2025 Chevrolet Trax Road Test and Review

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Across the auto industry, many automakers have discontinued their smallest, least expensive cars to focus on higher-margin crossover SUVs. Chevrolet isn’t alone. As recently as 2019, it sold three economy cars – the compact Cruze and the Spark and Sonic subcompacts. By 2022, they were all gone. 

We’re disappointed when the auto market loses a budget-friendly option. But the 2025 Chevrolet Trax is a great consolation. 

Chevy calls the Trax a subcompact crossover, but it’s sized and shaped more like an extra-useful compact hatchback – think a Honda Civic with more room yet a lower price. Buyers have flocked to the latest Trax generation, introduced for the 2024 model year. Its starting price of just $20,500 is one big reason, but it’s not the only one. Check out our full review to learn more of what we love about the new Trax – and what might give you pause. 

Entry-Level Pricing

You can’t buy many new cars of any size or shape for $20,500 these days. And even that base Trax LS includes amenities like an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration; automatic emergency braking; lane-keeping assistance; and a wi-fi hotspot. For $1,400, you can add blind-spot monitoring, rear parking sensors, alloy wheels, and heated front seats. 

Other trim levels cost more, but they’re all still well under $30,000 with all the options – like leatherette upholstery, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, a bigger 11-inch touchscreen, automatic climate control, adaptive cruise control, flashy 19-inch wheels, and a sunroof. So equipped, and adding the mandatory $1,095 destination charge, our 2RS vehicle came to $27,085. Our test vehicle was only missing the available power driver’s seat, which is curiously limited to the similarly priced Activ trim level.  

Some features aren’t available on any Trax. You can’t get all-wheel drive, making this crossover even more hatchback-like. You can’t get a stereo with more than six speakers or an engine with more than 137 horsepower. You can’t get a plus-size panoramic moonroof or a power-operated liftgate. Chevrolet reserves such upgrades for the second-cheapest crossover in its lineup, the Trailblazer.  

As we write, the Korean-built Trax is subject to a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles. Its price will likely rise if this policy continues. 

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Not So Tiny

For years, the Trax was a tiny little crossover – sitting at the bottom of the Chevy lineup for its size as well as its amenities. The current-generation Trax isn’t so tiny, though. It’s 178.6 inches long and 71.8 inches wide, making it both longer and wider than the pricier Trailblazer. However, at 61.7 inches tall, it’s much lower than the Trailblazer – right between the 65.2-inch-tall Trailblazer and the 57.7 inches of an old Chevrolet Cruze sedan. 

Chevy’s stylists took advantage of the Trax’s long, low body to dress it up as a sporty-looking vehicle. Bright colors and big wheels keep it from looking like an extra-cheap car. And slim headlights flow neatly into Chevrolet’s classic two-part grille to make for a sharp-looking grin. It’s a far cry from the first-generation Trax, which was tall and dumpy with minimal styling verve. 

If it’s a little too aggressive, though, you can opt for the cleaner, more elegant Buick Envista. For a little more money, it dresses up the same vehicle as a budget-priced luxury-looking “SUV coupe.”

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Simple Yet Modern Interior

The Trax’s interior makes its price point clearer. Its digital displays and scuplted dashboard are clearly contemporary, if not necessarily gorgeous. But the hard plastic trim makes it clear that Chevrolet had to keep costs down somewhere. (Once again, the Buick Envista gives a more premium treatment – mainly in terms of style, though, given these cars’ price tags.)

At least the controls are pretty simple. The touchscreen and some physical buttons and knobs angle toward the driver. Base models have analog gauges, while upper trims get a customizable digital gauge cluster. Unlike many new, expensive General Motors vehicles, the Trax has a blessedly simple knob to switch the headlights on and off – rather than a touchscreen menu. The infotainment display is pretty bare even with the upgraded 11-inch screen. But the graphics are attractive, and it’s easy to use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to show your phone’s apps instead of the Chevy infotainment system.  

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Big Backseat

As we’ve mentioned, the Trax is long for a subcompact crossover. The result is an adult-friendly backseat with ample legroom. 

The seats themselves are pretty ordinary in the front and the rear. You don’t sit as high as in the rival Kia Soul, and the view out the Trax’s windows isn’t as expansive as the Kia’s. We also didn’t love the hard rubber armrests on the Trax's front doors; that’s not the place to save a few bucks, in our opinion. But heated seats and even a heated steering wheel are widely available throughout the Trax lineup, making it a comfortable winter ride. And it’s big enough to be a useful family car for up to four people, or even five in a pinch. 

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Lots of Cargo Room, Too

Similarly, the 2025 Chevrolet Trax has a lot of cargo room for its class. By the numbers, it provides 25.6 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 54.1 cubic feet with the rear seat folded down. 

As we mentioned, the Trax is low for a crossover. That means you won’t fit in tall, bulky items as easily as a high-roofed Kia Soul or a larger SUV. However, it has lots of floor space to spread lots of smaller things out without stacking them to the ceiling. And compared with a similarly priced sedan, the Trax is a super-functional vehicle. It’s not rated to tow a trailer, though. 

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Surprisingly Fun to Drive

The Trax comes exclusively with a little 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine that’s turbocharged to 137 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. This isn’t a lot of power, but it’s fine for a small, light vehicle. The torquey turbo helps the Trax accelerate confidently off the line, and the engine sounds surprisingly nice. This isn’t a raspy, droning economy car that always sounds like you’re overworking it – like the rival Nissan Kicks. The engine is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, which some drivers also find more natural than today’s popular continuously variable transmissions (CVTs). 

We also enjoyed the Trax’s spirited handling. Low and light for its class, it rides and handles more like a Chevrolet Cruze sedan than a Trailblazer crossover. That means it can tackle corners with easy confidence, if not the maximum precision or the highest possible handling limits. Comfortable, easy to drive, and even a bit fun, the Trax once again punches above its price bracket. 

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Three-Cylinder Efficiency

The Trax also keeps fuel bills low with an EPA-estimated 28 mpg in the city, 32 mpg on the highway, and 30 mpg combined on regular-grade fuel. That’s good for a crossover.

Still, it’s not incredible. And it’s several miles per gallon less than a more aerodynamic compact sedan like the Honda Civic or Hyundai Elantra. If you have to work that little engine hard, mileage will suffer. We averaged 32 mpg during our week with the vehicle, which is above the EPA estimate. But the trip computer showed just 29 mpg over the previous 700 miles in other drivers’ hands. 

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Trax vs. the Competition

As much as we love the Trax, we’re also fans of several similarly affordable crossovers: the Kia Soul, Nissan Kicks, and Hyundai Venue. 

The Soul is our favorite of the three. It has most of the Trax’s same strengths, but it’s boxier – giving it more headroom, more space for tall bulky cargo, and better outward visibility. We’ve also gotten better real-world mileage from the Soul’s four-cylinder non-turbo engine than the Trax’s turbocharged three-pot. But the Chevrolet has a longer list of optional amenities, more cargo space behind the rear seat, and a sportier design. 

The freshly redesigned Kicks added an optional AWD system, a notable perk for drivers dealing with messy weather conditions. And its new style gives it some extra dazzle for a car that’s still priced from $21,830 even after a price increase. But it’s noisier and less fun to drive than the Trax, in addition to costing a little more. 

Finally, the tiny Hyundai Venue is a city-friendly crossover that’s perfect if you need to squeeze into tight spaces rather than squeeze people into the backseat. But we expect that for most Americans, the Trax’s extra room is a more appealing advantage. 

2023 Kia Soul LX ・ Photo by Brady Holt

More Than the Minimum Car on a Minimum Budget

The 2025 Chevrolet Trax is proof that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a practical, comfortable vehicle. Though it’s one of the least expensive new vehicles on sale, it has a good-sized backseat and cargo hold; a peppy engine and agile handling; and plenty of optional amenities. 

Plenty of people will demand more than the Trax offers – more space, more power, more-wheel drive, and more fancy interior materials. And there are plenty of costlier cars that offer those things. But overall, this Chevrolet has a lot going for it without costing much. 

2025 Chevrolet Trax 2RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt