THE Cruze has a classic small hatchback city-car mechanical layout, with the engine laid out transversely in the engine bay, driving the front wheels via a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox. But when the going gets slippery and the front wheels start sliding around, a viscous coupling kicks in to transfer drive to the rear wheels. It is a similar system to Honda's CR-V and is for light duty off-road work only.