Trouble is, the real segment leader, not in sales but in value, is a Hyundai, and not the compact rival Elantra but the new Sonata midsize. If you’ve got $20,000 to spend on a four-door family car, would you rather have the audaciously ordinary-looking Cruze or the bigger, quicker, more powerful and more generously equipped Sonata? Throw in the Sonata’s swooping, wind-laminated styling, and this choice isn’t close. I mean, it’s murder most foul, right?
Chevrolet didn’t make any Sonatas available [for a test comparison]. Perhaps the local Hyundai dealership was sold out….
The Cruze, a long time in development and slow to reach the crucial U.S. market—no thanks to a little thing called bankruptcy—arrives out of synch with the rest of the market. Yes, it drubs the Corolla, but the current Corolla has been around since the Earth cooled (2006). Yes, it outpoints the Civic, but the current Civic goes away in less than a year.
In duck hunting, you always lead the duck, which is to say, aim where you anticipate the duck to be in flight. General Motors has not led the duck.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze: Brand-New and Almost Out of Date | Rumble Seat by Dan Neil – WSJ.com.