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Automobiles

2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel EPA-Rated at 46-mpg Highway

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By Kirk Seaman

Chevrolet has announced that the new-for-2014 Cruze diesel will get an EPA-estimated 46 mpg on the highway and 26 mpg in the city. With its 2.0-liter turbo-diesel making 148 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque matched with a six-speed automatic transmission, the diesel joins the base 1.8-liter four and the optional 1.4-liter turbo four already available in the Cruze powertrain lineup. The addition of the diesel is the news; how its fuel economy stacks up against its siblings and the competition, however, is another matter.

Getting 46 mpg on the highway is a laudable achievement for the diesel; the automatic-equipped Cruze Eco gets 39 mpg and the Eco with the six-speed manual gets 42 mpg. Drill a little deeper, though, and the comparisons become less favorable: the automatic Eco matches the diesel’s city rating of 26, while the manual betters it by 2 mpg.

Then there is the matter of dollars and cents. At $25,695, the Cruze diesel is $4010 more than the Cruze Eco with an automatic and $5205 more than the manual. And with diesel fuel currently costing about 40 cents more per gallon than regular unleaded, it’s going to take owners a whole lot of highway driving to recoup the extra cost of the diesel-engine option.

Chevy wants you to pay no attention to that Cruze Eco behind the curtain, and would instead like you to consider the Volkswagen Jetta TDI as the bow-tie diesel’s real competition. The Jetta costs about $700 less than the compression-ignition Cruze, but the Chevy comes with more standard features, including MyLink infotainment, larger 17-inch aluminum wheels, leather seats, and a two-year maintenance plan. Chevrolet also offers a powertrain warranty that is the same in years (five) but better in miles (100,000 versus the VW’s 60,000). On the fuel-economy front, the Jetta gets ratings of 30/42; that puts the Cruze up by 4 mpg on the highway but down 4 mpg in the city.

The Cruze diesel will go on sale this spring in “high-indexing diesel cities” such as Baltimore and Milwaukee. Later this fall, it will be available nationwide and in Canada. While we’re always glad to see a new choice in the world of compression ignition, we’re still not sure how Chevy’s new diesel is going to find its place in the market. With diesel sales up in 2012 by more than 25 percent according to some estimates, Chevy is hoping the Cruze can get in on some of that oil-burning action.

From: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/7Sd-jHz0Cuk/

Automobiles

Chicago: 2014 Chevy Cruze Diesel arrives with 42 mpg for $25,695*

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By Zach Bowman

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The last time General Motors had a diesel passenger car in the US, it was the 1.8-liter 1986 Chevette. At the 2013 Chicago Auto Show today, GM is unveiling the much-anticipated 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel. The compact bows with a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine that boasts 148 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, with full twist coming on at just 2,000 rpm. What’s more, the common-rail, direct-injection diesel features an overboost function that allows the engine to deliver up to 280 lb-ft of torque for 10 seconds at a time. Even with 10 more horsepower and 110 more pound-feet of torque than the available turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder in the Cruze, the 2.0-liter diesel engine can return up to 42 mpg (highway) bolted to its six-speed automatic transmission.

If you’re counting, that figure meets the less powerful Cruze Eco with a six-speed manual transmission. More importantly, the auto transmission Cruze Diesel matches its main competition, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, in highway fuel economy. The Cruze 2.0 TD (as it will be badged) can also handle up to 20 percent biodiesel (B20), whereas the Jetta is rated only for B5. General Motors has not released city fuel economy for its newest diesel, but we do know how much it will cost you to jump behind the driver’s seat.

GM will kindly ask for $25,695, plus an $810 destination fee. That marks a $2,115 premium over a loaded Cruze LTZ Auto and $2,640 more than the Jetta TDI, though the MSRP will net you a leather interior, 17-inch alloy wheels and an Aero Performance Package, as well as a two-year maintenance plan and five-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty. Compared to the gas-powered Cruze, you also lose a couple cubic feet of rear cargo space thanks to a 17-liter diesel emission fluid tank. That urea fluid, which helps put the clean in clean diesel, will need to be refilled at least every 10,000 miles.

The Cruze’s diesel engine will be built in Kaiserslautern, Germany and the car will be produced starting in April at GM‘s plant in Lordstown, OH. Sales should kick off in May or June and cars will first roll out in 13 select states where GM has had success selling diesel-powered Silverado trucks. If you’re thinking GM did something similar when the Volt was released, you’re right. GM is again targeting buyers who are familiar and interested in a new (well, new since 1986, anyway) technology. This time, though, instead of zero emissions and li-ion, the audience knows that there’s a significant difference between the label and real-world fuel efficiency of diesel vehicles, and so might be persuaded to do the math on higher diesel fuel costs and come to a favorable conclusion.

You can read the full press releases, both on the Cruze Diesel and its beating heart, below. Now we just have to wait for the wagon.

Sebastian …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog