2019 Chevrolet Trax

The 2019 Trax is a carry-over year of the 2017-refreshed first generation, and every trim uses the same 138 hp 1.4L turbo four — the least powerful engine in the segment band.

Modest peak torque, though the turbo delivers it low in the rev range for usable around-town response.

No manufacturer figure is published; third-party performance data and reviewer tests put the 138 hp Trax around 9.5 s, slow even for a subcompact crossover.

The small turbo is smooth and reasonably quick around town but sounds buzzy and runs out of breath under hard acceleration and at freeway speeds.

The conventional six-speed automatic shifts smoothly in normal driving but is slow to kick down for passing, which accentuates the engine's lack of power.

Chevrolet does not publish a US tow rating for the Trax and its owner guidance does not recommend trailering; the ~1,260 lb figure on third-party sites is not a US manufacturer rating.

On-demand AWD is optional on every trim (LS, LT, Premier), but it is a basic reactive system with no terrain modes or torque vectoring.

A car-based subcompact crossover with modest ground clearance (~6.2 in) and no off-road hardware, trims or drive modes; pavement-oriented.

One engine and one transmission across all trims with no hybrid or electric option; only the FWD/AWD choice varies.

EPA combined rating for the volume FWD configuration is solid for a gas subcompact SUV.

EPA city rating for the FWD Trax.

EPA highway rating for the FWD Trax.

The small 14.0-gallon tank caps range despite decent economy; computed from EPA combined MPG × tank capacity.

EPA's current-price annual fuel cost estimate for the FWD Trax on regular gasoline.

Every trim runs on regular unleaded gasoline, with no premium requirement.

NHTSA rates the 2019 Trax five stars overall in both FWD and AWD form, with five-star frontal and side ratings. 2019 is a carry-over year in the first generation (2015–2022), after the 2017 refresh.

The Trax has Good ratings in driver-side small overlap, original moderate overlap, original side, roof strength and head restraints. It is only Acceptable in passenger-side small overlap, where the belt allowed too much forward head excursion, and in the updated side test, where driver torso injury was Marginal. With Poor headlights and only Basic front crash prevention, it earned no award.

No 2019 Trax trim offers automatic emergency braking or adaptive cruise. Forward collision alert and lane departure warning come only with the top Premier trim's Driver Confidence II package. Blind-zone and rear cross-traffic alerts are an LT option and standard on the Premier. The volume LT has no forward-sensing assists at all.

The 2019 Trax has no automatic braking. The Premier's camera-based forward collision alert gives a warning only, which earns IIHS's lowest Basic rating. There is no pedestrian detection.

Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert are optional on the LT through the Driver Confidence Package and standard on the Premier. They are unavailable on the base LS. The system warns only, with no braking and no safe-exit alert.

Lane departure warning is available only on the Premier and alerts without steering. No 2019 Trax offers lane keep assist or lane centering.

Every 2019 Trax has conventional cruise control only. Adaptive cruise and highway assist are not offered on any trim.

Super Cruise was never offered on the Trax, and it has no radar or steering assist, so there is no hands-free option.

The Trax uses halogen reflector headlamps with LED DRLs and no automatic high beams. The first-generation lamps were rated Poor in IIHS's small-SUV headlight evaluation, with inadequate low-beam reach on every curve test. IIHS lists no separate 2019 headlight rating.

The tall, upright cabin gives good forward and side sightlines. Thick rear pillars and a small rear window limit the view out the back. A rear camera is standard, rear park assist comes on the Premier or LT package, and there is no surround-view camera.

IIHS rates the LATCH hardware Acceptable. Both outboard positions have full LATCH, but the lower anchors sit too deep in the seat. The center seat has a tether only, and the narrow rear bench realistically fits two car seats.

The 2019 Trax seats five in two rows on the LS, LT and Premier. 2019 is a carry-over year in the 2015–2022 first generation, after the 2017 refresh.

The tall, upright body gives generous front headroom for a subcompact.

Front legroom is short, and the narrow cabin leaves taller drivers feeling hemmed in.

The boxy roofline gives good rear headroom, the rear seat's one real strength.

Rear legroom is adequate but tight for adults, and the narrow bench makes three across a squeeze.

A two-row subcompact crossover with no third row.

Cargo space behind the rear seat is small even for a subcompact SUV, and trails the HR-V and Kicks.

Maximum cargo room falls below the SUV band floor. The fold-flat front passenger seat helps with long items.

It has several useful touches for its size: upper dash bins, a fold-flat front passenger seat, and a 120V outlet on the LT and Premier. The console storage is small.

Reviewers call the seats comfortable, and the Premier adds heated leatherette seats with a 6-way power driver's seat. The volume LT has manual cloth seats with limited adjustment, and the narrow rear bench limits comfort for adults.

The short wheelbase gives a stable but choppy ride over broken pavement.

There is a fair amount of road noise, and the 1.4T sounds coarse under load, so the cabin is louder than rivals.

Every trim has single-zone manual climate control. Heated front seats are standard only on the Premier, and no trim offers automatic climate, a heated wheel or ventilated seats. Remote start is available.

For 2019, a carry-over year for the first generation, the entry LS FWD with the 1.4L turbo four and six-speed automatic cost $22,295 delivered. That is below the floor of the SUV band.

The LT is the mainstream retail trim. At $24,480 delivered it sits below the $27,000 floor of the SUV band.

No 2019-specific cost-to-own figure was retrievable, so this blends nameplate estimates for the unchanged first-generation 1.4L turbo and six-speed, the same drivetrain carried through 2022.

KBB says the 2019 Trax's resale trails rivals such as the HR-V and CX-3. Its five-year point fell in 2024, when shortage-era used prices had largely unwound, so the result is roughly the nameplate's normal ~48% projection, below the 2022 model's shortage-inflated curve.

GM's 3-year/36,000-mile coverage is the industry minimum and the bottom of the band. The Hyundai Kona and Kia Soul offer 5 years/60,000 miles.

Powertrain coverage of 5 years/60,000 miles is the floor of the band and half the 10-year/100,000-mile term Hyundai and Kia give their subcompact crossovers.

Chevrolet Complete Care covers one maintenance visit within the first year/12,000 miles, plus 5 years/60,000 miles of roadside assistance and courtesy transportation. The OnStar and 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot connected services are trial-only.

$24,480 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (47% retained, or about $11,506) leaves about $12,974 in depreciation. Add the projected $6,000 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $18,974 in total.

The 2019 Trax is a mid-cycle carry-over of the first generation (2015–2022), one year after the 2017 refresh, and its reliability reputation is average rather than strong. J.D. Power rates its quality & reliability in the low 80s, but U.S. News ranks the first-gen Trax near the bottom of its subcompact class on reliability.

Chevrolet sat mid-pack to slightly above average in J.D. Power dependability studies around this model year's era, improving to the upper half of mass-market brands in the 2024–2025 VDS without reaching the top tier.

The 2019 Trax is covered by two NHTSA campaigns: a large, safety-relevant recall for improperly welded front lower control arms that can partially separate, and a tiny (12-unit) airbag SDM left in manufacturing mode. Typical activity for the class, but the control-arm recall is a structural suspension defect that keeps this out of the upper band.

The 2019 Trax uses GM's long-running 1.4L turbo four (138 hp / 148 lb-ft) with a six-speed automatic — a widely used family with many high-mileage examples, but a known list of age-related faults (turbo and PCV/valve-cover leaks, coolant-hose loss, oil consumption past ~100k miles) and sensitivity to stretched oil changes. Mixed history, no catastrophic pattern.

Despite the 2017 interior refresh, the Trax cabin is dominated by hard plastics on the dash and doors and reviewers rated it behind rivals such as the HR-V, Kona and CX-3 for perceived quality.

A mature Korea-built design with few widespread assembly complaints, though the control-arm weld recall points to a supplier/manufacturing quality lapse on 2017–2019 builds and electrical issues are a common owner complaint.

Chevrolet's roughly 2,800 US franchised dealers give it one of the densest service networks in the country, but its service satisfaction is good rather than leading among mass-market brands.

A long first-gen production run and a 1.4T shared with the Cruze, Sonic and Encore make parts cheap and plentiful with a deep aftermarket, and routine running costs are below average.

Every 2019 trim uses the same 7-inch Chevrolet MyLink touchscreen. No larger screen and no navigation unit were offered.

MyLink is simple and reasonably responsive, and physical climate knobs remain, but the small screen and dated graphics trail newer rivals.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on every trim but work over a USB cable only. The first-generation Trax never offered wireless projection.

No 2019 trim offers built-in navigation. Voice control is basic phone-assistant passthrough, and OnStar turn-by-turn requires a subscription.

The base system is a basic six-speaker stereo. A seven-speaker Bose system is available on the Premier, which is a modest upgrade.

It has analog gauges with a small driver information display, and no digital or configurable cluster is available.

The Trax predates GM's Vehicle Intelligence Platform, so it gets no meaningful over-the-air updates. Software updates are done at the dealer.

The myChevrolet app with OnStar provides remote lock/unlock, remote start where fitted, vehicle locate and diagnostics, but most functions need a subscription and there is no digital key.

It has only a couple of USB ports, no wireless charging on any trim, and a 120V outlet on the LT and Premier.

The LS and volume LT use a traditional key with a remote fob. Keyless open and push-button start come on the Premier, and remote start is available. There is no phone-as-key or hands-free liftgate.

A rear camera is standard. Rear park assist, blind-zone alert and rear cross-traffic alert are an LT option and standard on the Premier, and no surround view is offered.

No 2019 Trax offers a head-up display.

The high roof and upright doors make loading a car seat easy, but the rear bench is narrow and short on legroom, and 18.7 cu ft of cargo space barely fits a stroller plus groceries.

It earns five NHTSA stars, but no trim offers automatic emergency braking. Forward collision alert and lane departure warning are Premier-only warnings, and blind-zone alert is an LT option.

The tight rear bench, lack of rear vents or rear USB, noisy cabin and small cargo hold make it a poor multi-hour family car.

Quick steering, a compact footprint and a high seating position make it easy in town. The weak 138-hp engine and choppy ride add fatigue once traffic speeds up.

The 1.4T returns 28 mpg combined (FWD) on regular fuel, and consumables are cheap, but economy trails the Kicks and HR-V.

At about 168 in long, with a turning circle of roughly 35 ft and quick steering, it is easy to thread through the city. Rear park assist is optional on the LT.

It is not rated to tow, and its small cargo area and 138-hp engine make it unfit for real work.

The mature Gamma II platform and 1.4T are cheap to fix, but the powertrain is lightly built and the interior plastics are budget-grade. It is not a work tool.

A 120V outlet on the LT and Premier and a fold-flat passenger seat are the only work-oriented provisions, and there is no upfit ecosystem.

It is a poor highway companion: noisy and choppy, with an engine that struggles to pass, and no adaptive cruise or lane assist. A 14-gallon tank gives unremarkable range.

Optional AWD and roof rails help on gravel and in snow, but ground clearance is only about 6.2 in and it is not rated to tow.

The 60/40 folding rear seat and fold-flat front passenger seat let it carry long items, but total volume is small and there is no factory hitch.

It feels nimble at city speeds and stable, but the tall, short-wheelbase body leans and feels unsettled on curvy roads and at highway speed.

The steering is quick and precise but numb, giving little feedback.

Four-wheel disc brakes give adequate, predictable stops for a light subcompact. Reviews raise no braking complaints, and no instrumented figures were found.

The 138-hp 1.4T and six-speed automatic are smooth in town, but the engine underwhelms with passengers aboard or when quick acceleration is needed.

The small turbo four sounds coarse and droning when worked hard.

The compact footprint gives a tight turning circle for an SUV, though published figures vary by source.

The tall seating position and big glass give good sightlines and easy entry. The volume LT's manual seat has limited adjustment, and a power driver's seat comes only on the Premier.

It is an appliance-like runabout. Its city nimbleness is the only playful trait, while the weak engine and choppy chassis leave little to enjoy.

Every 2019 Trax gets a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot and a rear camera. However, driver aids are limited to the expensive trims, and even there the Trax offers only forward-collision and lane-departure warnings, with no automatic emergency braking. Heated seats and blind-zone alert are LT/Premier extras.

Sticker prices of $22,300–$30,400 delivered were cheap for the segment, and heavy 2019 incentives (up to 15% off) made transaction prices cheaper still. Against that, the Trax trails rivals on refinement, cabin quality and safety tech, so its value is fair rather than standout.

Three trims (LS, LT, Premier), each available in FWD or AWD, span about $8,000, with LT option packages for flexibility. The lineup is reasonable, though there is only one engine.

2019 was the first-generation Trax's best US sales year, at roughly 117,000 units, which put it among the top-selling subcompact crossovers. Incentives and fleet volume helped drive that figure.

Chevrolet is a neutral mainstream badge. The Trax itself was known mostly as a budget and rental-fleet crossover, and its weak resale reflects that image.

The 2019 Trax routinely carried large nationwide incentives: 15% off MSRP, a $3,000 cash allowance or 72-month 0% financing, often open to all buyers. For a buyer, these were among the best deals in the segment.

2019 was the fifth US model year of a generation launched for 2015 (global 2013), two years after the 2017 facelift, with no changes for 2019. The platform was aging, and Chevrolet's newer Trailblazer arrived for 2021.

Reviewers credited the Trax's visibility, ride and easy tech but criticized its weak, noisy engine, cheap cabin and limited safety tech. It won no comparison tests or major awards.