Chevy freshens Trax as crossover competition multiplies

DETROIT -- The Chevrolet Trax will get a new face and freshened interior for the 2017 model year, an effort to stay ahead of a slew of newcomers in the burgeoning market for subcompact crossovers.The ’17 Trax, to be unveiled on Thursday at the Chicago Auto Show, adopts the same front end that has been migrating across Chevy’s lineup, with a wider, deeper grille connecting to sleeker headlights that wrap around into the front fenders. It also gets a new, more sculpted hood, as well as LED lighting in the front and rear on higher trim levels.Inside, a decluttered center stack features a new 7-inch touch screen with the latest version of Chevy’s MyLink infotainment system framed by glossy black trim. Chevy also is adding the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces, which have been added to several vehicles across General Motors’ lineup over the last six months.New safety features include side blind-zone alert, forward collision warning and lane-departure warning.It’s a speedy freshening for the Trax, which was launched in the U.S. in December 2014 but debuted in several overseas markets in late 2012. Several other subcompact crossovers have hit U.S. showrooms since the Trax went on sale, including the Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade and Mazda CX-3.Chevy sold 63,030 units of the Trax in 2015 in the U.S., good for No. 3 in the segment behind the Subaru XV Crosstrek (88,927) and the Buick Encore (67,549), which shares the Trax’s underpinnings.The freshened 2017 Trax will go on sale in the fall.“Millennials want the latest and greatest from a design, capability and technology perspective,” Paul Edwards, vice president of U.S. marketing for Chevrolet, told reporters at a media event Tuesday. “So this hits the market at perfectly the right time.”Betsy Flegg, marketing manager for Chevy crossovers, said the Trax has been attracting owners of compact and midsize sedans, as well as drivers of larger crossovers who want to downsize. About 58 percent of buyers are women, the highest percentage for any Chevy nameplate, she said.

Chevy freshens Trax as crossover competition multiplies

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