BUTTLESS CHEVROLET CRUZE HATCH CONFIRMED FOR MZANSI

General Motors South Africa has promised to expand its popular Chevrolet Cruze range with the new hatchback model. The Cruze hatch will join us during the second half of 2012 and is directly pitched at rivals like the Toyota Auris X, Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus hatch. Pricing and other details will come to light later on.

What is already known about the 5-door hatch is that it features a 400 litre boot capacity and largely uses the same engines found in the sedan. That means a 1.8-litre petrol with 104kW and a 110kW 2.0-litre turbo diesel. No confirmation yet on which of these will arrive first though.

GM SA already has a really good hatch in its stable, namely the Opel Astra. But our sources tell us the Cruze hatch will be priced and specced lower than the Astra, a car that has moved a little higher up the premium ladder. This is in line with GM’s policy of making Chevrolet the default choice for price-sensitive customers, while the more upmarket buyer is then lured into an Opel showroom.