So we got a 2010 Chevrolet Cruze long-term car

The grey 2010 Chevrolet Cruze is back with us again! It almost feels like I own this car, having driven it twice before, once for the initial review and once as a courtesy car from GM when they took away our Malibu long-termer for a week. This time, we’re getting to keep this car for an entire month, during which time we’ll settle down and play with its features further and explore its fuel economy capabilities. And just in time for Eid too.

Our Korean-built Cruze tester is possibly a mid-range model, which means it gets leather seats, optional 17-inch alloy wheels, optional sunroof, automatic a/c, cruise control and a CD stereo with an AUX port. The higher models get iPod ports, intelligent keyless entry and start, parking sensors and all sorts of other goodies that we’ll miss out on.

It still gets all the styling benefits of the higher models though, with those wheels, that colour-matched leatherette dashboard and those angry headlights. All models are also powered by the same 140 hp 1.8-litre 4-cylinder engine, mated to a class-leading 6-speed automatic with tiptronic functionality.

The car currently has 13,337 km on it from half-a-year of abuse at the hands of journalists, but it is also broken in properly now, so it will be interesting to see how it performs this summer.