Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel review

Here's the quick take on Chevy's new diesel-powered compact sedan: If you spend a lot of time driving on the highway and want to really stretch your fuel dollars, you might consider putting it on your short list. But if you mostly do around-town driving, it's much less compelling.

In our testing, the Turbo Diesel delivered an excellent 49 mpg on the highway, which is among the best we've seen in any vehicle. With its 15.6-gallon fuel tank, you could drive this Cruze about 760 highway miles before needing to fill up. And while cruising it provides a pleasant, civilized driving environment, with a compliant ride, smooth power delivery, and impressive isolation from road noise. Overall, that combination helps the miles ease on by.

We measured 33 mpg overall in the Turbo Diesel, which is good but only a little better than some less-expensive gas-powered cars. Also, at slower, urban speeds, you'll notice a fair amount of diesel clatter that gets masked at highway speed and an uneven power delivery that tends to be unresponsive or abrupt, making it difficult to drive smoothly.

Inside, front occupants have ample space in the Cruze, although rear-seat room is very tight. Controls are mostly simple to use. And though the Turbo Diesel is competent in routine handling, it's less agile than other Cruze models when pushed to its handling limits; it tended to run wide in our track's corners, with a lot more understeer.

The Turbo Diesel comes well equipped, with heated, leather seats; a six-way power adjustable driver's seat; a sunroof; and a backup camera. Our car cost $27,300, which is about $2,300 more than an equivalent gas-powered Cruze.

Although it scored well enough, this Cruze isn't recommended because the diesel engine is too new for us to have reliability data.

If you're also considering the similarly priced diesel-powered Volkswagen Jetta TDI, here's the scoop: The Jetta gets slightly better overall fuel economy of 34 mpg, but it gets only 45 on the highway. It also has a larger rear seat and trunk. But the Cruze is better equipped and handles slightly better overall. A maintenance note: The Cruze also requires the periodic addition of diesel exhaust fluid, which the Jetta doesn't.

On the other hand, for about an additional $1,000, you could buy a diesel-powered Volkswagen Passat TDI, which is larger and roomier. And it gets an even better 51 mpg on the highway and 37 overall.