At the recently held 2012 Busan Motor Show in South Korea, General Motors finally pulled the wraps on the facelifted Cruze sedan. A highly anticipated launch, considering the Cruze estate with the new design touches did make its debut at Geneva earlier this year, the sedan pretty much carries forward the same design cues.
The Cruze now gets a slightly tweaked grille with newer slats, a revised bumper lip and new fog surrounds and lamps. A new set of alloy wheels too adorn the Cruze, though whether these make it here remains to be seen. On the inside, there are minor changes, especially to the air vents while the rear seats are better designed to enhance comfort. A new audio unit is expected as well.
A newer motor nestles under the hood as well. Nicknamed the Z Series, the 2.0-litre common-rail diesel engine produces about 161 bhp of peak power and 36.4 kgm of peak torque, up from about 148 bhp and 32.4 kgm from the current motor. A reduction in compression ratio from 17.5:1 to 16.5:1 has also taken place, while turbo boost pressure has been increased from 2 bar to 2.2 bar. This should up the performance potential by a bit while enhancing fuel efficiency as well. Both six-speed manual and automatic transmissions will continue to be offered.
The updated Cruze is expected in the next month or so according to sources. There is also talk about the updates being restricted to only the motor for now, with the facelift taking place only next year for our market. That may seem a bit unwise, but we will keep you in the loop as more updates arrive our way.
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