2017 Holden Trax LS Review – City SUV Finds Awkward Middle Ground
Back when there was only a glimmer of hope that the small SUV segment would really take off, the Holden Trax lobbed as one of the first contenders in the class.
In 2013 the Trax competed against the dud Ford EcoSport, ordinary Mitsubishi ASX, flawed Nissan Juke, and underdone Suzuki S-Cross. You may have gathered by now that the class was fairly 'green' at the time. Only the Peugeot 2008 impressed.
Then the $20,000 to $30,000 high-riding pumped-hatchback segment started to flourish, first with the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3 in 2015, then with the Toyota CH-R this year.
For the Trax, though, it's facelift time. Behind the restyled face the anaemic 1.8-litre non-turbo engine has been ditched for a 1.4-litre turbo in all automatic versions. A reconfigured cabin also scores a new infotainment system and extra kit. But is this facelift on-point enough to keep Holden's littlest SUV on-Trax for class leadership?
Vehicle Style: Small SUV
Price: $26,490 plus on-road costs
Engine/trans: 103kW/200Nm 1.4 turbo petrol four-cylinder | six-speed automatic
Fuel Economy Claimed: 6.7 l/100km | Tested: 8.7 l/100km
OVERVIEW
Holden's 1.8-litre non-turbo four-cylinder clearly shows more spirit and determination facing death than it ever had in life. After serving in Astra and Cruze models over two decades, the ancient and noisy unit is only now only installed in the five-speed manual Trax LS, at $23,990 plus on-road costs.
Picking the six-speed automatic Trax LS (as tested here) now requires forking out $26,490 (plus orc) – $300 higher than before, but now with a 1.4-litre turbo upgrade previously reserved for the $30K flagship.