Hatchbacks and wagons have not been favored by automakers for a good reason.
The success of crossovers, which are essentially smaller SUVs with limited off-road capabilities, have taken the market by storm. The interest is only set to grow amongst SUVs and crossovers with falling gas prices. However, there are companies that have not completely overlooked the hatchback and wagon market. Chevrolet seems to be one of them since they have just announced the pricing details for the 2016 Cruze Hatchback, which was unveiled earlier this year. Up until now, the company has been quiet on the pricing front.
Starting at a modest $22,190, the vehicle will go on sale this fall. It comes with a 1.4 liter four-cylinder engine with turbochargers. The motor is capable of a respectable 153 bhp while it is mated to a six speed manual gearbox.
Incredibly, the vehicle will be around $5000 more expensive than the sedan equivalent. It may seem controversial at first, but important to know is that the hatchback version of the Cruze does not come in the entire level variants. The L and LS versions will continue to be available only in the sedan. The Premier trim is the top end model in the lineup and it costs $24,820. It even comes with an optional RS package to improve the looks even further.
There are plenty of features to play with, but one of the most important is the support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay through the car’s infotainment system. Even though the hatchback is placed on a similar level to the sedan version in terms of prices, it is slightly higher than the competition which includes vehicles like the Ford Focus SE, 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT, and 2016 Mazda Mazda3 i Sport. All these vehicles cost around $19,000 for the base variants. Even though more details about the equipment available on the vehicle is unavailable yet, Chevrolet are unlikely to be pricing the vehicle significantly higher than the competition when it does not have much in its bag.
The company appears to be extremely confident about convincing buyers to part with the extra cash. Thankfully, the prices of the new 2016 Chevrolet Cruze includes the destination charges as well. Some of the features on the Premier trim include the likes of heated seats, remote start, power adjustable driver’s seat, heated steering wheel, and bigger wheels.
