Until recently, most buyers of four-door non-premium compact cars in the US had the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic high in their shopping lists, and the rest followed.

Of course, the segment is a lot more competitive now and the 2017 Cruze also has to deal with the likes of the VW Jetta, Nissan Sentra, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Forte and Mazda3.

The 2017 Chevrolet Cruze has an extremely accessible base price. It costs just $17.850 to start with, though according to Kelley Blue Book editor Micah Muzio, despite plenty of strong features, you start getting less value for money the more you climb up in the range.

This is of course only in comparison with its direct rivals, so by no means is the 2017 Cruze not worthy of being shortlisted if you’re out looking for a new compact sedan that still features new-gen connectivity and safety tech.

With the base-spec model, you get a 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, good for 153 HP and 177 lb-ft (240 Nm) of torque. You also get a 6-speed manual transmission, 15″ wheels, 7-inch MyLink system with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android, OnStar with 4G LTE & built-in Wi-Fi hotspot.

However, if you don’t mind spending a little more for the LT trim ($21,000), you’ll get to enjoy 16″ alloys, 6-speaker audio system, cruise control and steering wheel-mounted audio & phone controls.

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