Downshift combined with steady braking as needed. Doesn't matter if it's a manual or automatic. Disc brakes are really resistant to overheating.

 

If it's just a short downhill stretch (read: a few seconds), just use the brakes.

If it's a more extended downhill stretch (read: a few minutes), downshift until the car is able to go at the speed you want without you having to use the brakes. Then use the brakes to slow the car down for turns or slightly steeper slopes, and upshift if it levels out.

If it's something in-between, use your judgement.

 

perlionex said it best i believe. the only thing i add to that is personal expreince. with automatic if you shift into 1st gear it will not engage untill 12 mph and it will HURT when it does its a sudden jolt, but if u shift into first higher then 12 its perfect...

also what i was going to add was on ice and snow it is best to slowly down shift with some brakes. i used this on my hill at school its a 9% grade hill outside that i depend on the gear box slowing down when traction is questionable...aka ice, snow, mud very very loose gravel

 

You will definitely want to downshift for very long hills on dry pavement, as you could potentially overheat your brakes. Cars rarely experience brake-fade when hot like bigger trucks can when their brakes overheat, so it's mostly just to save on wear + tear, and to prevent yourself from having to smell that unique smell of smoking brake pad...:wacko:

As for braking when icy/snowy, my best advice is to start out at the top of the hill as slowly as possible, but not to shift down. Just use light and steady brake pressure to maintain your speed. Let the ABS do its job if you start to slide. Just hold the brakes down and keep it there (don't pump the brakes). The ABS allows you to steer even during a slide.
My reasoning for this is as follows: if you are using your transmission/engine compression to maintain your speed, the front two tires are all that's holding you at that speed. If the traction gets bad enough where they start to slip, you have almost no steering control, and worse, no ABS system to help you keep yourself on course becuase the ABS system is now not able to allow the front tires to spin as designed. You would have to shift up to regain traction in your front tires (which takes time) and then use the brakes. All spoken from first-hand experience.
Oh, and the ABS and Stabilitrak systems work well in the Cruzes! I tried them out in our first snow storm!
Hope this helps

 

okay i can agree with that haha. i have had personal experience in deep snow with the cruze and used the transmission to slow down and it worked well, i did use the brakes as well and did not just depend on the one or the other. i thought it worked well but i see what you getting at and agree with the logic.

 

In snow and ice I always downshift when needing to slow down or control my speed going downhill, but only when I can keep the resulting engine RPM below the redline/2. In the Cruze I would use 3,000 RPM as the maximum RPM in slick conditions. Other than than use your brakes. One other thing, if you brake traction, take your feet off the pedals and steer where you want to go. If you're still sliding, push the clutch in (or Automatic to Neutral) to disengage the engine from the drive wheels. This will allow the available traction from the road to be the predominate source of friction for the tires.

 

I will have to very respectfully disagree with the whole shiting into neural thing. This is something that is useful in rear-wheel drive vehicles because the primary stopping forces of the brakes are distributed to the front wheels, and if the RPMs are high enough (and sometimes even at idle) the rear wheels could actually overcome their lighter brake pressures and continue to push the car, thus making the slide worse. To me it's an extra thing to have to do during an already stressful event, and in a front-wheel drive car it has a negligible benefit if any at all. Obviously, this is in reference to an automatic transmission... With a manual transmission you would want to push in the clutch so you don't stall the engine.

 

Neutral is the best way to recover from a four wheel slide. I have used this technique a few times over the years in Colorado winter driving. Neutral is a last case when all else fails. Keeping the car in gear if possible is preferable.

 

The answer is situation dependent. Brakes are usually the way to go. I've learned that he Cruze can hold its downhill speed on at least 6% grades on the Interstate while using Cruze control. I have not used manual downshifting to slow down on hills except for a few really steep ones where I might have to hold the brake pedal down to control the speed.

 

Which trim/transmission do you have? I ask because my ECO MT has absolutely no engine braking in 5th or 6th gears. In addition, it won't hold on Colorado passes even in 3rd. I have to use a combination of downshifting and brakes to maintain speed while going down many hills.