The Cruze saloon is the weapon Chevrolet badly needed to firmly establish the brand’s credentials in the UK.

After the firm took over Korean car maker Daewoo, its marketing push from 2005 onwards involved the worthy, but unexciting, former Daewoo Matiz, Kalos, Lacetti and Tacuma models.

Two years ago, Chevrolet raised its game with the launch of the Captiva 4x4 but now, following the launch of the Epica and Aveo, the Cruze has been unleashed as Chevrolet's value-for-money big gun. Priced from about £12,000, the standard model comes with air conditioning and an electronic stability programme as standard.

Also standard are strikingly strong, dynamic looks, which are a world away from the timid styling of the former Daewoo range.

The confident Cruze pitches into battle against some of the most competitively-priced and well-built models in their class, like the Kia cee’d, Hyundai i30 and Skoda Octavia.

It also has the added tough task of being a ‘world’ model, because as well as going on sale in Western Europe, it will also appear in showrooms across Eastern Europe, Russia, the USA, Australia, India and parts of the Middle East.

That could have spelt trouble, as conflicting demands from different regions can lead to compromises that potentially make for a please-nobody car. Thankfully that has not been the case with the Cruze, which has levels of ride, handling and interior trim that make this coupé-styled, four-door, five-seater a must-see.

The interior package is crisply laid out with high-quality fabric, soft-touch plastics, and ice-blue backlit instrumentation. The style is backed up by a safety package, that includes side curtain airbags in the roof rails, seat-mounted side airbags and driver and passenger airbags.

Company car buyers, in particular, are bound to be in the queue for a Cruze test drive, as the car’s list prices, on which company car tax is calculated, mean that the Cruze will be as cheap to run as many superminis, or more basic compact cars.

The attraction is even more marked when you move up the range, to models like the top-of-the-range LT-trimmed car, which delivers a spacious, well-equipped car for the price of something far smaller.

Slot in the powerful, but fuel-efficient 2.0-litre VCDi diesel engine and you have a seriously competitive package. Other engine choices are a 1.6 and 1.8-litre petrol, with a new six-speed automatic transmission offered as an option. With such a confident new package, Chevrolet certainly shows no lack of ambition, with plans to launch no fewer than eight further new models by 2012.

Auto facts Chevrolet Cruze 2.0 VCDi LT

Price: £15,445

Fuel consumption (combined): 50.4mpg

Top speed: 130mph

Length: 459.7cm/180.9in

Width: 178.8cm/ 70.4in

Luggage space: 15.9 cu ft

Fuel tank capacity: 13.2 gallons/60 litres

CO2 emissions: 149g/km

Warranty: 3 years/60,000 miles