[Civil]

They're certainly upping their game and I will test drive one. They have knob-equipped infotainment, so they score points over the civic there.

I really dislike this trend towards less and less visibility and headroom, which appears to be case again in this new cruze by the looks of that rear window. I've test driven several compacts now, and in all of them I felt the visibility was poor and in a few of them my head is touching, or near touching the roof, putting it in my field of vision when driving like wearing a ballcap. The salesmen try to dismiss it as that's just how compacts are, but I have probably 4 inches of headroom in my 2001 civic and far noticeably better visibility, especially out the rear.

I think automakers are discounting rear window visibility partly because rear view cameras are becoming more and more common. Honda is making them standard in all vehicles this model year.

 

[Civil]

COnsidering how easy it is to put in the vehicle and the immense practicality of it, it really should be in all cars now basically. I'm sure it could save a few lives and far more dents and dings.

 

[Civil]

Just thought I would post up this render of the Cruze as a hatchback. What do you guys think?

 

[Civil]

I think that the Civic is a more versatile model that can therefore support more variants than the Cruze.

 

[Civil]

I'm not sure how down market they would ever want to take the Camaro. I think that the EcoBoost Mustang is about the lowest the the Camaro would want to go in order to be more accessible to people. I see a Cruze hatch as a much more likely thing to actually happen than a Cruze coupe.

 

[Civil]

Just for fun, I thought I would post up this render of a Camaro hatchback.

 

[Civil]

Part of what I like about the Civic is its history of being a great nameplate. Obviously each car is its own thing, but the name has a great reputation. I just expect that Honda will always do a good job with this model. They have a lot invested into it.

 

[Civil]

They look different, but are obviously also the same. The Volt does cost more than the Cruze though, so I think its important they spend a bit more on the Volt and make it look a bit better and higher end.