About two years ago, then-GM North America President Mark Reuss, who is now running global product development, participated in the comment section of a story regarding the Chevrolet Equinox and why there was nothing slotting below it in Chevrolet’s U.S. lineup. He mentioned that the Equinox is a golden goose of sorts, and a smaller two-row crossover in the lineup would hurt the popular midsizer. But the automotive market remains a very fluid, ever-changing enigma, and little crossovers are becoming increasingly important in the U.S. market. To wit, estimates pin the small crossover market to swell to a volume of 177,000 units sold in the United States alone by 2016. But to really capitalize, it’s important to enter the segment early. Hence the latest business decision to turn shoulder on the Equinox, and integrate the Trax into Chevy’s native land lineup starting the 2015 model year. Finally.
Earlier today, we had a go with an orange AWD model during a rather rainy day in Upstate New York, and we’re able to share our impressions with you. Mostly, it’s good:
– Like its platform-mate, the Buick Encore, the Chevrolet Trax is deceptively spacious, with seemingly enough headroom to hold any human frame comfortably under 6’5″, but for the most part, that’s where the similarities end, for better or worse.
– The 2014 Trax utilizes the hip, minimalist instrument panel and center console designs as currently seen in the little Sonic and even smaller Spark. It’s love/hate here, because while the motorcycle-inspired IP with a brilliant blue bordering around the tachometer is enjoyable, the center console and its lack of even the most basic of buttons can be aggravating. A simple browse through XM radio channels requires more effort and attention than it rightfully should, and the Trax is not equipped with a voice command to tune to a selected radio station. That said, drivers can adjust volume and scan radio presets with steering wheel controls.
– The 1.4L turbo, found already in the Chevrolet Cruze, Sonic and Buick Encore, provides a sufficient amount of power with decent fuel economy numbers. But take note that it’s pretty damn loud and coarse at wide open throttle, though the basic paces of moving about the city streets — and this is a city car — shouldn’t be much of an issue for anybody. The engine noise is louder than that of the Encore, due to the Trax’s omission of a lot of sound deadening material and Bose Active Noise Cancellation.
– Driving the 2014 Trax is actually pretty charming. Its suspension absorbs road imperfections rather well, and its electric steering has a very predictable, linear feel to it. Thirdly, the all-wheel-drive option in the Trax represents Chevy’s smallest and most affordable AWD vehicle. As a utilitarian city car, the Trax shines, and it’s easy to see HHR and Pontiac Vibe refugees finding themselves at least testing one of these little guys.
– Interior materials aren’t much to write about. This is a pretty basic car, and its target audience has limited resources. In the sense of practicality, however, the Trax shines. It has eight different ways that the seats can be configured, and it has nearly 50 cubic feet of cargo space with the second row folded down and flat. Think of all that Ikea furniture that could fit in this subcompact. Or dorm room furnishings, for that matter.
– Safety-wise, the Trax is a class leader in total air bags, and one needs only to look at the Buick Encore to estimate how its going to do in NHTSA crash ratings.
All in all, customers should find the Trax to be a welcome addition to Chevrolet’s small car lineup in America, when it launches as a 2015 model early next year.
Comments
I still wanna new Captiva. 🙁
I was wondering what is the difference between the Captiva (readily available as a Certified Pre-Owned from GM dealers) and this offering. To the untrained eye, they look to be on the same platform (ditto for the Buick Encore).
I’m glad to see that they are wising up? and going to let the US have this too. As nice as the Encore is, the thing is a bit to pricey for me so the Chevy version is the alternative and now it is a reality 🙂
I just hope this adds sales and not rob Buick of sales. At least now I hope they give the Buick a little more power as it is ok but not great. Another 30 HP would do it. I am not looking for a race car just something that would merge onto the highway on my terms not it’s terms.
I also hope this does not effect the cheaper Nox sales. They just need to price this right and not cheap out on the model.
To be honest this may hurt the Sonic more as I would rather have one of these than a small car on the same platform. This has a little more usable room.
I really think they should update the materials before it gets here…. it is a good news however that they going to bring trax to the U.S. to compete with the HR-V though… just need to have better materials
I have an Equinox and I love it! My GM dealer sells the Captiva, Equinox, and Traverse, so a smaller SUV is an excellent addition, especially to displace the many small SUV imports from Japan, Korea, and Europe. The Trax will sell well, but it all depends if the dealers prefer to sell the larger SUVs to get a better profit margin than from a smaller SUV.
Is the new TRAX similar to the 2008+ Saturn VUE or am I engaging in “wishful” thinking? It even comes in the (Burnt) Orange as the VUE did. A dark green would do well on this car. GM has really been severely lacking in their color dept. across all brands.
The TRAX could sell well IF GM decides to put some marketing muscle behind it (read; TV ads).
It is smaller for sure! I’m at the NY International Auto Show right now and my guess is that it’s at least 6 inches shorter in overall length than the first generation Vue.
Is the 1st Gen. VUE larger than the 2nd Gen. VUE?
According to the date given in Wikipedia, the 1st generation Saturn Vue was 4.61 meters long, while the 2nd generation, which was just a twin of the current Opel/Vauxhall Antara is 4.575 meters long. See the Chevrolet Captiva Sport (NA) or Holden Captiva 5.
No. The second generation Vue (the current Chevy Captiva Sport in North America and Vauxhall Antara in the UK, is larger than the first generation Vue, particularly in terms of height and width. With those micky mouse ear side mirrors, the Captiva is a wide car, almost as wide as the Equinox.
Sorry I misunderstood you were talking about the second generation Vue to begin with.
I have wondered what the actual sales numbers have been like here in Canada. Does anyone know if sales have met GM’s forecasts? They and the Encore are so small they still look kind of funny to me when I see them. The few I have actually spoken with love their combination of utility and small size.
It seems like a good idea to bring it to the USA next year while the market is still growing.
One way that could differentiate Buick would be to give it the extra power boost it could use, using the new 1.6T. Certify it and bring it over, GM. (Also using it in the next Cruze and a high-zoot Sonic).
It was great to see Buick with a unique vehicle. Trax and Encore look too much a like.
At the same time, Chevy can accomplish volume here. The high quality of this auto will also be good for Chevy as they regain public trust.
I just wish it could be reskinned so that it would have nothing in common with Buick.
I think the side sheet metal does offer at least some differentiation in person. The Chevy has less of the shapeless, angry potato look that the Buick has. I admit I haven’t seen the Mokka in person, but I think it is the best looking, then the Trax, then the Encore.
Thanks GM Authority for an honest review. There are a lot of important words in the above article that seem to have
passed by the commenters – such as “coarse”, “sufficient”, “loud”, “basic”, “actually pretty charming”, “basic”, “simple”, “decent”, “interior parts aren’t much to write about”, “pretty basic car”, “aggravating”, “requires more effort and attention than it rightfully should”, “engine noise is ….louder…”, “dorm room furnishings”, etc, etc.
And then the article surmises – “In all customers should find Trax should be a welcome addition to Chevrolet’s small car lineup”…. LOL!
OK, what is wrong with this picture? Then the commenters seem to have not read the article as all they seem to discuss
is – ” I’m glad there is a smaller SUV than Equinox, but I hope it doesn’t hurt Buick sales”…etc.
DID ANYBODY READ THE ARTICLE?! THIS THING IS A FINE PIECE OF CR*P AND GM SHOULD BE ASHAMED AT DISHING THIS GARBAGE OUT TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Should I apologize for my somewhat strong opinion here?
I also used words like “deceptively spacious,” “charming,” “affordable,” “utilitarian,” “practicality,” “leader…”
This is a subcompact crossover for the entry market. It’s exactly what you would expect. Nobody seems to be really expecting the Trax to jump to no. 1 in the segment. At the absolute worst, the Trax will serve as a solid placeholder until the next Chevy subcompact crossover enters the market, which with next-gen GM subcompacts already IVER testing, shouldn’t be too long.
If you want a more premium experience, sample the Buick Encore.
Or ….should we celebrate hard, cheap plastic, insufficient gauges and instrumentation, poorly designed controls,
crappy gas mileage for a small vehicle and a noisey, unsophisticated powerplant with OK gas mileage for a cheap
CUV?!!
Remember, this car has to compete with the likes of RAV4 and CR-V! Wow – you have to be a biiiig BIG GM Fan to
overlook this little hot mess as being a poor effort that will flop in this very competitive market segment.
Is this a return to the GM product of the 1980s?
Chevy being in third place can’t afford to introduce anything shy of industry ..leading.
In particular, it needs to be of better quality than Ford, Honda and Toyota.
Chevy can’t present value products without quality fit & finish. The current Opel line up is more competitive against Ford and other leaders.
@ Manoli; @ Stephen –
Manoli, sure – you bet, you are a man of great taste because you own a Chevy Volt, and that makes you one
smart cookie in my book. But – we do disagree at times and that’s OK. I think justifying Trax as a placeholder
is really no justification at all. As Stephen Marcus adeptly points out, Chevy can’t put out a blah model
to try and do battle with quality competition like Escape and CR-V. People remember – and next time they’re
in the market for a vehicle to meet their family’s needs, they’re very much more than likely to remember
that GM’s choice was inferior and just go with another model from the brand that delivered for them before.
That’s one MAJOR reason GM went bankrupt before. They cannot repeat those mistakes and stay profitable.
If I were to argue on your behalf – I may choose to take a generational stance. Like, take Hyundai. In the eighties
they dished us out inferior stuff, only to rebound and give us good stuff. They saved KIA and made KIA an
attractive option for a lot of folks looking more at budget than content.
What does a formerly bankrupt auto company want to do? Double-dip in the cheap-o world? They can’t.
Lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place, and GM literally has to put out a competitive, make that –
A BETTER OPTION in every segment with innovative powerplants and better efficiency – the competition
is just too strong.
Being Canadian, my wife and I have owned a white AWD LT model since March of 2013. They are great little SUVs and is a perfect daily driver for my wife. Overall it is very comfortable and does very well on the highway. Those expressing fears on here can relax.
My only complaint is that I’d like to see a bit more power under the hood. The 1.4 Turbo is adequate around town but lacks on the highway. An extra 30 HP would have made a nice difference and would probably give better overall gas mileage. This engine is also limited in some way electronically as pressing down full throttle initiates a pause before actually accelerating. I know GM was bad with this on previous models and I’m not sure if there will be a fix coming.
I will end this by saying if they ever come out with an SS Trax with improved handling and a 200+ HP engine (2.0L Turbo please), I’d pick it up in a second for myself. Too bad the financial crisis has made new GM afraid to make really good sport models on its entry level vehicles…