SEOUL - General Motors' global Chevrolet brand today announced the official launch and start of presales of the Trax Crossover in Korea.

The Trax Crossover is Chevrolet's entry model in GM's global product portfolio. It offers a sophisticated design while catering to consumers' diverse lifestyles through its versatility and maximized space utilization.

"We are paving the way for GM's new target segment, crossovers, with the Chevrolet Trax Crossover's launch in Korea," said GM Korean Operations President Roberto Rempel. "The global and domestic markets are looking forward to the all-new model, as it starts a new chapter for the Chevrolet brand.”

"We sent our first shipment of 6,000 vehicles to the U.S. in February and have already seen an amazing response from dealers, customers and the media," he added.

■ Unique designs reflect diverse lifestyles

The Trax Crossover is characterized by a stylish design that combines a crossover's unique sleek ratios and sportiness. The shape of the letter X, symbolizing crossover, was used as a key element to bring out details in the body design. The model’s unique dynamism is expressed through design elements often found in sports cars, such as a wide wheelbase, a muscular body shape and a lower roofline.

In addition, the Trax Crossover offers distinct designs based on consumers’ diverse lifestyles: the RS emphasizes its sporty design and the ACTIV stresses outdoor activities.

"The Trax Crossover is a true Global GM achievement and ready for big, big things,” Stuart Norris, GMI(GM International & China) Design Vice President, said. “The Trax Crossover embodies Chevrolet’s philosophy of delivering pleasure to drivers based on unique sophistication and unprecedented efficiency. The Trax Crossover is designed with prominent functionalities and a clear purpose, based on the great design heritage of Chevrolet.”

The RS stands for Rally Sport. It is a model with a sleek design and dynamic performance based on the Chevrolet brand's racing heritage. The RS’s exclusive exterior options include 19-inch carbon flash machined alloy wheels, a black ice chrome grille bar, a black roof, a black Trax lettering logo, and an RS badge. The gloss black exterior palette was applied to its exclusive exterior mirrors, skid plate inserts and roof rack, highlighting the RS model's charismatic appearance.

The RS's interior has unique jet black and red accents. It also offers RS artificial leather seats, gloss black IP and front door deco panels, a D-cut steering wheel, a front door sill plate, and a black headliner to deliver dynamics and tension inspired by racing vehicles with visual and tactile elements.

Specialized for outdoor activities, the ACTIV trim features a more refined, muscular design. The lower part of the radiator grille has been enlarged. The ACTIV offers exclusive optional titanium chrome exterior features to bring more toughness.

It also comes with 18-inch gloss black alloy wheels, a gloss black exterior and a roof rack, along with optional jet black and Artemis features, such as ACTIV artificial leather seats, to spark confidence and excitement about outdoor activities.

■ Roomy and driver-oriented interior

The Trax Crossover has a wide and low stance with slender proportions courtesy of a body measuring 4,540 mm in length, 1,825 mm in width and 1,560 mm in height. Additionally, it has a roomy interior that goes beyond its segment.

With a long wheelbase of 2,700 mm and the shortest rear overhang among Chevrolet models, it also boasts wider and more comfortable legroom for the second-row seats. Its high floor helps passengers get in and out comfortably. As its cargo space can be expanded even further, it can be used to load items for various activities, such as car camping.

The Trax Crossover's interior is tailored for drivers based on Chevrolet's new-generation design language. It has a floating dual screen, which consists of an 8-inch color cluster display and an 11-inch color touchscreen. With the center touchscreen tilted toward the driver at about 9 degrees, it provides a more convenient interface and supports various features, such as driving information and entertainment assistance.

It also has advanced features that include power-ventilated and heated seats with lumbar support, wireless phone charging, a power liftgate, auto hold, and a rear seat air vent for the convenience of users.

■ Outstanding performance via a rigid, lightweight body and the powertrain with cutting-edge technologies

As a crossover targeting the global market, the Trax Crossover employs GM's latest technologies for outstanding performance and efficiency. In particular, the Trax Crossover's body structure was designed with GM's latest design process called "Smart Engineering."

Smart Engineering is a system that simulates various driving situations in a computer to identify and reinforce the load-bearing parts of the body in various driving situations. Despite the Trax Crossover having a larger and stronger body than competing models, Smart Engineering is the secret to achieving a weight reduction. As a result, it provides excellent driving performance, fuel economy, stability and durability.

The powertrain has an E-Turbo Prime engine built leveraging GM’s cutting-edge technologies. The engine’s superior power and fuel efficiency have been proven in the Chevrolet Malibu and Trailblazer. The Trax Crossover’s new 1.2-liter E-Turbo Prime engine has a more compact size.

The Trax crossover delivers not only an outstanding performance with maximum output of 139 horsepower and maximum torque of 22.4 kg-m but also excellent fuel efficiency of 12.7 km per liter based on the model with 17-inch tires in combination with a proven Gen III 6-speed automatic transmission. Trax Crossover drivers will also benefit from the model’s third-class low-emission vehicle certification.

■ State-of-the-art convenience and safety features worthy of a global model

The Trax Crossover has a cutting-edge infotainment system and various safety features that go with its stylish design. It offers Android Auto and Apple CarPlay without a cable connection and comes with active noise cancellation (ANC), protecting passengers from unwanted sounds from outside. The 11-inch infotainment system elevates the sense of luxury, which is difficult to find in entry models.

It also comes with advanced safety features, including six air bags and the StabiliTrak® stability control system with Hill Start Assist. Additional features to prevent accidents in advance include Forward Collision Alert, low-speed Automatic Emergency Braking, a head-up LED Warning Lamp (RLAD), Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keep Assist, the Forward Pedestrian Detection and Braking function, Lane Change Alert and Blind Zone Alert, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Safety has been further enhanced by applying a rear-passenger reminder to the basic trim to prevent accidents in which children or items are left in the vehicle.

■ Optional features exclusive for Korea

The Trax crossover targets the world market but exclusively has options for Korean customers. The Trax auto-hold system automatically controls the brake, assisting Korean drivers who pass through frequent stop-and-go traffic.

Rear air vents have been added to the Trax sold in Korea for rear-seat passengers. The cargo area is also accessed via a power liftgate, helping its users to load items. In addition, the crossover vehicle exclusively has exterior-design features, including LED tail lamps, LED turn indicators, an integrated exterior mirror, and a shark fin antenna.

Drivers with the ACTIV can have a wide range of the Trax's versatility through the "Hit The Road" package. It will lead to unique styles along with the practicality of loading items for outdoor activities like camping.

The price of the Trax Crossover (based on the lowered individual consumption tax) aims to be the new trendsetter in the crossover market, starting at KRW 20.52 million for the LS, KRW 23.66 million for the LT, KRW 26.81 million for the ACTIV and KRW 27.39 million for the RS.