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| 2014cruze.com |
Chevrolet is
showing a Cruze wagon at the upcoming Geneva auto show. It will be the third
Cruze variant, joining the sedan that we do get here and the hatchback we
don’t. Its mission is to snag more customers for Chevrolet in wagon-friendly
Europe.
As is to be
expected, the Cruze wagon wears longer bodywork than the hatchback and offers
more cargo capacity. A complement of gas and diesel engines is offered—the
European Cruze lineup is getting an improved engine lineup beginning this
summer. A handsome set of roof rails is standard, and we think the wagon’s rear
end is better resolved than that of the hatch, which wears a rounder posterior
that doesn’t exactly match its chiseled front view. Plus, it’s a wagon, and all
wagons are inherently awesome.
But will it
come here? For now, Chevrolet says the Cruze wagon “isn’t planned for sale in
North America.” However, we’re told both the wagon and the hatch haven’t been
ruled out completely for our market. The wagon’s chances of making it here are
slim at best—it would have to battle Volkswagen’s Jetta SportWagen for a slice
of the minuscule compact-wagon pie, and Ford’s decision not to bring the latest
Focus wagon here is telling. Although we were previously told not to expect the
five-door Cruze hatch, its North American prospects now seem brighter. A
combination of increasing consumer interest in hatchbacks and increased
competition in the form of the Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra GT, and Mazda 3 have
Chevy at least thinking about it. And such trickle-down European Cruze goodness
isn’t without precedent; Chevy recently announced it will sell a diesel Cruze here
starting in 2013.