According to a recent report, American car maker Chevrolet may launch the new edition of the Cruze executive sedan in the last week of June 2012 in India. The fact that General Motors India will launch the facelifted Cruze with an enhanced diesel powertrain has been common knowledge for a long time. The company may offer the new car with enhanced exteriors and interiors and a powerful 2.0 litre Z-Series engine. The new iteration of the model will also feature a new grille and bumper on the front while on the rear end, the car will get new taillamps.
Among the new features of the facelifted Cruze, the biggest update is the integration of the all-new Z-Series 2.0 litre turbo diesel unit. In the D-segment, the existing variant of Cruze already offers best-in-class power and torque figures. The new powertrain update will only add to its power and speed, which will make it more appealing for the key demographics.
The new Z-Series unit comes with a square bore-stroke layout, unlike the long stroke design of VCDi engine. This will make the sedan easier to handle at high speed and ensure smoother drive. In the new layout, the bore and stroke measure 86 mm each unlike the old powertrain, where they stood at 83 mm and 92 mm respectively. Another drawback in the older unit was the turbo-lag, which has been taken care of in the new unit. The new powertrain offers a lower compression ratio of 16.5:1 compared to the previous ratio of 17.5:1. It also comes with an enhanced 2.2 BAR turbo-boost against the 2.0 BAR of the older model.
Power and torque outputs of the model have been raised by 16 bhp and 53 Nm as well and now the model will touch 164 bhp of power and 380 Nm of torque with ease. However, the transmission unit has been retained from the older model, thus the facelifted car will have the same 6 speed manual and automatic transmission options. There will be a timing chain in place of the timing belt in the new powertrain, which will ensure a maintenance free life.
