THE Cruze is based very much on the Suzuki Ignis five-door hatchback and if you park them side-by-side it's not hard to see the resemblance. But Holden has a deep interest in the restyle wrought on the Ignis, because it was commissioned by parent General Motors back in mid-1999 to come up with an Ignis-based sport utility concept which was shown at the Tokyo show late that year as the Chevrolet YGM1. That car translated into the Cruze - which incidentally is sold as a Chev in Japan. The production car remains as faithful to YGM1 as possible, although eschewing the 17-inch alloy wheels and red-on-black leather interior. Big headlights still wrap back across the hood, echoing recent Opel design thems, while the trapezoidal grille with central bar is an emerging Holden trend. There's still flared fenders albeit less dramatic, but they now have black extensions and sit over 15-inch alloy wheels. There's also lower body mouldings and roof rails to accentuate the cross-over look. At the rear there are distinctive high-mounted wrap-around tail-lights, double brake lights set into the chunky bumper and a roof spoiler. The overall effect is positive - a combination of cute and sort of tough.