Chevrolet Cruze LT Ownership Report - The "White Monster" now at 28000 kms

[mclaren1885]

I love the word "impromptu". And the purchase of this car was just that, impromptu.

Damn! More power and better interiors. This is one car I'd love to buy for our next upgrade.

This is what I had posted on another thread on 23rd Jul 2011. And to be honest, it was just wishful thinking back then. So, dream and dream big is what I can tell all my friends here, because you never know when someone might just grant your wish!

Around a month back, my cousin sister was planning on buying a Swift D. I lured her into buying a Ford Figo and also asked her to check out the VW Polo though it overshot her budget. She fell in love with the Polo and decided to immediately book one. My dad, mom and brother tagged along with her to help her purchase the car.

That is when I got a call from my brother who said, "dude, apparently all Central Govt employees don't have to pay LTT but just an annual tax of 2200 per year". Immediately, I ask him "Are you thinking what I am thinking"?

He says "How about we sell the Swift and buy ourselves a Polo too"? I reply "Are you mad? Get the brochures and price list of the Vento and Fluidic Verna".

So that evening, I have in front of me the brochures of both the cars. And neither mom or dad have a clue on what we both are planning

I have a close look at the pricing for both the cars and both looked tempting.

I have been seeing a lot of fluidic Verna's on the road and I must admit that it does look very appealing to the eye. Specially in white. I go through the brochures to find out that its pretty decently loaded with features and does look a very tempting buy. What I did not like about the Verna though was the fact that it won't handle as good as the cars I owned till date (Zen, Baleno, Swift) or the cars I drive regularly (Getz Crdi with upgraded suspension and Elantra CRDI). And the engine is quite spirited as well. But the handling and a not so great steering feedback were the two reasons I was having second thoughts!

Vento though on the other hand, ain't as feature loaded as the Verna, but the engine is very refined, the suspension is brilliant and can take corners way better than the Verna. And unlike the Verna that looks extremely flashy, the Vento looks very elegant in white. Confusion, confusion, I tell you!

I worked out the pricing for both the cars and the Verna top end worked out to 10.85L and the Vento Highline to 10.15L.

Then another idea struck my mind

Without informing anyone I call up the Chevrolet dealer the next day while in college and ask them to bring a Cruze TD vehicle home the same evening!

Dad, Mom, uncle, aunt, my cousin sis all take a look at the car and are immediately in love with it. I take them all out for a small TD around my place. Everyone except dad is all excited about the car, because by now he has figured out what was on my mind. The whole time I told them that I was doing a TD review for Gearheads and hence "some car" was coming home...

After the TD, I tell mom "So what do you think? Shall we book the Cruze"?

Mom puts down one condition "Fine, only if we sell off the Baleno and the Swift". I object to selling the Baleno. By then I had already told someone that I was planning on selling the Swift and so the person came to check out the car. I was offered 4.25L for the Swift which had run 78k kms in just over 3yrs years. Brilliant re-sale value I must admit. So without a second thought I convinced mom to sell off the car and so we did.

We finally bid adieu to our trusty old Swift. She will be missed


The next day, I thought about the Cruze and finally agreed to sell the Baleno too. We showed it to a few guys, but the best offer we got was 1.75L. At which point, dad said "I will convert the car back to stock and use it, you won't get even a M800 for that price". So it was decided, Baleno was not going to be sold. Silently, I breathed a sigh of relief and there were some friends who were more ecstatic than me that the Baleno wasn't going to be sold! Thank you for all the prayers guys

2 days later, I make a downpayment of 3.15L for the Cruze and await the loan approval process!

Here is a teaser pic, till I continue with my ownership report!

[mclaren1885]

I made the DP on 10th September and the whole family went to the stockyard to check out the various shades on the car. I was sold on the Black, Olympic White and Sand Drift Grey. Mom said no to Black for obvious reasons. Brother didn't like the Grey, so it had to be Olympic White. We took a close look at all the shades and spent over an hour trying to decide. If the Red was similar to that of the Swift, that would have been my first choice, but the Cruze red is more maroonish in color.

Here is a pic of Cruze in the various colors.


The next big problem was to decide which trim we had to buy. The LT or the LTZ.

I list down all the features that are extra on the LTZ and start wondering how helpful they would be to me.

1. Sun Roof - Damn! I always wanted a car with a sun roof. Specially after the drive in the Cayenne. The optional sun roof for the LT costs a whooping 1.3L.

2. Leather Seats - The LTZ comes with factory fit Stanley leather seats in full black. Since I have seen better work from Stanley, I decide to get the leather upholstery done by Stanley myself.

3. Automatic Rain Sensing Wipers - Duh! I know I am blind, but, I can see when it starts to rain.

4. Leather gear knob and steering cover - Once again, I felt the steering felt sportier and better without the leather cover.

5. Smart Screen and DIS system - The LTZ comes with an advance DIS system that displays DTE, Average Fuel Consumption etc. I could live without it.

6. Telescopic Steering - Available only on the LTZ. LT comes with a Tilt only steering. Again, I tried the steering without telescopic adjustment and it was perfectly fine.

7. Power Folding and Heated ORVMs - One feature I would like to have, but definitely not a deal breaker.

8. Rear Parking Assist - I was promised free reverse parking sensors if I picked up the LT.

9. Cruise Control - Duh!

10. Bluetooth Media Streaming - Duh, again!

11. Programmable Passive Entry & Start/Stop Button - Also known as PEPS. If you have the key in your pocket, the sensors on the door handle will automatically unlock the car as you come close to the door. You don't even have to take the key out to start the car because the LTZ also comes equipped with a start/stop button. Yet another feature I can live without.

12. Automatic Inside Rear View Mirror - Switches between prismatic day/night IRVM automatically and reduces glare on the drivers eyes.

13. Front Fog Lamps - Available as accessories for 10k for the LT.

Somehow the 2L difference between the LT and the LTZ didn't look too appealing to me to go for the LTZ. And I knew I was going to upgrade the tyres, add a tuning box/remap and new ICE as well. So decided to stick to the LT Olympic White.

Since Chevrolet stockyard in Bangalore didn't have a white LT, they ordered a car to be sent from their plant in Gujarat and the car was put on a truck bound to Bangalore on 12th of September. The car reached their stockyard in Nelamangala on the 18th and I was supposed to take delivery on the 20/21st. In the meantime I still await SBI to process the loan.

On 19th, I go to the showroom to check out the car in person. Here is the first pic of the car and me.



From no idea of buying a new car, 10 days later here I was standing next to my Cruze! If you thought everything is that simple, think again! It never is. And hereon, begins the nightmare...

[mclaren1885]

We had applied for a loan through SBI Bank and due to some misinformation from the banks in updating the details on CIBIL it did not go through! CIBIL was apparently showing that all the loans that were taken on our previous cars and bikes weren't updated to "cleared" inspite of having gotten the NOC letter from the banks and having sold the bikes or cars. Some dating as far back as 2006.

The dealer then approached Axis Bank for the loan processing and in 4 days we were told that the loan was approved. So I was slated to take delivery on the 23rd. On 22nd Axis guys make a fuss saying they need all the documents pertaining to the closure of the earlier loans etc. Finding the old papers took a while. Once that was sorted, they asked for post dated cheques. Mom being an account holder of Axis Bank gave the Axis Bank cheques but those were returned saying they needed the cheques from the same bank where mom's salary is being credited. And unfortunately we had run out of SBI cheques and the new cheque book we had ordered hadn't arrived even after having submitted the requisition letter to the bank for over 2 weeks. Frustrated, mom and dad went to SBI Bank RT Nagar and had a word with the manager who asked then why they hadn't availed a loan from SBI Bank itself.

When mom told the manager that the loan was not approved by SBI, the bank manager immediately apologized and promised mom that he would get the loan sanctioned in 2 days flat as mom has been a customer at his branch for over 20yrs with an immaculate record.

But we refused the offer since Axis had already finished the processing bit and mom had already signed on the agreement. Due to these issues, the delivery got pushed from 21st to an indefinite date. The SBI cheque book arrived on the 26th and the agent picked the same on Monday evening with a promise that the showroom would get the release order latest by Tuesday morning.

We decided not to take delivery on Tuesday at it was Mahalaya Amavasya, so Wednesday would be ideal. In the meantime the accessories were fitted on the car and the car was brought to the showroom on Wednesday.

Wednesday morning my SA calls and says the bank hasn't yet submitted the Release Order. On calling up the bank agent he says since our current residential address is just 2 months old they needed a latest address proof on mom or dads name at Hubli. Now that was a dead end because all the bills are in my uncles name who is now the care taker of our house since we moved to Bangalore in 1991.

At this point, I lost my patience completely and yelled at the Bank Agent to immediately get the contract papers and the post dated cheques and terminate the contract. And that I would be immediately issuing stop payment against the ECS and the cheques with immediate effect. It didn't matter anymore, because twice, a day before the delivery these morons want some new documentation.

Finally, we submitted my grandmom's pass book which has the same address as our Hubli house and a relationship proof that she is my mom's mom. Now they wanted my grandmom's transaction details to which I just lost my cool. It was only later that we found out the real reason for the bankers giving these lame excuses.

In the meantime mom was also so frustrated that she decided to call off the loan and pay full cash and take delivery of the car on Thurdsay.

In the meantime, I visited the VW showroom to see the status of my sisters Polo delivery. And I got a chance to TD the new Jetta.



The car exudes of great quality, something that was a little lacking in the Cruze, specially the quality of the plastics. I spoke to my folks and they were ok with buying the Jetta, though it was around 2-3L more expensive. I drove the car and somehow it seemed more like an executive sedan, something that I might pick up when I am 35 and not at 26. The Cruze makes me feel 18 again and though it has a few flaws, it didn't matter. Its the Cruze I wanted, though the Jetta was a far better car.

Finally, on Thursday morning i.e 29th, the bank gave the release order to Trident Chevrolet. I had to submit a document from BSNL stating that mom was a BSNL employee with a transferable job and hence she didn't have to pay a LTT of a whooping 2.48L.

With all the issues sorted out, I visited the showroom with a friend to do a PDI check on the car before the car went for registration on Friday morning. This is the picture of the car I took in front of the showroom on the 29th afternoon.



By that evening it started to sink in that by this time tomorrow, I will be driving in a spanking Cruze

Like they say "all is well that ends well".

[mclaren1885]

Woke up at 6am with a heavy heart on Friday and went to college. I walk into the class and my friend Ashwini walks upto me and says, I just saw your car on my way to the college. They had put the ribbon and was parked outside the showroom. It looks awesome, so when are you taking us for a drive.

I attended the 1st 3hrs, every minute looking at my phone for the Asst.Sales Manager to call me up and ask me to come to the showroom for delivery. Finally, I got an SMS asking me to come to the showroom at 12:30pm for delivery.

@bigmoose comes to college, we head over to pick up my mom from office and reach the showroom by 1pm. We are greeted by Mr. Arun who has been patiently dealing with the whole process from day 1, right from the TD to the delivery. We sign a few papers and head out to take delivery.

We are presented with some goodies which include a Chevy soft toy, a leather key pouch that you can hook to your belt buckle and two leather cases to keep your keys in (meant for the LTZ where you don't have to take the key out). We were also presented with a Sula Champagne bottle as a complimentary gift! Mom was handed over the keys and Mr. Arun asked mom and me to pose with the car for a customary delivery photograph. He went into the showroom and immediately came out with a printed photograph pasted on the dealers photo frame. Nice touch, I must add

Overall, the dealership experience at Trident Chevrolet has been nothing but brilliant. Right from the TD to the handling of the entire booking of the car to getting the car to the showroom on the promised date. If there was anything I could complain about, it was that the car wasn't cleaned properly on the outside. But thats understandable because of the delivery delays that happened due to the bank guys.

A big shout out to Mr.Arun and his colleagues who did a fabulous job! I wish the same experience continues with regards to the servicing of the car as well.

The total cost of the car OTR after all the discounts was 12,66,xxx.

Here is the list of discounts and accessories we got:

1. BSNL LTT discount - 2,48,000 in lieu of which we have to pay an annual tax of 2200 every year.
2. BSNL Corporate discount of 8,000.
3. Additional Cash Discount of 5,000.
4. Reverse Parking Sensors with display on the ORVM.
5. 3M Sunfilm.
6. Car Cover.

At the price we paid, the Cruze is a total VFM car I must admit.

I got a call from the dealership enquiring if I wanted a fancy number. I immediately asked for KA 50 MC 1885. But unfortunately that number wasn't available though I was ready to pay upto 25k for it

I was asked to choose any number between 2074-2090 and I picked up KA 50 XX 2080 at a cost of 4,000 bucks. I was told the number plates would be ready by Monday evening.

[mclaren1885]

We drive straight to my college from the showroom. I introduce my mom to all my friends and take my friends out for a small spin. Then Biju and myself drop mom off at office and head straight to @hercules tyres to change the crappy 205/60/16 JK Vectras to 215/55/16 Maxxis MA-Z1s.

I gave my OE tyres in exchange and paid 9k for the upgraded tyres + wheel balancing + alignment + balancing weights + nitrogen filling. Yes, I know that is an awesome deal

Here is a picture of the car at Hercules Tyres. Odo reading at first mod on the car was 60kms.


Car going for alignment after fitting the bigger tyres.


After the tyre upgrade, we went straight to mom's office, picked her up and headed to my sisters place where the rest of my family was waiting. We then headed to a Ganesha temple near my place and got the pooja done for the car and we all headed out for dinner at Nagarjuna that night.

During dinner it started to pour like cats and dogs and I was really worried with my sisters children wanting to get wet in the rain before entering the car.

Got back home around midnight, washed the car to get rid of all the stagnant rain water and parked the car at home with the odo reading at...


The next morning, me and a few friends decided to head down to Nandi Hills for a small drive.

Clicked this enroute.


Some pics from our short Nandi Hills trip.











Karthik and myself posing with the White Monster. The pic was later e-mailed to a friend who is an auto enthu from my class and was on a family trip to Manipal and hence couldn't make it for the maiden drive outside Bangalore


Odometer reading at end of day 2.


The car has been parked at home all day today, haven't clocked a single km on day 3.

Next post will look into the first impressions with the car.

[madmango]

She's beautiful man

And not having to pay the LTT just makes the deal that much sweeter!

Drive safe!

PS: Can we expect more travelogues of Impromptu drives with your new diesel beast?

[mclaren1885]

Haven't driven the car around much, so will write a detailed review once I come back from my long drive next week.

Here are my first impressions of having driven the Cruze for 216kms in 2 days:

1. Car is a stunner. Everywhere I go, it manages to turn heads. Specially in my college.

2. Interior plastics aren't of that great quality, specially the seat adjustment knobs, door pads. You expect a lot better from a 15L car.

3. The twin cockpit design borrowed from the Corvette is a nice place to be in.

4. The steering feels amazing to hold. But the feedback isn't that great yet. Eg: Figo, Fiesta, Baleno etc. I am hoping this will improve once the tyres are run-in properly.

5. Gearshifts are just amazing. Its hard to believe this is a brand new car and shifts just slot in effortlessly.

6. I love the seats completely. Till date I used to vouch for the Baleno seats to be the best when it comes to spirited driving. The seats on the Cruze are right up there. For someone taller, maybe they may be a little uncomfortable.

7. OE ICE is pretty decent. Though I am planning a upgrade soon. The USB input couldn't recognize my Google Nexus S, though it recognized a Nokia phone that had a 2GB memory card. Mi10 - Is that because 16GB memory of my phone was too big for the OE HU to sync to?

8. Stock JK Vectras are really crappy and I am wondering what Chevrolet were thinking when they put them on this monstrous engine. Once I upgraded to the Maxxis, I could immediately feel the acceleration getting better as the tyres were putting more power to the ground.

9. The dashboard is too glossy and hence you have a ton of reflection on the windshield. Quite an irritant while driving during the day time. Even the chrome on the AC vents keeps reflecting off the side windows and at times partially blinds the ORVMs as well.

10. Braking is brilliant. I got to test ABS as well. Was going back home last evening from college and was chugging along at around 35kmph. A SX4 stalled ahead of me with no warning. Sat on the brakes. Immediately I felt the ABS kicking in and the car came to a stop inches away from the rear bumper of the SX4. My heart was in my mouth, because it had been raining and since the tyres are new, the shiny surface on top makes the tyres not grip at all.

11. Suspension is extremely stiff, specially in bad roads. Not sure what GM were thinking with the suspension, it's so stiff, it's not a joke!. So initially, I expected the car to handle like a boat ala Verna, but up Nandi Hills the handling wasn't bad at all. I took some sharp corners at really good speeds. Key is to be smooth with your steering inputs. Once the tyres run-in and loose the shiny surface handling should improve a great deal. Though the handling is nowhere near to that of the Elantra. In the C+ segment, I am yet to see a car that handles like the Elantra.

Once you hit bad roads, start praying. Because you will either have your bones scrubbing against each other and wearing off or your teeth are constantly chattering and are wearing off. This suspension is surely not suited for Indian roads.

12. Legroom at the rear is ordinary. Though since most of us in my family are not tall, it wasn't much of a concern. However, when slightly taller friends sat at the back, they did complain of lack of legroom.

13. AC is very nice. Cools the cabin down very soon.

14. The best thing about the car is its engine. The mighty Z20 motor.



And the way it revs, is unlike any other turbocharged diesel engine I have seen till date. The engine revs to 4k effortlessly and almost like a petrol engine. I managed to do a top speed of 195kmph enroute to Nandi with 5 people on board and it got there in no time. Could have easily clocked the claimed top speed of 210kmph if it wasn't for a slow moving truck ahead of me.

15. The car is huge, so takes a bit of time to get used to driving in a chaotic city like Bangalore. I can see my road rage increasing as I continue to drive this car with bikers and cabs trying to nick me at every possible opportunity.

16. The top speeds in each individual gears are:
1st - 38kmph.
2nd - 80kmph.
3rd - 122kmph.
4th - 160kmph.
5th - 210kmph.

This is what I saw, I could be slightly off, will confirm the numbers again once I get on a longer drive.

17. Turbo lag exists, but if you drive a Swift D and a Getz CRDi regularly, you are used to living with it. Like I said elsewhere, the turbo lag is a *****, but when the turbo starts spooling the Z20 motor is a crazy insane *****!

18. The biggest problem I found in the car is getting used to the clutch. The clutch is pretty aggressive and I actually managed to stall the car twice in 2 days. That has never happened before, not even with stage 3 clutches on modded petrol cars. But with time I am sure its just a matter of getting used to.

That is all I can think of for now. Will update in detail once I get back from my 1000kms drive starting on Tuesday morning. Until then....

I Choose to Cruze.

[007]

Can we expect more travelogues of Impromptu drives with your new diesel beast?

Im sure you can; as soon as McChicken finishes emptying a nearby poultry farm.

mclaren1885!! be a man! stop eating, start driving!!

[mclaren1885]

PS: Can we expect more travelogues of Impromptu drives with your new diesel beast?

Yes, you can! I am off to a 1k kms trip to a place called Kavali in AP to attend my aunt's house warming ceremony. Leaving on Tuesday morning and will be back on Sunday. Joining the White Monster will be a brand new Polo 1.2, a Swift D and an Alto.

be a man! stop eating, start driving!

Lost my appetite again for the last few days! Just been too held up with college to get out for drives and all the boys are either out of town or held up with work. Hopefully this week, I will manage to wriggle out of family commitments and come visit you for a few hours. Lets do some runs on the Vbox. How far is Rajahmundry from Kavali? 350kms one way?

[Ironhide]

Hi mclaren1885, congratulations on your new car and wish you many many happy miles. it is looking awesome!

Any plans for modding "White Monster"

OT - Is it legal in KA to drive car with temp number plates. In Delhi, showrooms have to register and issue number plates before handing over a new car