We posted two days ago about the possibility of a hatchback version of the Chevrolet Cruze appearing at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, and here’s the said car in its full glory, revealed by GM ahead of its official debut. While it wears a Chevrolet badge and will be a global car, this five-door Cruze show car was designed by Holden in Melbourne. GM’s Aussie outpost will start building it late next year.
According to Holden chief designer Richard Ferlazzo, his team spent more than 12 months working with GM designers from across the globe to develop this car. “Our brief was to create an alternative body style to the traditional sedan that retained the same dynamic proportions that has made Cruze such a success around the world,” he said.
Apparently, the design of the Cruze hatchback that we see here is final, as the design team created the production car first, before adapting it to look suitably glamourous for a motor show. This means that once you take off those huge wheels and fancy headlamps, you’re looking at the production Chevy Cruze hatchback.
This five-door Cruze, which sits on GM’s Delta II platform like the Opel Astra, has neat proportions and shares styling cues with the sedan – the front end is mostly identical while the profile signature line and the placement of door handles are familiar. It remains to be seen if there’s any change to the “double cockpit” interior.
Australia currently imports the Cruze sedan from Korea, badging it as a Holden. Click here to read our review of the Malaysian market Chevrolet Cruze 1.8.
