2017 Holden Cruze rendered

The next-generation 2017 Holden Cruze has been rendered in a speculative image, giving an early indication of what the new sedan will look like when it hits our showrooms next year.

First revealed in Chevrolet guise in June last year, the new Cruze sedan will be sold alongside the new European-sourced Astra hatch – replacing the previous-generation Cruze hatch and sedan that were produced in Australia until earlier this month.

This latest rendering by independent Dutch artist, Remco Meulendijk, is based on a prototype he spied in Germany.

Above: 2016 Chevrolet Cruze

Interestingly, the pre-production Cruze Meulendijk spotted was a right-hand drive vehicle wearing an Opel grille as opposed to Chevrolet’s “dual port” design.

According to the artist, Opel would normally start testing with a left-hand drive model as opposed to using a right-hook vehicle – which are normally sourced from Vauxhall.

Meulendijk’s interpretation brings the Cruze in line with the new Astra, following the designs of GM’s European models as opposed to the Chevrolet’s range – which are generally sourced from South Korea, though the new Cruze is currently produced in the US and China.

The US-market Cruze is powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 113kW of power and 240Nm of torque. GM claims a 0-100km/h of around 8.0 seconds.

Other than the substantial exterior refresh, the new Cruze gains numerous interior and safety upgrades including the new 7.0-inch and 8.0-inch MyLink infotainment systems with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, a new 4.2-inch driver’s instrument display, along with 10 airbags (dual front, dual front knee, front side, rear side and curtain), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist and forward collision mitigation.

Late last year, Holden confirmed the Cruze for the Australian market, with the new sedan expected to launch sometime in early 2017.

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