CRUZE Shortlist Car of The Year !!!!!!!

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I'VE come over all poetic about a test car. No, it's not a $500,000 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder from Bologna nor a Maserati Gran Turismo, with its Ferrari-built 302kW V8 engine.

Strangely enough, it's the $20,000-odd Holden Cruze sourced from GM Daewoo in Korea.

Here I am packing a tonne of groceries from the Rocklea markets into the huge flat-floored boot thinking how cavernous and welcoming the space is.

And there I am tootling around the back streets of my suburb pondering how the essence of good motoring is about how the vehicle makes you feel connected to its mechanical being.

"For god's sake, it's just a shopping trolley car. Wake up to yourself!" I cry.

But somehow this little car with the unfortunate name and its confusing heritage as a small crossover vehicle is starting to get me thinking about Carsguide Car of the Year shortlists.

I recently drove both petrol and diesel models with five-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions.

It wasn't the engines nor the transmissions that made me come over all poetic, though.

This is one of those cars where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I actually wasn't all that fussed with the engines and transmissions.

The 1.8-litre petrol engine feels anaemic, the diesel is asthmatic at first then gasps huge gulps of air, while the five-speed transmission is a little clunky with badly matched ratios in the diesel and the six-speed auto is too slow and ponderous.

Yet, with some encouragement, these engines and transmissions can propel the small car quite capably.

In fact, the car is so nicely set up I'm sure it could take a lot more engine.

And here is where the essence of good motoring comes in. The whole time you feel connected to the road with all the inertia and physical feedback sitting just right in your inner ear.

It does just what you want and expect it to do, encouraging rather than discouraging positive driving.

All the while it behaves itself with quiet and refined manners.

Outside, this Korean-made car doesn't look remarkable.

But then it's not as boring as some of the German sedans on the market, either.

The stylists have restrained themselves, adding minimal touches of chrome here and there.

Inside, there is an unexpected amount of quality soft-touch plastics and cloth in the trim and upholstery.

The cockpit is a pleasant place to be with full seat and steering adjustability to get the right fit for any size driver.

All controls and instruments fall neatly to hand and are so easy to operate you won't need to consult the owner's manual.

The dashboard and console surfaces also look neat and easy to keep clean.

But the interior isn't boring, either. The steering wheel is small and sport, the instruments have a beautiful blue illumination you would expect in a luxury European car and the three-pod instrument binnacle is reminiscent of a superbike.

My only complaint was that my elbow kept hitting the high and non-adjustable centre console armrest when operating the manual gearshift.

While the driver and front passenger get themselves positioned, the rear passengers don't take a back seat in the accommodation stakes.

There is plenty of room for three adults back there with good room all round.

This car ticks a lot of boxes when you add such practicalilties as a maximum five-star crash rating, standard electronic stability control and six airbags, a full-size spare wheel in the petrol model and sockets for your iPod.

Cruze is the sort of car that reminds us what a good car can do for you; it can put a smile on your face without putting a hole in your wallet.

No wonder it has shot to the eight best-selling car in Australia in its first full month of sales in July.

What does FORD have to do to get FOCUS mainstream attention ??????
Is the Aussie motoring buying public soo stupid ?????