# Considering purchase: manual sedan vs. hatch



## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> Hello everyone, recently I have been seriously considering a purchase of a diesel Cruze with manual transmission. I have three other diesel vehicles of varying vintage and growing up we always had diesels, and with the way automotive trends are going I feel lucky that anyone still markets a car like this in the US. I work on my own cars and never really planned to get a new car again after my 2005 Jeep, but keeping up with my cars is getting to be a bit much because of general life stress and physical issues. So, I've gotten to the mindset that having a new car with warranty might take some stress off, and make working on my other cars fun again. Plus, every time I read something about the Cruze diesel its appeal grows more and more and I can imagine I'd really enjoy having one with a manual (I drove a similar-size diesel, manual hatch the last time I was in the UK and it was the saddest I've ever been to leave a rental car behind at the end of the week). I still have some doubts, such as the depreciation of any new car, the electronics that might make it a nightmare in 10 years, and potential future regulations. But, that part is for me to work out.
> What I'd like advice on is, if I go through with a purchase I'm having a really hard time deciding if I want a hatch or sedan. I love the look of the hatch, and the extra space, but it is more expensive, I'm not crazy about the big wheels, and I'm concerned it might not get quite as good fuel economy. And the sedan is a really nice-looking car itself, plus if I chose the less-expensive body I think i could justify getting the Kalahari leather interior I really want. Can anyone who owns or had driven the diesel manual sedan and/or hatch chime in with positives/negatives about either body style? I've searched here and seen the hatch is not expected to get as good economy, but does anyone have some good numbers to compare with diesel and the 6-speed in both models? Unfortunately none of my local dealers have any diesels in stock, nor any manuals, so test-drive wise I'm trying to make judgments based on the gas automatic versions of each car. Is the hatch enough of a more-fun driving experience to make it worth the loss in economy and extra money? And space-wise, is the sedan going to be a lot more confining than the hatch? I will still have my Jeep if I need to haul something bigger but I still like the idea of being able to chuck car parts and whatnot in the back. Any input would be great, or just any general thoughts on things I should consider when making my decision, whether about the body styles or any other options.


Welcome. I will try to help. I have 2 sedans, one manual and one auto. Both diesel, as well as a gen 1, 2015 diesel. I looked at the hatch, but found it had less room than the sedan. The only way to get space in the hatch is folding the seats down, not much goo if you need more than 2 people in the car. The sedan has a very large trunk, it's bigger on the gen 2 than Gen 1. The sedan gets better MPG because of drag, the shape has less wind drag at highway speeds. I personally did not consider the hatch, if that same or less I could, but certainly not when it's more money. It doesn't concern me per se, but the hatch is final assembly in Mexico, the Sedan is Ohio. 
The new Auto is very nice, I still love to drive a manual, and it is also very nice. Perhaps the most refined manual I've ever driven. These are really nice cars, especially in their price range.

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## GotDiesel? (Sep 9, 2013)

For best MPG and trunk space , get the sedan in a manual. I will have my Cruze sedan in a manual . I would recommend you get the one with the the leather , I felt the cloth had a rental fleet feeling to it and IMO felt cheap .


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## Jacque8080 (Oct 31, 2017)

I just bought this. I didn't consider the hatch because it's made in Mexico, costs more, gets worse mileage, and could have more interior quality issues.

It's the oil burner with a clutch pedal. I love the heck out of it.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Thanks for the input, everyone. Definitely helpful perspective. Now leaning towards the sedan. I wish I could afford one of each, haha. I think I'm sort of drawn in by the snazziness and to some degree "coolness" of the hatch, but I'm thinking in the long run my personality will fit better with the sedan ... I like economy and practicality and things that last. And I love the idea of the economy possibilities ... I get a thrill out of trying to get the best mileage I can out of the cars I have, and I can imagine it will be even more fun with the manual, and the potential for 60 mpg or close. I will keep looking at both. I'm hopefully going to test drive a sedan (albeit gas and auto) tomorrow so I can get a feel of how it drives. I test drove a Premier hatch and did like it but it rode a bit hard (wheels I am sure). Handled really well though. Hopefully the sedan handling will be decent and I'm hoping for a comfier ride based on what I've read. 
Jacque8080, is yours Graphite Metallic? That's the color I am leaning towards now, with Kalahari leather ... I am guessing I would have to have it built which would take longer but maybe worth it. Or I could just settle for a different interior. I initially was leaning towards a white car, but now considering trying something different ... my family always had white cars so I'm partial to them ... but right now in my fleet I have white, ivory, light khaki (i.e., tannish-gray), so it might be cool to have something a little darker too, and I thought the graphite was a nice shade.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

The sedan has the higher MPG ratings based on the aerodynamics.

I personally like the sedan body style more, but the hatchback has grown on me.

Get the Kalahari interior. It's just gorgeous. Mine's black, and I wish I'd found a Kalahari one.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

This is my manual sedan. This is kinetic blue metallic. I've come to really like this color. Behind you can see the Gen 1 diesel. It's a very dark blue metallic. It's not a bad color, but it shows dirt too well. Seems it's dirty 5 minutes after it's washed. My wife's pepper dust metallic is visible in the pictures in my garage on my profile. Turns out it's also a nice color.









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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

One other thing I can mention - ride quality is about 123489234982x better on the 16" wheels/tires compared to the 18" 40-profile wheels (and MPG a little bit). Yeah, the 18"s are pretty, and they corner very well compared the the 16, but it will leave you feeling every bump in the road...the LT models just float over them like a little Buick.

Kinetic Blue is an amazing color. Easily my favorite part of my car.


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## DrKlahn (Feb 10, 2014)

It's kind of a no brainer if the sedan opens options for you that you want. My sedan has the cloth interior and I have to say it's quite comfy (I did buy a leather cover from Amazon for the steering wheel). But if you want the leather, get it. I ended up with cloth because mine was a '17 closeout that was too good of a deal to pass up (I was planning to keep my Gen 1 for another year).


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

DrKlahn said:


> It's kind of a no brainer if the sedan opens options for you that you want. My sedan has the cloth interior and I have to say it's quite comfy (I did buy a leather cover from Amazon for the steering wheel). But if you want the leather, get it. I ended up with cloth because mine was a '17 closeout that was too good of a deal to pass up (I was planning to keep my Gen 1 for another year).


Yes, the '17 close out deals were amazing.

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## Jacque8080 (Oct 31, 2017)

My paint is MOSAIC BLACK METALLIC. I wanted the KINETIC BLUE METALLIC. But the website nor the dealer would let me select that with the tan leather interior. Even for a build to order car.

I agree with jblackburn on the interior. Sit in a Corvette with the kalahari interior. Yes, the color is the same. The materials look the same. The design looks the same (I don't remember perforated leather in the one I was in.) We have the option for a similar interior from a $70,000 car.



I admit I was a little surprised with the interior when I first saw it. It looked a little more orange than tan. I was hoping for more brown. But a wipe of armor all and it looks really upscale. I think it shatters the GM interior materials reputation. It's the same materials with the black leather. But all black hides the soft touch - looks like its been stitched - against the hard plastic.

I'll try to take some interior pics.

My best 25 mile fuel avg is 59.7 mpg.

My driving is spirited. I like to think I get better mileage than a hybrid with something that's actually fun to drive. I don't know about a torque converter. But there is something about WOT from 1,900 RPM in 2nd gear. The 240 ft/lbs or torque is very satisfying. It reminds me of the pull in a Tesla Model S P85D.


Fuel and DEF






DATEMileageAMOUNT(US Gal)TypePrice / GalTotalCommentsMPG5-Jan20210.854Diesel #2$2.799$30.38Thornton’s
9-Jan69810.898Diesel #2$2.769$30.18Thornton’s45.515-Jan10529.507Diesel #2$2.769$26.32Thornton’s37.2

(No DEF purchased yet. I picked up the car with a little less than a half tank of fuel.)


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## JDH (Dec 24, 2014)

Traffic in this area is very hard on your left leg and throw out bearings in a manual so I opted for the autos. 

Yes, the sedan rides like a Buick and yes it can get better than 60MPG at 70 MPH on a straight flat high west Texas highway with a 40 MPH wind at your back, BTDT.

Yes, the ride is a little stiffer in the hatch BUT the handling borders on sportscar like. This week it will go over 500 miles. Next weekend I plan to get it on the highway and do and economy run. We'll see if it can match its plain Jane cousin.

One more yes. Yes the mexico thing is a little unsettling. This is the first Chevrolet compact since my Vega that was not built at the Lordstown plant. :angry: Does this mean I can't go on the tour anymore?


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> Yes, the '17 close out deals were amazing.
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk


Yeah I wish I had decided to pursue this when the 17 deals were still available ... for those prices I probably would have settled for any color combo as long as I could find a diesel manual.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Jacque8080 said:


> My paint is MOSAIC BLACK METALLIC. I wanted the KINETIC BLUE METALLIC. But the website nor the dealer would let me select that with the tan leather interior. Even for a build to order car.
> 
> I agree with jblackburn on the interior. Sit in a Corvette with the kalahari interior. Yes, the color is the same. The materials look the same. The design looks the same (I don't remember perforated leather in the one I was in.) We have the option for a similar interior from a $70,000 car.
> 
> ...


I noticed some of the colors wouldn't allow you to chose the Kalahari leather. I thought that was a bit weird. I had also considered the Arctic Blue but that doesn't allow you to choose the brown leather either. The Kinetic Blue is really growing on me ... I'm not usually into bright-colored car but it seems to have a real rich, vibrant quality to it. Hopefully I can go look at some of the colors in person soon. My salesman hasn't gotten back to me since I left him a message, so I'll call him back today. I don't want to be super pushy since I'm not even 100% sure I'll buy a car. Though at this point my heart is pretty well into it. My top color choices right now are Graphite or white, but it's really hard to judge from photos especially on metallic colors. But I'm pretty sure I'm just going to go for the Kalahari, even if I have to order a car. Unless I change my mind back to the hatch, in which case I'd go for the cloth. But at this point the sedan stories are swaying me to the sedan side.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

JDH said:


> Traffic in this area is very hard on your left leg and throw out bearings in a manual so I opted for the autos.
> 
> Yes, the sedan rides like a Buick and yes it can get better than 60MPG at 70 MPH on a straight flat high west Texas highway with a 40 MPH wind at your back, BTDT.
> 
> ...


I would definitely be interested in how your economy run goes. The handling aspect does appeal to me, though I'm just not sure I'd want it as a tradeoff of ride and mpg. Question though ... is the ride/handling only dependent on wheels, or are there any suspension differences? If it's just the wheels and either way I had a change of heart later, I could always get different wheels someday. I know there are various ground effects touches on the hatch and optional on the sedan, but I wasn't sure if those do much or are just a looks thing.


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## johnmo (Mar 2, 2017)

Jacque8080 said:


> My best 25 mile fuel avg is 59.7 mpg.
> 
> My driving is spirited. I like to think I get better mileage than a hybrid with something that's actually fun to drive. I don't know about a torque converter. But there is something about WOT from 1,900 RPM in 2nd gear. The 240 ft/lbs or torque is very satisfying. It reminds me of the pull in a Tesla Model S P85D.
> 
> (No DEF purchased yet. I picked up the car with a little less than a half tank of fuel.)


You're absolutely right about mashing the throttle around 1900 RPM. The pull is fun and the fuel economy is _still_ good.

I've bought about 8.5 gallons of DEF for a total of $31.15 over about 25k miles. That doesn't include the factory fill and one free refill from the dealer.


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## JDH (Dec 24, 2014)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> I would definitely be interested in how your economy run goes.


The buyer's tag expired Thursday. Unless the permanent plates show up in the mail today it won't be this weekend.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

So I've pretty much decided on sedan, but if the right hatch came up I might reconsider. They had the 6M diesel hatch at the Philly Auto Show and I really do love the shape and style, but I think in the long run I'd be happier with a little better mpg and the smaller wheels. I'm hoping my dealer can find a Satin Steel Metallic on Kalahari though there don't seem to be many with that interior in any exterior color out there. I'm more flexible on exterior as there are a few nice colors but I'd really love that Kalahari. I'm hoping they can find one because the incentives this month look really good. Fingers crossed I will officially join the Cruze ranks soon.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Update: I put in an order for a sedan. It was still a tough choice because I love the uniqueness of the hatch but I had to pick one and the sedan just made more sense for my needs. I got diesel, 6-speed manual, Satin Steel Metallic, Kalahari interior with fog light and interior protection packages. The wait is going to be really tough but I decided it would be worth it to get exactly what I want. Thanks for the advice and input. Whenever it arrives I will post photos and introduction in the new members section.


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## ProDigit (Aug 31, 2015)

My 2ct:
50% or more of highway driving at speeds of 45MPH or more: Sedan!
50% or more of city driving, at speeds of below 50MPH: Hatchback.

The hatchback is easier to load stuff (like groceries) in the trunk.

The sedan is more aerodynamic, and will give you better MPG at highway speeds.
it also has a larger crumple zone, so if someone rear-ends you at high speeds, there will be less of an impact in the Sedan, than in the Hatchback.


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