While design languages basically refer to making the entire lineup look alike, the concept of design traditions stands for a more vertical approach: they are particular cues which a single car carries over its generations, like Citroën C3’s arched roof or Volkswagen Golf’s wide C-pillar. Most automakers invest on establishing the latter ones because it helps to sculpt the car’s individual identity, which usually leads to a nice public reception. But what if the automaker decides to drop that path and update some vehicles with a whole new style?
When you consider that the current Cruze has managed to be a great success in pretty much the entire world, you kind of expect Chevrolet to stick to its “formula” for as long as possible, right? Well, the single official picture the company released for this article’s vehicle so far proves this wasn’t the case here. The mid-size sedan’s new generation features a pout-pourri of what General Motors has done in the past few years, not only in design but also in equipments, powertrain and structure. The sedan to which you’re looking now will be offered exclusively in China, but it’ll also spawn the global Cruze’s next generation. The differences are expected to affect style and powertrain, but not going too further from what this one presents.
Using Chevrolet’s signature front grille with round corners and placing the golden logo on the upper one, instead of between the two, reminds of both Malibu and SS. Taking the attention to the sides reveals a tall beltline ended with an inverted variation of what BMW calls “Hofmeister kink”: here, the lower line is curved to meet the upper one forming an angle. And if the tail lights alone might give you a small déjà vu, being surrounded by that weird chrome bar makes everything go away – items like this are highly expected to change for the Western sedan. The overall looks aren’t bad at all, but the truth is the old Cruze could really pull off a “sequel”. You usually recur to global solutions as a “safe path”, if the previous car had bad acceptance.
(There are no other official pictures available)
If you’re used to follow car news, you’ve certainly noticed that most Chinese debuts are very restrained when it comes to displaying information… and this one isn’t an exception. The interior should have increased space and better material quality, although without dropping Chevrolet’s dual-cockpit design language. The platform, on the other hand, is a Chinese variant of a whole new one, which will debut under the next global Cruze. Like always, a new platform is expected to be lighter and more resistant and improve comfort and performance, and it shouldn’t be different with this car. Such important efforts were really needed because Cruze fights on categories which are very competitive in almost all of its markets.
What is actually known about this car’s “invisible” parts is that it’ll always use Ecotec engines. GM’s new small-engine family will appear here with a naturally-aspirated 1.5L and a turbocharged 1.4L, both using four cylinders, but the respective outputs remain a secret. The transmissions, in turn, will be a six-speed manual as standard, and both a six-speed automated and a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic as optionals, which is quite impressive for Cruze’s category. These options will vary with each country, of course, so you can also expect regional versions in the future, as well as the hatchback and station wagon siblings. But those two will certainly be restricted to the global car.