The Chevrolet Cruze is one of the Chevrolet entries the open record knows by name and by date — in 2008, and by little else. That is not nothing: a name in the catalogue is where a car's story starts to be recoverable.
How it came about
The Chevrolet Cruze (Korean: 쉐보레 크루즈) is a compact car produced by General Motors from 2008 through 2023. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and a station wagon in 2012. The Cruze replaced several compact models, including the Chevrolet Optra which was sold internationally under various names, the Chevrolet Cobalt sold exclusively in North America, and the Australasian-market Holden Astra. The Cruze was released in 2008 for the South Korean market as the Daewoo Lacetti Premiere (Korean: 대우 라세티 프리미어) prior to the adoption of its international name in 2011, when the Daewoo brand was discontinued. In Australasia, the model was sold between 2009 and 2016 as the Holden Cruze.
In 2016, the Cruze sedan was restyled and renamed for the Australasian market as the Holden Astra Sedan, as a sedan complement to the Holden Astra family. Due to the market shift towards SUVs and decreasing sales, the Cruze has been gradually phased out. Production of the Cruze in South Korea ended in 2018 as part of restructuring of GM Korea, which in turn ceased supply of the Holden Astra Sedan to Australasia. In the United States and Mexico, production ended in 2019, while production in China ended in 2020. Production continued in Argentina until 2023. It was replaced by the Monza in China, which is known as the Cavalier in Mexico.
Under the skin
The record carries the layout — and the layout: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Chevrolet's history is not in doubt: the Daewoo Lacetti / Daewoo/Chevrolet Lacetti/Chevrolet Optra / Chevrolet Cobalt/Pontiac G5 (North America) / Chevrolet Astra (South America) / Holden Astra (Australasia, hatchback) / came before it; the Holden Astra (Australasia) / Chevrolet Monza (China) / Chevrolet Monza/Cavalier (China and Mexico) followed it. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Tesla Roadster, the Nissan 370Z, the Volkswagen Tiguan. Its Chevrolet stablemates include the Chevrolet Adra and the Chevrolet C-10.
The money
On the used market today a Chevrolet Cruze typically changes hands for $5,800–$16,900, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $3,062–$7,061 a year. Insurance sits around $960–$1,770 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.