect that in real-world use, the oil-burner will come closer to those EPA estimates than the turbocharged Eco.) At least the Cruze also matches the Jetta TDI’s highway performance, which is the same regardless of which transmission is doing the shifting.
Although any automaker likely would welcome having the problem of offering multiple 40-plus-mpg trim levels of the same model, we’re thinking the diesel’s Eco-matching efficiency might pose something of a problem. That’s because when the diesel’s $25,695 price is factored in, buyers will find that it costs $4010 more than the similarly efficient 2013 Cruze Eco automatic and $5205 more than the Eco manual. The gas-powered, 1.4-liter turbo Cruze 2LT, the trim level on which the diesel is based, costs $2560 less—but that’s still a steep premium for just a few extra mpg. Or no extra mpg, in the case of the Eco.
For its part, Chevrolet seems unperturbed by the diesel’s fuzzy value proposition relative to other Cruze models. The automaker prefers buyers instead compare the diesel Cruze to its key competitor, the Jetta TDI automatic, which costs $810 less but isn’t as well-equipped. Chevy also is pretty specific about who those buyers are—it’s hoping the same diesel-receptive folks flocking to VW dealerships to plunk down the extra cash for diesel models will give the oil-burning Cruze a look. We’ll have to wait until the Cruze goes on sale later this spring to see just how Chevy-receptive those buyers turn out to be.
Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2014-chevrolet-cruze-diesel-photos-and-info-news
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