I bought a new car today!

[asimba2]

How is that Cruze working out?

We finally made a car purchase. As I mentioned a few posts up, the VW Jetta TDI wagon was at the top of our list but the massive list of problems kept us away. The 2013 Ford Fusion 1.6 ecoboost finally showed up in the showrooms and we had a chance to drive it. Beautiful car inside and out and we really only had one complaint, but it was a big one--touchscreen controls for everything. We found that we hate cars without dedicated buttons for the stereo, climate control, etc.

We ended up with a 2012 Acura TSX Wagon. We loved the looks, the ride and handling are awesome, the engine is pretty basic and should be pretty painless to service and repair when it gets older and it has no touchscreen madness. Some say it has too many buttons crowding the cabin but it only took us 2 days of driving it to know where the buttons were by touch without looking away from the road--something we couldn't do on a touchscreen car.

Here is the important part; pictures.






and we love the interior at night:


At 22 city, 30 highway, it's fuel economy can't compete with the newest cars but we also discovered that direct injection (one of the newer technologies for better fuel economy) is leading to massive deposits on the valves at low mileages, so I suppose I will give up some economy to not have to deal with that!

So now is your opportunity to gloat about how good your Cruze's fuel economy is!

[jblackburn]

You know, I don't think I've ever even seen one of those. Quite a nice looking car, congratulations on the purchase!

I've driven a TSX before, and I really liked it. And the older TL's...man those are nice cars.

I agree on the Ford Sync system, but the one in our other car (the 2012 Camry - just for the radio) is really pretty easy to use, and I wish my car had it. The 2013 Cruze has it.

I've got about 9,000 miles on the Cruze now. I love the car, but I really do wish it had about 30 more ponies under the hood. It's got enough power to keep up with traffic around-town and merge no problem - even fun just zipping around town in, but seeking out gaps in traffic at highway speeds or trying to accelerate up hills means driving it like you hate it. There's a lot more torque there at lower RPMs (low-pressure turbo) than there is horsepower to really get you moving up top. That's to be expected with such a tiny engine though, and until you really push it, you'd think there was a bigger 2.0 or 2.4 liter engine under the hood.

The handling is great - it responds instantly to driver input, but I don't like the stock tires. Too soft and loud for my liking. I haven't yet pushed it past its limits, but I think it will give into understeer way before the whole car slides.

Gas mileage? I do a mix of city/highway driving (about a 75/25 split) and have only had 1 tank below 30 mpg. I can get at high as 43 on the highway @ 68-72 mph, and usually average around 40. It, like the Volvo, is only happy on 89 octane or greater.

My favorite feature? Having a stick shift again. It just puts a grin on my face, and I feel a lot more connected to the car.

Direct injection sounds like it's too new of a technology to be reliable (heard about the TDI fuel pumps?), and I'm glad that neither of our new cars has it. I wish they had a PCV system like Volvo did way back when...that helps keep the intake valves even more clean! But it seems like the new fuel economy and HP races among 4-cylinders are going to make it a necessity.

Anyway, congrats on making a decision and enjoy your new car!

[matthew1]

Asimba, great choice, really nice. That car would probably be in my Top 5 of cars for me. And rare, too.

I can't remember if it comes in a manual?

My brother in law drives a 2012 Audi A4 wagon, and said weeks ago a man approached him and asked him to roll down his window. He did, and the man offered to buy the car that day if it was a manual! Supposedly the wagon was offered only for model year 2012, and the wagon/manual combo is very rare. His is an automatic, so no sale took place.

I'm 41 and have never bought or leased a new car . I may break my streak and buy a new GTI in a year when the new chassis/body GTIs arrive here in the States.

5-door, manual, cloth seats for me.

[jblackburn]

Matt, my next-door neighbor owns a 2010 Golf R. I've admired his car since I moved in there, and finally struck up a conversation with him about it. He absolutely loves it - (he actually owned a 1987 GTI before that one until he got out of school) - and keeps it in immaculate shape.

I drove a 2011 Golf TDI with a manual when I was looking at the Jetta, and I actually like the Golf more. It's surprisingly spacious for passengers even in the back seat (surprising for a car of its size - Jettas are NOT), and you can fold down the seats and fit an amazing amount of stuff back there.

So, going to start a Matt's VW site?

[asimba2]

You know, I don't think I've ever even seen one of those. Quite a nice looking car, congratulations on the purchase!

Thanks, yeah the wagon is a very low volume car. It came out in 2011 and Acura only plans to sell 4,000 a year. At the end of 2013 the entire TSX line will be canned along with the TL, both to be replaced by a "TLX." I will miss those cars.

And I certainly understand your sentiments about more power. The Acura is only 201 hp and 170 ft lbs of torque, so it is super responsive but it doesn't go with the urgency of the turbocharged 5 cylinder 850. But it probably won't break as much either.

The gas mileage of your car is incredible. Reading the Acura forums it sounds like we can count on around 33-34 mpg highway, which is a far-cry from the numbers you are getting. And we have to run 89 or 91 in the Acura too because the compression ratio is 11.0 to 1. And unfortunately the wagon is only available with a 5-speed auto (with paddle shifting) while the sedan is available with a 6-speed manual. At least it's not a CVT.

Regarding the PCV system, I am thinking of adding a Volvo oil trap to my Toyota 4Runner. It's a 3.4L V6 that came naturally aspirated but I added the 50-state emissions legal TRD supercharger. Like any boosted application, more PCV oil gets pushed through the system and I would like to avoid that. I know altering the PCV system will not pass the visual test in California, so I will have to remove it before smogging, which really ticks me off because such a device would actually *clean* the emissions because the engine will no longer be burning PCV oil. Anyways, my valves and combustion chambers would be happier that way. Perhaps you could do something similar?

Good to hear from you, I hope all is well!

[asimba2]

Asimba, great choice, really nice. That car would probably be in my Top 5 of cars for me. And rare, too.

I'm 41 and have never bought or leased a new car . I may break my streak and buy a new GTI in a year when the new chassis/body GTIs arrive here in the States.

5-door, manual, cloth seats for me.

Matt, it disgusts me to no end that Americans choose autos over manuals in staggering rates. Walk around the streets of Europe and see how long it takes you to find an automatic car. I'm glad at least that Americans are losing their desire for big floaty V8 Cadillac and Lincoln-type cars, as can be evidenced by auto manufacturers starting to bring their European market cars to the U.S. A perfect example is Ford...when I was in Europe three years ago I kept seeing all of these cool, sleek little cars with Ford badges I had never seen before, like the awesome Mondeo (available with the turbo-5 volvo engine) and the sleek little Focus, and wondered why our U.S. Fords were so crappy by comparison. Finally they brought us the Mondeo (renamed the Fusion for the 2013 market) and the new Focus is now a global car. Thank goodness we finally get some good stuff our country has sent overseas for years.

Honda/Acura is no different. Our Honda Accord and the european Honda Accord were totally different. Our Accord was bigger, often V6 powered and wasn't really a very exciting car. The european Honda Accord *IS* an Acura TSX, with a much more engaging suspension, european styling, etc. So our TSX is just a european Accord finally brought to the U.S.

Note, the pic...the only change is the U.S. TSX strips the european Honda badges in place of Acura badging:




Regardless, I'm happy to have a car designed for Europe (more fitting of my driving style and preference).

Oh, and I'm 38 and this is also my first new car, although technically, it's my fiancee's not mine until early next year.

[jblackburn]

So! That was a rather annoying venture into new car ownership. Thank goodness for warranty.

53,000 miles, a 33 MPG lifetime average, and 4.5 years later, I dumped the Cruze...and (gasp!) bought another. Let me explain.

The car itself wasn't so bad to me from 2012-2015, though I did have annoying issues along the way. Water pumps are common. PCV issues are common. The M32 transmissions are absolute pieces of garbage (and they're not even GM built - they are Gretag-sourced). The engine itself was...well, underpowered, but very good on gas, and no issues there. Ride quality was still good (it would have needed new shocks/struts soon), and interior build quality was excellent - no rattles at all.



Since some time last fall (2015), I'd been getting a random knock after long highway drives. Figured it was the dual-mass flywheel, as it is on some VWs, BMWs, and yes, even Volvos. It came and went, and I was never able to duplicate it for the dealer I was working with. Finally, it locked up entirely to the point the whole car shook violently at idle. Took it in, they replaced the flywheel, and gave it back to me with a transmission oil leak. Something still knocked. Took it in again, they had it for 2 weeks, replaced the transmission, knocked off the alignment, and gave it back to me with a massive vacuum and oil leak. Still knocking, and now the steering wheel creaked. Took it back once again, said "fix this sh!t", and got GM customer service involved with the dealer. They "tried" to duplicate a noise for almost a week and a half, driving the car every day, but were unable to hear anything. Gave the car back to me and said "bring it back if it gets worse".

As soon as I got it home, I heard this and just got fed up with the whole thing. As close as I was to paying off the car entirely (5 months left!), I didn't want to own a car I was unhappy with:

Now, obviously that's a throwout bearing as it only happens when the clutch is out, but of course it was the only part NOT replaced under warranty. I paid to have a new clutch and pressure plate put in the thing while they had it all apart, and you'd THINK that would be included as part of that. Turns out GM packages the TOB with a "clutch actuator (slave cylinder)", so it was not sent with the new transmission and would have been an additional $150 part added to my cost - for something I didn't know needed to be changed, and something I shouldn't have to pay for on a 4-year-old car still under warranty. As it had been in 6x for transmission issues at that point, after much frustration, GM offered to buy it back.

Somewhere in the midst of this process, I'd begun car comparison shopping. I compared the VW Golf (great car to drive- reliability issues scared me away), Ford Fusion (1.5T), and Honda Accord Sport (2.4L, manual), and 2016 Cruze (totally redesigned car from the ground up). My parents have an Accord that has been an amazing car, and I did like driving the Sport quite a bit. However, it feels dated, and the interior is drab and cheap-feeling. I really liked the Fusion in 2.0T form, but the 1.5T just felt a bit gruff and gutless compared to the 2016 Cruze rentals I'd been driving. I wasn't totally sold on the Cruze either, and had I NOT driven the top-trim level, I'd probably own a Fusion right now.

As it is, I got a great deal on the fully loaded Cruze, and GM customer service stepped in and got me a really good deal on this car, and the buy-back price on mine, that it just didn't make financial sense to say "no" - I would have easily paid $5k more for a Fusion with similar options. Build quality on the new one feels much, much better; they addressed many of the complaints that I had with the old car, and GM has been improving on reliability and build quality hugely in the last few years. Consumer Reports even gave the 16 its top recommendation for the small car class for predicted reliability (not sure how - the old ones didn't have a great track record). It's gotten excellent reviews from nearly every auto magazine, who usually put it 2nd to the new Honda Civic. I drove the Civic, but I think it's hideous, and I can't do a CVT.

So here it is. It reminds me a LOT of how I felt about the loaded S70 I picked up 10 years ago. Like the S70, it's got a fantastic interior, very comfortable seats, peppy little engine, great stereo, crappy horn, is fun to throw around corners much too quickly, a transmission that shifts at high RPM for no apparent reason, AND ITS BLUE! Here's hoping for 5 trouble-free years this go-around. I enjoy driving way too much to buy a Toyota.

FYI, the S70 still soldiers on. It is nearing 250K on the original engine and transmission. It took out 2 valves last winter and briefly became a 3-cylinder. For its age, it still drives solidly - the engine pulls smoothly and sounds great, and the transmission shifts without drama. There are many rattles, squeaks, and thumps typical of an old car, and it is still the extremely tempermental bitch it always was, but my brother has kept it up very well and done a LOT of work to keep it on the road. I still miss it, but it's good to see it taking him on adventures like it used to do with me.

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[cmblackburn]

I look forward to reading this in another 5 years... hopefully the new Cruze will be a better car than the last one

[precopster]

The series of Cruze you purchased has been plagued by similar stories here in Oz even though they look great and have a good looking specification; on paper at least. I must admit that in the small segment it's a difficult choice with so many players in the field. BTW how has Hyundai been doing in this segment in the USA? The i30 has been hugely successful for them and sports a huge list of safety features and great engines.

Good luck with this newer car. It certainly sounded like a great deal for you. Since your first post in 2016 how has it fared?

[jblackburn]

7k on the clock and it's been a gem. It is a 40+ MPG trip car. Not a rocket by any means, but it gets around just fine in the city. Yeah, the old model was just riddled with problems, especially their first attempt at the 1.4T. Probably best they went back to the drawing board on the entire car.

The i30 (Elantra) here has been a big success for Hyundai since 2011. I did look at one of the last generation. Lotta features for the money, but it was just clumsy on the road. The new generation feels a bit cheap on the inside, but they've released a 1.6T version called the Sport with 200 HP, a manual, and IRS. They say that ones the one to have.