Cruze Series 2

[Shaun]

Holden have just launched a Cruze Series 2. There are now two Sports models SRi and SRi-V. Be intrested to see what Engine is in the Sports Varant. There is the Ltr Diesel 1.8 Petrol and a 1.4 Turbo Petrol .

www.holden.com.au

http://www.holden.com.au/pages/series-ii-cruze-coming-soon

[hazrd]

interested in the SRi-V

will have to go look at one when they arrive at the dealers

[chrissn89]

Holden have just launched a Cruze Series 2. There are now two Sports models SRi and SRi-V. Be intrested to see what Engine is in the Sports Varant. There is the Ltr Diesel 1.8 Petrol and a 1.4 Turbo Petrol .

www.holden.com.au

http://www.holden.com.au/pages/series-ii-cruze-coming-soon

The new advanced 1.4 litre iTi turbo petrol engine takes sporty driving another step forward. This new engine provides superior performance with enviable fuel economy and is standard on the SRi and SRi-V, and option on CD models.

This new cruize does look quite nice ill be checking out the SRi-V my guess is it will easily be $27990.

No projector heahlights yet tho :(

[Vectracious]

the SRi and SRi-V wouldn't be bad little daily drivers by the sounds of it.

[ChrisMaz]

Series two looks like an epica from the front. Pass.

[Ice]

The new advanced 1.4 litre iTi turbo petrol engine takes sporty driving another step forward. This new engine provides superior performance with enviable fuel economy and is standard on the SRi and SRi-V, and option on CD models.

This new cruize does look quite nice ill be checking out the SRi-V my guess is it will easily be $27990.

No projector heahlights yet tho :(

I have been told that the turbo version was built for economy and not performance because I immediately asked about potential when i heard it was getting a turbo, haha

(edit) having looked at it, i find it quite nice, almost looks like a camry sportivo at the front or as someone else has said a captiva. I do like the 7inch sat nav but other than that i stiill find the interior too plasticy.

[Shaun]

Will be interested to see Specs and preformance from the SRi and SRi-V Models . My olds bought a Cruise CDX Diesel and it is quite suprising how nice they are.

[MatsHolden]

Cruze Hatch production version... The 'hot' version which Holden have designed and we will get here is expected to be unveiled in the coming days.

http://www.autoevolution.com/images/news/gallery/medium/geneva-2011-chevrolet-cruze-hatchback-live-photos-medium_12.jpg

http://www.autoevolution.com/images/news/gallery/medium/geneva-2011-chevrolet-cruze-hatchback-live-photos-medium_2.jpg

http://www.autoevolution.com/images/news/gallery/medium/geneva-2011-chevrolet-cruze-hatchback-live-photos-medium_7.jpg

[DirtyHarry]

geee i dont know about the hatch....

[Ice]

I know she is wearing way to many clothes for a poster girl !

[kabel]

I will be waiting for Opel................

[ChrisMaz]

I will be waiting for Opel................

+1000

[Wraith]

Pass...can do alot better in just about every respect for the same amount of money with many of the Jap alternatives and dare I say some of the originally badged Korean alternatives like KIA's which will at least cost alot less than their counterparts with a Holden badge ;)

I too will wait and see what the Opels products are going to be all about :)

[Hoss]

I think we will have to look to Opel for performance models.

[Shaun]

I think we will have to look to Opel for performance models.

Its not Clear yet if Opel will handle the OPC Variants in Australia or HSV will at this point in time. Its still open to disucssion with HSV Holden And Opel at the moment.

[kabel]

So are they thinking that they will add an OPC section to the HSV dealers ?
Either way works for me........I JUST WANT THE NEXT GEN ASTRA J OPC !

[Bloodnok]

So are they thinking that they will add an OPC section to the HSV dealers ?
Either way works for me........I JUST WANT THE NEXT GEN ASTRA J OPC !

Or are they thinking of badging them as HSV vehicles?

[fteve]

A guy on my street has a black, low, magged cruze. It looks fantastic! not sure how well it goes but, perhaps all show? whats the story with a 1.4L turbo in a car that size? 2.0L turbo is more like it

[Milesy]

Or are they thinking of badging them as HSV vehicles?

Opel is coming in as a separate legal entity. If and when OPC comes to Australia it won't be through HSV. Opel is being positioned as a premium brand above Holden (and HSV) to primarily combat VW.

On the topic of the 1.4 turbo it is a great package but it was primarily designed for fuel economy and needs to be viewed as a significant improvement over the 1.8 in terms of NVH and performance. Anyone looking for quick 0-100km/h performance times will be disappointed. This engine will be competitive in the segment but don't expect too much. More will be coming later...

[chrissn89]

Opel is coming in as a separate legal entity. If and when OPC comes to Australia it won't be through HSV. Opel is being positioned as a premium brand above Holden (and HSV) to primarily combat VW.

On the topic of the 1.4 turbo it is a great package but it was primarily designed for fuel economy and needs to be viewed as a significant improvement over the 1.8 in terms of NVH and performance. Anyone looking for quick 0-100km/h performance times will be disappointed. This engine will be competitive in the segment but don't expect too much. More will be coming later...

Im liking the sound of more will be coming, id like the option of a manual turbo Diesel SRi-V :) Does anyone know if this 1.4 turbo is direct injection, as there are two version im coming across DI and a non DI. Much long is later as im wanting to purchase a new car early 2012?

[ChrisMaz]

In that Opel Chat last month with the Product managers etc. It was hinted there will be no OPC models for at least a year. Guess they want to establish the brand based more on economy, then they'll phase in the OPC line.

[Milesy]

Bingo!

[Bloodnok]

In that Opel Chat last month with the Product managers etc. It was hinted there will be no OPC models for at least a year. Guess they want to establish the brand based more on economy, then they'll phase in the OPC line.

Yeah, but it's also relatively common knowledge that HSV were after the OPC/VXR version of the Astra rather than doing anything Cruze related, and ISTR hearing somewhere they were interested in the Insignia too. Given that, and what you say about OPC, HSV may try to bring them in badged as HSV vehicles - i.e. not using the Opel brand. Looking at the prices of existing HSV vehicles, I'm not sure they'll be too worried about high price points interfering with their other options, so while that may be an issue for Holden (hence using the Opel brand as a distinction) it probably won't be an issue for HSV...

[glider]

Would make no sense if the top of the range Opel is badged as a Holden special vehicle :lol:

[Bloodnok]

Would make no sense if the top of the range Opel is badged as a Holden special vehicle :lol:

Nope, but plenty of things that make no sense do happen :p

[Milesy]

Interesting theory Bloodnok but wide of the mark....

[rjastra]

Its not Clear yet if Opel will handle the OPC Variants in Australia or HSV will at this point in time. Its still open to disucssion with HSV Holden And Opel at the moment.

It's not clear if they will import any of the OPC models until they have the "normal" range of cars selling well.

[gmonkey]

Would cars like say corsa d opc need to have separate adr/nrma tests compared to a cd version? Cause if it didnt I couldnt see why opc variants of already selling models couldnt be special ordered

Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

[MatsHolden]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2011-holden-cruze-hatch-1-625x349.jpg

http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2011-holden-cruze-hatch-3-625x293.jpg

http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2011-holden-cruze-hatch-2-625x342.jpg

[ChrisMaz]

Yeah, but it's also relatively common knowledge that HSV were after the OPC/VXR version of the Astra rather than doing anything Cruze related, and ISTR hearing somewhere they were interested in the Insignia too. Given that, and what you say about OPC, HSV may try to bring them in badged as HSV vehicles - i.e. not using the Opel brand. Looking at the prices of existing HSV vehicles, I'm not sure they'll be too worried about high price points interfering with their other options, so while that may be an issue for Holden (hence using the Opel brand as a distinction) it probably won't be an issue for HSV...

You are kind of correct. Old reports from HSV and Holden were always tossing up between whether or not to import them again. This went out the window however when Opel Confirmed a 2012 Australian start up. I see what you mean with the price point, but I'm almost positive HSV will be going with a performance varient of the locally made Cruze. Only time will tell.

[Shaun]

Would make no sense if the top of the range Opel is badged as a Holden special vehicle :lol:

So on that train of thinking the HSV Products ( Soon to be the GTS Spec VXR8) being sold in the UK under the Vauxhall VXR Brand ???? It would make perfect sense for HSV to be involved in the OPC Products being badged as HSV Product. Both Products have the same core values.

Opel's Number one objective at the time of launch will be to attack the VW Market share. The need to build the brand idenity in Australia . This has taken Volkswagen about 10 years to get where it is now. Volkswagen Australia market share was poor until the Golf V come onto the market then the GTi has been one of there sucessful products in Australia.

Opel need to bring in a product that can compete with the specs of the Volksawagen products and can be slotted with in the same price range. This will be the Challange for Opel. Brand Awareness also needs to be build and the is going to be hard against an Estiablished brand like VW.

But im sure Opel and Holden have a marketing plan in the winds to take on VW.

[glider]

So on that train of thinking the HSV Products ( Soon to be the GTS Spec VXR8) being sold in the UK under the Vauxhall VXR Brand ???? It would make perfect sense for HSV to be involved in the OPC Products being badged as HSV Product. Both Products have the same core values.

not once they're both being sold in the same market...

[sooty]

So on that train of thinking the HSV Products ( Soon to be the GTS Spec VXR8) being sold in the UK under the Vauxhall VXR Brand ???? It would make perfect sense for HSV to be involved in the OPC Products being badged as HSV Product. Both Products have the same core values.

But there's no Holden dealerships in the uk to sell hsv products, same as when there was no Opel no1 disagreed that hsv should sell the VXR here.

With Opel here as a separate entity, there's no reason to sell them as HSV's, would just confuse people.


Actually on topic though, the cruze hatch looks ok, when they're looked after and lowered a bit I think the current model can look quite good, they should sell well

[Shaun]

not once they're both being sold in the same market...

In the UK you can purchase a HSV product through Walkinshaw Prefomance badged as a HSV. Same thing really. If it happens it will either be HSV or Opel handling the product. Not both.

[Shaun]

The cruze hatch reminds me of the new lancer hatch in the lines of the rear sloping hatch.

[glider]

In the UK you can purchase a HSV product through Walkinshaw Prefomance badged as a HSV. Same thing really. If it happens it will either be HSV or Opel handling the product. Not both.

I thought walkinshaw is a tuning company, which would mean they buy their cars of vauxhall and re-badge them...

http://www.walkinshawperformance.co.uk/wp/uk/products/default.asp?content=accessories&id=68

no different to what many of us do with our cars...

[Shaun]

I thought walkinshaw is a tuning company, which would mean they buy their cars of vauxhall and re-badge them...

http://www.walkinshawperformance.co.uk/wp/uk/products/default.asp?content=accessories&id=68

no different to what many of us do with our cars...
Walkinshaw UK is the importer of the HSV Product to the UK. Vauxhall sell it through there dealer net work and support the product and market and badge it as there own as it fits in with there range and cheaper for HSV rather then starting a dealernet work. Walkinshaw Perfomance offer fitment of Superchargers before delivery through dealers if a customer require's them. Phil Harding HSV Managing director was posted at Walkinshaw UK handling the import of the VXR8 Model for HSV and Vauxhall before returning to Australia to run HSV in Australia.

[glider]

ah ok,

still different to our situation tho, those cars are badge as both holden and vauxhall

in our case, there is no model badged as holden, only opel and vauxhall, so why badge the premium models as a HSV?

[Shaun]

ah ok,

still different to our situation tho, those cars are badge as both holden and vauxhall

in our case, there is no model badged as holden, only opel and vauxhall, so why badge the premium models as a HSV?

It going to take Opel years to establish its self if the Australian Market. HSV could sell the OPC Product here as they an established brand in the performance market.
HSV and Opel are openly saying no plan has been made for the OPC Range to be sold through Opel. But are still in talk with HSV who i can assure you are interested in doing the products as they have been building a buisness case for the Insigina and Corsa models to be brought to australia for some time.

Anyone on here who thinks Opel will out sell VGA in 12 months is kidding them selves. Its taken VGA about 7 years to gain the market share they have now. And i dont think that the Corsa Insignia and Astra in limited models will take them on. they need to have an offering of every model VGA have in there range to even start making a dent and they need to build a business case once they start selling the product here.


As for getting back to the topic at hand.....

I think that the SRi V Cruze will sell well here and become a popular model. its about time Holden Released a Sports Model in the Cruze model .

[Manaz]

I really think Opel will keep OPC for themselves. If you look at VW, it's their hero cars (the GTI and R models) that excite people - one of the reasons VW Australia still hasn't brought the Scirocco into Australia is they're concerned it will cannibalise sales of the Golf GTI), and then they make all their money on selling the bread and butter models.

The Opel Australia website also features an Insignia OPC as the main graphic - hopefully that's an indication that OPC will come as part of Opel, and will come early. If they can excite people by getting their hero cars out on the roads, the bread and butter models will start selling too.

Here's hoping for an Insignia OPC on a fantastic "establish ourselves in the market" finance package... :)

[Wraith]

I agree with most above on this topic, I really don't see how Opel vehicles sold here in Aust. under their own identity will also be shared or have separate variants sold in Holden dealerships ???

Even if people have no idea of the exact origins (which is the case for alot of people out there) the car/s in question will look the same or similar and one might ask - is this thing a Holden or an Opel - why are they being sold under 2 different car companies ???

As for hero/niche and bread and butter products, what companies do is try and get the core ranges (or bread and butter products) happening first, that's where all the business is and then introduce the hero models, if a market exists for them...from previous experince selling these from GMH it's been far from successful and you can see the same thing in other car types like the Ford Focus RS...

Hero and top end sports models may excite alot of people, but the fact is not many of those people will actually buy one.

The OPC's if they do land here will be sold in tiny numbers only as the market for those is only small or niche as is the case for all cars in that category, the core ranges will be their main area of focus.

[poita]

but isnt that like mazda bt50 and ford ranger?

same shit different smell

[Wraith]

but isnt that like mazda bt50 and ford ranger?

same shit different smell

That's a good question as those 2 are virtually similar...

Maybe there's greater diffirentiation required for passenger/sports cars ??

If you say a Mazda 2 and Ford Fiesta, they share the same platform, but are finished off into 2 quite different looking and featured vehicles, don't how how well they's sell being as similar to each other as the Mazda and Ford utes ??

[glider]

ford and mazda have been sharing shit forever and a day

the ford trader I have is a mazda t3500 underneath, complete with a mazda engine

even the current mazda 3 is based on the same platform as the focus and s40

"While the BT-50 version was designed by a Mazda team based at Ford Australia's design center in Melbourne, both Ford and Mazda worked independently. Of the exterior panels, only the windscreen is common between the Ranger and BT-50, although the underpinnings are largely the same"

[Manaz]

The issue with the Focus RS was an ability to source the cars to start with, along with a premium price that Ford really thought they'd struggle to justify given it's "just a Ford" here in Australia. Nobody thinks of Ford as being European.

Opel won't have that "just a ..." stigma here - they're going to immediately position themselves as a mid-premium brand, alongside the other mid-premium European brands (VW for instance).

VW Australia had no trouble flogging off $60k+ Passat R36s and $50k+ R32s, and they have realised that the Golf GTI and R32/R are critical to building excitement in the market for their bread and butter models, and so they're released early here (albeit with long waits for custom specced versions).

I'm really hoping that Opel do the same thing with the OPC brand - and I think the graphic on their stand-in website is a good indication that they see the value in the hero cars as well (they also have a history of Astra VXR sales here through Holden/HSV, so they know the market will bear the costs of hero models).

poita makes a good point - this is also a market well used to cars being sold under multiple names/brands - Commodore/Lexcen, Astra/Pulsar, Camry/Apollo, 626/Telstar, etc - and there was very limited success with this model for the "recipient" of the donor vehicle. I'd be very surprised to see that done between Holden and Opel (particularly since Holden dropped the Opel-based cars from their lineup in favour of Korean replacements). That's a bit different though to platform sharing (such as Mazda 3/Volvo S40/Ford Focus, Mazda 2/Ford Fiesta, Golf/A3/Octavia, Polo/A2, etc), which has proven to be a highly effective way to reduce the development cost of cars yet still allow them to remain pretty individual (anyone who tells you an Audi S3 and a Golf R are identical other than body panels is kidding themselves - same base platform, same engine, same drivetrain, but vastly different finishing and tuning).

It'd be interesting (and not entirely surprising IMHO) to see Holden start to manufacture another car based on a global platform (the Commodore may not last for ever as a bespoke product, or at least won't have sufficient volume to justify keeping another model off the production line, particularly if rumours of Holden simply not having the money to replace the VE platform once it gets too old). Given the Insignia is considered a global platform (Buick in the US have a car called the Royale IIRC based on it, as well as it existing in Europe as the Insignia, and it shares quite a bit of its platform with the Saab 9-3) and is not by any means a small car to begin with, it wouldn't surprise me to see the platform adapted to Australian conditions and Holden's expected sell price (remembering they're not a premium brand and are "just a Holden" to many), particularly if the Opel experiment in Australia doesn't ultimately succeed...

[Wraith]

The issue with the Focus RS was an ability to source the cars to start with, along with a premium price that Ford really thought they'd struggle to justify given it's "just a Ford" here in Australia. Nobody thinks of Ford as being European.

Opel won't have that "just a ..." stigma here - they're going to immediately position themselves as a mid-premium brand, alongside the other mid-premium European brands (VW for instance).

VW Australia had no trouble flogging off $60k+ Passat R36s and $50k+ R32s, and they have realised that the Golf GTI and R32/R are critical to building excitement in the market for their bread and butter models, and so they're released early here (albeit with long waits for custom specced versions).

I'm really hoping that Opel do the same thing with the OPC brand - and I think the graphic on their stand-in website is a good indication that they see the value in the hero cars as well (they also have a history of Astra VXR sales here through Holden/HSV, so they know the market will bear the costs of hero models).

poita makes a good point - this is also a market well used to cars being sold under multiple names/brands - Commodore/Lexcen, Astra/Pulsar, Camry/Apollo, 626/Telstar, etc - and there was very limited success with this model for the "recipient" of the donor vehicle. I'd be very surprised to see that done between Holden and Opel (particularly since Holden dropped the Opel-based cars from their lineup in favour of Korean replacements). That's a bit different though to platform sharing (such as Mazda 3/Volvo S40/Ford Focus, Mazda 2/Ford Fiesta, Golf/A3/Octavia, Polo/A2, etc), which has proven to be a highly effective way to reduce the development cost of cars yet still allow them to remain pretty individual (anyone who tells you an Audi S3 and a Golf R are identical other than body panels is kidding themselves - same base platform, same engine, same drivetrain, but vastly different finishing and tuning).

It'd be interesting (and not entirely surprising IMHO) to see Holden start to manufacture another car based on a global platform (the Commodore may not last for ever as a bespoke product, or at least won't have sufficient volume to justify keeping another model off the production line, particularly if rumours of Holden simply not having the money to replace the VE platform once it gets too old). Given the Insignia is considered a global platform (Buick in the US have a car called the Royale IIRC based on it, as well as it existing in Europe as the Insignia, and it shares quite a bit of its platform with the Saab 9-3) and is not by any means a small car to begin with, it wouldn't surprise me to see the platform adapted to Australian conditions and Holden's expected sell price (remembering they're not a premium brand and are "just a Holden" to many), particularly if the Opel experiment in Australia doesn't ultimately succeed...

Good points Manaz, especially the last paragraph...

Considering some of the articles going around lately it seems that GM's latest global platform will be the basis of the new future Commodore range, we may even see a new model line up of Holden badged Buicks here some of the latest designs look damn good too...

In terms of car size I hope the new end product for our market dosn't end up being bigger than the current VE.

[Shaun]

Information is surfacing about a SS Cruze being released by Holden. 1.6 Turbo engine producing about 132kw . Believe it could be the corsa VXR Engine fitted.

[poita]

hmmmmm would be a zippy little around town car.

i reckon they will sell pretty well

[Shaun]

Thinking the same here Poita. Holden may have finally got the cruze formula fine tuned . time will tell

[hazrd]

an SS cruze? i like!

although it might piss off the chev badge wearing bogans a bit :lol:

[Shadow110]

Especially if they are tuned to chew up a stock ss!! Lol.

[Shaun]

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/9D01788EE18E2099CA2578570017C621

[hazrd]

I like very much :D

[Wraith]

Especially if they are tuned to chew up a stock ss!! Lol.

Would need alot of tuning just to match a stock SS Commo, they run in the 13sec zone stock...

Then they can always enhance the V8 and your back to square one :)

[hazrd]

Depends on the SS, Ange...

I can chew up a 5L in mine, and keep up with a 5.7L

a 6L however ... *waves fist*

[Wraith]

Depends on the SS, Ange...

I can chew up a 5L in mine, and keep up with a 5.7L

a 6L however ... *waves fist*

I was talking current VE's :)

But yeah, some 'yester year' V8's were woeful in terms of acceleration, bit like diesels, ie. massive stump pulling power but not really getting anywhere in a hurry...

VT series 2 started getting serious with those Commos (even regular execs with the LS1) into the low 14sec zone stock...