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Maybe here in Europe it is as forgettable as the food from 3 weddings ago, but for the North America public the Chevrolet Trax was quite an important car. So we must definitely see if it is worth buying one.

As in the case of the Captiva - Antara duo, the Chevrolet Trax is the budget version of the Vauxhall Mokka, one of the best budget cross-overs, for the sort of person who doesn't know anything about cars and doesn't want to know anything. 
He just wants a good, reliable and affordable cross-over. Although, technically speaking, the Chevrolet Trax is the rural cousin of the Chevrolet Trax – Vauxhall Mokka – Buick Encore trio, Mokka and Encore being the older brothers.

It comes standard with 16-inch rims, which is perfect for those who don't know anything about cars or rims and they don't know what's the deal with the inches on the rims sizes. Sure, you can see the difference in equipment and quality between Trax and the Mokka and the Encore, just as you can see the difference in equipment between Sofia Boutella and Sofia Vergara, but the Trax is also much cheaper on the used market than Mokka, at least at the time when I wrote this literary calamity. And after all, when you look at Trax or Mokka, you are interested in a cross-over but you are not interested so much that you also look at the equipment listing with the same passion that I look at at Sofia Vergara's equipment listing every day.

I said that the Chevrolet Trax was quite an important car in North America, so I have to get down to business.

Chevrolet didn't have a compact cross-over since 2004, but they still decided to sell the Mokka in Europe and the Buick Encore for China, and they brought some models to North America as well, to have a compact cross-over in their offer. But surprise surprise, the Buick Encore and Vauxhall Mokka did in fact sell. In fact, they sold so well that the competition came up with this compact cross-over recipe, see the Jeep Renegade. So the Americans thought of launching a budget version of the Buick Encore and that's how the Chevrolet Trax was born in 2015, 3 years after the Mokka and Encore. And some reached Europe. And Trax enjoyed a mini-success, because it started at $20,100 in the US. In fact, even the current Trax starts at $20,400 in the US, and this is where you begin to understand the success of this potato soup on wheels.

Chevrolet Trax U200 Engines

Petrol

1.4 Turbo A14NET 140 horsepower – The base engine and the most popular engine in Europe, the 1.4 Turbo engine really had it's fair share of problems at launch, but in 2024 you most likely won't find a Trax with these issues because this engine had some important updates in 2016 and the issues were solved. Just pay attention to the oil quality and check for oil leaks, but overall it's a reliable engine.

1.6 MPI A16XER of 115 horsepower – If you still live in 1950 and are afraid of turbochargers, then the old 1.6 naturally aspirated petrol is for you. You just have to find it, because it's rarer than my moments of lucidity. Or the moments when the underpants are not harneded... Being an old-generation engine, you just have to be careful with the oil consumption, but overall it's a good enough engine for you. If it was good enough for Astra and Cruze taxi drivers, it's good enough for you too.

1.8 A18XER of 140 horsepower - The 1.8 petrol A18XER was reserved solely for Latin America and it was the only engine available really. An old design, this bigger brother of the 1.6 petrol is reliable and decently punchy. Just remember to replace the spark plugs every now and then and you're good to go. 

Diesel

1.7 CDTi A17DTS of 130 horsepower – This is where you see the main difference between the hardened and normal underpants…no, wait, not that….this is where you see the difference between the Trax and the Mokka because the Trax only had the old 1.7 diesel available and didn't get and the 1.6 diesel that replaced it. An antique engine, of Isuzu origin, which was used since the Astra G, this van engine will not be the last word in sportiness, but at least it is reliable, because that is what you are mainly looking for from Mokka and Trax.

Chevrolet Trax U200 Reliability Issues

• The modest boot space and the modest rear visibility would be the Trax's main issues, but if you graduated from the 50 Cent driving school that says you always look forward, never back, it's not a problem for you. An issue for the Trax is that it may not have standard rear parking sensors and it is necessary to install them yourself.


• It is rarer than the Mokka, so some parts may be harder to find or OEM spec only. Especially when you consider that the Trax uses different body panels than the Mokka.


• It's a GM product and I have to talk about the M32 5-speed manual gearbox, which is not the most reliable gearbox possible. The 6 speed manual box and the automagic however are fine.

Chevrolet Trax Verdict

While doing my homework on the Trax, I read a comment that said the Chevrolet Trax is the car equivalent of the color beige. And I understand that, because the Trax is the budget version of a budget crossover. But if you are the type of person looking for a budget crossover, why pay 2-3000 pounds more for a Mokka, when you can buy a Trax? Yes, it's more basic, but when you're looking for a car like this, do you really care?

Which engines do I recommend? For petrol power, I recommend the naturally aspirated 1.6, 115 horsepower petrol engine, if you can find it. As for diesel, you only have the 1.7 available and that's fine honestly.