Remixed ’24 Chevy Trax thinks outside breadbox
Chevrolet blazed the trail to subcompact SUVS a few years back with the wee Trax. It was an affordable, utilitarian breadbox.
You know, an appliance. Not anymore.
For Act Two, Trax is still affordable, still utilitarian. But the breadbox has been transformed into a bronze sculpture. Call it a miniblazer. Ogle my loaded $27,080 Nitro Yellow Metallic Activ model trimmed in black with scalloped rocker panels, dual digital screens, wireless Android Auto and the face of a 2018 Camaro (the good lookin’ one).
Check that; Trax is better looking than a Blazer. Can we have an SS model, please? With its lower, leaner, wider stance, the small SUV better wears Blazer’s slinky lines. Think old hatchback favorites like the Ford Focus and Chevy Cruze. Did
I say small? Trax’s interior is palatial compared to the last model, with three more inches of rear legroom and a whopping seven more cubic-feet of cargo room thanks to a bod stretched 11 inches.
The same week I tested Trax here in Asheville, Chevy announced it was pulling the plug on production of its $27,495 Bolt EV at Orion Assembly, to be replaced by $50K Chevy Silverado EV production.
I liked the Bolt EV, but Trax is a better all-around vehicle. My favorite, the $25K front-wheeldrive Trax Activ, mirrors the FWD Bolt’s wireless connectivity, digital displays and roomy interior. Then it loads on gas-fired practicality.
Trax is hardly immune from the nanny state. As EPA forces the industry to go EV, it’s shrinking engine displacement by strangling internal-combustion
engine emissions. Trax drops a cylinder — to three — from the previous-gen, yet somehow manages to squeeze out 167 poundfeet of torque for a better, 8.6-second zero to 60 mph time.
Compared with the doggy four-banger in Honda’s competing HR-V, Chevy’s three-banger was a spry companion as we danced through the twisties of North Carolina. My journey took me to Chimney Rock.
This isn’t Trax territory. Not even my favorite-handling small SUV, the Mazda CX-30, would be comfortable at Chimney Rock — a reminder that subcompact segment buyers are looking for utility and tech first.
It’s in those attributes that the stylish Trax really
makes its mark. Let the CX-30 compete with the BMW X2 for the SUV hillclimb record; Trax beats it in interior utility.
Generation Smartphone will be agog over the dual screens in my Activ tester that house big digital displays. I paired my ’Droid and navigated the Blue Ridge Mountains wirelessly on Google Maps. The Activ model options a front-console wireless phone charger, so your phone battery doesn’t drain while navigating.
The overall interior experience is pleasant, from comfortable seats up front to leg-sprawling room in back to thoughtful ergonomic touches around the cabin. Round, colorful A-pillar vents are another nod to Blazer/camaro, and the dash is nicely sculpted for an upscale appearance. In addition to GM’S usual useful knobs and controls, the cabin is littered with storage cubbies for those of us who live in our cars.
The base $21,495 Trax comes with an analog instrument display and standard safety stuff like lane-keep assist, rear-park assist and auto headlights.
Trax is a modern marvel, showcasing technology that a decade ago could only be found on luxury chariots.