4 Star Reviews for 2012 Chevrolet Cruze

Overview & Reviews

Average Score

4.04/5 Average
126 Total Reviews
This Year's Model Updates:

There are no major changes for the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze.

Pros:
Cons:

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 126.00
  • 2012 Chevy Cruze Eco - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    The point of this vehicle is to get you from point a to b and get great gas milage. To start with the cruze has a very good price, you dont get much but what do you need, its a family sedan. I wanted the chrome rims (not sure if there real chrome, i think its plastic) and the metallic red paint. It does look good, it has some sporty lines and curves but can still be seen as a family sedan. The interior is good, nothing special, has a great bass if your into that. The aux cord is extremely easy to use and the radio cranks. The gas is great, Ive never gotten 43 mpg but 38.5 mpg does me well. Then we move to the things that the cruze really isnt made for, performance. The ride quality is fine, it has nice front shocks and the rear is a multi-link independent rear suspension. The suspension seems like it would have a lot of easy aftermarket support if your into spicing your sedan up. But I have beat the crap out of the cruze, from driving and drifting on gravel roads at speeds around 80mph sometimes, jumped it in a parking lot once and drove on a pretty deep mud/gravel road. I live where the houses are spaced out and the roads are bumpy, curvy and hilly. I went for a fast drive down a road thats narrow and bumpy, a road rally type road, the road is fast and has sudden turns. But the engine heats up after heavy use fast. The radiator and fan were running for a while after this drive. The acceleration is great for a 1.4 liter turbo eco engine, but the engine needs some work, the turbo lag is horrendous, you floor it, wait a few seconds then the engine launches to a high rpm and its screaming. I find the shifter amazing and really useful, i use it for traffic and messing around, i feel as though thats a must for the car because the transmission sucks, only when your actually using the shifter correctly does the performance improve. Another thing is the brakes are amazing, for a few hours, (there useless as hell in heavy rain and snow), then the become trash. They obviously over heat and start to vibrate terribly, but all that is under heavy use. Overall, Ive driven to florida without a problem, beat on some gravel and puddle roads with the kids, and use it to get to chicago on the weekdays. It does seem to wanna get to the 43 mpg easily but I havent reached it. Its a great family car, first starter car and oddly a great platform for some type of racing or preformance vehicle, it has a lot of potential in that aspect.

  • Safe, Reliable, Efficient - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    My 12 Cruze Eco is sneaking up on 30,000 miles, and I have no complaints. To date, Ive driven it all over the South and Midwest over its lifetime, it is averaging 33.4 MPG, and thats with a LOT of city driving. With one exception, I havent had it in the shop once for service other than routine and recall work. That one exception was no fault of the car - an adult buck whitetail deer ran out in front of me while I was going 70 MPH, and even then, the car excelled - there was no frame damage, I was completely unhurt, and though it cost my insurance company a good chunk of change, the car was repairable to factory spec.

  • Poor Fuel Economy - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    I bought the Chevrolet Cruze 1 year ago after reviewing and driving many other models. I needed something with good fuel economy because I drive 130 miles to work each way. The car was advertised at 30+ for city and 42 for highway. About 90% of my driving is straight highway miles at 75 mph with the vehicle on cruise control. My average fuel economy on highway has dropped from 32-35 to less than 30, and around town from high 20s to low to mid 20s. The car does not deliver what it advertises.

  • no 40 mpg - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    I want to report on my trip to The national parks. I put 5400 miles on my cruz on this trip, and thought I would easily get 40 mpg on the interstates, but it never happened. The computer told me I was getting over 40 on many legs of the trip, but I kept actual numbers and gallons used and the best I ever got from fillup to fillup was 39.4. This was on virtually flat highway at speed of 65 mph. On a similar leg I got 39 even. Speeds above that gave results in the 34 to 35 mpg, which I thought was pretty good. My worst leg was when I got hung up in construction traffic for well over an hour, results there were 24.4. Worst leg without problems was 32.1 mpg while driving at 75 plus mph. Later.

  • Nice car but sleepy - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    Ive had my Cruze for a year now and 11,000 miles. It has been trouble free. You do get a lot of car for the money. My advice is dont get the 1.4 turbo motor as the throttle response is terrible at highway speeds. The problem is that the better 1.8 motor is only available on the LS model. Ive driven both and the 1.8 is better and gets the same mileage. Sadly I plan on trade this car for one with better highway response. If you can afford it buy the Malibu as it drives MUCH better.

  • Safety - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    I have been rear ended twice now and I have to say this is the best car so far on safety, hardly no damage on the bumper at all this last wreck I was in and I was hit hard all it did was scratch the paint, more damage was to the vehicle that hit me. So five stars on the safety/ build of this car! My cruze is the ECO model automatic not manual it wouldnt pull the correct one up.

  • Things start going wrong at 35k miles - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    I am a home health nurse and I bought my car because it was supposed to have great gas mileage and so far I am happy with it. There is a weird noise coming from the drivers side front of the car that the service department has not been able to figure out. It idles rough at times. The service department replaced a valve cover that they said was faulty, but the car still has problems with idling. The transmission seems like it is slipping at times when I am trying to accelerate and lurches when downshifting My car has been in the shop for 5 days now for the noise and the idle. They also found a faulty water pump since its been in there. All in all, I still love my car, just wish theyd fix

  • Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    Where do I start, while I love the look of the car and the gas mileage.. thats all I got.. I have had nothing but problems with it, the e-break doesnt hold and Ive had to stop it from rolling down a hill,. The pins that hold the fuses in all broke and fuses fell out, making my dashboard and electronics not work, my trunk is always popping open randomly, so I cant store anything in it. my rear defrosters dont work, my window striping had to be replaced, the radio sounds horible. No cup holders in the back (MAJOR inconvience) The seat belt strap cannot be used in the lowest setting, it doesnt retract and cuts my neck

  • 1 year, 14k mile review - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    Routine maintenance only zero problems. I purchased an LTZ RS for my son to take to college. On his trips home he is averaging 33 m.p.g. (80% highway, 20% city). The Cruze is feels very solid, like a much bigger car, handles well, and is quiet. I drove it on a two day trip, which included 12 hours through a snowstorm (almost blizzard) across Pa and NY the day after Christmas and it did great in the snow (on factory tires). The car was comfortable for that long of a drive, as much as anything else I have driven. I think GM did a great job with the fit, finish, and styling. My son drove a Cobalt while in high school - the Cruze is nothing like it.

  • Good Value / Decent Mileage - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
    By -

    My 12 Cruze LS gets mileage as advertised. Mileage depends *heavily* on driving style. This weekend I drove the family to Disney and got 40 mpg round trip (EPA = 38 mpg highway). Driving more aggressively, Id get 34-36 mpg highway. Like any car, numerous factors are at play: More passengers / more gas in tank = lower mpg. Lower temperatures = lower mpg. Air conditioner = lower mpg. More uphill than downhill = lower mpg (I therefore rely more on round trip values). I have even noticed mpg variations depending on the quality of the road. Some of the comments Ive read probably dont account for these variables, and the many others, that do affect mpg.

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