All About Japan Autos

Lately it seems that all the air in the small car atmosphere has been taken up by the Ford Fiesta and Nissan Leaf. But, car reviewers haven’t forgotten the Chevrolet Cruze — and, according to most of them, car shoppers shouldn’t forget it either.

Autoblog notes that to win small car fans, GM has to play catch-up. “Cars like the Chevrolet Cavalier and Cobalt have left a sour taste in the mouths of buyers thanks to noisy and de-contented cabins, rough engines and build quality that would make a Yugo blush.” However, “a new dawn may be approaching – one heralded by a rash of new straw-weight fighters that aim to bring a global small car philosophy to the U.S. GM intends to be part of that party with the introduction of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, a sedan that, for all intents and purposes, is more of a landmark model for the company than the endlessly-hyped Chevrolet Volt. To get our meaning, you’ll need to throw all of your heinous memories about American-built small cars out the window beginning… now.”

Cars.com seconds that take, saying the Cruze “goes toe-to-toe with the Honda Civic, schools the Toyota Corolla and makes the outgoing Cobalt seem all the more embarrassing.”

But, in comparing the Cruze to the Corolla and Civic, has Chevrolet made a mistake? “Trouble is, the real segment leader, not in sales but in value, is a Hyundai, and not the compact rival Elantra but the new Sonata midsize. If you’ve got $20,000 to spend on a four-door family car, would you rather have the audaciously ordinary-looking Cruze or the bigger, quicker, more powerful and more generously equipped Sonata,” asks the Wall Street Journal. However, they add, “This isn’t about the Cruze being a bad car—it’s clearly not. Actually, globally, it’s selling like mad.”

Despite tough small (and midsize) car competition, Autoblog says, “More than any other vehicle we’ve seen from The General recently, the Cruze is proof positive of the company’s new attentiveness to market needs, customer desires and quality construction,” — and most reviewers agree. For more information on the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, check out our Chevy Cruze review, where you can get the full picture of what car reviewers are saying about the Cruze.

If you’re in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars as well as this month’s best car deals.