Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £12,245 to £15,445
Good value, decent interior, supple ride, spacious.
Only available as a saloon, average drive, lacklustre petrol range.
The most convincing Chevrolet ever, but it still trails its hatchback rivals.
Designed by the man who helped create the current Fiat 500, the Chevrolet Cruze aims to take on the Ford Focus with a combination of brash looks and low price.
It certainly looks the part. The Cruze introduces a striking new design language that's more cohesive than anything Chevy has done before.
The price is also right: the Cruze starts from £11,545 for the 1.6S model and is very well-equipped, including ESP as standard.
Under the skin the Cruze is equally appealing. Rather than being fobbed off with out-of-date hand-me-down GM technology, it gets the new GM platform that will eventually underpin the next Astra. It also gets a range of European-friendly engines.
Inside, the interior is a revelation, offering soft-touch plastics and good attention-to-detail - something Chevrolet has previously neglected.
Unfortunately, there's a catch. The Cruze will only be available as a saloon, something UK drivers only buy if there's a BMW, Mercedes or Audi badge glued to it. A hatch may follow later, but not until late 2010.
So is this enough to ruin the value-packed Cruze's chances of giving Ford a serious run for its money?
