# Cruze Quality



## KidCruze (Nov 9, 2010)

cruze owners..... from your experience, how do you find the quality of parts found on the interior, exterior and under the hood? Is it better then previous cars from Chevy?


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## montana (Nov 12, 2010)

I do not own a Chevrolet Cruze, However I did take a look at one at a local dealership and I must say the Interior panels seem cheap, not what i expected. The rest of the vehicle was acceptable.


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

The entire interior is amazing. I don't feel like any part of it is cheap??


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

I agree, what interiors have you been looking at montana? The Cruze is on par or better than my 2011 Mustang and Ford Flex, for a heck of a lot less money. 

Overall quality:

Engine: Excellent so far
Transmission: Average at best
Interior: Excellent
Exterior: Very good
Ride: Excellent
Handling: Excellent
Overall: Very Good.


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## regnant (Nov 25, 2010)

I can't comment previous cars on Chevrolet but from what I see from the reviews this Cruze is surely better built than Cobalts and rest of small competitors 
My point is for the exterior :
body feels solid , I do hate plastic bumper covers but sadly most manufacturers do use them instead of chrome bumpers . Door handles feel tough not cheapish or crappy 
Interior :
Door handles very quality build, and very ergonomic you can easily fit in your hands to open the doors , plastic chrome surrounding around the buttons is a good feature and looks very well . 
Cloth is slightly feeling cheaper may be velvet would be good , if leather is available I would go for it 
Gray area around the gear knob, console is feeling sporty but in long term it may peel off or discolor . Piano black trim is very lovely 
A/C buttons , center console is very well designed


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## SilverCruzer (Nov 30, 2010)

I have not owned any new GM cars before I owned this Cruze. What I can tell you is the interior quality of the materials is better than the 2002 CRV I used to own.


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## montana (Nov 12, 2010)

I was looking at a cruze LS that was already being driven at the dealer as a loaner car. I just wasn't a fan of the quality in the plastic panels and various panels in the car. It's better then other chevy's i drove, cobalt was one of them.


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## scaredpoet (Nov 29, 2010)

I have a friend who drives a Cobalt, and compared to it the Cruze is way better in terms of durability, both interior and exterior.

The problem I see IS with some of the interior plastics though. It has a dull finish to it that does make it look cheap, but I've driven other cars with supposedly "better" interior designs that ended up not holding up. I have a feeling the simplicity of this material might make it more durable. There's no glare coming from the top dash onto the windshield ona sunny day either, and that's a good thing. 

That said it still _looks_ cheap.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...the black plastic battery cover on our LTZ was broken as the car sat on the dealers' showroom floor. Wife pointed it out and the dealership immediately drove the car into the shop and "swapped" out the broken cover for a good cover from one of the other cars.


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## justmike (Dec 6, 2010)

I am impressed with the feel and look of the interior. Nothing about it feels cheap to me at all.


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

Cruze interior is very nice.
RGM


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

racer114 said:


> I agree, what interiors have you been looking at montana? The Cruze is on par or better than my 2011 Mustang and Ford Flex, for a heck of a lot less money.


...hope you don't mind, but I "borrowed" and expanded your excellent review: 

*Overall Cruze quality:*

......Engine: [*X*] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
Fuel Economy: [ ] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [*X*] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
Transmission: [ ] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [*X*] Average, [ ] Poor 
....Interior: [*X*] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
....Exterior: [ ] Excellent, [*X*] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
........Ride: [*X*] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
....Handling: [*X*] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
==========================================================================
.....*Overall*: [ ] Excellent, [*X*] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor


...if Excellent = 5, Very good = 4, Good = 3, Average = 2 and Poor = 1; then:

[(4x5)+(1x4)+(1x3)+(1x2)]/35 = 29/35 = 0.83 out of 1.00


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## mkenc (Oct 19, 2010)

For my taste the Cruze is perfect in every area. I love my cloth dash and I have never seen that before. I have the black with the brick. The black makes a pattern over the brick underneath. I've had a lot of complements on it. I've recently taken a 5hr trip and was comfortable all the way. The form, fit, and function has been well thought out. You can tell that Chevy has make the attempt to put their best foot forward and it shows. I am not able to afford allot but I feel that I have gotten more than my moneys worth.


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## SilverCruzer (Nov 30, 2010)

I sat in a Corolla at the car show yesterday. It had that compact car feel to it that I do not feel in my Cruze.


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## cruze99 (Jan 18, 2011)

I just found this site (glad I did) so this is my first post here.

I have owed the 2011 Cruze LT Turbo for 1 month and have found it to be better than I anticipated in all areas so far.

In the past I mostly have purchased Toyota's and Nissan's Brand New (that's 6 of them). I have not purchased a GM made car in over 25 years (last one being a new 1980 Buick). I bought into all the Camry and Nissan HYPE over the years because of the reliability but I found that they had their on set of problems (see below).

For me I fell that Chevy has turned the corner and in my opinion may have surpassed these two. The styling looks great and everything has tight tolerances and appears well made. 

The interior is very well layed out and sharp looking and at night looks amazing. Nothing cheap about it. In comparison to the other Japenese and Korean car makers the Chevy is on par if not better. I am actually very happy with the Cruze in terms of look and feel.

I have a Maxima and Camry and I have had numerous issues with them. Some minor and some major. A few problems are listed below just to show you that they are not as perfect as they put themselves out to be. So do some reasearch and don't just drink the juice.

On the Maxima GLE (top of the line) I had the Oxygen sensors go out right after the warranty expired ($350 repair). The brake rotors were warped at 55,000 miles and had to be replaced. The original tires had to be replaced at 22,000 miles. The Bose 6cd Stereo went out at 5,000 miles and out again at around 40,000 miles. That's about a $1200.00 stereo. An internet search will show that this is a major issue but not recognized by Nissan - go figure. There is also excessive wind noise in the car as well. So as you can see there are quality issues with Nissan's flagship car.

On the Camry LE (top model) I had major engine repairs around 50,000 miles. Hydraulic lifters went out as well The digital dash went out completely right after the warranty expired. Also had other small issues. Toyota has a lot of quality issues that past few years.

Three cars that I looked at before I settled on the Cruze.

1. Corolla - Has a small feel about it and the style is sub par. Nothing exciting about it.

2. Elantra - From a distance looked ok but after really looking at it I felt that it was cheaply made and not as powerful. I know a lot of people that have Hyndai's and everyone that I know has problems with them. Quality is not there. They only buy them because they can be had cheaper than most other brands but you will pay when it leaves you stranded.

3. Civic - Small car and looking at it side by side with the Cruze there is no comparison that the Cruze is sharper looking.

I really want the Cruze to work out well and hope that I don't have problems with it. I have checked everything, Interior, Under Carriage, Engine etc.. and it all appears very well designed and well layed out. I have the Turbo engine and I can't believe how much pickup this car has for a 4 cyl. From a design standpoint you can tell a lot of thought went into this car. 

My only concern are the Firestone tires that came on this car. They are B/B tires- that is Temperture B and Tread B. I'm not a big fan of Firestone because in the past I had noting but problems with them. Then again I have never had any luck with new cars original tires anyway. But right now they give a very smooth ride and handle well so no complaints so far with these tires.


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## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

Very well said... Thanks for the comparisons. Firestones? I thought they came with Michelins or is that just the LTZ with the 18" wheels?


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## cruze99 (Jan 18, 2011)

Mine came with 16" Aluminum Wheels with Firestone Model# FR 710 - P215-60R-16.


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## LARRY01Z28 (Dec 4, 2010)

i love the interior of my cruze.


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## daisysasha (Jan 20, 2011)

*cruze interior*

I have an ltz with the cocoa/neutral leather. I have to say the leather is very nice. I like the leather on the doors and dash-it's different and I think it looks pretty classy. I think the interior is great quality. The only part that I thought looked a little cheap was the plastic "hood" that is over the instrument cluster (do you know what I mean??) I like the chrome rings on the instrument cluster and chrome door handles on the ltz. My brother has a kia and it feels like I'm sitting in a roller skate - I definately don't feel that way in the Cruze. Also -someone mentioned tires earlier - my ltz came with michelin tires.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

daisysasha said:


> I have an *LTZ with the cocoa/neutral leather*. I have to say the leather is very nice. I like the leather on the doors and dash-it's different and I think it looks pretty classy. I think the interior is great quality. The only part that I thought looked a little cheap was the plastic "hood" that is over the instrument cluster (do you know what I mean??) I like the chrome rings on the instrument cluster and chrome door handles on the LTZ. My brother has a Kia and it feels like I'm sitting in a roller skate - I definately don't feel that way in the Cruze. Also -someone mentioned tires earlier - my LTZ came with Michelin tires.


...your *Ice Blue*/*Cocoa*-Neutral LTZ was the first choice that my wife wanted, but since the dealership had a *Gold Mist*/*Cocoa*-Neutral LTZ sitting on the showroom floor and we'd have to special-order an *Ice Blue* LTZ and wait for its' delivery(!), she settled for the *Gold Mist* and drove it off the lot _that_ day, and she loves it.

...LTZ models come with Michelin 'Pilot' HX MXM4 P225/45R18 tires.


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## trol (Dec 4, 2010)

I had ordered a 2LT with all the options in Taupe gray and solid black interior (leather). When I got it I saw the cloth on the dash, thought it was weird to have cloth on a leather package. Bought and enjoy the car. 
Then I heard that others don't have cloth on their dash and after doing some checking and looking around. Turns out if you get the two tone leather interior you get leather on the dash/door inserts, yet the solid option doesn't. They do this and charge the same amount for the vehicle.
I've yet to figure out why they do that. I even emailed Chev to ask if it was a hiccup in production or what. Was first told all 2LT's came with cloth on dash (they had to call the dealer to ask them..huh?). Went by dealer and saw a 2LT they got in after my purchase and it was two tone with leather. My salesman couldn't answer as to why. Called Chev back and pointed that out, week later they said that is the way they do it with their trim colors. 
The sliding arm rest is a neat idea and really helps, just wish they made it so it would lock in place. I always seem to slide it back.


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## daisysasha (Jan 20, 2011)

Interesting...both the cruze i bought and the one i test drove had two-tone leather so when i saw pics of the all black interior w leather i thought it looked like cloth on the dash. I wasn't sure I was seeing the pic right. That's odd-I wonder why they did that?


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## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

daisysasha said:


> Interesting...both the cruze i bought and the one i test drove had two-tone leather so when i saw pics of the all black interior w leather i thought it looked like cloth on the dash. I wasn't sure I was seeing the pic right. That's odd-I wonder why they did that?


 It has always been like that on the US Cruze. Do some research on the different Cruze interiors and you will see. Even the 2 versions of the 2-tone leather interiors are different in that the neutral has solid tan seats but the black/brick has 2-tone leather seats. There are only 3 color options for the leather interior and the solid black does and always did have the fabric parts of the dash & doors instead of the different color leather. People should research & know about what they are buying before buying it and then questioning the manufacturer or complaining about it.


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

Robert, the problem is that some people ordered their cruze before they ever hit dealerships. It is g very odd to have leather seats and cloth dash..


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## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

shawn672 said:


> Robert, the problem is that some people ordered their cruze before they ever hit dealerships. It is g very odd to have leather seats and cloth dash..


 I understand what you are saying. I am also not too fond of the material on the dash but at least I am aware of it. I would not buy a car without knowing everything I can about it first. Hey... I'm strange that way. 

What cars have a leather dash? All the cars I have known have leather seating surfaces which mean the dash, doors, even the backs of the seats are NOT leather, but vinyl. I never had a over $50K car so not sure about them. I am not very fond of the leather choices either. I prefer the two tone of the black/brick but do not like the brick color, wish it was a light gray. That's just me, everyone is different.


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## daisysasha (Jan 20, 2011)

Ok so uh, I'm not sure why you think I'm complaining or that I bought a car without knowing about it...
All I said was that the cruze I have is cocoa/neutral leather and YES I know it has all tan seats cuz my ass sits on it daily. Also I said I test drove a two-tone interior one (happened to be black/brick). I had only seen the black interior in pictures and not in person. I also just wondered why they made the two tone ones with leather and the black ones with cloth. Never said anything about them not being made that way to begin with and all that. Not sure why this was a touchy issue for you??


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

daisysasha said:


> Ok so uh, I'm not sure why you think I'm complaining or that I bought a car without knowing about it...
> All I said was that the cruze I have is cocoa/neutral leather and YES I know it has all tan seats cuz my ass sits on it daily. Also I said I test drove a two-tone interior one (happened to be black/brick). I had only seen the black interior in pictures and not in person. I also just wondered why they made the two tone ones with leather and the black ones with cloth. Never said anything about them not being made that way to begin with and all that. Not sure why this was a touchy issue for you??


he's just a grumpy old man


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## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

Hey Daisy... I never said YOU complained about anything, actually, my post had nothing to do with you or your post at all. Now, who is a little touchy?


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

_"...plays *nice* with others?"_


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

Cloth on the dash with leather? That is new to me. Mine is leather in both, and all the leather appointed Cruzes I've checke out while having service done on mine were the same.

Cruze99,

Very good write up and you are spot on. I've owned a two Nissans, a Mitsubishi, Honda and a Toyota as my only "foreign" vehicles. They were no better than my D3 cars then and they are no better now. The Nissans and Mitsubishi were junk. The Honda was good, but boring as ****. The Toy, well, it wasn't around long because it was like driving a go cart.


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## daisysasha (Jan 20, 2011)

robertbick said:


> Hey Daisy... I never said YOU complained about anything, actually, my post had nothing to do with you or your post at all. Now, who is a little touchy?


 
Well see...if you scroll up and look you quoted my post then made your comment so that's probably why it looks like it did have to do with my post. I think you should quote the person your directing your comment at and not just one randomly then?


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## GM Fan (Dec 14, 2010)

The only thing that I think looks cheap on the LTZ is the carpet. Everything else is high quality.


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

GM Fan said:


> The only thing that I think looks cheap on the LTZ is the carpet. Everything else is high quality.


I bought the OEM rubber floor mats. Never looked at the floor mats 
I use the rubber mats even during the summer. 

The OEM floor mats are already in the trunk, soon to be in the basement.


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

Agreed. I never paid that much attention to the carpet until the other day. It is really cheap looking. But it is covered up by floor mats, so no big deal.


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## Trtmntdude (Sep 19, 2011)

I own a 2011 Eco and I think the interior is ok with the exception of the VERY cheap look and feel of the steering wheel inserts that are thin and have sharp edges on the backside which stick out 3/8 of an inch. Terrible design/craftsmanship. Also the clothes hooks are WAY too close to the roof handles and make it almost impossible to hang anything on them. AND...the rear seat buckles are recessed and difficult to use when you have a baby seat in the middle.


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## Trtmntdude (Sep 19, 2011)

Oh yeah, The floor mats are paper thin. I've had them for five months and my heel has almost worn through.


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

I have a black LTZ, black / break leather interior. My take on the interior:

The carpet looked like shizzzz... got the all-weather cruze floor mats immediately. 

The two-tone interior is VERY high quality feel. The seats don't seem comfortable at first, but after taking it on an 8 hour road trip and two 5 hour road trips I found no discomfort at all. The ride was actually very pleasant. I took the same trip to college in a 2000 infiniti I30 last year and the ride in the LTZ was smoother on my back and posture, which says alot. After I got the correct seat setting, its contoured to fit your body very well (Well, at least mine, lol).

The instrument panels on the driver side has a plasticy feel and look. Kind of cheap but its really only noticable when you touch it, because the two-tone just stands out so well. By the panels, I'm refering to where the auto-light control knob is and the door locks. The auto-light control knob plate that it sits on actually looks like its a few months from coming off .

The center console is very nice, with a cockpit feel shared on all Cruze models. LOVE it. 

The dashboard with the speedometer and other gauges is VERY nicely finished and the DIC is easy to use. They even glow very well in the dark for night driving made easy . The Honda I had as a company vehicle I had trouble with night driving because of that...

The steering wheel is my favorite piece of the whole interior. Its EXTREMELY comfortable feel and finish. It glides and slides through your hands with no toll on your skin. It's literally as smooth as a baby's bottom! Makes whipping through turns pretty fun.

As for the car overall:

......Engine: [X] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
Fuel Economy: [ ] Excellent, [X ] Very good, [] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
Transmission: [ ] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [X] Average, [ ] Poor 
....Interior: [X] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
....Exterior: [ X] Excellent, [] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
........Ride: [] Excellent, [X ] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
....Handling: [X] Excellent, [ ] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor
================================================== ========================
.....Overall: [ ] Excellent, [X] Very good, [ ] Good, [ ] Average, [ ] Poor

For the LTZ as a whole, some subtle differences you should be aware of. The ride is very smooth and planted, but the suspension is sport-tuned, so if you hit bumps or pot holes the LTZ is a lot less forgiving than other models. This is also somewhat due to the profile of the tires and larger wheels. Fuel economy in my experience has been very very good. I don't care for the city MPG but I'm under the impression that every car sucks in the city. My current tank is something like 21 MPG at an average speed of 18 mph (I'm in a super heavy congested college town right now). Road trips have been fantastic though.

I think people forget when looking at this car that while it is marketed as a compact, it IS a midsize. 15.4 cu ft trunk? 3200 lb curb weight. Just for comparison, a 2011 Toyota Camry has a 15.0 cu ft trunk and 3260 lb curb weight 0_0.


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## Andy2012ltz_rs (Aug 1, 2011)

I only have 2 complaints so far. The auto tranny is bit a slow on upshifts, and color of the inside roof pillars not being the same as the rest of the interior. The carpet may not be anything to write home about, but doesn't bother me. Overall, I feel the car is money well spent.


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## CruzeLTZ-RS (Jul 23, 2011)

I never even thought about the carpet quality until I read this post. But I would never think of putting rubber mats in my ltz/rs. IMO- that would look too cheesy for me, like a farm truck. I guess get in your car with half way clean feet and you won't need rubber mats.

Love my car thus far. Coming from an '09 G6, this is far better than that car!!!


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## oshia86 (May 29, 2011)

The interior feels cheap compared to the GTO. I've already had some issues with mine. Shifting is terribly notchy at times, which ruins having a manual transmission. I've had an evap leak. Twice now, has the fuel cut-off stopped working. The drivers seat shifts. I've also had to trim some of the stitching on the shift knob and steering wheel, as little pieces became pointy and uncomfortable. 

My other half has had less issues with a 70k mile Cobalt.


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

The all weather Cruze-specific mats look fine. They are contoured to fit the interior and whaddya know - they match ! Well, provided your interior is black lol.


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## turbocruiser (Sep 10, 2011)

The quality issue is noteworthy. I have owned my ECO since last July, and had a few issues, which I addressed myself, rather than dealing with the dealership. Things like loose screws, mis-aligned wiring, and a rattle in the driver's door, which turned out to be a bolt rolling around in the bottom. I took the door apart myself to find it, as the dealer said I would have to leave the car for a day, for them to fix it. I agree about the carpet mats. They are really cheesy material. I am also almost worn through by the heal area. I don't know if this may be covered under warranty. I only have 5600 miles on the car. The mats in my 1966 Corvair, which are OEM, and almost 50 years old, are in better condition. Overall I am happy with the Cruze, but the attention to detail is questionable.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

I agree with mike. Nothing feels cheap to me. I had a 2007 Malibu and currently have 2005 Classic and I cannot say one is better than the other. 



justmike said:


> I am impressed with the feel and look of the interior. Nothing about it feels cheap to me at all.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

turbocruiser said:


> Things like loose screws, mis-aligned wiring, and a rattle in the driver's door, which turned out to be a bolt rolling around in the bottom.


Sounds like the Lordstown folks are up to their old tricks. That was a fairly common issue "back in the day" before they shut the plant down.


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## eagleco (May 3, 2011)

turbocruiser said:


> I agree about the carpet mats. They are really cheesy material. I am also almost worn through by the heal area. I don't know if this may be covered under warranty. I only have 5600 miles on the car.


The carpet mat on my '06 Mazda 3 wore through just as fast in the heel area. I put Weathertech mats in my Eco before the carpet mat had a chance to wear through. Overall I am very pleased with the quality of the Cruze. Specifically the controls have a nicer feel to them and the clutch pedal is easier and smoother to use.


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## TonyJZX (Sep 27, 2011)

the car retails for under $20k

you can't expect euro quality... for what it is, it's quite good

for GM its stellar... have a sit in the sonic or the Nissan Versa/Sentras etc.


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## cwerdna (Mar 10, 2011)

TonyJZX said:


> the car retails for under $20k
> 
> you can't expect euro quality... for what it is, it's quite good
> 
> for GM its stellar... have a sit in the sonic or the Nissan Versa/Sentras etc.


Well, most of the European cars here retail for a lot more than the Cruze. There are a lot of cheapo European cars that aren't sold here. 

From the Cruzes I've sat in, I agree that the interior bits seem to be of pretty good apparent quality vs. other cars in its price range. Yes, current Sentras and Versas are pretty cheap on the inside. I did check out the Sonic recently and yes, they definitely skimped on its interior to keep costs down.

It's unreasonable to expect interior quality and materials from a car in the price range of a Cruze to compare to cars that start at say $35K+...


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## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

Youngstown News, Chevy Cruze garners accolade from U.S. News & World Report magazine - Newswatch , Magazine gives Lordstown


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