    2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Greg Wilson
The last time that Chevrolet offered a car with a diesel engine, Michael Jackson was gyrating to his mega-hit, “Bad” and Whitney Houston was belting out “How Will I Know?” Remember the Chevrolet Chevette Diesel, the sturdy but underpowered Brazilian-built subcompact with an Isuzu diesel engine? Or the Canada-only Pontiac Acadian version? No? Well, you’re probably better off.
Volkswagen, to its credit, has been the only consistent purveyor of affordable diesel cars in North America, with its Golf, Jetta, Beetle and Passat TDI models. Some credit should also be given to Mercedes for putting a diesel engine in the first generation Smart Fortwo. But overall, unless it’s a truck, SUV or luxury car, Canadians and Americans overwhelmingly prefer pumping gasoline.
Still, cleaner diesel technology and low sulphur diesel fuel has helped remove some of the stigma associated with older diesel engines. And the fact that diesels offer better fuel economy and a longer range than their gasoline counterparts is increasingly appealing.
In the under $30,000 passenger car market, Chevrolet is leading a charge of diesel newcomers with the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze 2.0 TD (turbodiesel), soon to be followed by the Mazda6 SkyActiv-D sedan. The Cruze Diesel sold here is similar to the Cruze Diesel that GM already sells in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America (they’ve sold 33,000 of them since 2010). The North American Cruze Diesel features a 2.0L DOHC turbocharged diesel engine built at a GM plant in Kaiserslautern, Germany. This engine was jointly developed by GM engineers in Italy, Germany and U.S.A., but for the North American market, the engine was recalibrated and retested to meet North American emissions, performance and cold weather standards. No doubt, that was a lot easier and cheaper for GM than designing and building a brand new one.
Compared to the Cruze’s two available gasoline-fueled engines – a 1.8L four-cylinder and a turbocharged 1.4L four-cylinder equipped with the six-speed automatic transmission – the turbocharged 2.0L diesel offers considerably better fuel economy: NRCan’s Energuide rates the Cruze Diesel with the standard automatic transmission at 7.5 L/100 km city/4.2 L/100 km highway (31/56 US mpg). That compares to the Cruze 1.8 automatic with 9.2 city/5.6 hwy (26/42 US mpg) and the Cruze 1.4T Eco automatic with 7.8 city/5.0 hwy (30/47 US mpg). However, if you prefer to shift yourself, the Cruze 1.4T Eco with a manual transmission is actually comparable with the diesel model: 7.2 city/4.6 hwy (33/51 US mpg).
In our recent comparison test between the Cruze Diesel and Jetta TDI, we saw 5.7 L/100 (41 US mpg) on a highway drive between Toronto and Montreal (the Jetta TDI got 5.9 L/100 km or 40 US mpg). In an earlier test drive from Toronto to Indianapolis, we averaged 4.9 L/100 km (48 US mpg), and on a later test drive, we saw 8.2 L/100 km (29 US mpg) in the city. I averaged about 6.2 L/100 km (38 US mpg) in a mix of city and highway driving.
   2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel. Click image to enlarge |
Perhaps the most reliable comparison comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which shows that the 140-hp Jetta TDI offers slightly better average fuel economy than the 151-hp Cruze Diesel: VW Jetta TDI 7.8 city/5.6 hwy/6.9 combined (30/42/34 US mpg); Chevrolet Cruze Diesel 8.7 city/5.1 hwy/7.1 combined (27/46/33 US mpg). Again, those figures are better than Cruze 1.8 automatic with 10.7 city/6.7 hwy/8.7 combined (22/35/27 US mpg), and the Cruze Eco 1.4T automatic with 9.0 city/6.0 hwy/7.6 combined (26/39/31 US mpg). However, the EPA confirms that the Cruze Eco 1.4T with a manual transmission offers similar fuel economy to the Cruze Diesel: 8.4 city/5.6 hwy/7.1 combined (28/42/33 US mpg).
Unlike VW’s 2.0L TDI diesel engine, Chevrolet’s 2.0L turbodiesel requires an exhaust additive to meet new emissions standards. A 17 L (4.5 gallon) tank under the trunk floor provides enough urea fluid for 16,000 km (10,000 miles) before it has to be refilled. GM has designed this to coincide with oil change intervals so that it can be done while being serviced at the dealer. The urea injection and a diesel particulate filter help the 2014 Cruze Diesel meet the EPA’s stringent Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards.
