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Imagine driving 700 miles, Boston to Durham, NC, on a single tank of fuel costing $35. Or San Diego to Seattle on ii tanks. These trips and more than are possible with the 2022 Chevrolet Cruze diesel edition. In a compact car market dominated by Asian and European brands, the Cruze more than holds its own. The Cruze diesel with manual transmission gets 52 mpg highway, the well-nigh of any non-hybrid, non-EV compact car.

Chevrolet sets the Cruze diesel premium high, though — about $4,000 over the gasoline model. To go your coin back, you'd demand to bulldoze xl,000 (mostly highway) miles a year for 10-plus years, by our calculations, with the manual manual Cruze.

Chevy takes its compact car into the modern era

Over the by four years, Chevrolet has made its sedans world-course. The 2022 Chevrolet Impala was the first full-size American motorcar in 20 years to earn Consumer Reports' top rating in its course. The Chevrolet Malibu, two years later, proved competitive against the likes of the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Kia Optima. At present comes the compact Cruze, out since 2022 in the US. It features a roomy cockpit for its 184-inch length, a simple-to-use infotainment organisation (MyLink), Apple CarPlay and Android Automobile compatibility, and built-in OnStar telematics.

The Cruze is available with gasoline or diesel engines:

  • i.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine with 153 hp, 177 lb-ft of torque, half-dozen-speed transmission, EPA rating 28 mpg city, 39 mpg highway, 32 mpg combined;
  • i.iv-liter gasoline turbo, six-speed automatic, EPA rating xxx/xl/34;
  • 1.6 liter turbo diesel with 137 hp, 240-lb ft of torque (a lot), vi speed manual, EPA rating 30/52/37;
  • 1.6 liter turbo diesel, nine-speed automatic, EPA rating 31/47/37.

The diesel is sold with the equivalent of the LT trim line, the second highest, behind Premier. The diesel with the manual transmission lists for $24,670 with shipping, a $iii,645 premium over the Cruze LT gasoline transmission automobile. The diesel with the nine-speed automatic lists for $26,270, a $three,945 premium over the gasoline Cruze with a vi-speed automatic.

Cruze is i of about dozen 2022 or 2022 passenger cars and SUVs with diesel fuel ability, and likewise the almost affordable.

How long 'til the diesel pays off?

If you wait the Cruze diesel to earn its keep financially — that is, pay back the extra toll — you'll demand to drive a lot of highway miles and opt for the manual transmission.

We calculated costs using the electric current fuel prices, $2.32 a gallon for gasoline, $ii.49 a gallon for diesel (as of late June 2022). Meanwhile, the EPA calculations are based on a machine that drives fifteen,000 miles a yr, 55 percent urban center, 45 percent highway. Using that formula, the payback flow would be about 50 years for the manual, and never for the automatic (425 years).

People who purchase diesels typically bulldoze more than highway miles and more total miles. A traveling sales rep or long-altitude commuter might drive 40,000 miles, 30,000 of which are on the highway. The transmission diesel would use $350 less in fuel per yr, making the payback period 11 years. For the automatic, it would be 33 years.

You can play "what if" here: For instance, what if the toll of fuel climbed to $4 a gallon for gas and diesel, Chevrolet cutting the diesel premium to $2,000, and diesel automatics really got the 48 mpg I experienced, while the real-globe efficiency of the gas-engine motorcar remained at 34 mpg? A 15,000-miles-a-year Cruze would take 47 months to make back the premium, while the 40,000-miler would need merely 17 months.

500-700 miles between fill-ups matters

"Make clean diesel fuel" refers to the fuel and not pumps.

So today, the odds are against getting back the $three,600-$3,900 extra the diesel Cruze costs, unless you're a high-miles driver and opt for the transmission transmission. Even then, it won't be as much fun to drive as the diesel Golfs and Jettas, which haven't been available since dieselgate news bankrupt.

Just the diesel Cruze is really available, and y'all'll be able to drive 500 to 700 miles between fill-ups, an nether-appreciated convenience a) because information technology is, bold your bladder holds out, and b) considering diesel pumps are oftentimes grimy (photograph inset). In a week of mostly highway driving with the automatic diesel Cruze, I averaged 48 mpg. On highway-only legs, information technology was 52 mpg at 65-70 mph. So real-world savings could well exist more than than the EPA numbers propose.

Should you lot purchase a diesel Cruze? Whatever Cruze?

Either Cruze is a solid compact automobile that'south competitive with the likes of the Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Subaru Impreza, Hyundai Elantra, and VW Jetta. (The Ford Focus is a bit late in life for the current model, although you can oftentimes detect information technology with large discounts.) A diesel-engine Prowl hatchback, 9 inches shorter, comes available this fall.

The 34-mpg boilerplate of the gas-engine Cruze automatic is topped only by the Civic's 35 mpg, and matched by Ford Focus (3-cylinder turbo, manual transmission) and Nissan Versa.

Cruze has a solid, but incomplete, package of safety features. The $495 Driver Confidence Package adds bullheaded-spot detection and cross-traffic alert. Forward standoff warning and lane keep assist are available only on the high-terminate Premier trim line, i step above the diesel's LT trim. There is no automatic emergency braking or adaptive cruise command on any Cruze; both would be helpful to high-mileage highway drivers who'd be attracted to the diesel Cruze. These are marketing and not technical shortcomings that Chevy could set up at any fourth dimension.

Chevrolet sedans are all worth a wait. The Cruze is a solid car with very good mileage on both the gasoline and diesel models. It is far amend than the predecessor Chevrolet Cavalier and Cobalt of yore. You may wish for more safety technology, especially with solid safety suites from competitors Honda (Honda Sensing) and Toyota (Toyota Safety System) broiled into the price on all models, or all simply the entry trim line. For the Cruze diesel fuel, the biggest claiming to buyers is getting back the actress money the diesel costs.