Why do people in America say hatchbacks are dorky when the SUVs they buy instead make so many compromises and offer practically nothing in return? It's a rhetorical question, but we asked ourselves that when we saw Consumer Reports' review on the 2015 Chevy Trax.
This is one of three small crossovers that were developed together by GM Korea, formally Daewoo. The Trax has a more expensive but equally flawed brother in the Buick Encore and also the European model called the Opel Mokka, which seems to be doing rather well.
But here's the problem with the Chevy Trax. From the get-go, it's been designed to be cheaper, so even if they add a reversing camera, it's not going to justify its sticker price. In addition, the Europeans know it's a step up from a supermini like a Fiesta, but the Americans never want something smaller than a Toyota RAV4, which this clearly is.
And did you see that front spoiler? That's not an SUV, it's a shopping car. The spoiler is so low because letting air under the car ruins fuel consumption, but the bumper will scratch against any curb and will have trouble dealing with snow. You don't have that problem with a normal hatchback like the Ford Focus.
Because Michael Bay is a total sellout, half of the Transformers 4 was made for the Chinese and was plastered with images of the Chevy Trax. So if I bought this car, I couldn't help feel like it's an overpriced import, especially when it's assembled in Korea.
Then there's the absurd price of the car. A full-spec Trax with all-wheel drive stickers for $28,305, which Consumer Reports says is on par with a Subaru Forester Limited. Heck, you can even get a 2015 WRX for that kind of money. Jacked up subcompact with a 1.4 engine or rally legend with permanent AWD and a turbo boxer engine… hmmm, tough choice.
But here's the problem with the Chevy Trax. From the get-go, it's been designed to be cheaper, so even if they add a reversing camera, it's not going to justify its sticker price. In addition, the Europeans know it's a step up from a supermini like a Fiesta, but the Americans never want something smaller than a Toyota RAV4, which this clearly is.
And did you see that front spoiler? That's not an SUV, it's a shopping car. The spoiler is so low because letting air under the car ruins fuel consumption, but the bumper will scratch against any curb and will have trouble dealing with snow. You don't have that problem with a normal hatchback like the Ford Focus.
Because Michael Bay is a total sellout, half of the Transformers 4 was made for the Chinese and was plastered with images of the Chevy Trax. So if I bought this car, I couldn't help feel like it's an overpriced import, especially when it's assembled in Korea.
Then there's the absurd price of the car. A full-spec Trax with all-wheel drive stickers for $28,305, which Consumer Reports says is on par with a Subaru Forester Limited. Heck, you can even get a 2015 WRX for that kind of money. Jacked up subcompact with a 1.4 engine or rally legend with permanent AWD and a turbo boxer engine… hmmm, tough choice.