The Trax is produced by Opel and sold in the USA as the Chevrolet. Production for this vehicle has occurred in both Korea and in Mexico. It is built off the same platform that the Cruze, Barina, Astra and the Viva were all built off. The engine is of the same family and very little seems to have changed not here motors over the years. Only some minor upgrades have been seen and some high performance options hit the market with the cruise coming out in petrol turbo models and diesels.
The Trax is a small SUV and carry extra weight than its older brothers but the running gear is much the same. It is only a front wheel drive but is the size of a small four wheel drive. This car is basically a Cruze on steroids. Unfortunately the Cruze is not much chop. If you want to see the list of common faults with the Cruze you can check the link below. Basically all the mechanical faults in the Cruze apply for the Trax.
Holden Cruze Common Faults
Mechanically the Trax is actually a little disappointing. We were hoping that the manufacturers had realised that the family of engines were just a glorified marshmallow and would scrap these engines and start over instead all they have done is make a slightly heavier car and ask the engine to do extra work when it was known for giving up at the first sign of any real work. It’s so good that in the USA the Trax has been banned from towing.
The only people who think the Holden Trax is a good idea are the same people who feel a decent hobby is ocean kayaking.
Common mechanical faults continue to be the same issues that plague the whole family of engines. They easily blow heads, oil coolers bust internally, timing belts need replacing far too often, ignition coil failure, high pressure fuel pump faults and the list goes on. The manufacturers have done nothing to rectify these issues they just built a different body around the running gear and sold it to people. The only thing going for the Trax is a decent marketing campaign.
There are some positives for the Trax as well. Many consumers like the higher up seating position offered by many SUVs but in most cases this elevated seating comes at a cost. Many SUVs running the 4wd drive line insure increased service costs and increases in fuel consumption. The Trax offered the perks of a SUV allowing drivers to be seated in a slightly higher position “above the traffic” without the huge fuel costs and service needs of a complete four wheel drive.
The Trax is not suitable for off road work, its no different to a Cruze when it comes to taking it camping, on the beach or any of those type of adventure lifestyle activities that require an SUV. However, if you have no intention of doing these things but just like the benefits offered by an SUV, on the roads then the Trax may be suitable.
Being designed and produced by Opel the Trax offers many creature comforts that most European manufactures offer. Suspension and handling are exceptional. The Trax is actually a beautiful car to drive, marginally underpowered and the automatic offers what feels like odd gear ratios but on Sydney roads the Trax offers a very comfortable drive. Exception brake response is also credited to the european design fitted to the Cruze. Again this does come at a cost, with rotor replacement required with every pad replacement, due to the soft compound of the metal. This is something all manufacturers are leaning towards and thus is not really a negative for one specific vehicle as its unavoidable. Provided consumers don’t cut costs on tyres The tax handles, steers and brakes exceptionally well. We just wish the steering and suspension engineers would move over the engine and transmission departments at Opel.
To their credit Opel have discovered how to avoid cars rusting. Being situated close to the salty ocean our workshop regularly sees the effect sea salt has on vehicles. We are yet to see anything produced by Opel in the past ten years have an issue with rust.
In summary, mechanically the Trax is poor however it boasts the pros of a SUV without being an SUV. Consumers need to be mindful of this. The Trax is no good for going to the tip, camping or pulling a friends car out of a ditch. It is suitable for dropping several kids to soccer, turning up to open homes with a respectable looking vehicle and parking in tight spaces. Its a perfect car for a small window of consumers. This that need an SUV sized vehicle without needing an actually SUV.
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