BALLITO CAR REVIEW
WORDS RICHARD WEBB
Cruzing nowhere slowly
C
ruzing nowhere, frugally There are no substitutes for the big-engined Chevy to cruise the open road in search of adventure, right? Richard Webb ponders road tripping in a mid-sized Chevrolet Remember when Chevrolet marketed its’ V8 5-litre Constantia with the “Braai-vleis, rugby, sunny skies and Chevrolet” jingle on the radio? It supported the widely held view that highly tuned; smaller capacity engines simply couldn’t hold a candle against the beefy automotive muscle offered by large engines from Fords, Chevrolets and Chryslers of the day. In a world where petrol used to cost 8 cents a litre, I used to lap it up, even though I was not old enough to drive back then. Not legally, anyway. So, what car did David More’s travel series, Going Nowhere Slowly, choose to amble around the country in? A VW Beetle? A Chrysler Valiant Regal, perhaps? Nope. Nothing but the 6.5-litre Chevrolet Impala and it was certainly muscle enough for a real road trip.
Now that petrol costs more than beer, road trips need a shift to new car-paradigm. Economy and coolness. As I planned my Christmas road trip last year, I poured over the options before me. Walking was out and the MyCiTy Bus didn’t go where I wanted to go. No, it just had to be a Chevrolet, but one that did better mileage than the Constantia’s 24I/100km. The aptly named Cruze seemed worth a look. Okay, it’s engine is a whopping 68% smaller than its grandly named grandfather, the Constantia, but it sips just 7I/100km. So I opted for the Cruze 1.6LS sedan as my summer road trip car of choice.
Sweeping through the Thomas Bain engineered passes gave us an opportunity to test the handling. We did slow down to take in the sparkling rivers and towns of Calitzdorp, Barrydale, Ashton, Worcester, Robertson, McGregor, Ceres, Tulbagh and Wellington. They are serotonin for the soul. It seems that smaller cubic capacity engines are here to stay, offering cleaner, relatively powerful and decent economy with enough torque. The Cruze may not have that marvelous rumble of the V8 to announce my arrival, but it did manage itself well on our South African road trip steeped in history.
I pointed the Chevrolet’s ‘bow-tie’ logo along out of Cape Town towards Cape Route 62, through the dotted Breede River Valley towns. Wine is one of their best-kept secrets with more than 45 cellars offering unpretentious, world-class wines. Spittoons remained bone dry as we enjoyed the fruits of vintners’ efforts along Route 62, requiring that the dedicated (short-straw) driver to look on grumpily.
THE CHEVROLET CRUZE LS It comes with a decent amount of equipment compared to its competition, including ABS, stability control, remote keyless entry, A/C, and power windows and locks, which compares well with its competitors on paper. Perhaps oddly, it comes without cruise control. Quality soft touch plastics, padded vinyl and a well built interior help a lot though. The seats manually adjust for front and rear height. Although for the sheer joy of driving, it will not get your passengers fighting for the keys. It seems to not be big on driver engagement. But for the average commuter, the Cruze does what it’s meant to do. I managed just over 7l/100km for my 700km trip, which was about three times better than any Chevrolet Constantia would have given me. The truth is though, that the Cruze is already five years old, having arrived elsewhere in 2008. All things considered it’s a fairly affordable car and buyers in this segment should value that above other virtues.
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