2024 Chevrolet Trax First Drive: The Cheapest Chevy Isn’t the Worst

There are vanishingly few "cheap" new cars anymore. Even the affordable ones cost thousands more than they did only a few years ago, and automakers feasting off the low-inventory, high-price profits gleaned during the pandemic's various supply chain issues have shifted their resources toward larger, more profitable, and—you guessed it—more expensive models. Just a handful of new vehicles in America start at less than $22,000—but at $21,495 to start, the all-new 2024 Chevrolet Trax is the cheapest one that could be considered an SUV, undercutting the Nissan Kicks by a few hundred bucks and even arriving cheaper than the last-generation Trax.

Its MSRP makes the new Trax as jarring as the industry-wide price increases that took hold in the past few years. Chevy is bucking its competitors and actively chasing budget customers with a product that's actually compelling—the closest analogue we can think of is Ford's compact Maverick pickup. Unlike that small, desirable, cheap truck, which is in such demand buyers are facing wait times for new orders, Chevrolet will produce the Trax en masse. The company fully anticipates this small wagonlike SUV to become its third bestselling model, right behind the larger Equinox and the Silverado full-size pickup truck.

Just look at the 2024 Chevrolet Trax. Would you guess it's Chevy's cheapest offering? We wouldn't—it's genuinely good-looking, stylish even. Confusing things further, it's more attractive and larger than the pricier Trailblazer that apparently competes in the same subcompact SUV segment. The key difference? The Trailblazer tries harder at being SUV-like, what with its optional all-wheel drive and taller seating position. The previous Trax followed that same formula and even offered AWD, but the new one makes new, uh, tracks. It is only available with front-wheel drive, like a car, and its lower roof and longer length deliver dramatic proportions that are more sport wagon than they are mini SUV.

This places the Trax in competition with SUV-ish players like the aforementioned Nissan Kicks, Kia Soul, Toyota C-HR, Hyundai Venue, and entry-level versions of the Honda HR-V and (now-defunct) Ford EcoSport. It offers a taller-than-a-car ride height (and 7.3 inches of ground clearance) with a hatchback body and roof rails to look rugged-adjacent, but, again, it's really just a car. A decade ago, this Chevy Trax would be a compact hatchback, like the Cruze (which Chevy killed off), appealing to entry-level buyers. We won't rag on the cynicism at work here—Chevy sees that customers want SUVs, but those can be expensive, so why not deliver SUV looks in a more affordable package?

The 2024 Chevrolet Trax combines simple elements in simple ways clearly designed to save you money. Continuity helps. Every trim level is powered by the same turbocharged 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine. Every single Trax's strut-type front and twist-beam rear axle is tuned to deliver the same comfortable and well-isolated ride, regardless of their 17-, 18-, and 19-inch wheel choices. An odd, felt-like material serves as the base carpet layer under the seats and floormats, which resembles the stuff typically used in out-of-the-way places like trunk liners. The door panels are mostly hard plastic. There also aren't a ton of available features, and some key safety items like blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control are optional.

And yet the new Trax's basic setup works. It doesn't look outwardly cheap, and the cabin is roomy, with a pleasantly low dashboard that opens up an expansive view forward and to the sides. The dashboard itself is stylish, with big, round air vents at each corner and Camaro-like center air vents placed beneath a piano-black panel that houses the central touchscreen. Build quality on the Traxes we drove seemed tight, and the basic plastics, cloths, and the like in the various trim levels we sampled all worked well together.

Our only major complaints center on the seats, which suffer from short cushions front and rear, leaving taller drivers' legs only half supported, as well as the strange lack of configurability of the available digital gauge cluster. Entry-level LS and 1RS Trax models get analog gauges with a basic display, along with a smaller 8.0-inch, old-generation touchscreen, but the rest of the lineup gets a fully digitized dash with an 8.0-inch driver display and an 11.0-inch central screen.

Despite the uplevel models' available screen area, Chevy only allows the driver's display one bit of secondary info at a time—such as trip data or coolant temperature—alongside the speedometer, tachometer, and fuel gauge. Curiously, there are three designs to choose from for those primary gauges via the steering wheel controls, but changes to the secondary readout are handled via the central touchscreen, where you must find the data you want to display and then select "display in cluster." It's confusing and a wasted opportunity, given the digital real estate, and the inability to use steering wheel controls to change things there is odd.

On the upside, those displays are very sharp and feature attractive graphics and fonts. The larger touchscreen, in particular, looks great and includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The entry-level 8.0-inch display also includes those phone integrations and is slightly more intuitive, if not as attractive (and its gauge cluster display is an old dot-matrix type), but that could be because it's the same unit GM has installed in cars for the past half-decade or so. Familiarity is no bad thing.

No! The 2024 Chevy Trax reminds us a lot of the old Cruze hatchback. It delivers surprising ride refinement, rounding off bad bumps with a minimum of head toss or crashing noises. The car rolls down the road with a substantially solid feel and only moderate road din. (Active noise cancellation is included on all trims.) Part of the Trax's bump-absorbing acumen surely comes from its size. The wheelbase is long for this class, at 106.3 inches, and Chevy ensured that no matter the wheel size, every tire has decent sidewall thickness.

The three-cylinder engine is responsive and sounds interesting, even. Paired with a conventional six-speed automatic, rather than the continuously variable automatic (CVT) more common in this class, the triple moves the Trax well. The transmission often tries for the highest gear possible, but the little engine's decent 162 lb-ft of torque helps deliver solid acceleration even without a downshift. Chevrolet also claims the new Trax is a full second quicker to 60 mph than its more powerful, smaller predecessor (which we clocked to 60 mph in a sluggish 9.0 seconds). We loaded one up with four adults and didn't notice the little engine struggle at all. Fuel economy is a bit of a low point, though, as we noted an average of only about 24 mpg during our drive, well short of the Trax's 30-mpg EPA combined figure.

Loosed upon some of North Carolina's twisty roads, the Trax wasn't exactly fun, though its handling is secure and there is minimal body lean in corners. The steering is too slow for the chassis' capabilities and the long wheelbase, requiring more input than you expect for even gentler turns. At least the brake pedal works with a firm, assured action, it proved responsive, and the ride is decently isolated.

No question, the 2024 Chevrolet Trax does the bare minimum and little beyond that, but it plays this game well. Consider the expectations at play: This is an extremely affordable car that delivers space aplenty, non-embarrassing styling, and the latest active safety features (even if some are optional) without overt reminders you're in something cheap. Kia is the only competitor that pulls off this same feat with its funky but smaller Soul.

Chevy will point out to anyone who will listen that no Trax starts at more than $25,000—even the top-level Trax Activ is priced at $24,995. Whether you pick up the entry-level Trax LS or 1RS, both of which get the smaller displays and analog gauges, or the LT, 2RS, or Activ, which are more thoroughly equipped, you get the same limousine-like rear-seat legroom, 25.6 cubic feet of cargo space (which more than doubles to 54.1 with the back seats folded), agreeable three-cylinder engine, and, yep, a new-car warranty. What more could you want for so little money?