Last fall, General Motors vice-chairman Tom Stephens dropped a hint during an interview that the Detroit automaker would be introducing a diesel passenger car in the U.S. market for the first time since the 1980s. Since that time, rumors have sprung up that a diesel-powered Chevy Cruze would be debuting in 2012 as a 2013 model.
At an EPA estimated 42 miles per gallon highway, the current Cruze Eco is already the most fuel efficient non-hybrid gasoline-fueled car available in America when equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. However that same car only gets 28 mpg in the city and 33 mpg combined while the automatic version which will surely account for the vast majority of sales here only clocks in at 26/37/30 mpg.
Currently, GM doesn’t have an affordable strong hybrid system suitable for the Cruze and the eAssist mild hybrid that is launching this year on the Buick Regal and LaCrosse might only get the Cruze to about 45-46 mpg highway.
Coming off GM’s global compact (aka Delta II) platform, the Cruze shares most of its underpinnings with the Opel Astra and the coming Buick Verano. This week, Opel announced a new variant of the Astra powered by a 2.0-liter turbodiesel that cranks out 160 horsepower, 259 pound-feet of torque and the ecoFlex technology package. Like the high mileage VW Bluemotion and Ford Econetic models, this Astra features goodies like automatic stop-start and upshift indicator light.
The result is a compact that scoots to 60 mph in a very respectable 8.5 seconds and averages 52.3 mpg (U.S.) on the European combined cycle. The Euro cycle yields higher mileage numbers than the EPA tests so if Chevrolet drops this powertrain into the Cruze, it will likely achieve a combined rating of somewhere around 42-44 mpg with a highway number in the mid to upper 40s.
Volkswagen has done amazingly well with its current diesel engines in the Golf, Jetta and Touareg with about 40 percent of Jetta buyers opting for the compression ignition engine. If Chevy can offer a Cruze diesel for a price close to the $23,000 price of a Jetta TDI and mileage in the mid-40s it could have a serious winner on its hands.
