The Problem With the Cute Chevy Trax

To be perfectly honest, I've always liked the Chevy Trax and its cousins (the Groove and the Beat) right from the start, when they were debuted as Korean-designed concepts at the 2007 New York Auto Show.

It has evolved nicely since then (it's been sold worldwide since 2012, coming to America only this year) and though the originally concept's round headlights gave it an adorable face, they've been replaced with respectable, mid-2010s-era lamps that are well proportioned, if a bit anonymous-looking. The front grille and other treatments are well within the Chevy family's current look. Which is either a good thing, or not, depending on your view of that look.

Original Trax concept, upper right.

Reminiscent of the well-put-together looking Sportage, the Trax sports some neatly designed roof rails (functionally, not sure how well put-together they are, but they'd probably hold skis.) The entire vehicle looks like it was a larger GM SUV that was shrunk in the lab, which is both good and bad. Good, because it's stylin'. Bad because it's not a huge SUV, and sometimes pretending to be big and tough isn't the same as achieving it.

The beefy hood bulges, but not too far, since it's micro-tiny, and doesn't need to contain a huge engine. The slow, downward slant of the side creases are attractive, though common to almost all mini-Utes like the Rav-4. In fact, This car is a great competitor, or at least imitator, of that popular Toyota's style.

The narrow rear window is likely to be an issue with visibility, along with the huge C-pillars. The large rear lamps are attractive, and how they merge into a crease that flows to the rear door handle is unique and adds great visual interest.

It must be noted that the Trax shares a platform with the rather popular Buick Encore, which looks nearly identical except for the hood and grille. (Way to badge-engineer, GM!)

A key problem, unrelated to the styling of the thing, is the Trax's price. 

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but charging $19,500 for the Chevy Trax is a travesty. It's a $16,000 car, at best, closer in price to the Honda Fit, which in truth (and I'm not going out on a limb in saying so) is probably far higher in quality and dependability. One could also mention GM's audacity to charge north of $25,000 for the Buick version of this micro-car, but one need not get one's blood pressure up.

Micro cars need to stop trying to demand macro prices. Other than that quibble, the Trax continues to evolve nicely and COULD be a good seller, if dealers are generous in their discounts.