2016 Chevrolet Cruze is a solid all-around performer

[MUSIC] I did not enjoy the last generation Chevrolet Cruze. I thought that it looked dumpy and roared poorly. But that is no longer the case because Chevrolet has come up with a new 2016 Cruze and it's far better than it used to be. [BLANK_AUDIO] Driving the 2016 Cruze is kind of an equal mix between harsh and soft. The premier trim here has large wheels, tiny sidewalls, so you get a little bit more road noise into the cabin. You get a little more jittery over bumps than you would with larger tire sidewalls. But for the most part, the drive is pretty nice. This 1.4 liter turbo-charged engine, the 2016 Cruze has 153 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque. In this car, it's mated to a six speed automatic however, you can still own a manual as well. Despite having more torque and a little more grunt on the lower end, thanks to the turbo, I'm not really feeling it. The first half of the pedal throw, it just takes its sweet damn time coming off the line, and it's really hard to actually get any appreciable forward thrust out of it unless you absolutely hammer it. And then you're just gonna ruin your fuel economy and nobody's happy. EPA estimates for the 2016 Cruze in premier trim are 30 city and 40 highway. I have no problem achieving those. I'm little under in the city but a little over on the highway and that's even with the high 70 mile an hour speed limit on Michigan highways. This car actually receives the lowest ETA highway rating out of all the Cruze trims. I'm not entirely sure why that is. It could be due to the extra weight of all the wheels and the baubles, and the add-ons and the fancy leather seats and all that. Or it could just be Black Magic. The steering in the 2016 Cruise is functional. About the best you can say for a compact car in this segment. Not too direct, it's not too sloppy. You don't need forearms the size of your next to be able to turn the wheel, it has power steering. So you know, it works. Most people will be just fine with it. One interesting eco feature that comes with the 2016 Cruz is Start Stop. Whenever you come to a stop, engine turns off Take your foot off the brake start going, engine turns back on. This one is actually relatively smooth. When the engine dies at the red light, I don't feel anything. However, when it starts up, I get a little bit a sound from the engine and then I get this weird kind of like jitter in the steering wheel just kind of like tweaks it to the side just a little bit. It's a strange thing I haven't really experience with other start stop systems. The interior of the Chevy Cruze is really a step-up from the old one. I am absolutely digging this two-tone motief. I think the mixture of cinnamon and black gives it that premium look without necessarily attaching a whole ton of cost to it. Some of the standouts in this interior include the lovely Chevrolet mylink infotainment screen. It features actual real buttons underneath, to minimize distraction and commit some things to molsome memory. So, you really don't have to take your eyes off the road. Another thing that's nice about the infotainment system Is that it comes with both Apple Car Play and Android Auto, so long as you have the right equipment. There's not just one screen in the cruiser, there's two. Smack dab in between the gauges up front, here is another information display. And using the buttons on the steering wheel, you can check fuel economy, you can check what music is playing. You can check the navigation direction. Again, all to cut down on distraction. So we've already established that the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze is both nicer to look at and nicer to drive than its forbear. However it is kind of a jack of all trades master of none situation. The Civic stands out with its design. The Elantra stands out with its absolute load out of tech and options. The Cruze does not have A stand out kind of quality to it. It's a lot like the Toyota Corolla in a sense. The Corolla is a great all-arounder, but it doesn't really have a wow factor that separates it from the segment. And I think that is exactly the problem with the crew. Looks great, drives great, doesn't have a stand out factor. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]