The Chevrolet Trax skips a model year and resumes a completely different configuration in order to satisfy the high demand for SUVs.
With the arrival of the Trailblazer, there was a tendency to believe that Chevrolet would ditch the Trax for good. It seems not. In reality, General Motors is approaching a strategy similar to some competitors, that is, it is abandoning the subcompact car segment and replacing it with – surprise – another SUV.
Indeed, the 2024 Chevroet Trax will replace the Spark as the most affordable vehicle at Chevrolet. This strategy is similar to that adopted by Hyundai with its Venue and by Ford with its Maverick.
However, just like its predecessor whose production will cease in a few months, the Trax will be very small and will try to keep its affordable price scale so as not to cannibalize the Trailblazer. Without the facts, according to what Chevrolet Canada says in its press release, this new Trax LS would have a lower starting price than its predecessor, $ 24,049 against $ 24,348. However, we do not yet know the price of the other versions, namely LT, RS and ACTIV.
Unlike the model it replaces, the Trax will not offer the option of 4-wheel drive. In other words, like the Hyundai Venue, the Nissan Kicks and the Kia Soul, the Trax will only be available in traction. It will therefore be a utility vehicle with an urban vocation.
All new and designed like a Blazer
We are dealing with a completely redesigned Trax, which is well considering the fact that the old model dated from 2015. It is 295 millimetres longer, 46 millimetres wider and 74 millimetres lower. Inevitably, this stretching of proportions increases the total cargo space from 1,370 to 1,532 liters, which allows this new Trax to get closer to some compact SUVs in terms of versatility.
Chevrolet also took the opportunity to give it a proud look that draws inspiration from the Blazer and Trailblazer with its slim streamlined headlights and leaky roofline. It’s tasteful, and it adds a touch of refinement to an affordable vehicle. This design language is reproduced in the cabin where the Trax receives the same angular dashboard but with a new recessed multimedia interface with an 11-inch screen and fully digital instrumentation with 8-inch display.
A known mechanism
Under the hood is the same 1.2-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged engine as in the base Trailblazer. This engine is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission; It develops a power of 137 horsepower and produces a torque of 162 pound-feet.
These numbers are strangely lower than those of the old 1.4-liter 4-cylinder engine (155 horsepower/177 pound-feet); However, considering the fact that all-wheel drive will no longer be offered, it could be that the small engine is enough. However, we will have to test it to confirm that.
The 2024 Chevrolet Trax is scheduled for Canadian marketing next spring. By then, RPM will have tested it to give you its impressions.