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.

 

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.

 

[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.

 

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.

 

Great job, Chevrolet!

 

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!

 

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.

 

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.

 

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".

 

"Open a rear door and you’ll find that the Trax has a completely flat rear floor, thanks in part to being front-wheel-drive only. When you just have to run an exhaust pipe the diameter of a falafel and some tiny brake lines from ahead of the driver to behind the rear seats, a flat floor becomes a no-brainer."

Hate to point it out to the author of that article, but the Equinox and Blazer have a flat rear floor and can be had with AWD. Just saying.

 

I'd still like to know what GM's excuse is for not putting the engine from the Chinese Seeker, which is their version of this car, into the new Trax in America. That engines has more horsepower and gets better fuel economy. I hope it will an option in a year or two.

Almost every review I've seen of the Trax has been practically glowing. I'm happy to see that GM finally made a small car that's being so well received. It's the best looking small car on the market. The looks alone will get people's attention who are looking for a small car.

The name Trax has a somewhat negative association to it. I wonder if it would have been better if GM named this the new Cruze instead.

 

I'd still like to know what GM's excuse is for not putting the engine from the Chinese Seeker, which is their version of this car, into the new Trax in America. That engines has more horsepower and gets better fuel economy. I hope it will an option in a year or two.

Emissions.

 

They should sell a ton of these and rightfully so. Looks great inside and out.

Too bad it doesn’t offer AWD.

 

I’ve strongly considered a Trailblazer or Trax for my daughter but I have reservations about the longevity and durability of a 3-cylinder.
I’m thinking an Equinox or Terrain would be better in the long run for her.

 

Hare to say this but the RAV 4 has a normally aspirated engine that is bullet proof. I keep reading about the headaches with the Ford Eco Boost

 

That makes it more a waste. Econo cars don't break cranks and rods.

 

Why is increasing engine longevity a waste?

 

I'd still take the American displacement. I've seen enough too small or high strung, engines burning oil, and getting worse real world economy than the larger motor.

That said, I think the Trax will sell well enough. Some are over defensive with it.

 

I'd still take the American displacement. I've seen enough too small or high strung, engines burning oil, and getting worse real world economy than the larger motor.

That said, I think the Trax will sell well enough. Some are over defensive with it.

It's over 100hp per liter, if it were a V8 we'd be losing our minds in the OTHER way.

 

Feel free to lose your mind. But it's supposed to be a value/economy car.

 

I'm not losing my mind, I'm commenting on how some people are crying that it's underpowered, it's only 3 cylinders, the engine lacks displacement, yadayadayada. At 114hp per liter, it's rather good.

I KNOW it's supposed to be a value/economy car and I don't care that it's a 1.2L 3-cylinder. Actually, I take that back, I want one BECAUSE it's a 1.2L 3-cylinder. My other choice was a Nissan Rogue but that variable compression "too many moving parts" tech worries me a bit and I don't like CVT's.

Can't have it outperforming its bigger brother the Trailblazer so of course they put the cheaper to make 1.2L in it instead of the 155-hp 1.3L. The 1.5L they use in China/South Korea is capable of getting the car to 60 in 7.9 seconds which is only 0.6 seconds to 1.0 second faster (depending on where you look), so it's not really worth the added expense for the buyer to have that engine choice. For an entry level affordable car I think it's perfect. The roominess, tech, safety features and premium features (the big touch screen, the heated seats and steering wheel) will sell this car. At this price, no one is really looking at 0-60 times or thinking of doing dyno runs.

 

I would guess the Chinese-spec engine also isn't rated for US emissions.

 

For the first time I drove a 3 cylinder 1.3L in a Trailblazer a few days ago. My wife and I were both impressed with the NVH of the engine and drivetrain. It was a smooth application of adequate power. I'm a bit more open now to getting a Trailblazer for my daughter this Fall/Winter.

 

I'm going to test drive a Trax this weekend, I imagine the NVH is similar to the Trailblazer, was the one you drove a CVT or the 9-speed automatic? I don't care for CVT's so I'm glad the Trax has a normal automatic transmission.

For an entry level vehicle, I think it's fine. I don't understand our obsession with more power, lower 0-60 times and snap-your-neck torque delivery. We don't need EVERY car to be a rip snorting performance car. Would we really rather put our kids in a car with a lot of power as their first car? No. Those that say a car is dangerous because it doesn't have enough power probably shouldn't be driving if the only thing keeping them (and us) safe is mo'power. lol

 

I was implying some people want awd.
I know the Mini Cooper. Disappointing real world mpg. Geared tall, so it's the engine.
Trailblazer and Trax are sibling vehicles. Awd and 3 engine/trans combo choices exist already. Questionable choices.
Auto mfg's aren't afraid to price options to pay for themselves.
Trax will do okay because of styling and space usefulness for price.
-Prediction: it won't be a strong draw for the Sonic and Cruze people.
Chevy doesn't now have a better body for mpg, counting Malibu as too big.
Are you "Ed"-ing me now? ...Really?

 

I get what you're saying, but I just don't see the "no AWD" as an issue as several other companies offer similar "FWD-only" crossovers with no problem selling them. I also don't think 38mpg is disappointing fuel economy for a sporty hatchback. I don't know what "Ed"-ing means. Trax will be Chevy's third best selling vehicle, quite a few will be Cruze owners. There's already a Sonic owner on here that is interested in the Trax.

 

You’d hope the later MINIs are majorly improved, because those earlier models were crap.

 

BMW/Mini sell it as a lux-sport small hatch where it's not bad. I see it through an economy car lense.

"Ed"-ing: ... the dearly departed... read BANNED Ed753 is what I'm guessing lol.

That was the reference. Disagreements are still important even if frustrating.
Hopefully the new Trax will not miss retrenchment buys from Equinox drivers; moreso than being a Cruze replacement. The remaining ones in that whole segment might be underwater toward c.a.f.e. averages, but still available.

I did get to see a Trax this weekend. Looks really, really good The interior really does look much nicer in person than what the reviews say (I don't know why they're infatuated with stroking their door panels/dash tops....I usually just DRIVE my cars LOL). It gives a "lifted Cruze hatchback" vibe in person, which is why I think it will attract Cruze owners. Fit and finish was really, really good....better than some cars costing twice as much. Nice smooth paint, no orange peel, tight panel gaps and a good solid thunk to the doors when you close them. I think the sticker was $23,990.
View attachment 69859 View attachment 69860 View attachment 69861 View attachment 69862



I will be ordering mine as an Activ trim in Harvest Bronze metallic with the black/Artemis interior, sunroof/wireless charging package ($895), driver confidence package ($650) and active grill shutters/block heater ($125) for an out-the-door price of $26,665.
View attachment 69863

How's the seating height versus the Trailblazer? Curb-side egress may be one reason TB fits a city-car(or light truck) role better.

Congrats on the choice.

 

I did get to see a Trax this weekend. Looks really, really good The interior really does look much nicer in person than what the reviews say (I don't know why they're infatuated with stroking their door panels/dash tops....I usually just DRIVE my cars LOL). It gives a "lifted Cruze hatchback" vibe in person, which is why I think it will attract Cruze owners. Fit and finish was really, really good....better than some cars costing twice as much. Nice smooth paint, no orange peel, tight panel gaps and a good solid thunk to the doors when you close them. I think the sticker was $23,990.

I will be ordering mine as an Activ trim in Harvest Bronze metallic with the black/Artemis interior, sunroof/wireless charging package ($895), driver confidence package ($650) and active grill shutters/block heater ($125) for an out-the-door price of $26,665.

 

That's the thing with these too. You can get a fairly well equipped one in the top couple of trims with pretty much the full safety suite and "fake" leather for a really decent price if you're willing to forego AWD. Love that color.

 

Oh, another thing to check South Korean/Chinese eBay for.....their Trax get LED three-color taillights and power rear hatch. The Envista gets LED taillights and power hatch, though.

You can tell by the size of the struts they're the power ones.

 

Oh, another thing to check South Korean/Chinese eBay for.....their Trax get LED three-color taillights and power rear hatch. The Envista gets LED taillights and power hatch, though.

View attachment 69872



View attachment 69873

You can tell by the size of the struts they're the power ones.

Well some of this does come into play here that gm was trying to keep it "entry level cheap" over here in the US. Maybe after a season or two it will need perked up and we'll see some of these other niceties here as well.

 

If you’re shopping in this segment, no reason I can see not to get a hatch.

 

The TFL guys do some light offroading with the Trax...pretty impressive!

 

I watched this last night, it did good for a FWD vehicle. The ground clearance helped a lot, but he also said the traction control helped. He also stated, as a Colorado resident, that he'd rather have a FWD with snow tires than an AWD with all-season tires because there's more to winter driving than forward momentum, you need to be able to turn and stop as well. I've been driving for nearly 40 years and I've never needed AWD here (not saying it's unnecessary for everyone, I just haven't needed it), I even drove my Chevette in winter when we used to get real amounts of snow, but lately we don't get a lot of snow just bitter cold. FWD only is not an issue for me. If it's that bad out, I just stay home. Let the idiots with "I can go fast when the road is covered with snow" do their thing, I'll wave to them the next morning when I drive to work on a plowed road and their SUV is upside down in the ditch because Four-Wheel Go does NOT equal Four-Wheel Turn or Four-Wheel Stop. It never fails that after a snow storm there are all kinds of AWD vehicles in the ditches here....also FWD because they aren't immune to bad weather either, but it seems there are more SUV's in the ditches than, say, Toyota Camry's or Chevy Cruzes. I chalk it up to driver arrogance more than vehicle ability. Another reason I just stay home or go in late when it gets nasty. I'll let the idjits do their thing without me.

 

Alright, bringing this thread back from the brink.....
I just ordered my Trax! I haven't gone to the dealer yet but he emailed and said the order went through. Cacti green Activ with artemis interior trim (bronze)I don't know how long the process takes from ordering to delivery so this will be fun for my impatience.

 

Hey congrats! Activ in the green color niiiiiice. I checked that color I don't see it available at dealers yet, glad you can at least order it. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the Trax to come in!

 

Just hit production code 3300 yesterday (August 9) so it's getting closer! Should have it in a month according to the dealer.

 

It took four months for a work associate's new Trailblazer to arrive after being ordered then built and finally shipped. Best wishes on a speedy arrival.

 

I'm actually seeing a sweet spot for this thing...
For $26K you get:
Harvest Bronze LT w/both Convenience Packages (Adaptive Cruise and Heated Everything)
Sunroof, Black Bowties, Splash Guards and a Front License Plate Bracket.
I don't really care about leather... I've had heated cloth and it's nice.

That's pretty much everything I'd want... not too shabby.

 

Not bad. I almost went with the Harvest Bronze, but I just became infatuated with the Cacti Green. That's essentially what I paid for my Activ, standard black bowties though. Activ's come with the Evotex non-cattle substitute but I don't mind, just didn't want the big chrome/black 'X' on the front, I like the grille on the Activ better.