Chevrolet Cruze Station Wagon (2012 – 2015) Review

Chevrolet Cruze Station Wagon (2012 – 2015) At A Glance

3/5

+Spacious and usable 1478 litre boot. Well-equipped. Easy to drive. 1.7 VCDi is smooth and quiet. Good value.

-Steering is vague. Petrol engines are inferior to 1.7 VCDi diesel. Kia Cee'd and Hyundai i30 offer larger load areas and better quality.

Insurance Groups are between 11–29
On average it achieves 84% of the official MPG figure

Following the introduction of the Cruze hatchback in 2011 the only missing model in the range was an estate, which is now available. Like most manufacturers, Chevrolet has distanced itself from the traditional estate name, adapting the Cruze SW badge for its more practical model.

It's certainly spacious – with the seats folded flat there’s a generous 1478 litres of boot space, accessed through a nice wide tailgate with no load lip. But while this is enough for hefty items like furniture, both the Kia Cee’d SW and Hyundai i30 Tourer offer larger load areas.

There’s an adjustable and removable rear load cover and a clever shelf behind the rear seats for storing odd bits and pieces, along with a few storage bins at the sides of the boot. Plus there’s a selection of cubby holes under the floor itself - handy for hiding away valuables or carrying smaller items.

The rest of the car is familiar Chevrolet Cruze. It’s solidly screwed together but lacks the soft touch materials seen in more expensive rivals. The centre console is a little bit confusing, with a lot of buttons that are hard to understand. This is made worse when sat nav is fitted – it’s quite hard to get used to. The engines are familiar too – there are 1.6-litre and 1.8-litre petrols but both feel underpowered. The 1.7-litre VCDi diesel is better with plenty of torque.

Real MPG average for a Chevrolet Cruze Station Wagon (2012 – 2015)

RealMPG

Real MPG was created following thousands of readers telling us that their cars could not match the official figures.

Real MPG gives real world data from drivers like you to show how much fuel a vehicle really uses.

Average performance

84%

Real MPG

26–61 mpg

MPGs submitted

12

Diesel or petrol? If you're unsure whether to go for a petrol or diesel (or even an electric model if it's available), then you need our Petrol or Diesel? calculator. It does the maths on petrols, diesels and electric cars to show which is best suited to you.

Satisfaction Index

Satisfaction Index What is your car like to live with?

We need your help with our latest Satisfaction Index, so that we can help others make a smarter car buying decision. What's it like to live with your car? Love it? Loath it? We want to know. Let us know about your car - it will only take a few minutes and you could be helping thousands of others.

Help us with the Honest John Satisfaction Index now

Ask Honest John

Is the BMW 316i engine powerful enough?

"What do you think of BMW 316i? Bearing in mind that I'm not the kind of driver that tends to push the car towards its limit, I'm concerned that the engine is not powerful enough. For example, just for town driving and on motorways, do you feel that the car is crippled when overtaking with the heat or AC on? I've had that particular problem with Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 engine 115PS and it was awful. I've not driven BMW before."
Yes, it's very underpowered.
Answered by Honest John
More Questions