Anyone compare the Sonic and Cruze?

[ahtoxa]

Yeah gotta start somewhere. Can't expect a car to win over everyone who as been driving these diesels since the 80s.

I drove the Jetta too but they feel so cheap now. Plus I wasn't buying anything that didn't have a 1 as the first digit in the vin. 'Murica!


**** you auto correct!

There, fixed it for you.

 

[The Champ]

It's too bad that the Cruze diesel flopped severely. It wasn't able to compete with Jetta TDI. The Jetta got better mileage, better range and was priced better, too, from what I recall. When the Cruze diesel came out, I recall reading an online comparo of the two, where the journalists drove both on a long road trip of 700-900 miles or so.

Not to mention that Jetta TDI has been long established and pretty much single-handedly owns the entry-level diesel family car market.

The Jetta is less expensive, but it should be, based on the quality of the product.

This is the 2014 JD Power Dependability Study. VW is perpetually one of the lower ranked vehicles.

Might have something to do with the fact that in an up year for auto sales (up 6% for 2014), VW went down by 10%.

 

[Swordsmith]

I was looking for cheap fun cargo vehicle. The Cruze comes only in sedan, which meant I could not get my boxes in and out of it... I brought empty boxes along on the shopping trips and eliminated everything that wouldn't fit the boxes before I even got around to driving. To be fair, I didn't find any sedans that didn't fail this test (including the Sonic sedan). The Sonic Hatchback however was astonishingly roomy for such a small vehicle, and it was also significantly cheaper than the Cruze.

If you don't need to move a number of large boxes, the Sonic Sedan actually has more room than the hatch; the hatch is essentially a sedan with its trunk chopped off. The Cruze should be even bigger... but it doesn't seem to be. Perhaps the quiet comes from added room between the exterior and the interior?

 

[UlyssesSG]

Question for you. I understand you find the interior better designed on the Sonic. Which car is more fun to drive? The Sonic? Or about the same? I'm curious to get your thoughts.

I can answer this one for you, if you'll permit me to chime in.

I currently own a 2014 Cruze RS with 6T40 AT and prior to that owned a 2012 Cruze LS with MT. That said, I had the opportunity to put quite a few miles on a new 2012 Sonic sedan with the 1.4L turbo motor and 6-speed M32 manual transmission when the car was first introduced. My assessment:

• Fun-to-Drive: Sonic wins by a country mile.
• Driver's Seat Comfort: Sonic, again, by a wide margin.
• Easier to lease, buy and finance: Cruze, overwhelmingly.

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