The 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel will return fuel economy of 27/33/46 mpg (city/combined/highway) in EPA testing, the automaker announced today. That lofty highway number is the best of any non-hybrid passenger car sold in the U.S., and even beats out the Cruze Diesel’s main rival, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, though the VW gets higher ratings with city mileage.

The Chevrolet Cruze Diesel uses a 2.0-liter inline-four turbodiesel engine with 148 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, and a six-speed automatic transmission. Chevrolet predicts a 0-to-60-mph time of 8.6 seconds and, thanks to the impressive highway rating, a driving range of up to 700 miles on a single tank of diesel.

http://wot.motortrend.com/2014-chevr...#axzz2QgSauNEZ

 

Pretty good mileage. I sat in one of those though and I feel so cramped in it as compared to the focus and civic.

 

Darn good mileage for the size of the car. Wonder that the oil burner cost extra?

 

The base price is $25,700.

I still don't get how EPA rated it at only 27 mpg city ... I mean, even really outdated Corolla 1.8L petrol, with the ancient 4 speed auto, is rated better.

But I'm sure owners will be able to get a much better mileage in the real world. I mean, I'm averaging 40-45 mpg city with my Volkswagen Golf TDI.

 

I driving a Cruz right now for work since I am traveling. They are drive like every other entry level econobox. I travel for work about 2-3 times per month and am always using rentals and I have driven them all. They suck and zero fun. Not saying they are not reliable, but definitely a point A to B type vehicle. I'd rather have my mustang and get half the mileage and a ton of fun on the way there than get 40+ mpg. I'd think most people on this site would agree as well since we all got have gotten a Prius or something for around the same price if not cheaper than what we paid for our mustangs.

 

if i were to get a eco car it would be that. i have always loved turbo diesels. they can make soooo much power with just a tune its crazy.

 

What I do like about that price though is it includes better wheels, leather and GM's infotainment system. Makes it a better value to me than the jetta or golf.

 

I've driven the LTZ model twice as rentals up and were fairly impressed with them being decent little cars. They certainly look nice, drive pretty well even with the dead electric steering and the interiors were hardly the rolling embarrassments that previous small GM cars were.

The diesel seems very impressive though I can't understand why they haven't created an SS version with their powerful turbo 2.0 to go against the Focus ST, VW GTI and Mazda Speed 3.

 

Jetta TDI starts at $23,000, which is $2,700 less than the Cruze TD. Sure, Jetta is less equipped, but for people like myself that don't care about any fancy stuff, the Jetta is a much better buy.
Diesels are still pretty expensive, usually because they're offered only on better equipped models. I mean, if there are hybrids for ~$20,000, I dunno why they can't build us diesels for that much.

When it comes to diesels, my personal favorite is still the Golf GTD.

 

Diesel also costs more than premium gas these days, which is crazy considering it's a less-refined fuel ...