2014 Chevy Cruze Diesel Review - A Forgotten Commuter That Gets 55mpg On The Highway!

[@ShootingCars]

CORRECTION: this is a 2014, not 2012. Thanks to those who pointed it out! I mixed up my notes.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

First gen cruze had a German-ness about the design, kind of audi like of you see it from some angles

[@PhatPuqck]

didnt even drive it TF?

[@jeremiahallyn4603]

I can honestly say I did not know they made a Chevy Cruze with a diesel engine. Learn something new every day 👍

[@jacobyo99]

There’s a diesel equinox too

[@RERM001]

I knew they did diesel versions of some of their global cars, but never knew that they were sold in North America.

[@mbd501]

The engine was a Fiat/GM engine from Europe.

[@einpercy825]

Makes sense as it's somewhat popular over here in Germany where around 28% of all cars are diesel. In countries like Poland it's probably even more

[@johnathonrussell4798]

I just found out they make a 2021 terrain or maybe newer aswell diesel

[@michelangelorizzo]

As a car enthusiast, I am a little bit disappointed that you didn't let me hear the beautiful diesel sound. 😏

[@senseicorey9979]

Tak tak tak tak tak tak tak tak tak

[@michelangelorizzo]

@@senseicorey9979 Ahahaha! 🤣

[@chrismunro3624]

But he did let us see the big cloud of black smoke you get when you accelerate hard in some diesels.

[@anthonyhawkins8613]

I agree. I was wanting to hear what it sounds like too!

[@girthycucumber4274]

The Chevy Cruze diesel while forgotten, I feel like it's still pretty well known. But what a lot of people don't know is that there were also diesel versions of the Chevy equinox and GMC terrain.

[@jeraldjoyce2995]

I learned about the terrain LONG before the cruze. if GM made diesel versions of the late 90s sedans, i wouldnt hesitate to own one. provided they learned their lesson with oldsmobile.

[@jdoubleu2813]

Can’t forget the Chevy express van and Chevy Colorado both 4 cylinder turbo diesels

[@cyyber1]

Cruzes got the better transmissions

[@mediocreman2]

How can it be forgotten and well known at the same time?

[@blautens]

I used to own a Mercedes 300D. You haven't truly experienced a slow diesel until you drive something like that. I still miss that car.

[@campingkillen]

The 300D was a rocket ship, I had a 200D 🙂

[@GeeEm1313]

Bulletproof tanks. I know they're slow, especially without the turbo. But reliability trumps speed any day.

[@shopwithaaron]

A friend way back had a 240D...we always said a prayer leaving the stoplight!!!

[@user-gq2vn1xj2r]

Those who have driven a 48HP Vanagon diesel would think that 300D is downright peppy.

[@mbd501]

Most diesel cars in the 70s and 80s were extremely slow.

[@parkerbethke]

The next generation 1.6 diesel sedan with the 6 speed manual was crazy. Deleted and properly tuned, is the highest mpg setup. You could scrape up over 70 mpg with that setup

[@youtubeblows]

With your foot barely touching the pedal, sure.

[@morarliece1428]

False​@@swingbag12

[@swingbag12]

@morarliece1428 My mistake you are correct. I just looked it up. Don't know why I thought that.....if I knew they came in a manual I would have bought one.....went with a golf tdi instead

[@parkerbethke]

@@swingbag12 yes they did. They offered the 1.6 with a 6 speed… super rare. Hatchback and sedan version

[@chrisransdell8110]

We had a 2014 Cruze Diesel. Ours was fully loaded. It drove REALLY well and felt very substantial and relaxed, an excellent highway vehicle. I especially liked the Aisin transmission which was very smart at downshifting to assist with braking etc, probably the smartest feeling automatic transmission I ever owned. MPGs were excellent and the range per tank added mentally to the feeling that it cost very little to fuel. Another smart idea was that if you turned the heat control all the way to hot, an electric assist helped the car heat up very quickly, not something diesels normally do well. We did have some DEF tank and fuel injector issues which came up early in the ownership and were covered by warranty or recall. None of the issues impacted reliability or performance, just dash error messages. The Pioneer audio was excellent but the on-board navigation was clunky and after an update to the map files it frequently spoke in tongues when trying to read street names which was amusing. After a tree fell onto our car the suspension was never right again. I took the car to multiple dealerships, a few tire/brake/suspension shops and nobody seemed to have any idea why it rode so low and slammed into freeway expansion joints etc so we reluctantly traded it in on a 2019 Cruze hatch which I still have and enjoy. The 2019 gas Cruze hatch has been exceptionally cheap to run and maintain, perfectly reliable but not as premium feeling as the 2014.

[@bazilwreckerloughead]

I always kinda like the look of Chevy Cruze.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

I always liked the look of the Chevy Malibu Maxx SS

[@sideways0667]

me too, there's just something about it

[@JakeDrives1]

I rented several before I ended up buying a 2014 2lt with the 1.4t. I put 75k miles on it in 3 years. Lovely car. I still miss it.

[@casualgamers3369]

I miss when American companies made cars. I know they didn't sell very well but I was fond of them much more than the crossovers we see today. Small cars were quite charming in their own way.

[@dundonrl]

I have a 2017 Cruze with the 1.6 turbo diesel and 6 speed manual. Great car for road trips.

[@trolling755]

Great video as usual Zack I love how you don’t compare too much and focus on the car! Keep up the videos!

[@dieselpreetsingh9544]

This car is very popular amongst enthusiasts in India. People really like modifying these. Im from India.

[@paulsz6194]

When General Motors- Holden was still around ( GMH) it was sold as a Holden Cruze Diesel in Australia / New Zealand. It was a little more reliable than the Family2- based 1.4L Turbo Petrol motor.

[@videogamefreak221122]

Those 1.4Ts have cooling systems so bad it makes BMW ones seem reliable by comparison. My mother in law has a 2017 Buick Encore and you cannot keep coolant in it no matter how much money you dump into it

[@mclaughlin4321]

Mine just hit 365k miles original engine trans. I love it. The best commuter I ever had.

[@Vex-zz7br]

the non diesel cruze sold so well and still sells used very well so GM just didn't feel like marketing this I guess

[@RigginTheRod010]

GM sucks at marketing

[@raging_carnut]

So sad these along with the dodge neon had a bad rep in the US. Back in Venezuela they were assembled over there and it had good built in quality

[@Low760]

In Australia they came from Korea with the diesel. But others were made in Australia.

[@raging_carnut]

@@Low760 by Daewoo which is GM Korea basically

[@chirp97]

I love my ‘12 Golf TDI! 2dr + manual, the most practical and impractical car ever

[@peterschneider777]

VW Dieselgate killed this in the U.S.

[@doug6191]

8:27 - As the successor to the Cobalt, these were markedly better in all regards, especially appearance. They weren't just handsome "for a Chevy" or "for a GM" - they were just handsome. I feel like when GM exited NUMMI, they turned to their Daewoo connection to make their compacts. And it worked. Both Cruzes were decent competitors in the segment. Maybe not as reliable, but they got the rest of the package correct.

[@jacobyo99]

Totally agree. These look fantastic and the interiors are surprisingly nice

[@retrocompaq5212]

i owned both and i swear the cobalts are much more fun to drive, the cruze is a npc car, way les reliable too

[@engineer_alv]

@@retrocompaq5212 the 2nd gen Cruze is way more reliable than the earlier ones. The Cobalts were like cockroaches but everything else would start falling apart at age 6

[@TheScrubmuffin69]

Chevy cruises with gas engines are terrible

[@disciplinedwarrior]

In india, the only Cruze they launched came with the diesel engine. It used to have humongous 360nm torque, and was quite well known for the push back above 2000rpm

[@davinp]

Like Ford, GM doesn't make sedans anymore because they don't make high enough profit as SUVs do. Chevy is discontinuing the Malibu - the last sedan they make. Of course they were not as good as a Toyota or Honda sedan

[@Ben-jz3mt]

I dunno why the country has gone so SUV/Crossover crazy. Sedans are still useful to most people. But no, let’s buy a fully loaded truck that’ll never leave the road or haul anything.

[@senseicorey9979]

They couldn't compete with Japanese quality. I had a few grand am and loved them, but after 100k miles they did not feel reliable any more. A toyota isn't even broken in at 100k

[@JohnSmith-wx9wj]

​@@senseicorey9979You'll notice that the Japanese sedans are getting less development dollars compared to crossovers too.

[@cxeroannuki2840]

@@senseicorey9979 compared to toyota and honda? sure - but people are buying nissans and hyundais instead... just utter trash garbage. and it's not as if gm hasn't made cars that stand the test of time. the le sabre is famous for its durability and that 3800 v6 is as good as anything made by toyota, their achilles' heel is that the intake manifold gasket can leak and that's an easy fix. but people junk them over it. i mean, i found a junkyard ciera with a blown ECM fuse - and the fact that it wasn't the first thing to get replaced almost certainly means they junked it over that. you don't see people neglecting corollas and civics like this. because the fact of the matter is, the toya/honda durability is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. they are well-made, but people drive them with care, they do regular maintenance, they fix them because they expect it to last. and as for the cruze, my sister has one with well over 100k miles with nothing but regular fluid changes. your mileage may vary, but it's been good to her so far and it's a simple design that's relatively easy to repair.

[@michaellorenz7177]

​@@Ben-jz3mtsimply, a SUV/CUV/truck offers a raised seating position that gives a better view of the road ahead; especially if you're someone shorter in stature. Throw in people's need to haul kids and the related equipment to all the sports/ school functions and what not, it's easy to see why they took off. Add in bonuses like available AWD in a lot of models, and here again, sedans lose. Personally, I wish we still had more variety when it comes to wagons. I miss mine every day.

[@levithrasher7417]

Fun fact, the Cruze diesel had different bolt pattern than the gas counterpart lol. No clue why, brakes maybe? I had a coworker that had one and commuted 80mph on the highway and still got 40 mpg all day long. Great cars imo.

[@chrisfronzi8236]

3:32 the black diesel smoke 🤣🤣🤣

[@mediocreman2]

I didn't realize these were forgotten. I see 2 of these almost every day on my commute.

[@tdvandy2]

Great video as always. It was the Oldsmobile 350 V8 that was converted back in the day.

[@elliottmanning4116]

I disagree on the marketing thing. I hear that complaint all the time from journalists. And it’s usually about a vehicle they liked, but had low sales. But to me, so many people have inherent biases about so many vehicles that I don’t think savvy marketing can change. If someone thinks every GM vehicle sucks, I don’t think 50+ mpg will change their mind.

[@042452]

I have 4 Small diesels 2017 Chevy Colorado Diesel , 2015 Vw Jetta SEL TDI Manual trans (The dirty One ), 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Eco Diesel ,and a 2014 BMW 328D love them all…..

[@baddriversoftennessee]

Hey, just curious, will we see any livestreams soon? Love seeing diesel cars being reviewed btw

[@UnknownProductions0]

i got an 06 e320 CDI and i LOVE it for the same reasons. thankfully they made a TON of them and they are super reliable.

[@kimochi33]

Zack, please consider mention the torque number. It's much noticeable at low rev compared to gasoline engines

[@strtupg]

I had one. Great car when it wasn’t at the dealer. Tons of emissions codes and phantom coolant leaks. Had to get it bought back from GM. Loved it, great MPG. Lots of features considering the make/model.

[@seanplace8192]

Chevy also made an Equinox diesel around the same time... It also didn't sell well. I think part of the problem is that the math just didn't really add up. Diesel is more efficient and usually more reliable, but you also have to pay extra to get the diesel engine as well as pay extra for the more expensive fuel. At the end of the day, you probably won't save much money, and also have to deal with the inconvenience that several gas stations in the US don't sell diesel. You also have to remember that this is around the time the Chevy Volt came out, so if you bought and qualified for the tax credit, you would be paying $27,500; Compare that to the $26,000 Cruze Diesel. The Volt gets around 40mpg if you count just gasoline efficiency alone, and when you consider that most people can commute just fine with its 38mi EV range, you would rarely be burning any gas and would just be using the much cheaper electricity.

[@snek5596]

I can name you at least 2 other engines shared between competitors. Saturn used a Honda J35 V6 from 2004-2007 in the Saturn Vue SUV. This was a deal between GM and Honda. In return, Honda got to use some Isuzu 4 cylinder diesels in the Civic in Europe.

[@8atualp06]

Diesel Cruze had more torque than some v6 muscle cars (360nm)

[@cyyber1]

220k on my 2014. Still drives like new and everything works. Really great car. Incredible MPG’s.

[@magnussvensson5304]

These 2.0 engines are originally from Fiat with a whole family of these common rail. Very strong and reliable engine. Quite powerful engines. Very common also in motorhomes over in Europe. Thanks for the video of this "rare" Cruze diesel :).

[@NorIsFlop]

hey cruzes were actually quite popular, in the 4 year run of the gen 2 they sold over a million, i happen to own a cruze hatchback

[@Jonathan-bk3dq]

The first generation Cruze, rides on a modified Delta platform, shared with the Cobalt, Ion and HHR. It's called the Delta 2. The exterior and interior dimensions are not changed much from the Cobalt.

[@cameronlaw9363]

Thank goodness someone agrees with me about the looks of the ChevyCruze, I thitit looks good.

[@senseicorey9979]

Yesth

[@maineiacman]

There was a geico ad before this video that featured a debaged Cruze same colour as the one here

[@thatcarguy1UZ]

Zack, the 350 V8 Diesel was based on the Oldsmobile 350 not the Chevy small-block. Otherwise, you did a good job as always!

[@TheTulerie]

I have always been very curious about these

[@dkpt1997]

This is a 2014, they didnt offer a diesel back in the 2012 model year.

[@ivokiller2000intel]

My dad almost bought one back in 2011, but was cared away by spare parts availability (something quite common in Argentina) so he went for the MK6 jetta TDI instead

[@youtoobe169]

I bought one of these new and put 200K+ miles on it. Great car!

[@devanshmishra3338]

This was very popular with gearheads in India, it was known as the "Diesel Rocket"

[@briantii]

Love the bottle of oil in the trunk. It’s a shame these didn’t really catch on.

[@mbd501]

I agree it was a nice looking sedan. It was well-proportioned. I also liked the looks of the 2nd gen Cruze hatchback.

[@ericmackison9517]

The 2.8l Duramax in the Colorado and the 2.8l that was found in the Jeep Liberty were more or less the same engine in different manufacturers.

[@GeeEm1313]

I honestly wish the Cruze was a reliable car because they were fairly decent cars. They were insanely better than the Chevy Ion...er Cobalt.

[@Jonathan-bk3dq]

Still pretty much the same platform as the Cobalt. All Delta.

[@Hchris101]

I love diesel sedans so much

[@rve3716]

Miss my 2014 chevy cruze. that thing was a tank. towed 5x8 u haul trailer fully loaded across the country.

[@BIGD-wl8ks]

Yeah I had a 2012 it went across the country 10 times with 400k miles when I traded it in for a 2015 chevy equinox

[@MowerModdin]

I really want to test drive one of these one day, I have a 2005 E320 CDI which is a good comparison to this thing

[@OFFENSIVE-COFFEE]

my cousin has one of these and even though it’s fun to drive and economical, its in the shop constantly and parts take always forever to come in because nobody bought them

[@mychemicalbromance97]

they not only did the cruze diesel but also the equinox. the cruze also had a very rare manual that i think i’ve seen twice.

[@Foxonian]

I remember the Chevette Diesel from back in the day. I think it used a diesel engine developed by Isuzu.

[@paulsz6194]

The whole car was developed by Isuzu.

[@markhealey9409]

I had a 1994 Vauxhall Cavalier Turbo diesel here in England,& it had an Isuzu engine. It was reliable,& great mpg.

[@markhealey9409]

​@@paulsz6194Well,the Chevette was jointly developed by Isuzu & GM Europe(Vauxhall & Opel) A similar car,same platform,but not the same body panels,was built & sold here in England & Germany as The Vauxhall Chevette & Opel Kadett....not in only hatchback style,like the Chevys,but we also had saloons/sedans,estates/station wagons & even small vans.

[@rapidcars1]

I didn't have that storage center on top of the dash in my diesel that was a speaker

[@jamescanfield7251]

The GM 5.7 diesel was actually an Oldsmobile engine. Back in the day, every GM brand except for Cadillac made their own 5.7 liter or 350 cid engine.

[@cyyber1]

Only North American Cruzes got the Italian diesel and the Aisin transmission. Aero came from the Cruze eco, sound deadening and front hubs/brakes came from the Buick Verano.

[@GixxerRider1991]

I worked on a couple of these during my time with GM. They seemed to be decent quality, but considering that the gas version got 46 mpg on the highway, it's hard to imagine why you would want the added complexity and expense associated with diesel engines when it won't save you any real money in the long run.

[@saranrathakrish8468]

You should review the equinox diesel

[@Tractorjacksgarage]

10:27 Chevy also offered a V6 diesel celebrity! But it is super rare

[@bubbascnickel]

I have one. Love it. Sadly I haven't had it long and the DPF went on it right when I got it from the GM dealer. They are replacing the DPF now under warranty. $4000 part! Great car otherwise.

[@27Zangle]

The first gen Cruze is a nice looking economy car. I owned a 2014 with the base engine and manual transmission. It was the worst car I've ever owned. The seats were not the best but that could be due to it being the base version and the transmission was the worst part. I eventually got rid of it after about 5-6 months of owning it. Oh, I bought it used with only 16k miles and it was less than two years old at the time. Outside of that, I liked the car and from what an old co-worker has told me the nicer equiped version with an automatic had nicer seats and a better engine. I would buy a diesel version but it would have to be loaded for me to even think about it.

[@David-bb3mp]

The Chrysler "World" engine was co-developed by Chrysler, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi, and was used in all three.

[@michaelcoffey7362]

Nice 😊

[@namewithheld367]

My colleague has had one of these since 2014. It’s got almost 250K miles on it. He likes it overall but he admits that it costs about $3-6K worth of repairs every year or so.

[@Splungers]

2014 Cruse diesel daily commute car with 347 K miles, still gets @ 50 mpg at 75 MPH.

[@MARTINRIGGSS]

Shame we don’t have diesel cars still.

[@82_KID]

Hi Zack. Want to review my Subie again? Its still going! 😊

[@rapidcars1]

Also, mine had a better looking interior at the Coco brown dash and carpet with the beige seat colors

[@jaden.sanderson]

They also put this engine in the Equinox.

[@JayMcK-yj8ht]

Holden Cruze here in Australia and DSL version as well , what a big pile of Detroit , how the hell did they let this out of the factory in petrol and DSL version . CRAP

[@mrtransistor6173]

I wish GM made more sport variants of their economy cars.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Sorry if I was a little harsh on your Mustang review....this thing here is cool for what it is, but needs a manual trans of course.

[@ericgilhart5951]

My daughter wants one of those

[@jbtubman]

I owned one of these for 7 years. Fuel economy was astoundingly good on the highway; I could routinely go 1100 km (690 miles) on a tank. Alas, even though it was driven sensibly and given all regular maintenance, the engine suffered a catastrophic failure. The repair estimate reached $7000 and was still climbing, so regretfully I decided to scrap it. I don't know whether that was typical for that engine, or whether I was just unlucky.

[@SplosionMovies]

What happened to the engine? Sounds gnarly. Turbo failure or something?

[@jbtubman]

@@SplosionMovies It seems that the computer that runs the engine failed in some way, which caused a cascade of damage. The tech said that the car filled the repair bay with black smoke.

[@will5150]

it's very hard to compete with corolla and civic and even kia (100k warranty). don't forget diesel fuel cost more than premium and diesel repair usually was more expensive than regular. Also, did these require DEF fluid at regular intervals?

[@stoneylonesome4062]

Probably. You’d be better off with an old 70’s/80’s W123/W124 240D or 300D Turbo.

[@ChristinaStachura-jn9pl]

Navigated with sunroofs

[@Infinitrium]

I've only ever seen 1 diesel Cruze in my entire life.

[@rapidcars1]

Yeah, I did had a back up camera because it was a high trim level. The diesel was the highest trim level for the Chevy Cruz in 2014. It was above the LTZ.

[@dave11686]

Wanted one when I was car shopping but got talked out of it

[@-Yurkey]

I own a European Ford Fusion (Mondeo over here) with a PSA group 2.0 Tdci (Turbo diesel commonrail injection engine) with 140hp and flooring it on the highway at 95 mph I get 32‐34 mpg (mind you it's a wagon aswell...the Cruze is a smaller car overall). If I sputter along at 75mph I get 40+ change mpg (I have about 190miles to my vacation home along the coast, and there and back I barely use up half of my fuel tank)...Americans usually do a lot of miles so I was shocked to hear they prefer gas cars. Here we usually reserve gas cars for smaller compacts for city driving but anyone that does a lot of miles on the highway usually gets a turbo diesel...but not all TD's are created equal, I had some horrible experiences with Volkwagen TDi's, I wouldn't buy one ever again...

[@Dankcatvacs]

does this take def fluid?

[@AdrianAzizSantoso-gq7rw]

4:19 CRUZE control

[@MrJayrock620]

Man that Chevette Diesel if it’s an automatic probably has a 0-60 time of 5.2 hours, and a quarter mile time measured with a calendar 😂

[@jacobyo99]

The diesel did not come out until 2014.

[@engineer_alv]

true, and the center display did not become a color touchscreen until 2013MY.

[@julianvizio2190]

It was a car, a medium class sedan with certain degree of luxury and comfort

[@JonTheDestroyer]

Working on them was horrendous though

[@paulsz6194]

Why ?

[@supernels100]

Currently own a 13 chevy cruze planning to upgrade for a better car

[@Rich_123]

I hope the owner survived driving through the exploding Armor-All factory.

[@henryd1981]

The reason GM was able to use this engine is that they one time had a partnership since 2010 in owning diesel manufacturer VM Motori, who made the engine for the Cruze. GM would sell their interest in VM Motori to Fiat in 2013.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

All diesels need manuals to get any real power out of um

[@TheZProtocol]

Did they come with a manual?

[@Banom7a]

they does and its quite rare

[@karoltakisobie6638]

I've seen quite a few Cruzes with MT in Ontario. I've never seen or heard of diesel one. I'm not sure if they were sold in Canada at all. Chevy Orlando was sold here and it is essentially a Cruze with wagon/ van top.

[@GeeEm1313]

They could have a manual.

[@kyleb9]

Not in North America on Gen 1 Cruze TDs. Gen 2 diesels did come with a manual option.

[@tomtom1541]

Yes, Holden Cruze Diesel came with a manual trans. There was also a Holden Malibu diesel too.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

The diesel Cruze is the more reliable one too.

[@grantman64]

The disastrous GM V8 diesel from the late 70s/early 80s was actually based on an Olds 350 gas V8, not a Chevy 350.

[@mbd501]

Good review, but he didn't mention that this is obviously the top of the line model, with leather seats, heated seats, moonroof, etc. Base Cruzes wouldn't have had those things.

[@vidalmcneal4837]

That was how Chevy built them, I actually came close to buying one new, every one I looked at came fully equipped.

[@mbd501]

@@vidalmcneal4837 They must’ve had quite a bit higher sticker price than a regular base Cruze, then - between the engine and being fully loaded.

[@Yourmission9]

Cheapo cars, but why a diesel option? The petrol version got 42 mpg

[@engineer_alv]

only the Eco with the 6 spd did 42. High 30s on everything else. That's still over 30% less efficient than the Diesel which may or may not represent savings (price around here is somewhere in between 87 and 91).

[@kyleb9]

I get north of 55mpg on mine, stock if I baby it. Deleted ones can get into the early 60s

[@joeceretti9098]

The interface on those head units from that time is just a disaster. What drugs where the idiots at GM on when they made it??? Like really !??!??!

[@no-damn-alias]

engine sharing between competitors is nothing new. Some European market suv had 2.0tdi VW diesel on them as these brands then didn't have a diesel engine at that time and thus bought the 2.0tdi to satisfy the European market.

[@retrocompaq5212]

in 2017 i went to gm dealer, looking at the 2nd gen to replace my 2009 cobalt 2.0t, car was 35k$ in lt 2sb and rs trim, got the car for a 24h test drive and i when i gave the car back i said, after 10 gm's, 6 cavaliers/cobalts, i will never buy any gm products anymore, it was painful to drive, its like a hyundai or mazda, completely gutless, wrong transmission gearing, all flash no dash... i still drive the same cobalt today, i made 200k km since then, 396whp, everthing's factory ex the turbocharger... since the bailout, to me, gm is dead...