Chevy’s Redesigned Trax – CAN’T STOP BELIEVING

Chevy’s Redesigned Trax

CAN’T STOP BELIEVING

As a brand, Chevrolet is as historically mainstream as Dinah Shore or Pat Boone. While, in my lifetime, the company has introduced some notable outliers – I’m thinking Corvair, Vega and the still-in-production Corvette – the main narrative has been completely conventional passenger cars for Chevy’s oh-so-conventional customers. As with most domestic lineups, sedans are gone, SUVs predominate, and Chevy’s trucks just keep getting bigger. But there remains an outlier beyond the over-the-top ‘Vette. It’s called the Trax, and it’s worth a look…hell, it might be worth a credit app!

The current Trax is Chevrolet’s second iteration of the Korean-built model. The first, a diminutive subcompact crossover looking as if it had been drawn by the design division of StubHub, was perfect for parallel parking in Manhattan, less-than-ideal for anything else. This second generation debuted in the U.S. – as a 2024 model – in the second quarter of 2023. And its footprint, along with design and refinement, is considerably more mature. Notably, not only is it longer and wider (which domestic OEMs do incredibly well…), it’s also lower, taking on a visual vibe closer to a wagon than conventional crossover. It’s a maturation I’m a fan of…and notably, has aged more gracefully than the aforementioned Pat Boone.

Inside, interior plastics won’t be confused with Audi’s, but then, neither are they vomit-inducing. Our Activ trim (like the model name, it’s also misspelled…) offered reasonably supportive buckets covered in what GM calls an Evotex seating material; we can call it vinyl. Seating surfaces are perforated, and with June temps reasonably elevated the seats, in combination with the A/C, kept things comfortable. In the Activ trim the front buckets are heated, and when June becomes January we’ll take the win.

Regarded by Chevy as a 5-passenger cabin, the front buckets offer real shoulder and headroom (even with the Activ’s available sunroof), while the 106 inches of wheelbase allow for generous legroom in the rear. If – as I’ll assume – young families are the target audiences, toddlers can age in place, and the baby seats, requiring more space than toddlers, should fit easily. And once that baby carrier is in place there’s enough room to hoist the kid without having to decapitate the kid to do so!

If not carrying family or friends, the rear seats fold easily to better accommodate stuff. My Ritchey cross bike was an easy fit, and if for some reason it hadn’t been, the roof rails will easily accommodate a bike rack, while (it should be remembered) your garage probably won’t. Take the bike off the rack before entering those environments with low overheads. Please.

Under the hood is perhaps the small Chevy’s one disconnect with your 4-wheeled destiny. Its 1.2 liter turbocharged triple is probably just the thing for getting to know Seoul, but may prove less capable in San Antonio. I’d describe its 137 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque as adequate. Merging onto LA’s 405 was a breeze (I simply nailed the sucker!), but response between 10 and 40 miles per hour seems a tad tepid. Its 6-speed automatic feels better connected than the ubiquitous CVT in this segment, and it drives only the front wheels. All of this you’ll get used to, while remembering the Trax requires only $25K (or so) of investment, not the more typical $35K…or $45K. 

Chevy makes the Trax available in five trims, running from the base RS at roughly $22K to the test Activ, which came in – with sunroof, a ‘driver confidence package’ and destination – at roughly $27K. Within those five trims is a 1RS and 2RS. 

Back in the day RS meant Rally Sport, and would typically include some performance enhancements along with cosmetic tweaks. Today it’s only cosmetic, and if given a 3RS that would – and should – change. While not sure more horsepower would be on the table, if I was on the Chevy product team I’d attempt to recapture some of the ‘60s and ‘70s rally vibe seen in Saabs and Volvos of the era. A lowered suspension would connect you better to the road, while wider rims and a taller section height would better navigate what our municipalities call infrastructure. Give the dash real gauges, the hood some of-the-era graphics, and keep the price point comfortably under $30K. If could be the 4-door Miata, for those that will inevitably outgrow their 2-door Miatas. 

Years ago, retired racer John Fitch made a nice living modifying Corvairs for those wanting a bit of both flair and functionality for not much money. Fitch called it the Corvair Sprint, and while I don’t think Chevy will bring back ‘Corvair’, a Trax Sprint would be fun…and ‘Sprint’ reads better than ‘3RS’.