This may increasingly sound unbelievable now however, as soon as upon a time, automobile makers took probabilities on small vehicles. Once they didn’t make a butt-load of cash they stopped fairly shortly, however the few clients who might admire one thing just a little totally different had been in a position to buy a small style of pleasure. One such automobile is on sale proper now in Wisconsin; It’s a hatchback, a diesel and sure, a guide—the holy trinity. And might you consider it, it’s additionally a Chevy Cruze.
GM began providing a diesel engine within the Chevy Cruze in different markets when the automobile launched in 2008, although the corporate wouldn’t carry the choice to North America till the tail finish of the primary technology’s manufacturing run in 2014. For $25,695, you bought a turbocharged, 16-valve 1.9-liter oil burner. Whereas it solely made 151 horsepower, torque was spectacular at 264 pound-feet, 250 of which was obtainable from 1,750-3,000 rpm. An overboost perform gave an additional 16 lb-ft of torque for 10 seconds. Fuel mileage was respectable, with EPA scores placing the Cruze Diesel 27 mpg metropolis, 44 mpg freeway and 32 mpg mixed.
Not solely was it a diesel, it was solely obtainable with a six-speed guide transmission. You couldn’t go midway with this Cruze—it was both be a guide diesel hero or get off the pot.
When GM redesigned the Cruze in 2016, Chevy continued to supply the diesel in North America for the 2017 mannequin yr with a smaller 1.6-liter engine shared with the brief lived Equinox Diesel. Energy and torque decreased to 137 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque, however Chevy did make up for it with the inclusion of a hatchback choice. Chevy additionally provided a boring computerized on the Diesel Cruze now, however we aren’t right here to speak about that.
Whereas these had been nothing particular to drive in accordance with of us fortunate sufficient to assessment the Diesel Cruze, what true fanatic might cross up an affordable, diesel-powered guide hatchback? This Cruze Diesel is a one proprietor instance on the market at a supplier referred to as Schoepp Motors in Madison, Wisconsin.
New, these items went for $26,395. Six years of depreciation and 89,878 miles means Schoepp is asking simply $14,500. The Cruze Diesel was essentially the most gas environment friendly, non-hybrid automobile GM ever made; testing by Automobile And Driver noticed its mileage scores finest its direct competitor, the VW Jetta TDI with scores of 29 mpg metropolis, 48 mpg freeway.
These are pretty uncommon, because it takes nice braveness and purity of coronary heart to purchase such a automobile. Diesel gross sales had been lower than two p.c of whole Cruze gross sales, in accordance with MotorTrend, and the guide choice solely ran for one yr and was dropped after 2018. If this rarity doesn’t scare you off, you higher seize your examine e book (do folks nonetheless use checks?) and head to Schoepp earlier than this Cruze Diesel is gone.