Chevrolet Trax (2nd Generation)

Back in the good old days, the Chevrolet Trax is basically a Buick Encore for the commoners. Not anymore, it isn't. The all-new Chevrolet Trax Crossover is no longer the Trax you know.

2024 Chevrolet Trax

The all-new Chevrolet Trax Crossover is the evolution of Chevrolet's baby crossover that was meant to be a common sight when the first one came out a decade ago and with prices starting at 20,400 US Dollars, it's cheaper to own than its little brother, the Trailblazer. It's a shocker of a bargain for this city-focused crossover.

2024 Chevrolet Trax

Beginning with the styling, the Trax Crossover ditches the squarish proportions of its predecessor in favor of a striking silhouette that looks spot-on for a crossover of its size. From its flowing front face, sweeping roofline, and some matte black plastic cladding, you can really tell its sporty character swooping around this new model and although shorter than the Trailblazer, it's longer and wider compared to its little sibling.

2024 Chevrolet Trax interior

2024 Chevrolet Trax interior

Inside, the all-new Trax Crossover is pretty much what you would expect for a crossover built for the new normal. Behind the wheel, you will be greeted by its angular dashboard design that features an available 8-inch diagonal driver information center, an available 11-inch diagonal display screen with fully-functional smartphone connectivity, an available wireless smartphone charging pad, and others. 

Because it's 11 inches longer and two inches wider, this five-seater has three inches more rear leg room than the old Trax and it can accommodate nearly six cubic feet of cargo space or up to 54.1 cubic feet of max cargo space with the rear seats folded down. That feels good but sadly, the rear door only opens by hand, unlike the Trailblazer, meaning if you get your hands full with today's thrift shop haul, you'll need to find someone to open the boot for you. Bad mark for the Trax there.

2024 Chevrolet Trax

Because it runs on the same mechanicals as its little brother, the Trailblazer, the Trax Crossover feels as nimble and as capable as a commoner's compact saloon, which is pretty common for a front-wheel-drive-only CUV that works on normal roads. Yes, FF-only because the Trax Crossover is available only in front-wheel-drive unlike its predecessor and its little brother, sadly.

Under the hood, the Trax Crossover is powered only by an ECOTEC 1.2L turbo engine that produces 137HP of power and 162lb-ft of torque. Mated to a 6-speed AT, it has an estimated combined fuel economy of 30MPG. That's rightsizing working out for you.

In terms of safety, the Trax Crossover features a host of safety and driver assistance features such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning System and Forward Distance Sensing System, Forward Pedestrian Detection and Braking System,  low-speed automatic emergency braking system, Intellibeam smart high beam, Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keeping Assist System, Lane Change, Blind Spot Warning System, and others.

The all-new, imported from South Korea, Chevrolet Trax Crossover may have lost some of the charms from its predecessor because it's offered only in front-wheel-drive but because of such sizing and styling, not to mention the pricing that makes it more affordable to own than the Trailblazer, there's never been a good time to make this one your first car when you first got your driver's license.

Available colors: Cayenne Orange Metallic, Summit White, Sterling Gray Metallic, Crimson Metallic, Mosaic Black Metallic, Nitro Yellow Metallic, Cacti Green, and Harvest Bronze Metallic.

Photo: General Motors

Chevrolet Trax (US Spec) vs. Ford Edge (2nd Gen)

2015 Chevrolet Trax

Everyone knows that this is the Chevrolet Trax, a compact crossover that's been around for two years ago when it went on sale in South Korea and then selected parts of the world. So, the main question was, why am I now talking about the Trax again? Well, there's one main reason for it following Chevrolet's decision to withdraw from the European market for good, the folks from GM wanted to sell the Trax to another nation with some added exposure and that nation is the USA. Why the USA? Because of the abundance of crossovers in the Land of the Free, Chevrolet decided to do what they haven't done in the first place but don't we have the Buick Encore for that matter?

The thing is though the Trax is now available in the US at a very reasonable 20,120 US Dollars, which is five grand more than its Buick Encore cousin and that makes it great value for money but is it any good?

2015 Chevrolet Trax interior

For starters, the Trax is available only with a 1.4L ECOTEC turbo engine which produces 138HP of power and 148lb-ft of torque, which is fine for a big city car full stop, and if you opt for a 4WD variant, the Trax is normally in front wheel drive but half of the power goes to the back for dire emergencies. It's fine to drive if you faced some "slippery when wet" situations but for adventures, it's not quite making the grade for itself because this is just another tall hatchback made for the city and not for the outdoorsy type of people who want to go wild at the wilderness.

On the inside, it looks vague, but because this is a can-do-all machine for the young urban professionals who spend most of the time doing stuff with their smart gadgets, there's so much stuff to do. It has more storage compartments than its Japanese rivals such as the Nissan Juke, the Subaru XV, and the Mitsubishi ASX, and if you go for top-spec models, you can have a sat-nav with SIRI- EYES FREE and if you have a very terrible data plan from your carrier, 4G LTE Wi-Fi, so people with gadgets can find some thrills by scrolling through status updates from Facebook and Twitter. Yes, this is as thrilling as your grandma flickering through random channels until it hit the stressful part like a rollercoaster ride.

It also has good boot space and a variety of seating configurations that can suit any situation people can see fit. It even comes with a fold-flat front passenger seat which allows you to store longer stuff than any crossover like logs or chaise longue or a body bag with something in it.

2015 Chevrolet Trax

The Trax is a handy capable car for city dwellers but if you're looking for some thrills, perhaps you've come to the wrong place because I know that the 1.4L turbo engine sounds so nippy and peppy but it doesn't have the oomph to get you through all sorts.

2015 Ford Edge

If you're looking for oomph in the metropolis should try out the Ford Edge but this is the all-new model. It's been regenerated and it's now ready to take on the world that its predecessor couldn't do.

Under the bonnet, you can get either a 2.0L EcoBoost engine, a 3.5L V6 engine, or for the Sport version, a 2.7L EcoBoost V6 engine developing 315HP of power and 350lb-ft of torque. Whichever engine you choose, you can opt for either a front-wheel drive or a four-wheel drive.

In the past, the Ford Edge has been a rubbish car to drive and it feels as dated as a Zune mp3 player that no longer exists. For the new model, the Edge has been slightly improved from the ground up. It comes with a new suspension system that not only handles like a sportscar but is comfortable enough to cushion impacts like in the case of small potholes or bumps.

Technology-wise, the new Edge comes with a plethora of features that will keep the driver interested for more such as a 180-degree camera at the front, Blind Spot Information System, Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keeping System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Park out assist that helps the driver steer out of a tight space, and side parking sensors that can warn the driver of incoming objects at all sides.

2015 Ford Edge interior

There are some issues with the new model such as the image that feels like it came from its previous model, the electric power steering that is somewhat an oddball for the driver and might understeer in some circumstances, the sat-nav is still the hopeless Microsoft-derived SYNC with MyFord Touch, and the pricing that starts at around 28,100 Dollars, which is a lot more than the Trax.

2015 Ford Edge

Let's not forget that despite the odds, both the Edge and the Trax are crossovers built for city dwellers. They're both American, they're both five-seaters, they're both offered with an available four-wheel drive, and they're capable in almost any situation they see fit. The Trax is all about pound-for-pound value for money while the Edge is all about the oomph drivers deserve but deciding on both of these crossovers is a nervous choice because only fate can decide which one will you deserve and in the end, the jury's out for you to accept.

GM Korea Chevrolet Trax

Ever since in two years ago when Mr. Mike Arcamone finally axed the Daewoo brand for good and use the Chevrolet brand to its Korean made cars (with the exception of the Damas, Labo, and Alpheon flagship sedan) to boost its sales as well as its renaming the South Korean division of General Motors from GM Daewoo to GM Korea Company, it bridged the gap between Hyundai-Kia and Renault-Samsung, becoming one of South Korea's biggest carmakers. I know it was a good idea to kill of that ugly Daewoo brand for good because nobody in the world really liked the Daewoo brand after all but sometimes, even the Korean-made Chevrolets should have known better than that because I don't think they fared well against the competition. The Chevrolet Cruze, for instance, is facing sluggish competition against the Avante and the K3 while the Chevy Aveo (Sonic in most markets) is making a deadheat against the Kia Pride and the Hyundai Accent RB and the Chevrolet Captiva is losing its ground against the Santa Fe DM and the Sorento R. Sadly though, GM Korea doesn't have a competitor against the Hyundai Tucson iX or the Kia Sportage R so when they guys went to the drawing board, this is what they came up what known to be as a proper rival to the Tucson or Sportage...

2013 GM Korea Chevrolet Trax

This might be a potential contender, it's called the TRAX and by the name TRAX, people should not to be confused with the 2007 concept car of the same name that inspired Mudflap from Transformers 2 or that K-POP duo called The Trax. He he he he he..... Anyway, while the name sounds confusing for a Korean, what's underneath the Trax is the chassis that was used on the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka (Buick Encore). It's even built by the same factory where most Korean-made Chevys were made. Where? Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, South Korea! Not sure where? Look at the map, okay?

2013 GM Korea Chevrolet Trax

 Anyway, the Trax is a compact crossover that slots below the Captiva and as a compact crossover, the TRAX was made to be for those who are living the urban lifestyle, it's like a relaxed adult spending hours listening to Crossover FM on his/her iPhone app or at a sound system that is five times more expensive than an ordinary radio while living in a very luxurious condo somewhere in Filinvest. The Trax though is like that, it's like being me who spend the rest of my free time shopping at Festival or at SM Southmall for some stuff that I like to make myself comfortable. Judging from my free time doing a bit of shopping or relieving my field trip memories, the Trax is just something that I'm easing my worries about.

However, as an alternative to the Tucson or the Sportage R, this is a fair choice because with the starting price of just 19,400,000 Korean Won, the Trax is the affordable of the three. Engine choices of these three? Let's have a look... Sportage R has 2.0L T-GDi and 2.0L CRDi-VGT, Tucson is available only with 2.0L CRDi-VGT, Trax is petrol only at that time. It has a 1.4L turbocharged engine that produces about 140HP of power and 20.4kg-m of torque while being mated with the GEN II 6-speed automatic transmission that you may expect on the Malibu. Fuel consumption takes about 12.2km/L for the only engine offered on the Trax.

Sadly though, no 4WD offered on the Trax, which is a bit of a problem for a crossover of this size and seems to be that those Koreans who want to buy the new Trax might have a bit of a rethink because when the Trax was premiered at last year's Paris Motor Show, it has 4WD but when GM Korea brought it here, where's the 4WD? There's none! The Trax is available only in FF, same as the upcoming Scenic X-MOD that has no 4WD on sight.

As for the driving feel, the Trax is a bit more athletic, it's like a nimble hatchback that really shows its grooves but remember, the Trax is always an urban life vehicle designed and made for those who are as much comfortable as living in a condo in Alabang, not an SUV that you can make some ridiculous stereotypes.

2013 GM Korea Chevrolet Trax interior

The interior of the Trax seems to be a bit cheap, feels like it was made of cheap materials and Chevrolet should have known better when it comes to make eye-catching interiors. Despite it's low-quality interior, the one thing I'm going to like about the Trax is the fact that it has Siri. No, I'm not joking and I'm not making this up because Trax got Siri. That's right, it's your personal assistant you often love or hate on your iPhone is in the Trax and while your iPhone's connected to the Chevrolet MyLink, talk to Siri, Siri knows what to do as you give Siri commands but best to speak clearly or Siri won't understand what you're saying. Trust me, my pronunciations are not that good than yours. He he he he....

To sum up then, what I like about the Trax is that it's got Siri, the turbocharged engine, nimble handling that feels like a sports hatchback, and the same feeling you felt on your posh condo. What I don't like about the Trax that the interior design looks cheap, no diesel and 4WD powertrain on sight, and the design that looks a bit more boxy. Now then, for my moment of truce with the TRAX, Siri, go play me Blind by Trax!

Available colors: Pure White, Snowflake White Pearl, Switchblade Silver, Satin Steel Grey, Velvet Red, Sand Beige Brown, Espresso Brown, Hawaiian Blue, Royal Solid Blue, and Carbon Flash Black.

PRICE LIST:

1.4 LS A/T - 19,400,000 Won
1.4 LS 디럭스 A/T - 20,150,000 Won
1.4 LT A/T - 20,900,000 Won
1.4 LT 디럭스 A/T - 21,900,000 Won
1.4 LTZ A/T - 22,890,000 Won

Photo: GM Korea Company