The Surprisingly Nice 2024 Chevrolet Trax Is $21,495 Of Fundamental Goodness

2197 Views 48 Replies 19 Participants Last post by 6cylinder, 4 d ago

AWHoden

Discussion Starter · 13 d ago

"When was the last time a marque launched a regular-ass car? Not to be confused with a regular ass-car (any BMW sedan prior to Chris Bangle), a regular-ass car eschews premium aspirations for affordability. Sure, a soft-touch interior for a soft-touch life sounds brilliant, but only until you remember that the average American can maybe cough up twenty dollars as a down payment. The 2024 Chevrolet Trax is a regular-ass car, and it’s about to be absolutely everywhere."- The Autopian

Good, slightly tongue-in-cheek review that seems honest. I predict that this thing will be a game changer for the affordable car market.

Reactions: 5

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kool1

· #2 · 13 d ago (Edited)

Trax is a relative bargain in a world of overpriced trucks and EVs. Way nicer looking than the Trailblazer.

My daughter is looking at one to replace her Cruise.

Reactions: 5

1958carnut

· #3 · 13 d ago (Edited)

[Full disclosure: Chevrolet flew me out to Asheville on a series of interesting regional jets and put me up in a room that felt like wealth and sadness at a hotel that used Tesla Model S courtesy cars with some of the most curbed alloys I’ve ever seen in my life. The automaker also offered far too much food for me to possibly eat. Maybe I’m just not used to American portion sizing? Oh, and I got to talk with engineers, marketers, and designers. -TH]

With an already decent product out, it sounds like they were buying(Bribery

) a good review as well j/k lol.

buildacariwant

· #4 · 13 d ago

kool1 said:
Trax is a relative bargain in a world of overpriced trucks and EVs. Way nicer looking than the Trailblazer.

my uncle just bought a red trailblazer rs, I think it looks good 🤷‍♂️

he's 6ft 5in and actually fits in it nicely. big upgrade from his malibu.

Reactions: 4

Robert1969

· #5 · 13 d ago

Great job, Chevrolet!

Reactions: 1

6cylinder

· #6 · 12 d ago

buildacariwant said:
my uncle just bought a red trailblazer rs, I think it looks good 🤷‍♂️

he's 6ft 5in and actually fits in it nicely. big upgrade from his malibu.

New small vehicles aren't so small now. It's odd the fwd Trailblazer isn't lower priced. Trax rear discs are overkill. Trax would be a nice spot to use an n/a e-assist 4. I recall the recent base Lacrosse had relatively good rated mpg.

dannyg

· #7 · 12 d ago

6cylinder said:
New small vehicles aren't so small now. It's odd the fwd Trailblazer isn't lower priced. Trax rear discs are overkill. Trax would be a nice spot to use an n/a e-assist 4. I recall the recent base Lacrosse had relatively good rated mpg.

Yes the Trax would get excellent MPG if it had a hybrid, any kind of hybrid. GM could have used the $$ they're spending on the new 2.5T developing such a thing but it ain't happening. Is the 3.6L V6 really so bad for Traverse, Blazer, etc? Will the new 2.5T be a lot cheaper to produce than the 3.6L even with the turbo? Not sure.

Reactions: 1

1999 White C5 Coupe

· #8 · 12 d ago

AWHoden said:
"When was the last time a marque launched a regular-ass car? Not to be confused with a regular ass-car (any BMW sedan prior to Chris Bangle), a regular-ass car eschews premium aspirations for affordability. Sure, a soft-touch interior for a soft-touch life sounds brilliant, but only until you remember that the average American can maybe cough up twenty dollars as a down payment. The 2024 Chevrolet Trax is a regular-ass car, and it’s about to be absolutely everywhere."- The Autopian

Good, slightly tongue-in-cheek review that seems honest. I predict that this thing will be a game changer for the affordable car market.

Another snowflake that can’t write an article without profanity.

Reactions: 3

BlackGTP

· #9 · 12 d ago

Quite a glowing writeup and no dwelling on "hard plastics" as if this is a $100k vehicle.

Good looking vehicle and priced very competitively - hopefully GM has a winner! After all these decades it's nice to read a really positive review on an entry level GM vs. getting picked apart.

Reactions: 5

6cylinder

· #10 · 12 d ago (Edited)

dannyg said:
Yes the Trax would get excellent MPG if it had a hybrid, any kind of hybrid. GM could have used the $$ they're spending on the new 2.5T developing such a thing but it ain't happening. Is the 3.6L V6 really so bad for Traverse, Blazer, etc? Will the new 2.5T be a lot cheaper to produce than the 3.6L even with the turbo? Not sure.

The 3.6 is one of those things they eventually, eventually got bugs worked out of. How the stylish minivan/cuv drivers will see a 2.5 turbo 4 versus the 3.6 matters greatly. If it were me, I'd skip both, go high value motors in anything but Caddy.

The Trax will do well without being a massive hit.

gkr778

· #11 · 12 d ago

1958carnut said:
With an already decent product out, it sounds like they were buying(Bribery ) a good review as well j/k lol.

It's standard operating procedure for automakers to cover the cost of travel, accommodations, and meals for journalists to attend media events like the one GM held in Asheville for 2024 Chevy Trax. Journalists with any scruples will not modify the content of their vehicle reviews based on receiving such benefits.

Some media organizations such as Cars.com and Consumer Reports refuse "free" travel, accommodations, and meals as a matter of policy.

AWHoden

Discussion Starter · #12 · 12 d ago

1999 White C5 Coupe said:
Another snowflake that can’t write an article without profanity.

Snowflake? Profanity? Oh c'mon.....it was humor, a jab at BMW, snowflake is a pejorative best suited for political discussions. I didn't read any sort of meltdown in this, why ya gotta go an bring that dirt in here, I just steamed the rug!

Reactions: 1

eaton53

· #13 · 12 d ago (Edited)

Black-only interiors = deal breaker.
How hard is it to offer more than one color of seat??
Buick Envista to the rescue!! It's still cheap!

6cylinder said:
New small vehicles aren't so small now.

Yeah, I pointed that out in the Envista thread.
It's almost the same size as a Merkur Scorpio, which was an executive car in '80's.
It's within a couple of inches in every direction. I'm guessing this is, too.

hiluxxulih

· #14 · 12 d ago

Why no AWD or 4x4?

Reactions: 1

gkr778

· #15 · 12 d ago

eaton53 said:
Black-only interiors = deal breaker.
How hard is it to offer more than one color of seat??

2024 Chevy Trax 1RS offers contrasting color scheme for the seats (light gray-black):

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Reactions: 2

gkr778

· #16 · 12 d ago

hiluxxulih said:
Why no AWD or 4x4?

GM marketing dweebs are positioning 2024 Trax as a replacement for previous B and C-segment passenger cars like Sonic and Cruze in the U.S. market. Trailblazer, which does offer AWD, is marketed as the more "SUV like" entry from Chevy in the subcompact crossover segment.

Reactions: 1

Greg Burr

· #17 · 12 d ago

gkr778 said:
GM marketing dweebs are positioning 2024 Trax as a replacement for previous B and C-segment passenger cars like Sonic and Cruze in the U.S. market. Trailblazer, which does offer AWD, is marketed as the more "SUV like" entry from Chevy in the subcompact crossover segment.

Maybe this is the only way they are hitting the desired price point. Maybe the take rate on AWD is too low

Reactions: 2

tnmats

· #18 · 12 d ago

I've had plenty of cars with hard plastics in the interior. If the finish and look is like in my 2005 Mazda3 or a 2010 Equinox my wife had I'm OK with it. Both vehicles had very low to no-sheen plastic on the dash and consolde, both also had nice textures to the those surfaces.

Soft touch is nice but if hard plastics saves some coin and still looks good I say "who cares, bring it on".

Reactions: 5

AWHoden

Discussion Starter · #19 · 12 d ago

eaton53 said:
Black-only interiors = deal breaker.
How hard is it to offer more than one color of seat??
Buick Envista to the rescue!! It's still cheap!

Yeah, I pointed that out in the Envista thread.
It's almost the same size as a Merkur Scorpio, which was an executive car in '80's.
It's within a couple of inches in every direction. I'm guessing this is, too.

There are gray seats, too.

AWHoden

Discussion Starter · #20 · 12 d ago

hiluxxulih said:
Why no AWD or 4x4?

This has been mentioned many times, but it's to keep the costs and sticker price down so more people can afford it. We've been complaining about the dearth of low-priced, entry level vehicles for years, bemoaning the rising cost of cars in general, and then, when someone creates an entry-level car, we wonder why all the bells and whistles aren't included at that low, low price. Think of it like Jenny Craig: you can have your cake or you can eat it, not both.

It's more of a wagon, don't let the crossover/SUV marketing fool you. Not everyone wants or needs AWD, especially in this category. Several other manufacturers have entry-level, inexpensive, FWD-only crossovers, GM is joining the fray with the Trax/Envista step-siblings. The Trax is replacing the Sonic/Cruze. If it was called something else, no one would have cared that it is FWD-only, but since it carries on the name of the previous AWD vehicle, it seems to matter to some. I get it. For the 3 or 4 times a year when the roads are nasty, I refuse to pay the extra up-front cost and year round weight/fuel economy penalty of AWD.

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