No matter your budget, Chevrolet has a utility vehicle to impress.  Whether you just need basic transportation that’s practical and enjoyable to drive or want a large-to-charge electric pickup that drives itself, one of these vehicles should get it.

2025 Chevrolet Trax LT

For a recent drive from Indianapolis, Indiana to Bowling Green, Kentucky; Flint, Michigan and home, I had a choice of vehicles, but chose Chevrolet’s entry-level vehicle, the Trax crossover.  My brain wondered what I was doing as I drove out, but I made a surprisingly good choice.

Much of its style is cribbed from the Trailblazer, with which it shares architecture, and larger Blazer crossovers.  Its front wears Chevy’s chrome cross-bar grille, clinched to the sides under thin driving lamps and lower inset headlamps.  Muscular body forms and zags of lower cladding add drama above 17” wheels.

Interiors are pretty cool too with drivers facing Corvette-style twin flatscreens.  Carbon-look dash trim, large round air vents, and chrome accents lend an upscale air, and as in expensive Chevys, devices connect wirelessly via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.  Automatic climate control was a nice surprise. Cloth seats are firmly bolstered, but thin lumbar support make backs stiff on long trips.  Tip-tap to find lots of plastic, but it all looks good.  Sacrifices must be made to keep prices low…

One of my favorite roads is I65 just south of Louisville where one finally greets the foothills of Appalachia in sweeping fast curves that stress a vehicle’s powertrain and chassis.  Speeds can easily have a “9” in front of them.  And it doesn’t matter if we’re discussing a sports car or utility, GM engineers know how to dial in a chassis for the right balance of comfort and handling.  Kick the Trax off a bridge seam and it just settles without drama.  Steering is tight and precise.  There’s a lot of road noise that intrudes on the stereo, but I’ve driven $40,000 crossovers that would be embarrassed by this car’s handling.

Chevrolet may have specified a less sophisticated powertrain in the Trax, but it’s one of my favorites.  On paper, a 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine, connected to the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission, may not seem that exciting.  However, it produces 137 horsepower and 162 lb.-ft. of torque.  That allows quick enough acceleration onto freeways, but the turbo carries through the hills.  A slight click down on the throttle crisply scrubs a gear or two while surging ahead.  All that, and 28/32-MPG city/highway.

As I’m working on this story, I watch a video about the 1981 Citation X-11, the hottest variant of Chevy’s infamous hatchback.  Back then, it had about 130 horsepower and ran 0-60 mph in 8.5 seconds.  Don’t think that’s fast?  A 1981 Corvette with a 5.7-liter V8 did it in 8.1 seconds.  The Trax?  Yep, 8.5 seconds.  The lowest of today’s Chevrolets challenges top performers from the early ‘80s with a fraction of the engine displacement.

Chevrolet could sell lots full of the Trax even without a low price, but it gets one anyway.  Entry LS models start at $20,500 while the sportier RS and more luxurious LT trims rise from under $24,000.  Shop the Kia Soul, Hyundai Venue, Nissan Kicks, Subaru Impreza and similar Buick Envista for comparison.

2025 Chevrolet Silverado EV LT

A couple of months ago, I tested the Chevy Silverado EV RST, which top-trim of the electric pickup with 460 miles range, air suspension, sportified interior, and city slicker body trim.  It was also $96,000.  Yikes.  So, let’s see what we can get for slightly less coin.

For that, we try the middle-range LT trim.  There are obvious differences.  The LT trades body color trim for black plastic, 24” wheels become 22”, and the RST’s 460 miles range decreases by 70 miles.  The air suspension is gone too.  And, if I hadn’t already driven the RST, I never would have noticed.  At least we kept the fly twin-screen dashboard and hands-off Super Cruise system for relaxed highway driving.

Almost nobody will complain about 390 miles range.  It can fast-charge 100 miles every 10 minutes, so less than 40 minutes for a full tap.  You’ll need closer to 12 hours for the same on a 240v home or commercial charger – an easy overnight replenish.  If you’re counting miles-per-gallon equivalents, it posts 70/59-MPGe city/highway.

Being a truck, the Silverado EV can do real truck stuff – like hauling 1,800 lbs. in the bed or up to 12,500 lbs. on its pre-wired hitch.  Of course, towing a boat or camper will zap half of your range, but that’s still enough to get to a local state park or city recreational area without worry.  Copying a trick from the discontinued Avalanche pickup, the rear cab wall folds in to load kayaks, lumber, or camping gear from backs of the front seats to the tailgate completely sealed and secure.

By the end of the year, Chevrolet will offer the Silverado EV in three trim levels:  Work Truck, LT, and RST.  An entry level price of $57,095 rises to $84,590 for our well-equipped LT – not cheap, but still $12k less than last time.  Compare it to the Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightening, Rivian R1T, and similar GMC Sierra EV.

Storm Forward!

Send comments to Casey at [email protected]; follow him on YouTube @AutoCasey.