Chevrolet Trax

The new Trax compact 4×4  is significantly smaller than Chevrolet’s existing large cars – the Orlando MPV and the full-size 4×4, the Captiva – and is designed to muscle in on ground currently occupied by small SUVs such its Vauxhall Mokka sibling and the Renault Captur, and even has the potential to steal a few sales from slightly larger crossovers such as the Kia Sportage.

The Chevy has a decent amount of space for rear passengers. At 356 litres with the rear seats in place and 785 litres when they’re folded flat, the boot is okay, but more space can be found in your average lower medium hatchback.

The rest of the Trax’s interior lags behind the crowd. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, but in an age when budget rivals Kia and Hyundai are producing fine-quality interiors, Chevrolet’s cabins appear second-rate with much cheaper materials. The same can be said of the driving experience: there’s little in the way of body roll but the payoff is a bumpy ride, while the 130hp 1.7-litre diesel engine has a decent amount of mid-range pull but makes a real racket on the move.

Decent CO2 and economy along with reasonable RVs put the Chevy on a stronger footing than you might expect on the costs front. It isn’t the most competitive in its class, though – the cleanest, the Renault Captur, for example, records 95g/km.

The Trax’s relatively low P11D value also gives it a financial advantage over larger competitors, resulting in an overall figure of 46.2ppm. The larger Kia Sportage 1.7 CRDi 2 will set you back 47.6ppm and a similar Hyundai ix35 1.7 CRDi 115 SE stands at 47.2ppm. That said, you can have an albeit marginally smaller and less powerful equivalent, mid-spec diesel Renault Captur or Nissan Juke for less – 39.4ppm and 41.6ppm respectively – and the former car also has a much bigger boot.