NOBODY knows better than Holden that its original Australian-made Cruze small-car launched in March 2011 had some rough edges.

Thankfully, the company has devoted its engineering expertise to smoothing out some of the dynamic shortcomings as part of a mid-life upgrade.

At the same time – beset on all sides by importers bent on undercutting them on price with help from the strong Australian dollar – the company has slashed pricing across the range, undercutting the entry cost of all major rivals.

The icing on the cake is a shiny new touchscreen interface on all variants and the addition of a punchy 1.6-litre turbo engine borrowed from the Opel Astra under the hood of the new SRi and SRi-V flagships.

After a first drive in Tasmania this week, our opinion of the locally made staple has grown immensely. This is now more than just the patriotic choice, it is instead a genuinely competitive offering against the best the class can muster.

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