You really think the Chevy is the least attractive of those choices?  The RS model is hot.

In my honest opinion all three of them are ugly inside and out. The chevy just moreso than the other two.

Man, it seems like all three will be pretty good cars and they get about the same amount of MPG. They are all pretty good looking to me. I guess the only thing that I need to do is go test drive all of them some time and see which one I like the best. I'm thinking that I may take the corolla off the list and may narrow my choice down to the cruze and optima.

Thanks though for all the replies and by all means keep replying and maybe my choice will be easier. I like having the opinions of others.

The only thing worse than Chevy is GM.... oh wait I mean Chrysler/Dodge/pile of crap.

Unless you're looking at the large trucks, GM/Chevy are horrible and continously rank shit.

Just read Consumer Reports or search reliability/repair histories. The Kia or Toyota would be far better, likely Toyota overall best.

Chevy Cruze was rated one of top 5  compcat cars last year.  On Edmunds and KBB it's ranked one of the best compact cards for it's size.  The Cruze has been extremely well received.  Same with Chevy's crossovers.

TO get a Kia over the Cruze,  would be a mistake.  Kia are affordable but ask anyone who drives/works on them that they are terrible cars.

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Small-Cars/

Buy the Chevy Cruse... buy American. Etc. Etc.

I'm driving a Hyundai i40 , but I think the Kia is also an appealing car.I know a few people who drive the the Kia Optima and they are very happy with it. I wouldn't go for the Chevy Cruse (I don't know for sure but I think the USA version is mostly made in USA) because it looks like a mix between Daewoo and Opel (both also GM) and in reality it is a mix between these and I had two test drives and the Chevy drives also like an old Daewoo. The Hyundai and Kia drive like a good Volkswagen and in European standards that's very good.

Good luck with your choice.

To say that Kia are "terrible" cars is just incorrect, now alot of their older model cars were shit but they have came along way since then. This guy is looking at making a major purchase and we still have "fanboy" opinions over a freaking car!!! The 2012 Optima rated very good amongst reviews and is highly recommended as being a great car at its price. Not to say the Cruze isnt a good car as well, but the statement about the Optima is just wrong.

Nice link... I prefer car and driver, consumer reports, etc. They are all in agreement that GM sucks in terms of reliability.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-57378179/j.d-power-ranks-the-most-dependable-used-cars/

toyota, honda, hyundai, ford fusion, mits galant, .... don't see a GM vehicle until SUV/trucks. No Kia listed and image below shows them worse... odd considering the engine and other main parts are identical. Point is, no GM. Toyota is really by far the best bet.

10 WORST build cars in 2012... http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2012/03/19/the-worst-built-cars-for-2012/
Hint... most are GM or Chrysler.

Consumer Reports most reliable.... http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/autos/1110/gallery.consumer_reports_most_reliable/index.html
Most on list are built by Toyota.

The problem with that is that you aren't comparing the cars themselves... but instead a composite average of every car made.