Small American cars faced tough competition since the first
Japanese cars reached Western shores. There was the Chevy Vega, Monza,
Chevette, Cavalier, Cobalt and HHR.
I vaguely remember the Chevy Vega, one of the first cars my
family purchased when we immigrated to the states. Hell, the first car I
purchased as a college graduation present to myself was a turbocharged,
2008 Chevrolet HHR SS with the Saab-sourced 5-speed manual
transmission.
Despite the fun-to-drive nature and the love-it-or-hate it looks of
the HHR, the interior consisted of hard plastic surfaces devoid of
technology – it wasn't an appealing place to be.
But, things started turning around with the Chevy Cruze, as
General Motors (GM) focused on creating balanced cars with
higher-quality interiors, refined road manners and enjoyable driving
dynamics on all cars – not just the hopped up SS models.
Now, on its second-generation, the Cruze isn't the frumpy
Cobalt or retro-inspired HHR you remember from the late aughts. The
latest, 2016 Cruze sports Chevy's latest styling language, which debuted
with the 2014 Impala and trades boring beige for dynamic styling that
evokes a sporty look.
The styling flows well with its pronounced wheel arches and
swooping lines that integrate the door handles. Chevy incorporates
projector-beam halogen headlights with black housings to give the LT and
higher trims an aggressive demeanor.
To sample the latest iteration of the Cruze, I packed my
bags, loaded up my Apple Music playlist with some Brad Paisley and
hopped a plane to Nashville, Tenn., the home of country music and
southern hospitality. I hopped behind the wheel of a fully-loaded Cruze
Premier with all the technology options checked off to, you know,
#findnewroads.
After a couple gallons of sweat tea and more deep fried
foods than my arteries could handle, I walked away impressed by the new
Cruze, despite having to #findnewpants.
The technology
Chevy is targeting millennials and empty-nesters with the
Cruze. Smartphone connectivity and driver assists are what Chevy wants
to entice buyers with.
At the heart of the infotainment system is a Chevrolet
MyLink dashboard unit. Base models receive a 7-inch display, while the
top-end Premier I drove sported an 8-inch display.
Integrated navigation capabilities are included with the
Premier trim level, but they're not really necessary. All Chevy Cruze
trim levels support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to let your smartphone take control, which is all you really need in a car.
The native user interface is a basic 2 x 4 icon grid layout
on a black background, but it lacks the slick, buttery-smooth
transitions of Ford's SYNC 3.
I used it briefly but found myself switching to Android Auto, as I
prefer my Google Now information. Apple CarPlay was tested and works
smoothly, too.
When using Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, a single press of
the steering wheel-mounted voice command button still triggers voice
commands for the Chevy MyLink functions. You have to hold the voice
command button down for a few seconds to trigger Siri or Google Now,
which is a minor annoyance that Ford solves with SYNC 3.
An integrated combination wireless charger that supports PMA
and Qi standards is installed in the center console between the arm
rest and cup holders. I tried to insert my Motorola Nexus 6, but it was a smidge too wide to fit into the slot.
I can't fault Chevy for that, because the Nexus 6 is an
abnormally large phone that pushes the size limit of every in-car
wireless charger I've come across.
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