Chevrolet Will Cautiously Let Owners Wring More Power From the Cruze

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Tarted-up production cars revealed at the SEMA show aren’t exactly the stuff of shocked gasps and hurriedly sent text messages to friends, but there’s often some useful gear to come out of the annual trade jamboree.

The blue window tinting and wheels on the pair of Blue Line “concepts” trotted out by Chevrolet ahead of the show likely impressed no one, but it’s what lies beneath that matters. Starting next year, the bowtie brand will let owners of its newly redesigned compact gain some extra horsepower in a manner that won’t void the warranty.

Yes, the Cruze is joining the tuner scene.

Well, the factory tuner scene, to be clear. In its own conservative way, the automaker plans to spice up the Cruze by offering factory performance bits from Chevrolet Accessories. The Volkswagen Golf and Honda Civic have ruled the scene for too long, it seems, and the previous generation Cruze might have been too stodgy to pull it off.

Not so with the 2017 Cruze RS Hatchback, which Chevy will send to SEMA festooned with every appearance and performance part it could think up. Non-performance accessories are already available, while a performance brake package bows before year’s end. That upgrade sees the Cruze’s 10.9-inch front rotors swapped for vented and slotted 11.8-inch discs.

Appearance upgrades include ground effects and suspension lowering kits, rear spoilers and neat-o lighting, but you’ll have to wait before Chevy helps your 153-horsepower 1.4-liter turbo four breathe better. Starting in mid-2017, buyers — or owners — can order a performance air intake and exhaust system. If installed by the dealer, the vehicle’s warranty stays safe and sound.

The upgrades include a high-flow air filter and secondary inlet duct, along with a high-flow calibration exhaust system compliant in 50 states. Such a system could bring anywhere from five to 20 extra horsepower, though Chevy isn’t saying. It’s probably safe to expect the power gains to fall on the lower end of that range.

It’s a far cry from Golf R or Civic Type R territory, but anything that brings added grunt to the economy-minded Cruze is a good thing. Can you call it a hot hatch, though?

[Image: General Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Oct 22, 2016

    If it was a 20 hp tune, that would be interesting. 5 hp? No sale. Of course if you are going to be that conservative, best not to advertise it with flashy badges or silly ground effects.

  • HotPotato HotPotato on Oct 23, 2016

    Cruze SS hatch or go home. I looked at the Cruze hatch the other day and it's a nice car, but it has fallen victim to the Mazda 3 disease: you can option it up above 30 grand without even trying that hard. Maybe I'm old, but that's insane for an economy car.

  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
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