Originally Posted By: dohnuts
So, quick update. An observation: when I'm not actually in need of a car, the shopping process is an incredibly slow grind. If nothing else, I realized that I like my current car quite a bit, especially after doing some maintenance and getting "new" wheels/tires.
Okay, that being said, I test drove a Chevrolet Cruze, 1LT trim I believe (it was a used car). I was very surprised by how quiet it was for the class of car it was (mainstream compact). It does quite well crusing on the freeway, not too noisy, ride is generally smooth. Turning, maybe it's the suspension tuning towards "cruise" (ahem) rather than sport, is not as good at slow or even moderate speed turns as the Accord, and the eyeball test says that the Cruze is smaller, dimensionally. The back seat is a smidge too small to pass my test, but could probably make do with my young kids. In a few years, when junior is well into his teen years, he'll have to sit in the front.
Interior trim and pieces are of decent quality, although I would need to take a little time to get used to the button and display positions and style. Chevrolet did a solid job with this car, it's a far cry from the Chevrolets of the past (I owned two Camaros in the 1990s, fwiw).
Seeing that it's a 1LT with the non-sport suspension and 16" tires, it's not surprising that it's a marshmallow. The trims with 17" or 18" tires handle noticeably better. And, a Cruze Eco with a stick will handle better while getting 40+ mpg. I have 86k miles on mine. It's been a good car aside from needing two water pumps in the past 10k miles. Both were covered under powertrain warranty since one was a bum part.