Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback Released Before Geneva

Chevrolet will bring at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show in early March the hatchback version of the popular Cruze, a model specifically designed for the European market and scheduled to go on sale this spring. Boasting the same front fascia as the sedan, but with a hatchback-style rear end, the new Cruze is built on the new body-frame integral system (BFI) that provides increased stability and solidity, as Chevrolet said in a statement.

The hatchback has a trunk volume of 400 liters and will come with 60/40 split rear seating.

As for the engines, Chevrolet will offer a total of three possible configurations, two gasoline and one diesel. The petrol options come in the form of a 1.6-liter 16V and a 1.8-liter 16V developing 124 and 141 horsepower, respectively. As for the diesel, there will be a 2.0-liter unit with a maximum output of 163 horsepower.

Sources familiar with the matter also suggest that Chevrolet is pondering the possibility to introduce a second diesel option, a 1.4-liter unit but, if this is indeed true, it won't happen before year-end.

"Hatchbacks play a critical role in many markets. The total compact segment in Europe represents over a quarter of the total market, with hatchbacks representing around 65% of that volume. The new Cruze hatchback cements that Chevrolet's claim for a place among the mainstream brands in Europe, and it's a vehicle that will bring new levels of value against some of the more established competition," Wayne Brannon, president and managing director of Chevrolet Europe, said.

autoevolution will be attending the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions presented at the event.