Chevrolet has been a cornerstone of American automobile history. Founded in 1911, it joined the General Motors conglomerate in 1918, helping create one of the largest car companies in the world. Zoom forward to the 21st century, and Chevrolet is a global brand, with a significant (though shrinking) percentage of all vehicle sales overseas. As the car market has continued to fragment, large manufacturers keep having to fill "holes" in their lineup; Chevy is no different, introducing the Trax in 2013, designed and manufactured by GM Korea. Intended to be a small crossover, it's a compact unibody SUV. In some markets, the Trax is known as the Seeker, and in many markets, it effectively ended up replacing both the Chevy Sonic and the Chevy Cruze.
Just as importantly, with five trim levels, the Trax offers a more affordable vehicle in a market where the average new car is unaffordable to many potential buyers. When I had the chance to spend a week with the 2026 Chevrolet Trax 2RS, I was quite interested to check it out, particularly after having been reviewing a spate of $50K-$80K vehicles. With a starting price of $25,300, does it feel like the company's cut too many corners? Chevy parked a 2RS in Apex Red with Jet Black interior (with red accents) in my driveway and handed me the keys. My immediate reaction: It has great curb appeal.
The lines are somewhat similar to the Toyota Corolla Cross, which I found to be excellent. Certainly, the Trax offers a solid design and a hint of power and sportiness with its 2RS front grille design and streamlining. The great wheel design is also unique to the sporty 2RS trim level, which adds bigger, two-tone wheels. The more significant changes are to the interior, which bumps the car up to Evotex seats with red accents and a flat-bottom heated steering wheel.
The Trax is powered by a surprisingly capable Ecotec 1.2L 3-cylinder turbo engine and a modest 6-speed automatic transmission, delivering 28mpg/32mpg EPA fuel efficiency. Some owners complain it's underpowered, but I didn't find that to be the case in my week of driving in various terrains. My theory is that non-car folk hear that the 2RS trim level is the "sporty" option and assume that the car should therefore keep up with their neighbor's sexy new Corvette. Nyet. It ain't going to happen. Then again, you can buy two Trax, have enough left over for a nice vacation, and still be ahead of the typical 'vette price tag.
Sitting in the driver's seat reveals that it's a nice layout and coherent design, with standard elements like an in-line shifter coupled with modern touches, like its big, bright 11" infotainment display. Note also the flattened bottom of the steering wheel, a touch only available with the 2RS, and the touches of red on the gearshift and in the climate vent to the left of the steering wheel. It's not a top-of-the-line Mercedes dash, but for a budget vehicle, it's entirely acceptable. There are, however, some issues with material quality, which I'll discuss more momentarily.
Let's keep exploring the dashboard first...
There's a common affordability trade-off that's revealed in the climate controls. Can you see it? It's only a single-zone system, so the passenger can't dial a hotter or colder vent than the driver. While dual zone systems are quite common, whether they're necessary has always been an interesting question.
The steering wheel controls are so standard for modern vehicles that most drivers could operate them blindfolded. However, I do not encourage anyone to drive the Trax while blindfolded, so that might be a tough hypothesis to test. :-)
I really liked the gear shifter, as mentioned earlier. All the new designs with buttons, shifters on a stick coming out of the steering column, or other weird interfaces are interesting, but there's something to be said for a knob that's comfortable for the hand and completely intuitive to operate. Not much else going on in this center console, but notice the slot between the two cupholders; it's perfect for holding a smartphone that doesn't need to charge on the Qi charging pad.
Speaking of which, this is the charging station below the climate controls and behind the gear shift. 12V, USB-C, USB-A, Qi wireless, all must-have elements for a modern car. But look at how scuffed it is! That's not me being particularly messy; it's a materials quality problem and will force the fastidious owner to constantly be wiping surfaces down. This also appeared with the door panels, which are single pieces of molded plastic and also susceptible to accumulating fingerprints.
Before we leave the interior, the infotainment screen at 11" diagonal really is terrific, especially for a budget-minded vehicle. Note also that the icons on the left side allow easy access to all of the Chevrolet functions, while the rest is a stretched wireless Apple CarPlay display. Very functional.
The main gauge display is also very functional without being bogged down with graphics or unnecessary information. Fuel, range to empty, gear, speed, tachometer, temp. Easy.
Stepping out of the driver's seat...
I was surprised and impressed by the available legroom for rear passengers: The above photo is with the driver's seat almost all the way back, and there's still enough for an adult to sit in the rear.
Same with the rear cargo space; there's a lot more than you might expect for a car of this style (though notice all the scuffs already showing on the rug after less than 5,000 miles of use). Lots to appreciate.
While there are some tradeoffs with the 2026 Chevy Trax 2RS, there's also a lot that I liked and found impressive, starting with its striking exterior appearance. If you're in the market for a budget family car or just prefer to avoid the endless boxy compact SUV vehicles available, the Trax is a solid option to check out when you're shopping.
2026 Chevrolet Trax 2RS FWD with Ecotec 3-cylinder 1.2L Turbo engine and 6-speed automatic. BASE PRICE: $25,300.00. Options Included: Sunroof Package, Driver Confidence Package (seriously, who comes up with these names??). AS DRIVEN: $28,385.00.
Disclosure: Chevrolet loaned me the vehicle for a week in return for this candid write-up. This article was originally published as https://planetdave.com/2025/11/sporty-and-affordable-the-2026-chevrolet-trax-2rs/ on https://planetdave.com/2025/11/sporty-and-affordable-the-2026-chevrolet-trax-2rs/ and is republished with permission.
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