What's It Like to Drive?
We got to spend some time in a Canadian-market Trax that Chevrolet brought down from Ontario, driving it along the back roads of upstate New York, not too far from Monticello Motor Park. The Trax we drove was outfitted in midrange LT trim coupled with all-wheel drive, which meant cloth, manually adjustable seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, 16-inch aluminum wheels and cruise control, in addition to some minor goodies like a rear cargo mat, a six-speaker audio system and an infotainment system with SiriusXM radio.
Driving the Trax, there was virtually no hint that we were behind the wheel of an all-wheel-drive car. The chassis felt zippy, and the Trax swallowed up imperfections in the road with uncommon poise. The steering stayed straight and refused to get into a tug of war with the driver when going over a serious potholes. Since we managed to find a few terrible B-roads just to see how the Trax would do, we were pleasantly surprised that the suspension declined the invitation to get flustered and transfer its unpleasantness into the cabin when traveling over a long series of bumps.
The Trax also comported itself well in turns, much better than we would have expected from the rather short (100.6-inch wheelbase) and tall compact SUV. So no, this isn't the Tracker that your college roommate had 15 years ago. The Trax we drove felt ready for emergency maneuvers, and it never felt like it was close to getting out of control even when making some rather tight turns on wet roads.
Tall SUVs that are short in length have historically suffered from a hit parade of handling issues, and we were pleasantly surprised to find most of them absent in the Trax. Even though the soft suspension was nicely muted, the Trax never felt especially floaty or wobbly at speed.
The 138 hp from the 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-four never gave any indication that it needed to work hard, and the six-speed automatic felt nicely geared. On paper, the weight and power characteristics might suggest the Trax would always be a step behind everything else on the road, but this never materialized and the trucklet more than held its own. Driven within reason, its power should prove adequate.
A nice architectural element proved to be the thin, forward-placed A-pillars and front door quarter windows, which did a good job of preventing the blind spots one sometimes encounters in SUVs and minivans at intersections and pedestrian crossing zones. The cab-forward layout also served to create an impression of a bit more interior space.
Rear seat space was comparable to a Chevrolet Cruze in terms of room and comfort, which is adequate for a compact SUV with these exterior dimensions. The only low points were a few hard plastics here and there, especially around the shiftgate, though perhaps this sort of thing is to be expected from a no-frills mini SUV.