Reference Auto

General Motors India, in order to give a fillip to the somewhat stagnating sales of the Chevrolet Cruze, has rolled out a refurbished version, which has better styling as well as additional safety features, the price of which starts from Rs 13.75 lakh but the Volkswagen new Jetta may be a dampener.

The Cruze comes with a 2.0-litre VCDi engine, which belts out 166 PS and 380 Nm torque. The Cruze gives a choice of either a 6-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual gearbox version.

The new Chevrolet Cruze is offered with a new dual-port front grille that sports a neatly tucked ‘Gold Bowtie’ logo of the brand, a redesigned front and rear bumper and new dual bezel headlamps.

The new Cruze also comes with a set of newly designed alloy wheels and chrome bezels around the fog lamps. The new styling makes the Cruze wear a ‘sporty’ look.

On the interior, the Cruze has features such as blue ambient lighting along with a set of black leather inside.

The Cruze has an integrated infotainment system and premium speakers. This, along with three spoke steering wheel with steering mounted audio controls, give a luxury edge to the car.

The Cruze also comes with a push-button start along with an auto-dimming inside the rear view mirror. On the safety side, the Cruze has two front and two side airbags, beefing up safety in case the car collides.

Chevrolet Cruze LT (MT):                                             Rs 13.75 lakh

Chevrolet Cruze LTZ (MT):                                           Rs 15.25 lakh

Chevrolet Cruze LTZ (AT):                                           Rs 16.15 lakh

Volkswagen Jetta’s refurbished version is set to hit the Indian roads soon. Unfortunately, even after two years, VW could bring in minor changes compared to the existing Jetta.

The new Jetta may have new headlights, which are ditto to the ones offered with the Passat, with LED daytime-running lamps along with new alloy wheels.

On the inside, all versions of the Jetta will be equipped with automatic climate control, which is one of the USPs of the new car as the current model doesn’t have this feature, even in the top variant.

Unfortunately, there would be no change on the mechanical front and the new car will also come with the same 2.0-litre TDI engine diesel and the 1.4-litre TSI petrol engines. Both would be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, while the diesel engine also has an automatic option.

The new Jetta is set to vie with the new Skoda Octavia and the Hyundai Elantra, which leads the segment, along with the new Chevrolet Cruze.

So, even as the Chevrolet Cruze can buoy sales of General Motors, the new Jetta may be a disappointment for Volkswagen.