The 2026 Chevrolet Trax Is Exactly The Kind Of Affordable Car America Needs More Of

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Whether or not you live by the phrase, I'm sure you've heard of balling on a budget. And it turns out that's getting a lot harder to do these days, especially when it comes to your car.

[00:00:07]You need something that checks off your daily usage list, but brings some excitement. And I think I might have the answer. This is the 2025 Chevrolet Tracks. And this particular trim is the active trim. And while it might not be the sportiest or best driving version of it, it's probably what I would call the baller one. And I've had a chance to spend a week with it. So, let me tell you a little bit more about it. Chevy thinks they've got a winning recipe. So, from 25 into 2026, the only thing they really changed was going to be some color options and pricing. That means everything in this video applies to the current model year. And when it comes to the pricing and comparisons, it'll be this year as well.

[00:00:47]I promise I won't keep going back to that baller theme, but it really feels like there's an effort made in specific areas that help this punch above its weight class. And by weight class at this point, I mean price point. But the biggest one you'll find on this specific model is going to be all the black accenting up front. That's going to be pretty evident here in the grill as well as the black bow tie emblem, but you'll see it around the side as well in things like the wheels, the roof rack. And all that to say is that it just feels like attention to detail that really feels like a good bang for the buck. We also have a good job here in the lighting category. Your daytime running lights and your headlights are both going to be LEDs. That's going to be your function and your form mixed in allin-one. But you'll also notice there on that turn signal, which is very small off in the corner, that that's going to be an incandescent bulb. And if you're going to save a few dollars, that's probably a good place to do it. This does fall into the crossover category, which I'll cover in just a little bit. But it matches closer to the sporty looking crossovers in the Chevy lineup, something like the Chevy Blazer, than it does the more practical versions like a Traverse or an Equinox. And again, if you're looking for something that has fun written all over it, then you want it to feel a little bit more sporty, a little bit more interesting. This probably isn't the time or place to argue the merits of what makes a crossover a crossover. But this truly is it much more a lifted car than it is shrunken SUV. In this case, more of a wagon or a hatchback that's lifted up just a little bit higher. And that higher is about 7.3 total inches of ground clearance, which does make this seem probably a little bit more capable than it actually is. This is a front-wheel drive only vehicle. If you want all-wheel drive, you're looking at the Chevy Trailblazer, but that's not going to be as interesting to look at.

[00:02:17]At least not to my eye because this does keep a lot of the car styling characteristics. And dare I say it, this is probably the closest we're getting right now to a Camaro of crossovers. And I know I just said this is a front-wheel drive and wait till I get to the engine, but send off in the comments if I am way off base or if you kind of see where I'm coming from. I will say that as much as I'd like this to be a little bit lower to the ground for things like dynamics, it's pretty good to drive. And it also is going to add functionality. The fact that it is going to be higher off the ground. Not everyone wants to slide into a vehicle. They might just want to hop in. And so you're not having to get down as far as low either in or out. That's going to be something that's easier for a lot of folks. Myself included. I am 6t tall. And this is obviously a little bit lower than that. And if it was even lower lower, well, I'd have to do a little bit more of a squat every time I got in. I will say though, even though this isn't terribly large at about 178 in, there is going to be the option of a roof rack here. So, if you run out of storage capacity inside, you can go ahead and make use of it outside. And this is going to be black like a lot of the other accents we find on this particular trim. Things like that mirror cap down here in the body cladding and obviously in the wheels and tires.

[00:03:22]Speaking of this wheel and tire combination is a pretty good one considering this car is only about 3100 lb at absolute max. The fact that we have a 225 width tire, not just on this model, but most of the others is, I think, a lot of tire for the packaging.

[00:03:35]in this case, compared to an 18-inch wheel. If you want a grippier package, then what you're looking for is going to be the 2 RS that comes with a 19-in wheel and a 245 width tire. Although, obviously, you could probably swap those out onto something like this if you wanted something different. I happen to like the black wheels here, although I don't mind some like a dark gray as a good medium. But, if you do start doing some parallel parking and um feeling your way into that parking spot, you'll start seeing that a little bit more.

[00:03:59]Obviously, the tire itself is not going to be terribly grippy, but that is one of the easiest things to swap out. So, if you really enjoy your time behind the wheel and like carving up the back roads, then that might be one of the first things you want to switch out or at least switch out when it's time to replace your tire. I've got this camera a little bit lower than normal because I am fighting the sun. But it also does a really good job of highlighting sort of the bubbliness and dare I say shapely rear end we get here of the tracks. And because of how styled this is, there are a few things I'm a little bit surprised about, but also start to make sense. One of them that I'm not so sure about is going to be this wiper blade because the steep rake of this windshield is does seem to be enough that you could have gotten away without it. And obviously still had the water running through here no problem, but added function is not one I mind. Where you can start to see some of the dollars and cents come through are going to be things like this antenna. We obviously have an antenna, but instead of it being a shark fin, it's much more of a standard look. And that's probably going to save a few dollars. And this is a car where that starts to add up. The other one I'm going to notice more obviously is going to be here in the lighting, especially because of all the LEDs we got up front and the distinct lack of them we get here in the back. And for folks who really like their amber turn signals, I apologize over there. You can see we just have the red turn signal. And a lot of that probably does build into the cost savings because why build another module when you don't have to. It's a bit of a game of back and forth. What is or isn't missing. Things that aren't missing are badging, but it's done pretty minimalistically. Tracks here on the left side, your trim level on the right side. this one being the active, but active without an E. So, let me know down in the comments whether you feel any sort of way about that or if you're just going to roll with it. We do have things like parking sensors here at the back, obviously wrapped around this black plastic cladding, some of it being unpainted, some of it being gloss black, and does a pretty good job of matching with the rest of the vehicle, as well as that black bow tie. But one thing you will notice missing is going to be down below. No exposed exhaust tips. Now, this is a pretty small engine. We'll get to that here in just a second, but there are a lot of vehicles these days who are going away with exposed exhaust. Some of those are going to be hybrids where they say, "Hey, we're not emphasizing the, I guess, gasolineess of this, and it feels electrified." In this case, this is just a small turbocharged engine, so no need to do it. It mostly seems to be an aesthetic choice and one that I probably don't mind. If it's just an exhaust pipe for the sake of an exhaust pipe, I could do without. If it's dual exhaust and it's really well built into the bumper, I'd like to see a little bit more of those, but in this case, I'm okay with it missing. Under the hood, you might find a little bit of a surprise, but the emphasis there is on little. What we've got here is a 1.2 L 3-cylinder turbocharged engine. And the fact that this is 1.2 L means it's going to be one of the smallest displacement you'll find here in North America. But that turbocharger means that it's not going to be the most anemic. We're looking at 137 horsepower, 162 lb feet of torque.

[00:06:37]And as I mentioned earlier, this car is only about 3100 lb fully loaded. So, that pairing is not a bad one, especially since all that power is running through a six-speed automatic transmission, which is a little bit unusual because in most of the vehicles in this category, you'll often find them paired with a CVT. A lot of that's going to be to improve efficiency. But even with that six-speed, we're looking at 28 city, 32 highway with an overall combined of 30. But if you wanted the CVT paired with this engine, you'll find it over there in the Trailblazer. That's going to be the all-wheel drive offering or the all-wheel drive cousin, I guess, to what we find here. And I have to say, this little three-cylinder engine, while it does end up working pretty hard sometimes, when you're just cruising, it's also just cruising. And because we have active noise cancellation in every Chevy tracks, even if this is just ticking along, it's never going to be something that's annoying. And because it's a three-cylinder engine, it actually has closer harmonics to what we find in a six-cylinder than what we find in a four. So, when you get this thing revved up, it actually doesn't sound half bad. It doesn't sound anything like a V6, but I guess closer to it than a four-cylinder would. The seating position up here has been great, especially since we have the eight-way power adjustable seats and the two-way lumbar support. Now, this is something you'll find in the top end trims, and I can't speak to those lower trims at the moment, but I suspect this is going to be the more comfortable way to do it, especially since we get some nicer seating material as well. A couple things we're missing, things like a power adjustable steering rack that is going to be a manual adjustment, so tilt and telescoping, but plenty of wiggle room there, so you should be able to get pretty comfortable and have everything within reach. We also don't have any memory position seating. So, wherever you set it, you are going to have to move it around if you have a couple people that swap in and out of the driver's seat, but that's a pretty minimal thing. Now, in this particular model, we also have the moonroof, which means I'm a little bit low on headroom, but I still have about maybe an inch and a half or two. This seat is all the way down, especially because I have like to have it tilted up, and it is all the way tilted up. So, that is nice to be able to find that comfortable place for me.

[00:08:28]But once I'm set here, the question is, how much room is there in the back? So, let's go ahead and find out. One of the things I mentioned about crossovers is the ingress and egress. And getting in and out is pretty easy, especially considering that this roof line is not terribly low. And that's something you find obviously in a lower sedan, but also even in some SUVs, especially if they're more stylish in nature. But getting in and out pretty easy for me.

[00:08:51]And if I sit with my head all the way back, I know you can't see it here in the camera, but that just kind of tells you where those pillars are. I do actually have headroom. It's not a lot.

[00:08:59]I mean, I can feel just at the very tip of my hair getting uh brushing up against that ceiling, but admittedly, I'm due for a haircut. Obviously, can't you tell? Uh, but that does mean that you're going to be pretty comfortable here. I'm 6t tall and I do have a very long torso. I estimate it's about a 6'4 torso. So, just consider that the tallest people you know are probably going to be a little bit tight back here, but that's why there's two front seats, so they should be able to fit there. I do have plenty of leg room here sitting behind myself. If I have a tall torso, it does mean I have some shorter legs. But I have maybe three or four inches here as the front seat or compared to the front seat. And if I slide on over this seat here is not going to be powered, but it is going to be pretty much all the way back. Let me go ahead and make sure it is all the way back. There we go. Pretty much locked in its furthest position. And if I slide over, I'll move my cameras there. You can see that I even still have leg room.

[00:09:49]And that's without having to put it in this little nook that's carved out. so that you can make sure that there is a little bit more room for knees. You know, this is probably an inch or two farther back, but I still have two or so inches there. And you can probably see a little bit better how much room I do or don't have in that headroom. Obviously, if I sit forward, I'm just fine. We are missing a couple things back here, though. I don't have a fold down center armrest, and that is a bit of a bummer.

[00:10:11]It's something that I appreciate because we don't need to have it, but a lot of vehicles do. We also don't have any vents coming back here. So, there's no vents here in the ceiling or along the side or in the center console, but I do still have some power. So, USBC and USBA and a little bit of a cubby here, probably enough to put a phone, but not a terribly large one. So, overall, the back seat is going to suffer just a little bit compared to a more expensive vehicle, but I do have a little cubby here, pocket here in the uh passenger seat, not over there in the driver. We also do still have some latch anchor points, and they're relatively easy to get to. They're going to be the kind that are tucked here in these seams. So, they're totally hidden but really easily to access. So, you don't have a plastic clip that you're going to lose, and that's going to be a big plus. And again, as you can see, there's a ton of space here. So, child seats for a younger family shouldn't be much of an issue. Now, let's go ahead and get the back hatch open and see what kind of space we're working with. According to Chevrolet, we're getting just under 26 cubic feet. And by the looks of it, it's going to be a little bit more rectangular than it is square. A lot of that obviously has to do with the roof line. Also worth noting that this is not going to be a hatch that you want to stand under very often. But since it's designed to really go flush with this rear bumper, it's not one that's going to do a lot of hanging out. Again, all that has to do with the shape. But the first thing I want to do is actually remove this cargo cover. If we knock this off the uh rope hold that it has here, you can see there isn't a whole lot of space above it. And again, that just speaks to the fact that this is a nicely steep and really stylized rear end. But unfortunately, this is a hard-sided cover, so there's nowhere to put it, which means if you need to maximize your cargo volume, you're going to end up probably having to leave this at home. But once you do take it out, you can see what kind of space we're working with. And it's actually tall enough that I think unfortunately, while I don't have any 24-in roller bags with me, if you stuck them stuck them on their side, excuse me, new words being invented, you'd probably be able to fit a few of them here side by side.

[00:12:01]Unfortunately, like I said, I can't get you an official measurement, but when we get the chance, we certainly will. If I take my regular luggage out here, and these are all going to be carry-on size bag. So, everything that will fit in an overhead bin or above it, and I can fit probably quite a few of those in there.

[00:12:15]One thing we're not going to have is a lot of extra storage underneath the floor. Now, this particular model, and I don't know if it comes standard, I have to double check on that. Comes with this cargo protector that does a really good job of actually blending in with the rest of the seats, but I'll show you there in just a moment. If we lift this up, there is not a two-stage low floor, but there is just enough space to get a spare tire and room around it to put some things that you might want or need.

[00:12:40]So, emergency blankets, emergency road flares, my favorite, emergency snacks certainly would be able to fit in here.

[00:12:46]And if you don't want to put them underneath, there's a little bit of a cubby here on the left. You could probably fit a few of those there. If you are accessing or needing to get to that spare tire, you can actually slide this into a position that is designed to hold it in place so that you can go ahead and do things like unscrew this two-handed instead of having to hold one and do the other. So, that is a nice small little touch. Slide that back into place and everything falls right where it's supposed to. Now, when we fold those seats flat, we're not going to be able to do anything here from the back.

[00:13:13]That is a larger vehicle and a more expensive vehicle option. But, if we lean forward and push gently, we should be able to get these to fold. And that cargo protector I mentioned earlier is actually built into those seats. So, it folds allin-one, which really shows you that it's designed to be used more regularly than not because just understanding, you're going to need more space. When you fold those down, it is a 60/40 split, but with everything folded, you get 54 cubic feet of cargo capacity.

[00:13:37]If you are one who likes to live an active lifestyle and sometimes end up farther away from home than you meant to, if you're curious about whether or not you can actually sleep in your vehicle, the answer is probably yes.

[00:13:47]Here at 6t tall, I'm going to be able to fit here in the back, but it'd have to be probably more sideways than it is head-on. But in a pinch, it's certainly better than sleeping on the ground, especially if you didn't pack a tent.

[00:13:58]Now, let's hop inside the tracks and take a look at what the interior has to offer. And really, everything here checks out in a very good way. Now, there is going to be a predominantly black interior theme here, and that's going to be what you find on most of the tracks, but depending on the specific trim level, you'll get some different accenting pieces. And since we're in the active, we'll go ahead and slide here over to the passenger seat. And you can see that the active accenting piece is going to be this lighter sort of highlighter electric yellow look. So, we get a little bit of striping piping there. And you're also going to get that in the stitching that we find here in the headrest. I know it's a little bit dark, folks. I apologize, but trying to fight the sun is a little bit tough.

[00:14:33]You'll also see that active logo embossed into the headrest, but again, active without an E. Let me know if you have any strong feelings about that one.

[00:14:40]I'm a little bit unsure myself. Now, the black plastic we get up there isn't going to be the most comfortable. And admittedly, here in the armrest, there isn't a ton of extra padding. You'll find a lot more in the center console armrest than you do there in the doors.

[00:14:51]But the door design is also meant to have enough space for you to go ahead and put a water bottle and maybe even a couple in there. So, you have a regular shaped one and then your extra large. If you're looking for extra storage, we'll find some here in the glove box. It is a bin style and it is quite large. Maybe not as deep as it could be, but there's a lot of space in there. So, good news.

[00:15:09]When you're out and about, you should be able to carry everything that you need with you. The design up in the dashboard is an interesting one. Not overly complex, and that's a good thing. Not only does it help in cost, but not everyone's going to love that. This sort of accenting piece here is just a hard plastic, but it comes into the similar gray that we find there on the door. And then obviously we get some lighter silvers going into what looks sort of like some turbine air vents. We see this in a couple other Chevy models, and overall, I'm a pretty big fan. But what I really appreciate, especially in this class of vehicle, is how much screen real estate we get. So on the left side here, we have an 8 in driver display. on the right side. That's an 11in display.

[00:15:43]And those are both going to be upgrades from what you get as standard. But let's talk about the infotainment screen here for just a moment. This is laid out a little bit different than we find in a lot of other GM models, especially the higherend ones, but it has everything that you need, and it's meant to be easily labeled. So, you can see here we've got our maps and our music listed through our Android Auto. So, it doesn't take up the entire screen. If we go ahead and press the home button here, this is going to be your basic display.

[00:16:07]And as you can see, there isn't a whole lot going on. If you want to start getting in to the different breakdown of the different menus, you can make sure it registers my fingerprint there. And as you can see, the response time isn't terribly quick, but it's not any different than I would really expect. I don't think we need that traction control button as easily. But I'll also admit that because this does have a chi wireless charging mat, the question is always, is my phone charging? And the good news is that you get a little green lightning bolt that lets you know when it is doing so. That's a really nice touch. And obviously you can see my phone there connected. Where is my phone? Well, that's going to be on that CH wireless charging mat tucked here in this lower end cubby. It's big enough for my phone and easy enough to get into. Again, you don't have to worry about whether or not it's charging. You can go ahead and check on that screen.

[00:16:51]But before we move too far, let's go to some of the more physical buttons. As you can see, just below the screen there is going to be your two vents, driver and passenger. And then really the control for that ventilation is happening here. These buttons are all a little bit squeezed into place, but not in a bad way. It just keeps everything nice and compact. Luckily, this does have an auto setting. That's usually where I like things to be. And we also have heated front seats. So, heated left and right seats there, as well as the quick controls for all of your defrosting. So, that's going to be your front and rear. We also have your physical switch there for the emergency flashers. It's not a dual zone climate control. This is going to be controlling your fan speed. And as you can see, that little display is telling you how much fan there is. And when you press auto, that will go ahead and disappear. And that's where I've had this pretty much the whole time. Now, sliding down to where we have our gear selector, park, reverse, neutral, and drive. This going to be closest to the driver, which is nice and easy to access. A little bit unusual, though. The throws here seem to be really long. If you're going all the way to drive, it almost feels like you're down a little bit too far.

[00:17:49]Nothing to worry about. And obviously, as soon as you buy it, you'll adjust to it pretty quickly. Two cup holders and a spot for magnetic wallet attachment.

[00:17:56]It's a really nice little touch there.

[00:17:57]And then down below that parking button, or at least your parking brake. And then a couple other buttons here. I'll go ahead and move this. I promise we are not sponsored. at least not yet. Down here, you're going to find the quick access to your lane keeping assist. And then you can see we have our auto on and off selectors there. So, it's going to be standard as on and off is going to be your individual choice. Now, just behind those cup holders, we have a little bit more storage. There's a little bit of a cubby here. I don't know exactly what you'd want to put in here, but a little bit of storage space never hurt. And then down besides that, just under your center armrest, you have a pretty tall storage compartment, but no dividers to speak of. just to make sure I don't forget them. We also have a little bit more power. It is tucked in here just a little bit. You can see I have to find my way through there. 12volt power access there. USBA and USBC, but I do imagine most folks will be using that wireless charging. Now, moving on to the steering wheel. We'll start by going past it. There is no heads-up display available here. So, what we have is our 8-in driver display. And there isn't a whole lot going on here, but that's probably a good thing. Obviously, that zero is indicating the speed we're currently going. Left side is going to be your fuel and the right side is going to be your temperature. One really nice feature is up there in the top right.

[00:19:04]I'll see if I can point to you here.

[00:19:06]This is going to tell you your following distance from the vehicle in front of you. So, for newer drivers, this will say, "Hey, you're only 1 second, 1 and a half seconds." If it's over 2 and 1/2, it just says more than 2 and 1/2 seconds. But really great way to figure out what your following distance is and making sure that you stay a safe distance from the person in front of you. This car does have adaptive cruise control. Your cruise control indicator is set right there so you can see what your following distance is as well as what your overall speed is set to be.

[00:19:32]Now, back to that steering wheel. It is going to be a pretty basic Chevrolet design, which means we have buttons on the front and in the rear. On the left side here, mostly going to be controls for your cruise control. Things like the adjustment for the following gap as well as your overall speed. And then this model does have a heated steering wheel.

[00:19:47]Obviously, that's going to be a perk of a higherend trim. Over on the right hand side, you'll find controls mostly for your infotainment and your entertainment. That's going to be things your voice commands, hang up, answer the cell phone. Volume up and down is not found here. It's found on the back. So, you have to go reach around back. You'll find a little paddle here. The top one is going to be for volume up. The bottom one is going to be for volume down. On the left side, that's going to be the same buttons there are for forward track and back. Up in the ceiling, we do have our sun visors with mirrors, but not lit mirrors. So there and a pretty big one, but obviously the lighting has to be provided on your own. We also have controls for the moon roof. This does have the moonroof package, which is why we have that chi wireless charging mat.

[00:20:26]We can go ahead and open and close it and vent it. But opening and closing the shade is going to be done manually. So that's going to be nice and easy there.

[00:20:34]Not enormous, but enough to get a little bit extra light in here and to get some of that heat out on your way in. And before I drive off, let me show you the key. This is going to be a pretty basic Chevrolet key, but it does include automatic start. So, if it is really hot like it has been here the last couple days, that's going to go ahead and make your life a whole lot easier. Now, to get this out on the road, and spoiler alert, I did not win a single drag race.

[00:20:54]But with an engine like this, I really didn't expect to. But if you put your foot into it, like I mentioned, it's actually a pretty good sounding little engine. But what it won't do is get you moving terribly quickly. If you're already moving, not as much of a problem. But from 0 to 60, it took 9.3 seconds to get there. And again, that's pretty much exactly what I was expecting. and it took some coaxing to do so. Uh, I did some digging around here and there aren't a whole lot of drive modes available in this vehicle, which makes sense. That's really programming the car doesn't need, and there's not a whole lot more power to put on here. I don't think I'd recommend going in and trying to flash ECU and crank the turbo on this either. Either way, 9.3 just fine. What's more important, I would argue, is going to be the stopping distance. And good news, with these tires and this overall weight, 0 to 60 or 60 to 0, excuse me, only took 112 ft. I'll admit I couldn't do that repeatedly over and over again because these brakes are not really built for that. As fun as is to drive, it's not really a performance car. But let's talk about that fun to drive because cheap and cheerful is something I don't want to use on this vehicle or probably much of anything. So, let's instead call it affordable or affectionate or affordable and attractive or athletic, whatever you want to put in there. I just don't want to call this vehicle cheap because it doesn't really feel that way. Yes, there are some cost-saving measures that have gone through, but they don't feel like they're intruding in the ownership experience. There are some things that stand out. And I do have to go back and check my notes, so I won't do a big call out, but I was in a 90 something,000 vehicle the other week that didn't seem to have automatic wipers. That feels like a big miss here. I also don't see automatic wipers, but that makes sense because I paid a lot less for it. But I do have things that I want on my daily driving, which is going to be your phone projection and your audio. I will admit though, the other downside there is that we only have an eight- speakeraker sound system and it's also an unbranded one.

[00:22:42]It doesn't mean you have to have a brand to sound good, but those two things usually do go hand inand. And I would definitely be leaning towards one of the upper end trims so that you get the eight speakers instead of the six because if this is the upgrade, I'm probably not terribly interested in what the standard one is. But let's go back to the driving because that's what I've been doing mostly this week, not listening to music. But when I get on a beautiful road like this, and I absolutely love this road. It's well paved. It's got some nice twists and turns. This car absolutely wants to respond. That's why I'm so curious and maybe a little bit disappointed that I can't have two of these tracks at the same time. I would love to have the 2 RS because that's got the wider tires on it and it's a noticeably wider tire and a similarly weighted and obviously priced vehicle. That one I expect to be a little bit more fun. But if you're trying to balance these things out, that's also probably going to be a little bit less comfortable. And uh I also run into that on some of these roads. So, here's what I'll say for this tracks right here. I'm giving this an A minus. And the only reason is because I want there to be a little bit of room for better. But if it is a balancing act between straight end performance and performance being fun to drive and how it handles out on the road, then getting the 18-in wheels that we get here and paired with a little bit thicker sidewall on the tire is probably going to be a little bit more comfortable. And I have to say that the way this has handled for me as far as handling road conditions has been wonderful. So far, everything I've thrown at this, it's been able to handle with one or two minor exceptions. And there are a couple spots in the road, and this is a road, mind you, that has washed away many times. So, some of these edges are very, very rough, that every time I get in a new car, I say, "Okay, here we go." And I set it to the speed limit, which is 35. And we hit that thing harder than I would probably want to do in my car. But that's to test out the suspension. And that was really one of the only spots where this seemed to get a little bit uh discombobulated. It just wasn't as prepared for it. And it's probably because this suspension is less expensive than some other options out there. Doesn't mean it didn't handle well. It just means that I felt it probably more than I would care for, but not more than I was expecting. Honestly, this has met and probably exceeded my expectations throughout, especially considering the price tag and especially especially considering that this particular model doesn't have any feature set to improve things like ride and handling that any of the others don't, except for the 2S that I mentioned a little bit earlier. But this suspension has been fantastic. So for your everyday ride, I'm giving this a B+. And what that really means is that time behind the wheel is probably time enjoyed. If there are going to be a few shortcomings, then I guess I can understand it. But there are other vehicles that might have more features, might have more technology, but they're not going to be as fun to drive. And let me go back to talking about the engine quickly because this engine is very, very small, and sometimes it ends up working pretty hard, but that doesn't really seem to be a detractor from it.

[00:25:31]The only time I've run into some issues are if we're at really low RPM and suddenly I'm climbing a steep hill, which is also one of the ways to get to my house. And that has been a bit of a struggle. It takes a second to look for the right gear and then it takes a little bit to wind up. But with the turbocharged engine, obviously there's always a little bit of a delay. And the peak torque comes on at 2500 RPM. So it's not like it takes a whole lot of time to get there. Either way, that one small scenario is one that if I was doing this every day, I could easily work around. It's just the first time or two that I went that direction, I went, "Oh, okay. I either need to carry a little bit more speed or actually be going a little bit slower before I ease on into the throttle." So, that's a small tune adjustment that I would make.

[00:26:10]But the return here has been overall efficiency. In my 54 mile test loop, which includes some city driving, freeway driving at 70 mph, and a steep hill climb, I averaged 32 m per gallon, which is the high end of what this is expected to get. And even though I did have some of the fuel saving measures on that this vehicle comes with like the auto stop start, that just is what I expect most people will do. So that really only helps you around town. And again, 32 m per gallon without a CVT, without a hybrid, and without this being a totally anemic engine seems like a really great bang for the buck. Again, I'll go right back to it. This is probably the feature set that I would be looking for, or at least the the balance of it. It's a good-looking vehicle. It's a good handling car. It's comfortable to be in. it has enough technology. If there are a couple downsides, I think they're ones that you can address. For me, the biggest downside is as far as the driving experience, probably going to be that sound system. Not that I wouldn't mind a little bit sportier, but the good news is if you get one of the higher trims with eight speakers, that also means you have eight speakers that you can go ahead and upgrade on the back end. And I would probably do that if you really care about your sound, get one with the eight speakers, and then if it doesn't do it for you, consider adding to it later. The other thing I would change is probably going to be that wheel and tire combo, but I don't know if I'd want actually a bigger wheel, just a wider tire. And that way, I could do something like that aftermarket. So, I wouldn't have to get the 2 RS to do it. And I actually like the black accents we get on the Active probably more so than the RS. And that means I'd go this direction and then swap some things out here and there. And if you did live in a more inclement weather climate and you wanted more traction, you could go ahead and get yourself some more summer or performanceoriented tires and then use the spare set of wheels that you probably kept and put some winter or all-w weather tires on that one. So that way you get kind of the best of all worlds. Before we talk about pricing, I want to talk about one more technology that you don't find in very many vehicles these days and one that when we're talking about drawing from a parts bin and saying, "What can we really add to this experience?"

[00:28:07]One of the worst things you can get in an affordable car is going to be road noise. Because one of the things you don't get a lot of is sound deadening.

[00:28:14]That costs extra money. That weighs the vehicle down. It increases production time. All of it is cost savings. But instead of adding more sound deadening material, which in turn you could always go do on your own, they've added an active noise cancellation. And when I was taking this during my 50 mph test zone, I got 63 1/2 dB. Cheap and cheerful. Feels usually like a tin can situation. And that's why I want to go a different direction with this because this doesn't feel like a tin can in any way, shape, or form. Not with the screens, not with the seats, not with the engine, even though you might think so. None of this feels cheap. It just feels affordable. And that's why so many people are on board with this. And that's why in 2023, I think this is our 2024 car of the year or affordable car of the year because it just does so many things well. But obviously, you do still have to pay for it. So, let's get into some pricing. Now, how you and I look at the tracks may end up being just a little bit different. For me, it falls into two major categories. The affordable category and then the is it a crossover or is it a hatchback, and I don't really care between the two, but just know that there's a lot of sedans that I wouldn't compare this against because of the storage capacity. And obviously, there are some more SUV type crossovers out there. So, take this list with what it is. But what it doesn't include is going to be any of the hybrid competition. Not just because this doesn't have a hybrid, but because of the price increase you pay for hybrid efficiency and usually a little bit of a power bump, it feels like it falls into a completely different category. And if there is an outlier here, look at something like that Mazda 3, that's because it has a turbo option that just for the sake of argument, I decided to keep in here. And that turbo is going to be more of a performance turbo more than an efficiency option. And what I think a lot of people are going to shop this Chevy Tracks against is going to be a Toyota Corollacross. And I have nothing against the Corollos, but it leans and feels more like a crossover, where this Traxxas does feel like a little bit more of a taller hatchback, which definitely draws me towards sort of the driving style and the position that it puts you in, but also visually speaking, I love the way the Traxxas looks. And the Corolla Cross is maybe just a little bit soft, maybe a little bit too rounded for my particular liking. And when it comes to efficiency, excluding that hybrid model, they're going to be pretty much neck andneck across the board. What does stand out though in the Toyota is going to be the fact that you can get more options and features available. The tracks can feel a little bit limited at times. Obviously, I've covered that, but the Corollos, you end up having to pay for those options. So, it's not that I think it's a better value. I think it ends up being a package where if you like what it has at its core, you may be able to turn it into something where the tracks is certainly going to have a lower-end ceiling. But between the two, there's not a wrong way to go. But from here, I want to jump to something I think might be a little bit more interesting, and that's going to be the Subaru Cross Track. Right out of the gate, the Cross Track is going to be all-wheel drive only. And it is essentially the same thing as the Subaru Empreza, but I know a lot more people are going to be shopping for cross tracks and emprezas. So, that's why I want to bring it up here. And while the Track does not have an all-wheel drive, the Trailblazer is of course an all-wheel drive alternative, though that one can get a lot more expensive, but ends up being a lot similar in pricing to something like the Cross Trike. So, think of the tracks as is it a cross track with front-wheel drive. And actually, the fuel efficiency between the two is not terribly far between. So, actually, that's probably going to be a plus towards something like the Cross Track. Though, neither of these are going to be particularly interesting to drive around town if you're really worried about stoplight to stop light performance. I think the Subaru is going to be a little bit more adventure ready, although the tracks can do pretty much everything that can until you really truly do need all-wheel drive. And then of course, like I said, there is the Trailblazer, but just know that the ceiling on the Trailblazer is so much higher than you'll find over in the Tracks. I do think the Tracks is still better for the money. But if you're looking for something that is more spacious inside without being a very, very large vehicle, these two are a lot closer than you might have thought. But I will say if you're more of a tech forward person, you're really going to appreciate the screens you'll find over in the tracks. And Subaru, well, Subaru has not always been the best when it comes to their technology. People like them for the reliability and the capability, but cutting edge is not quite where they stand. So, what do I think is going to be the best head-to-head against something like the Tracks? Well, it's actually be the new Kia K4 hatchback. The K4 has had a sedan out there, and you absolutely could have cross shop the sedan and the tracks.

[00:32:29]It's just comes down to whether or not the hatch is incredibly important. But what I love about this hatchback is not just the way it looks, but also the way that it feels like it gives you the value where you want it. What you're going to be missing in both of these vehicles is top-end performance. You absolutely will not find it. Although in the K4 hatch, you can get a turbo model that has quite a bit more power.

[00:32:50]Although, I've never found it particularly more interesting to drive.

[00:32:54]The suspension is still the same. And even though you're off the line is going to be a little bit quicker, it feels like the car is writing a check that ultimately that engine can't cash whether you get the base engine or even that turbo. So, why would I think the K4 be a good competitor? Not just because of the space inside, but I really feel like again for the dollar what the Traxx does so well, the K4 might even do just a little bit better. Yes, it is going to have a higherend ceiling, but it comes to that same sort of argument as I have with the Corolla Cross. And if there's any downside to the Tracks, it's that you can't make it better. You can, of course, get a Trailblazer that'll be able to add some packages you won't find on that lower-end level. But if you don't want all-wheel drive or don't need all-wheel drive, like I certainly find myself, then something like the Tracks could have more premium trim options, or it could have a better sound system. The K4 is incrementally more expensive. But when it comes to things like the fuel efficiency, which are going to be a little bit better, and your just everyday experience, it feels like the extra 10, 20, $30 a month you might pay on a car payment end up really being worth it. What I love is that there are more competitors right now than I thought there might have been a couple years ago. The tracks really hit the scene as the car that could save the affordable vehicle for the United States. And I don't think a bunch of new models have come up, but I do think manufacturers have done a good job of trying to keep those prices from increasing too much. Obviously, tariffs have been a bit of an issue, but where I thought the affordable car might have been gone, it seems like there is just a little bit of a revival. Especially when I look at something like that K4 hatch, even though it comes with a more premium starting price than the K4 sedan, it feels like, hey, if you're looking for a vehicle under $30,000, there are going to be more options than maybe you thought. And the Tracks still stacks up well against these. I love that you can get the Trailblazer, which has the same powertrain, but adds all-wheel drive. A little bit more space inside while still being relatively nice to look at, maybe just not as edgy as we find in the Tracks. But what it ends up being is a higher ceiling. It has more features, more options, more packages that ultimately provides a more premium experience. And the Tracks does say, "Hey, I don't necessarily need to be in that game." But if I had all the numbers in front of me, open up the spreadsheet, and I was the one who had to make the decision for production that says, "What do we change? What do we add?" and here's what that is going to cost that consumer. Honestly, that becomes a very difficult question to answer, which I think means that Chevy's right. They do have a winning recipe here. There's no reason not to go get a Chevy Tracks, but at the end of the day, it isn't the only game in town, and that's a win for just about everyone. Thank you so much for watching. If you have any other thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns, you can leave those down below. If you'd like us to take a deeper dive into total cost of ownership for the tracks and maybe some of its competitors, or you're curious how we would spec ours and why based on certain budgets, let us know that as well.

[00:35:35]Always great opportunity to bring you content that matters to you most. But that's enough for me. Till next time, I'll see you down the road.