First Drive: Chevrolet Cruze Station Wagon

< Back To All Chevrolet Cruze Reviews

The Chevrolet Cruze Station Wagon launch took place in the picturesque surroundings of the German city of Cologne.

In what was two days full of driving, sporting activities and geocaching (like me, for those of you that don’t know, it’s modern day treasure hunting), Chevrolet had planned a launch to bring out the competitive side of the British media. Maybe this was a ploy to detract ourselves from the car.

Their hatchback, the Cruze is the most successful model of the brand, but nowadays families or the outdoorsy types are having to look at slighter larger cars to fit with their lifestyles. And that’s where Chevrolet have met the needs of these buyers and designed the Station Wagon.

Surprisingly sporty in looks, despite it being essentially an estate, the tapered front lights encase the enormous dual grille with the Chevrolet ‘bow-tie’ badge. The rear seems quite understated, lines are smooth and looks like a tougher and more up to date version of the Toyota Avensis estate.

The interior seems really upmarket and had you thinking you were in a different class of car.

Gloss black surfaces and an aluminium effect dash give the cabin a high quality feel. Seats are comfortable, although have limited adjustment, but there is good all round vision due to the slim A pillars.

With more manufacturers incorporating the use of linking up your phones and other electronic equipment up to your car, Chevrolet offers MyLink. Connected by USB or Bluetooth all content can be uploaded onto the 7” touch-screen display.

The boot space is the big talking point of the car and at 1478 litres when the rear seats are folded flat, you can fit in a couple of bikes, furniture, even the kitchen sink. Stowage is high up on the list and there is space in doors for bottles, seat-back pockets for laptops and a nifty compartment in the front passenger footwell for maps and such.

Engine wise and we tried the most efficient Cruze engine ever, the 1.7-litre diesel, which emits 119g of CO2. The 163bhp 2.0-litre Diesel MT comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox, as well as Start/Stop and was quite punchy as we drove it down the long stretches of German dual carriageways.

A 1.8-litre petrol engine producing 141bhp and with automatic transmission is also available.

What let it down was the very light steering, which was quite lairy when driving around the tight corners of the German countryside, so provided very little feedback. It was quite a hard ride, good on smooth roads but tended to feel any rough surfaces and considering this country doesn’t have great roads, may not be the most comfortable of rides.

Prices start from £15,375 and Chevrolet may not be on the usual list of cars to try when you are hunting for your next buy, but with estates from the Ford Focus to the Skoda Octavia as other options, the GM owned brand is more than a match.

< Back To All Chevrolet Cruze Reviews

Chevrolet Tech specs, colours and model guides