Chevrolet Cruze

There are two types of Chevrolet. The first, the American ones like the Corvette sports car and Camaro muscle car, are packed with blaring angry V8 engines of at least six litres and have more than 400bhp.

They get through tyres like a politician gets through excuses and they're enormous fun. Trouble is, they're left-hand drive and a bit expensive.

And then there's the other Chevrolets. Modest family cars made in Korea that used to be known as Daewoos.

They don't smoke their tyres unless you take them off and throw them on a bonfire. In fact they don't do anything dramatic except get you from to A to B and not cost you a lot of money in the process.

This is the new Chevrolet Cruze. It replaces the Lacetti, which is the car currently employed as Top Gear's reasonably priced car in which celebrities frighten themselves by trying to drive too fast or through a field. Or a tyre wall.

There's nothing frightening about the Cruze - not least the price. The one we have here is the 1.6i LS which costs £12,595 and apart from the S, which is around 500 quid less, it's the cheapest Cruze that you can buy.

That makes the new Chevrolet almost £2,500 cheaper than the most basic five-door Ford Focus. So in fact the Cruze is a very reasonably priced car.

It is also bang up-to-date because underneath the neither ugly or beautiful (but far better-looking than the bland Lacetti) body is the chassis for the next Vauxhall Astra.
That means lots of safety and strength. The body even passes an American rollover test, but hopefully you will never have to prove that ability.

Inside there's lots of space especially in the back - though tall rear-seat passengers will be short of hat room.