I had one of those ecotecs (and the 4T45E A/T) in my 2005 Ion. It was a great little engine/tranny surrounding a car that was built to a (low) price point. Probably the worse part of it was the seats....very uncomfortable. The long wheel base (and ice cold A/C) made it a nice little road car but the seats were HORRIBLE.
I often think that the 2.2/4T45E would have been a nice combo in my 2011 Cruze....