Holden set for Cruze control

Holden's new Cruze adds another small car to GM's Aussie line-up.

Holden has introduced the first of a new range of small cars that in the long run may be as important to the Aussie manufacturer as its Commodore. Cruze replaces the under-achieving Viva - and re-establishes a name first used on a small and largely forgotten Suzuki Ignis-based SUV of 2002. But the future of this new car - or at least the platform on which it's based - is way bigger than those modest links suggest.

Unveiled at the 75th Melbourne Motor Show, Cruze is built on General Motors' versatile worldwide Delta II small-car platform that can underpin anything from a two-seat sports car to a half-tonne ute and people-movers.

The much-touted Volt electric car, which has been confirmed for arrival Downunder in 2012, is built on the platform. The chassis can also easily be modified to a longer wheelbase than the Cruze's.

Development of the Delta II is now in the hands of Opel in Europe. It's been made particularly versatile by use of the latest computer design technology, and made practical by the gradual standardisation of manufacturing processes at GM factories worldwide. A lack of standardisation compromised the full effectiveness of its earlier "world" platforms.

The Cruze comes from the GM-Daewoo factory in South Korea, but next year Delta II-based vehicles will start rolling from Holden's factory near Adelaide. The company is cagey about the indigenous product but it's likely the Cruze sedan, which goes on sale here in the third quarter, will continue to come from South Korea and variants such as a wagon or a hatch will be produced in Australia.

The platform can also be adapted to all-wheel drive, although Holden chairman and managing director Mark Reuss said that these versions were some time away.

Cruze competes in the lower-medium segment, said by Holden to be one of the fastest growing in the New Zealand market and one in which it's keen to be a major player; despite previous efforts to diversify, the large Commodore and its offspring still dominate the company.

The smaller car is powered by either a 1.8 litre, four cylinder petrol or a 2.0 litre, turbocharged diesel engine, with a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission using GM's Active Select manual mode. The range in New Zealand will include at least two levels, CD and the higher CDX.

Cruze received a positive reception at the show. It's a good-looking, though conventional, sedan with a roomy interior and a dash with strong Honda Accord Euro overtones. Quality of the fit and finish appeared to be excellent.

This year's Melbourne show is the last major Australian motor show for 18 months; the next will be in Sydney and the two cities will then take turns hosting the event.

For the most part manufacturers put aside bling and outlandish concept cars to display instead how they are downsizing and developing environmentally friendlier alternative-fuel vehicles. Even Lamborghini and Lotus tried to include the environment as they unveiled new models - the LP560-4 Spyder and the 2+2 Evora. Bragging about 0-100km/h times has made way for boasts of frugal consumption of litres of fuel per 100km and low CO2 emissions.

While many exhibitors are using hybrid technology to achieve ultra-low mileages, Suzuki is sticking to what it knows best; its new Alto is a conventional three-cylinder one-litre petrol car consuming just 4.4 litres per 100km overall, while emitting only 103 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

"This show is about more than cars," noted Holden New Zealand's managing director Simon Carr. "It's about responding to change and offering realistic, high-value solutions for buyers."