Thinking about purchasing one of these in the next few weeks. I drove a Cruze as a rental a few months back and was impressed except for the engine power.

The Dodge is supposed to have more pep but it's a first year model. I really like what I have seen from watching and reading reviews.

Which one would be the best choice? Im just looking for a small car with good gas mileage that can get me to work and around town.

Ford Focus

It's technically a first-year model but the Dodge isn't all-new. It's based on an existing Fiat platform that's been around since MY2010.

[This message has been edited by madd_ag_05 (edited 5/28/2012 6:33p).]

Looks like the Dart has a turbo. Not sure about the cruze.

i wouldn't trust the dart any more than i'd trust a hooker to tell me she was STD free

hatchback FTW!

Ford Focus X2

I'll take a look at a Focus I suppose. Thanks!

I drove a '12 Cruze LTZ for a few weeks. Ride was nice and liked the car in general, but mileage was very disappointing. With the 1.4l turbo and auto transmission I was getting 20 - 22 mpg city and 22 - 24 highway (hand calculated, running regular gas, similar mileage from trip computer).

I think it may have just been that particular car, but if you decide on the Cruze, be sure to take the car home for the night and calculate your own mileage.

My wife and I just purchased a 2012 Cruze Eco w/ auto trans and we love it! Driving habits are about 80/20 hwy/city and I average 39.5 on a tank

When we went to CS for my sisters graduation we only used 7 gallons of fuel to go 302 miles (~43 MPG)

In conclusion, it's not a sports car but is adequately powered for what it's intended to be: a gas sipper

Cruze eco saves you $20 dollars a year over the conventional version.

True story.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/29/consumer-reports-tests-small-eco-models-best-only-saves/

I think it is interesting the Civic HF's improved MPG is all aerodynamics and tires. Powertrain is identical. The car is slightly lower, has a spoiler, and low rolling resistance tires.

You forgot the smugness Spice...you can't put a price tag on that

Lol @ the 40 years it would take to re-coup the Cruze Eco premium.

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You forgot the smugness Spice...you can't put a price tag on that

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Hmmm....maybe I am just slow today. Smugness from Honda?

If Honda can get 2 MPG from aero only - it goes to show how lifting a truck is costly - to pay for the lift and to pay for fuel.

But I think it shouldn't cost so much for the HF. Especially for such ugly wheels.

Not for Honda...for the new owner.

Another vote for the Focus over the Cruze. Wouldn't even consider the Dart as it's not even in the same class (build quality + features) as the others.

If we hadn't gotten such a great deal on our Eco we would've gotten the LT due to the reasons states above. It would take forever to recoupe the extra cost of the Eco (we paid less than what the dealer was asking for their LT's)

Did they ever figure out the dual-clutch transmission problems in the Focus?

Was never a transmission issue. Was a tuning issue, and was fixed almost a year ago.

FWIW - Consumer Reports new issue reports the Cruze Eco has much worse than average reliability.

They rated the Focus as a much better car, but even the Focus has worse than average reliability now.