Five-Point Inspection: 2012 Chevrolet Cruze Eco

An Interior Meant for the Masses - from Madrid to Calabasas

As a globally marketed vehicle, the Cruze is aimed at much more than the U.S. market. From American auto journos to car pundits across the Atlantic, interior quality is a consistent complaint with American cars. That’s an area Chevrolet addressed, to some extent, with the Cruze.

The steering wheel does feel cheap — something that plagues much of the interior. But that’s where things get interesting: gazing around the cabin, mesh cloth accents make it much easier to forget you’re sitting in an econobox by covering the molded panels and pieces.

Better still, the car feels roomier than you might guess from the outside. There’s plenty of headroom, and the poor visibility that commonly comes with the aforementioned high belt line is pleasantly absent.