Mitsubishi Ex Vs Chevy Cruze

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

I was going to tag this on the end of the "I bought a Cruze" thread, but thought it might be useful to someone in the near future, hence a new topic.

After driving the Mitsu EX 1.8 GLS Ltd yesterday, I went back into the Cruze today for another spin to get a better idea (I drove the Cruze for the first time last week).

Overall, I prefer the inside of the Cruze, but the ride/gearbox/engine of the Mitsu. Isn't it always the way that you can never quite seem to find that car that ticks every single box? Life is always about compromise!

After the 2nd Cruze test drive, my thoughts are the following:

Interior - Cruze is the winner...

- Cruze interior is definitely nicer, it 'feels' a better quality car from the inside (The Cruze's speedo and dials look better and it has more interior cubby holes and the Aux/USB connect is good.)

- The Cruze's boot is bigger and both car's rear seats fold flat

- For the short time I sat in both, the Mitsu had comfier seats.

Driving - the Mitsu felt slightly 'better', though neither are 'bad'.

- the CVT gearbox on the Mitsu is very smoothe and would be great around town.

- The Cruze gearbox was a touch 'jumpy' and when coasting (foot of the accelerator) the Cruze felt like is was braking slightly (more like a manual)

- The Mitsu felt slightly more connected to the road and the 'manual' sequential shifting was much quicker in the Mitsu (though this function is rarely used by me).

- The Mitsu was quicker and more responsive.

- The Cruze 'cruised' as lower revs, but I found the engine noise and from the tyres louder than the Mitsu (though the Cruse was on 17" vs. 16" for the Lancer). For fairness, I must say that both were quiet.

However, an issue I have with the Cruze is that the test drive model is the LTZ, I am looking at the LS model. The top spec Cruze compares favorably with the 1.8 EX Lancer as the specs are quite similar... however, for an LS Cruze, the spec drops a bit.

Examples are:

- leather interior is 25k extra on the Cruze, standard on the Lancer (but more choices of inside and outside colours on the Chevy)

- The Cruze LS has no 'auto setting' for the a/c blower - this sounds like nothing, but I find it to be on one those things that is simply 'very handy' to have and is standard on the Lancer.

- The 'a/c fan buttons' look nice on the Cruze, but again, after driving and playing around with them, I find the Lancer's less attractive dials to be actually more 'functional'. I didn't play much with the stereo on either model.

- keyless entry and push button start on the top LTZ Cruze but not the LS model (the number of times we've searched through the wife's bag looking for the key means I find this a nice option to have on a new car) standard on the Lancer (though to be fair, the lancer is not strictly 'keyless', you do need to press a button on the handle and turn a dummy key as opposed to pushing a button).

- Cruze LS has 1 airbag, the Lancer has dual. (Although I have read the Cruze fairs better in overall safety and has been voted "Car of the Year")

So, it has been hard to compare 'like with like' and as a result I left Chevy with a feeling of potentially 'buying the unknown' whereas with Mitsu I knew exactly what I'd get.

Other 'non driving' areas of interest:

- Both offer 1 year 1st class insurance, free registration, free window tinting and floor mats and the promise reverse sensors

- 150,000km /5 year warranty in the Mitsu. 100,000km / 3 year in the Chevy

Given all of the above, I can make a case for getting either one - The Chevy is more 'luxurious/serious' whilst the Mitsu is 'lighter' and 'sportier'. However, as I previously stated though, the deal breaker/maker will be what the individual dealer offers me for my current car. Chevy has offered 440k. I have yet to hear from Mitsu. I informed both firms I wanted 500k.

Prices:

Mitsu EX GLS-Ltd 889,000 (+10,000k for white!)

Cruze LS 900,000 (+25,000 for leather interior)

If Mitsu come back offering me 500k, that leaves me with 389,000 over 5 years, about 7,200 per month. Chevy is 460,000k over 5 years is about 8,500.

They are so closely matched, that it is often something like the trade in price that can be that 'swing vote'... so I guess the ball is in Mitsu's court to lose.

Hopefully this has been useful to some readers - it has helped me too... writing out your thoughts can be quite handy :-)

All comments/feedback are welcome!

Cheers

James

Edited September 10, 2011 by Jim's_a_Thai_Fox

[MJCM]

Really good post, good review and a good break down of the facts, this post will help a lot of people

[guzzi850m2]

Yes good and neutral reviews.

Have you considered selling your old car private (here in classified or in bath sold).

[rixalex]

Really good post, good review and a good break down of the facts, this post will help a lot of people

+1

Cheers Jim. Keep us posted on how things progress.

Out of interest, what is it you are trading in?

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Hi,

I have considered selling private and haven't totally ruled it out, it's just that trading in seemed easier and quicker...I have sold a couple of cars in LOS and it is never an experience I relish ...I currently own a 2005 2.0s Focus - do you wanna buy it? haha...

Cheers

James

[wandrinstar]

That sums up my take on the Cruze exactly.id put the Mitsu ahead on all points except the interior..

[WarpSpeed]

Comprehensive and balanced post Jim. I think as much as I hate to say it, it sounds like the swing vote on the Mitsu side is also unmentioned and that would have to be resale/trade in value. Mitsu is well liked in this market albeit not as much as the top Jap brands and Chevy is in it's infancy in terms of growing a market which the Cruze will help with but it's not quite there yet so for those numbers I'd have to opt for the Mitsu..

[thaicbr]

Jim.. don't forget that Thaicruze said he got his leather for 5,000b at the dealer.. might be worth a shot haggling a bit.

[wandrinstar]

Jim.. don't forget that Thaicruze said he got his leather for 5,000b at the dealer.. might be worth a shot haggling a bit.

Are you sure, You cant buy the Leather for 5K, you mean 50 K surely.

[elrey]

The Fortuner for me has got hands down a much better interior than the Pajero Sport... I still got the Pajero Sport...

After going on 2 years, I still love the vehicle, and look at the new model Fortuner without an ounce of regret.

The Mitsubishi EX is a great, GREAT looking car, which runs great..

The Chevy is full of bumps, noises and clunkiness that will get amplified over the next few years,

The mitsu interior is very nice, the chevy's is not that great to make it swing over to its side..

the chevy is lackluster, the mitsu is sexy.. IMO, whoever designed the Chevy just copied a Civic and changed it slightly, and had the nerve to charge more money for it.

[katabeachbum]

Good balanced post Jim

I noticed your comment on Cruze crash safety, but be aware any positive test from US or Europe, studio or real world, are all with 10 airbags. There is no reason to assume Thai spec Cruze 1-4 airbags is any better than segment competition in TH

[thaiIand]

The coasting jerkyness can be removed by turning off both safety options... They put it there to save thais who coast at 300km/h untill the last 3meters at uturns on highways. also keeping a 1% push on the pedal will save you from it.

Probably fixable by a mod shop too?

just went on mitsu's website. Seems like the new EX has some amazing options.

adaptive front lights. wow.

154hp

i thought only the GT looked like this. Didnt know EX was different than the ugly base model. very nice car.

Edited September 11, 2011 by thaiIand

[thaicbr]

Jim.. don't forget that Thaicruze said he got his leather for 5,000b at the dealer.. might be worth a shot haggling a bit.

Are you sure, You cant buy the Leather for 5K, you mean 50 K surely.

Well shows you never read the thread you posted in. he did say that it should be 20,000b but he got it for 5,000b as a sweetener.

[wandrinstar]

Jim.. don't forget that Thaicruze said he got his leather for 5,000b at the dealer.. might be worth a shot haggling a bit.

Are you sure, You cant buy the Leather for 5K, you mean 50 K surely.

Well shows you never read the thread you posted in. he did say that it should be 20,000b but he got it for 5,000b as a sweetener.

Leather @ 20.000 Bh ?t, Cant be much good if you look at the Prices in the Mags.Leatherette Perhaps.

[transam]

Jim.. don't forget that Thaicruze said he got his leather for 5,000b at the dealer.. might be worth a shot haggling a bit.

Are you sure, You cant buy the Leather for 5K, you mean 50 K surely.

Well shows you never read the thread you posted in. he did say that it should be 20,000b but he got it for 5,000b as a sweetener.

Leather @ 20.000 Bh ?t, Cant be much good if you look at the Prices in the Mags.Leatherette Perhaps.

20k is about right for a leather conversion.

[wandrinstar]

Sure you must be right , i was thinking U.K.price and Connolly.:jap:

[transam]

Sure you must be right , i was thinking U.K.price and Connolly.:jap:

, veeeeeeeery different.

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Hi there folks,

Well, I just got word from Mitsubishi that they are wiling to give me only 350,000THB for my Focus. To recap, Chevy have offered me 440,000THB. I had told Mistu that if they could go to 460k, then they had a deal, but sadly it was not to be. As it stands, paying 500k over 5 years is simply too prohibitive.

Next course, head back to Chevy and see if they are willing to offer me slightly more for my Ford... and thanks to the posters here, I will now also attempt to get the leather interior for a discounted price.

Cheers

James

[beano2274]

I wonder how much I would get for my Chevy Optra Estate now 5 years old, cause I would like the 2 litre Lancer.

[thaiIand]

I wonder how much I would get for my Chevy Optra Estate now 5 years old, cause I would like the 2 litre Lancer.

a pack a gum and a slushy coke at 7/11 if you're lucky

[beano2274]

I wonder how much I would get for my Chevy Optra Estate now 5 years old, cause I would like the 2 litre Lancer.

a pack a gum and a slushy coke at 7/11 if you're lucky

Now that is worth thinking about.

[katabeachbum]

I wonder how much I would get for my Chevy Optra Estate now 5 years old, cause I would like the 2 litre Lancer.

a pack a gum and a slushy coke at 7/11 if you're lucky

Now that is worth thinking about.

I wonder how the secondhand market consider this only small estate in TH, more or less than saloon?

[wandrinstar]

<br />Hi there folks,<br /><br />Well, I just got word from Mitsubishi that they are wiling to give me only 350,000THB for my Focus. To recap, Chevy have offered me 440,000THB. I had told Mistu that if they could go to 460k, then they had a deal, but sadly it was not to be. As it stands, paying 500k over 5 years is simply too prohibitive.<br /><br />Next course, head back to Chevy and see if they are willing to offer me slightly more for my Ford... and thanks to the posters here, I will now also attempt to get the leather interior for a discounted price. <br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />James<br />

<br /><br /><br /> Not a wise move,IMO.Pay Less , loose a Bundle later.

[wandrinstar]

Why did you not go for another Ford Jim.?.

[elrey]

maybe at least a 2 liter... coke?

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Hi,

Here is the latest on the trade-in: Mitsu have upped their offer to 400k whilst Chevy (and now Ford) have both offered 460k.

I had my Focus serviced today and looked in on the new 2.0s - the same as mine, but with a younger body at 849k. Turns out that these 'special deals' are all 2010 models and Ford are clearing them for the 2012 model arriving late next year... After some thought, I have decided against the 'new' Focus, mainly because the Durateq engine is the same, i.e 125hp 2.0 that isn't very economical around town. I admit, the I like the inside of the newer car (obviously) and it felt reassuring to be in something familiar... in fact, just writing this now I am starting to have small doubts creep into the back of my mind - it isn't that bad a motor after all... darn it. It's a pity their 2.0 TDCi is so pricey - 1.1million :-(

Mitsu had originally offered 350k but after telling them that if they could match the Chevy/Ford offer I would take the Lancer, they did up it, but still 60k short of their rivals. Even though I prefer the Mitsu, 400k THB is not enough for my car and I shall attempt to sell it privately before 'settling' for 400,000 part exchange.

I sat again in the Cruze, and I have still some reservations... I have re-read my post and I must admit my heart goes with Mitsubishi, although it's impossible to say why. The nice sales lady at Chevy has taken some pics of my car and shown them to a friend in Bkk, telling him it's 500k. I have informed her that should I get 500k for it, I will pay her 10k commission (although I would then take the 490k and go straight to Mitsubishi!)

So, still not sorted out.

Jim

[wandrinstar]

The Remote Boot Opening is a nice feature on the Ex, and the Lights are Brilliant. { No pun intended}. tried one this evening in the rain its pedigree shows through, Precision, as opposed to the Cruzes "Cock in a Bowler Hat" sloping around the place ride..The Cruze is Quiet though.

[thaicruze]

I was going to tag this on the end of the "I bought a Cruze" thread, but thought it might be useful to someone in the near future, hence a new topic.

After driving the Mitsu EX 1.8 GLS Ltd yesterday, I went back into the Cruze today for another spin to get a better idea (I drove the Cruze for the first time last week).

Overall, I prefer the inside of the Cruze, but the ride/gearbox/engine of the Mitsu. Isn't it always the way that you can never quite seem to find that car that ticks every single box? Life is always about compromise!

After the 2nd Cruze test drive, my thoughts are the following:

Interior - Cruze is the winner...

- Cruze interior is definitely nicer, it 'feels' a better quality car from the inside (The Cruze's speedo and dials look better and it has more interior cubby holes and the Aux/USB connect is good.)

- The Cruze's boot is bigger and both car's rear seats fold flat

- For the short time I sat in both, the Mitsu had comfier seats.

Driving - the Mitsu felt slightly 'better', though neither are 'bad'.

- the CVT gearbox on the Mitsu is very smoothe and would be great around town.

- The Cruze gearbox was a touch 'jumpy' and when coasting (foot of the accelerator) the Cruze felt like is was braking slightly (more like a manual)

- The Mitsu felt slightly more connected to the road and the 'manual' sequential shifting was much quicker in the Mitsu (though this function is rarely used by me).

- The Mitsu was quicker and more responsive.

- The Cruze 'cruised' as lower revs, but I found the engine noise and from the tyres louder than the Mitsu (though the Cruse was on 17" vs. 16" for the Lancer). For fairness, I must say that both were quiet.

However, an issue I have with the Cruze is that the test drive model is the LTZ, I am looking at the LS model. The top spec Cruze compares favorably with the 1.8 EX Lancer as the specs are quite similar... however, for an LS Cruze, the spec drops a bit.

Examples are:

- leather interior is 25k extra on the Cruze, standard on the Lancer (but more choices of inside and outside colours on the Chevy)

- The Cruze LS has no 'auto setting' for the a/c blower - this sounds like nothing, but I find it to be on one those things that is simply 'very handy' to have and is standard on the Lancer.

- The 'a/c fan buttons' look nice on the Cruze, but again, after driving and playing around with them, I find the Lancer's less attractive dials to be actually more 'functional'. I didn't play much with the stereo on either model.

- keyless entry and push button start on the top LTZ Cruze but not the LS model (the number of times we've searched through the wife's bag looking for the key means I find this a nice option to have on a new car) standard on the Lancer (though to be fair, the lancer is not strictly 'keyless', you do need to press a button on the handle and turn a dummy key as opposed to pushing a button).

- Cruze LS has 1 airbag, the Lancer has dual. (Although I have read the Cruze fairs better in overall safety and has been voted "Car of the Year")

So, it has been hard to compare 'like with like' and as a result I left Chevy with a feeling of potentially 'buying the unknown' whereas with Mitsu I knew exactly what I'd get.

Other 'non driving' areas of interest:

- Both offer 1 year 1st class insurance, free registration, free window tinting and floor mats and the promise reverse sensors

- 150,000km /5 year warranty in the Mitsu. 100,000km / 3 year in the Chevy

Given all of the above, I can make a case for getting either one - The Chevy is more 'luxurious/serious' whilst the Mitsu is 'lighter' and 'sportier'. However, as I previously stated though, the deal breaker/maker will be what the individual dealer offers me for my current car. Chevy has offered 440k. I have yet to hear from Mitsu. I informed both firms I wanted 500k.

Prices:

Mitsu EX GLS-Ltd 889,000 (+10,000k for white!)

Cruze LS 900,000 (+25,000 for leather interior)

If Mitsu come back offering me 500k, that leaves me with 389,000 over 5 years, about 7,200 per month. Chevy is 460,000k over 5 years is about 8,500.

They are so closely matched, that it is often something like the trade in price that can be that 'swing vote'... so I guess the ball is in Mitsu's court to lose.

Hopefully this has been useful to some readers - it has helped me too... writing out your thoughts can be quite handy :-)

All comments/feedback are welcome!

Cheers

James

I've never driven the Mitsubishi, but I believe you if you say the mitsu transmission felt different and sportier.

The Cruze is a cruiser. Save as much gas as possible and give you a nice relaxed drive.

I didn't buy a mitsubishi because i don't like the interior. As you point out, the Cruze's interior is best in class.

I also bought the LS. 16" wheels. The tires on the LTZ are a different brand and size than the ones on the LS. Mine are quiet.

Think about it. They're both similarly priced and spec'd. Tough one. Go with the one that tugs on your heart strings.

Also, the leather is 20-25,000, true, but my salesperson gave it to me for 5,000 (from 20,000). So, I say go shop around to other dealers. You may get a better deal.

My LS was 880,000 with the leather.

[thaicruze]

You can always change tires though.

[thaicruze]

The Cruze LS also has remote trunk opening.