STRATFORD, Virginia — With bold styling, peppy performance and more rear legroom than an Audi Q7 for goodness sake, the $23,495 Chevrolet Trax is the most affordable SUV from a Detroit automaker. By a country mile.

But, admit it, the problem we have with entry-level models is the wheels.

Wheels? They look more like they were pulled off the top of a trash can. It doesn’t matter whether they are Detroit, Japanese, Korean or European brands. They’re cheap, tinny, unimaginatively designed. Ugh. How many times have you gone to the online car configurator and blown right by the entry trim?

Or walked right past it in the rental lot?

The entry-level Chevy LS is no different. I walked past it in the Reagan Washington National Airport rental lot and settled on the next, $24,995 LT trim instead. Ahhhhh, now we’re talking. Four cool, 17-inch grey-metallic wheel sculptures worthy of any garage.

Which matters, because Chevy has created a subcompact SUV gem with few compromises.

Indeed, I can think of only two: the LS trash lids — er, wheels — and lack of standard blind-spot assist/or active cruise control safety features (more on that later). Otherwise, my $24,995 LT is a fully baked transportation companion that not only offers the most-compelling entry point for Detroit automakers — but versus European and Asian competition as well.

Entering Westmoreland Couty’s Route 23 in Virginia’s Northern Neck, I put my lead foot to the floor and a healthy 162 pound-feet of torque launched me into the rollercoaster twisties. GRRRRR! growled the ferocious turbocharged three-cylinder engine. WHEEEEE! went my inner child. The LT SUV is LOL fun.

Readers of this column are used to my lamenting the DROOOONE! of most entry-level vehicles with their normally-aspirated four-bangers managed by sippy but uninspired rubber-band, continuously-variable transmissions. General Motors has solved this quandary by subtracting a cylinder, adding a turbo and hooking it up to a smooth six-speed automatic transmission. The result is 20% more torque than, say, a droning Honda HR-V.

But I digress.

Two hours before the freedom of Virginia’s two-lane roads, I had to slog through Washington, D.C. traffic. Trax is a compelling companion here, too.

Slipping into the cabin with my 6-foot-5 frame, Trax hardly felt like a subcompact. The cockpit had plenty of head- and legroom (and a nice center console armrest for my sharp elbows), and I easily sat behind myself. Trax’s best-in-subcompact-SUV-class rear legoom is an inch more than the best-in-sedan-class Honda Civic, and just an inch shy of Chevy’s compact SUV entry, the Equinox.

Cargo space is also generous at nearly 26 cubic feet, and I tossed my suitcase and laptop bag into the back with plenty of room to spare for Mrs. Payne’s luggage (when I picked her up later in the weekend). Speaking of spare, the Trax has a spare tire, too — neglected by many automakers these days but essential in rural Virginia (not to mention the pothole-pocked roads of Detroit).

“Hey, Google, navigate to Stratford Hall, Virginia,” I barked to the standard, eight-inch dash screen run by my phone’s Android Auto app.

We were off.

D.C.’s crowded I-95 corridor is where I reeeeeally missed the lack of blind spot-assist or adaptive cruise. One of these two features is usually standard on Trax competitors — like the Toyota Corolla Cross or Honda HR-V. with standard ACC. But they also start at $26,830 and $27,950, respectively. The speedy Mazda CX-30 includes BLIS and ACC standard. Price? $27,870. Whoa.

Adding blind-spot and adaptive cruise via Chevy’s Drive Confidence Package would bump my LT’s price to $26,385. Still a good deal in class — and my recommended configuration if you have the coin. But on this day, I had no electronic safety bubble around me, meaning I had to rely on the ol’ tools of swiveling neck, eyeballs and left-brake foot.

What a difference from my last trip through D.C. in a $64K Tesla Model Y that navigated itself on Full Self Driving. Which, I hasten to add, is also available in Chevy’s electric, subcompact peer, the Chevy Bolt. Bully for Bolt.

At half the Model Y’s price, the $32K Bolt is the cheapest car on the market with self-driving captivity. Like Trax, the front-wheel driver also brings a roomy backseat and fun driving dynamics when the twisties rise to meet you.

But Trax outdoes its electric little brother on affordability and convenience. While Bolt will go 262 miles on a full charge before filling back up in an hour at a 150-kW fast-charger, Trax will belly up at any ol’ gas pump, slurp its nutrition in three minutes, and go another 422 miles at 32 mpg.

That was reassuring in rural Virginia at a time when Iran’s Strait-of-Hormuz antics were pushing gas prices north of $4 a gallon.

Once clear of stifling D.C. metro traffic, I settled into my 50-mile, 65-mph-on-cruise-control drive south to historic Stratford Hall. Typical of GM products, Trax’s ergonomics are superb, beginning with comfy cloth seats. A tall Arizona iced tea can fit nicely in a deep door pocket.

To adjust speed and infotainment volume, tactile rollers on the steering spokes made sure my hands never left the wheel — and my eyes never left the road.

Left roller for cruise speed, the right roller ... well, it didn’t work as advertised for volume (despite JD Power’s “Great” 83 rating for Trax reliability). Happily, Trax has a redundant button on the back of the steering wheel that I used to adjust volume (a knob on the screen works, too).

Speaking of the infotainment screen, its graphics are the same as a $100K Hummer EV. Crisp, modern. Navigation was run by my phone via the Android Auto app. Once upon a time, you needed a luxe car’s nav system to get you somewhere.

Now, I used the same Google Maps app in Android Auto to guide me to Stratford as I used in a $115K Mercedes AMG E53 Hybrid in Detroit a week ago. The app did more than navigate; AI kept me company on my two-hour trek.

“Hey, Google,” I asked, boning up on my history ahead of the weekend. “Was James Monroe born in Virginia’s Northern Neck?”

“Yes, James Monroe’s birthplace is near Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the last Founding Father to be president. Can I tell you more about his role in the Louisiana Purchase?”

“Can you tell me about his relationship with the Lee family at Stratford Hall?”

And a long conversation ensued.

Not bad for a $25K SUV.

2026 Chevrolet Trax

Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV

Price: $23,495, including $1,795 destination fee ($24,995 LT model as tested)

Powerplant: 1.2-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder

Power: 137 horsepower, 167 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.6 seconds (mfr.)

Weight: 3,050 pounds (est.)

Fuel economy: EPA, 28 mpg city/32 highway/30 combined

Report card

Highs: Peppy, sippy engine; affordable utility

Lows: No standard blind-spot or active cruise control; oh, those base LS wheels

Overall: 4 stars

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