2025 Chevrolet Trax

Forget for the moment, if you can, that the 2025 Trax boasts one of the lowest starting prices among subcompact SUVs, and concentrate on its jam-packed standard features list and neck-snapping styling. Yes, we can gripe about its less-than-dazzling engine performance; however, its positives far outweigh the few negatives. It makes us wish Kelley Blue Book had a most-improved award we could confer on this comeback kid.

We’ve logged hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of subcompact SUVs, including the latest Chevy Trax.

Chevy didn’t give us much to talk about here. That’s all right, because it gives us another year to digest the huge updates for 2024. The Trax does have a couple of new colors in its palette and can now run on E85 fuel.

The Trax is on the more affordable side of subcompact SUVs along with smaller entries like the Nissan Kicks and Hyundai Venue. It starts a few thousand less than Chevy’s other subcompact SUV, the Trailblazer, which is half a grade ahead in materials and refinement. As much of a bargain as it is, we’d stay away from the base LS trim in favor of the LT, at the very least.

Before buying a Trax, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. Resale value has not been a Trax strength, but the new version is significantly more competitive; consequently, we expect to see some improvement in that area. Remember, recouping more money when you sell a vehicle can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on your next one.

The 2024 Chevy Trax isn’t the most powerful subcompact SUV on the market, but we’ve found it surprisingly satisfying to drive. Its small, turbocharged 3-cylinder engine is a bit coarser than the segment’s more common 4-cylinder engines, but it’s responsive around town and delivers sufficient highway merging power. Combined with great steering and brake feel, the Trax is an eager and competent little SUV. Highway ride quality is about typical for the segment, if a tad firmer.

Fuel Economy

At 30 mpg in combined (28 city and 32 highway) driving, the Trax delivers about average fuel economy for its class.

The interior of the Chevy Trax has a pleasant layout, and the tech features are easy to use. A feature-rich touchscreen is aimed at the driver, and you still get easy-to-use knobs and buttons for the HVAC controls. We like the 11-inch infotainment touchscreen, which replaces an 8-inch unit found in lower trims. We also appreciate the available dual displays and crisp graphics.

Some of us felt the seats started to feel a bit small on longer drives; however, a few of us are bigger than others, and seat comfort is highly subjective. We thought the seat fabric on the base LS trim was a little low-rent, but luckily, it doesn’t cost much to get nicer seats on higher trims.

The Trax boasts best-in-class rear-seat legroom. At 38.7 inches, that’s more akin to a midsize car. Indeed, we found rear legroom and headroom generous, even for adults. However, the expansiveness of the accommodations is countered a bit by the fact that you can’t get air vents, a center armrest, or cupholders in the back.

The Trax has 25.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, ranking it among the roomiest in its class. Naturally, you get more cargo room when you fold down the rear seats.

To say designers paid homage to the larger Chevy Blazer when penning the lines of the current Trax would be an understatement. We wouldn’t be surprised to learn the designers used a checklist of the Blazer styling cues when designing the newest Trax. With size being your only clue they aren’t one in the same, the resemblance is uncanny from the front. All in all, the Trax has serious curb appeal.

Chevy Safety Assist
Standard on every new Trax, this bundle of technologies includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection. Other included technologies are lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, high-beam assist, and following-distance indicator.

Bigger touchscreens
LS and 1RS trims feature an 8-inch display, while the upper trims feature an 11-inch screen.

Driver information display
We appreciate this 8-inch programmable display because it provides a host of information about the vehicle and its various systems that’s uber easy to read. It becomes standard starting on the LT trim.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Whether your smartphone operating system is Android or Apple’s iOS, it will interface with the Trax infotainment system without cables.

Disc brakes
Chevy dumped the rear drum brakes of the past Trax in favor of 4-wheel disc brakes on all trim levels for this new generation.

LED headlights
Every Trax model arrives with LED headlights that illuminate a longer, wider area than halogen lamps. Moreover, they are more easily seen by approaching drivers. We are always amazed by the difference LEDs make.

The Chevy Trax has similar power to competitors within its value segment, though it uses a smaller engine to create it. The 1.2-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder engine generates a modest 137 horsepower but a more gratifying 162 lb-ft of torque. That power runs through a traditional 6-speed automatic transmission. Yep, that’s right. The Trax uses a traditional automatic transmission, which we argue helps create greater responsiveness than the continuously variable automatic transmissions increasingly common in the segment. Sadly, the Trax is among a handful of subcompact SUVs offered exclusively with front-wheel drive, with no provision for all-wheel drive. You’ll have to step up to the Trailblazer if you want a small Chevy SUV that offers all-wheel drive.

3-year/36,000-mile Warranty

The 2025 Trax is covered by Chevy’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. This level of warranty protection, which also includes 24/7 roadside assistance, is typical for the segment.

Safety

One area where we harbor some disappointment is crash testing. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) put the Trax through four crash tests. It rated the top score of Good on two of them, Acceptable on another, and Poor on the fourth. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t tested the Trax. However, the Trax does have several advanced safety technologies as standard equipment, including forward automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, high-beam assist, and more.