Episode 444: 2026 Chevrolet Trax, Sung Kang Interview
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Car
Volkswagen Atlas
The Volkswagen Atlas is a bigger family SUV with three rows of seats. People review it because it’s meant to be comfortable and practical for trips and everyday driving.
Concept
redesign
A redesign is when a car gets updated for a new model cycle. It can include changes to the look, the cabin, and sometimes the engine and tech.
Car
Chevrolet Trax
The Chevrolet Trax is a small SUV made by Chevrolet. This episode is specifically about the 2026 version, and the hosts are saying how much people like it can change based on location and local deals.
Concept
Midnight Package
A Midnight Package is a set of styling upgrades that usually makes more of the car’s exterior look black or darker. It’s more than just picking black paint—it changes things like wheels and mirrors too.
Term
body cladding
Body cladding is the plastic trim on the outside of many crossovers. Since it’s plastic, it can fade or change color faster than the paint, so the car can start looking “off” as it ages.
Concept
press drive
A press drive is when car reporters get to drive a new car ahead of time. It helps them write reviews and share what it’s like to drive.
Concept
trespassing
Trespassing means you’re on someone’s property without permission. Even if you didn’t mean to, pulling into a private driveway or yard can count as trespassing.
Term
Crimson Metallic
Crimson Metallic is a specific paint color option. “Metallic” usually means the paint has tiny reflective particles, so it can look brighter and more dynamic in the sun.
Term
Apex Red
Apex Red is another paint color option. They’re saying the Trax’s available colors changed, and Apex Red is one of the new ones.
Term
White Sands
White Sands is the name of a paint color option. It’s basically GM’s way of naming a particular white shade you can order on the car.
Concept
infotainment screen
The infotainment screen is the big display in the dashboard. It’s where you control things like music and settings, and sometimes navigation—depending on the car and trim.
Term
Apple CarPlay
Apple CarPlay connects your iPhone to the car so you can use apps on the dashboard screen. It’s especially useful for navigation and music.
Term
Android Auto
Android Auto lets you connect your Android phone to the car and use certain apps on the car’s screen. It’s a way to get navigation and music without using the car’s built-in system.
Term
analog gauges
Analog gauges are the classic round dials you can read at a glance. They’re different from digital screens and can feel more traditional.
Concept
trim levels
Trim levels are different versions of the same model that come with varying equipment and features. The speaker uses trim levels to explain how screen size and interior content change depending on how much you pay.
Concept
cost cutting
Cost cutting means the manufacturer saved money somewhere in the design. In this case, the speaker is saying you can tell from the interior materials and how they look/feel.
Term
heat vents
Heat vents are the openings that blow warm air into the cabin. They’re saying the rear passengers may not have their own vents, which can make it harder to stay comfortable.
Term
infotainment system
The infotainment system is the car’s main screen for things like music and settings. If controls are moved there, you have to use the screen instead of simple buttons.
Term
wireless charging pad
A wireless charging pad charges your phone without plugging in a cable. Some cars include it, and some don’t, depending on the version.
Term
cup holders
Cup holders are the built-in holders for drinks in the car. Some car makers design them to fit popular cup sizes so your drink sits securely.
Term
spill containment area
This is a practical way of describing a cup holder that doesn’t actually secure a smaller container. If the holder is too large, the drink can move and the design’s benefit becomes minimizing mess rather than preventing movement.
Term
CVT
CVT means a transmission that can smoothly change ratios without fixed gears. Some CVTs can make the engine sound buzzy, especially when you accelerate.
Term
137 horsepower
Horsepower is a number that tells you how much power the engine makes. They’re discussing whether 137 is good for a small crossover like this.
Term
throttle hang
“Throttle hang” is when the engine’s response lags after you lift off the accelerator—often due to how the transmission and engine control manage airflow and boost. It can make the car feel like it’s not immediately transitioning between acceleration and deceleration.
Term
front-wheel-drive
Front-wheel-drive means the front wheels do the work of moving the car. In bad weather, that can help the car feel more stable because the front tires are the ones getting traction.
Term
liters per 100 kilometers
In Canada, fuel use is often measured as liters used for every 100 kilometers. Less fuel per 100 km means the car is more efficient.
Concept
fuel economy ratings (city vs highway)
Car fuel economy is usually rated separately for city driving and highway driving. Those numbers come from tests, and your real mileage can be better or worse depending on how you drive and conditions.
Term
winter tires
Winter tires are designed with softer rubber compounds and tread patterns that grip better in cold temperatures, snow, and slush. They can significantly improve traction for a front-wheel-drive vehicle during blizzards and muddy conditions.
Concept
all-wheel-drive
All-wheel-drive means the car can push with all four wheels instead of just the front or rear. It helps when roads are slippery, but it can make the car cost more and sometimes use more fuel.
Concept
Honest Angle
“Honest Angle” sounds like a storytelling style. The goal is to make you feel like you’re actually driving, not just watching from the outside.
Car
1983 Dodge Monaco
The 1983 Dodge Monaco was a big American sedan from the early ’80s. It’s being mentioned as the guest’s first car, which helps explain how he got into cars before his later Z ownership.
LIVE
Hello, and welcome to the Unnamed Automotive Podcast.
My name is Sammy Hadjassad, and with me as always is my good friend and fellow automotive
journalist, Benjamin Hunting.
Say hi to the people, Ben.
Greetings human listeners.
Greetings to everyone.
If this is the first time you're listening to our podcast, thank you for trying something
new.
Me and Ben have been doing this for, I think, nearly 10 years now.
Amazing.
I've never done anything for 10 years.
That's not true.
It is true.
You've done this for 10 years.
That's true.
That's the only thing.
And the career that surrounds this, because Ben is a professional automotive journalist,
as am I.
Yeah, but the core is constantly changing.
Do you have an outlet that you're writing for now that you were writing for 10 years
ago?
No, absolutely not.
I have almosts, but again, no 10 years.
Even the publications that I was writing for 10 years ago is a very different publication
than ever.
I don't know how many of them exist.
Yeah, that's true.
Ben, what's up, man?
I'm just here talking about cars.
In publications.
My longtime associate, Sammy Hadgeson.
And publications.
So why don't we tell your listeners where they can find your latest work, and I'll do
the same when you're done.
You can find my latest work at Hagerty, at Motor Trend, and at autotrader.ca.
And you can find my work at driving.ca and autotrader.ca, as well as driving.ca.
YouTube channel.
They just published a Volkswagen Atlas review.
That's what they did recently, of me with me in it, of me or with me in it.
I published, I hosted a video review of the Volkswagen Atlas on their YouTube channel.
It's going very nicely.
Didn't they just debut the 2027 redesign?
Yeah.
In fact, I talked mostly about the Atlas on this podcast before this video was revealed.
So anybody who's listened to this podcast already knows what I'm going to say in that
video.
That's the advantage of subscribing to our podcast, is you get the driving YouTube channel
like two or three weeks in advance.
You get all of our thoughts two or three weeks in advance.
Too many thoughts.
And it's a lot, man.
I'm always thinking, I wish we didn't have to.
You wish we didn't have to think like everything was just autonomous?
No, no, I wish that our responsibilities in life did not require us to constantly be
thinking.
Okay.
All right.
You heard it here first.
Sammy wants to return to a fish like existence.
Yeah, vegetated.
You think the fish aren't thinking?
I think some fish aren't thinking.
Yeah.
I want to be the non-thinking fish.
I want to be a potato or maybe another root vegetable.
I'm not a fish expert and I'm not a potato expert.
But then again, the potatoes are making electricity, aren't they?
So they must be thinking.
Potatoes are making electricity.
Where are we going with this?
Is this the automotive disinformation podcast now?
Do you really think they're not making electricity?
Pop your hood.
Put a potato where the battery should be.
Try to start your car.
Tell me what happens.
I'm going to try.
You don't have to tell me what happens.
I know it's going to happen.
But you can tell me.
Try potato, baby.
This week, we're going to be talking about a car that we really, really like.
But depending on where you live, we like it more or less, which is.
Oh, yeah.
No.
But depending on where you live, it is an entirely different conversation.
So we're going to have basically two talks about the same car today.
It's an unusual situation.
It is, of course, the 2026 Chevrolet Trax.
Trax is a long time all-star on Unnamed Automotive Podcast.
I don't know if that's true because the first generation Trax was really nothing special.
Well, that's the thing.
When I say long time, I really mean since like 2024 when it was redesigned.
Yeah.
The Trax.
Which felt like a lot.
We've been dealing with so much over the past two years.
It's been 24 for three years now.
There is a Buick version of the Trax as well called the Invista, which we've talked about
on the show multiple times.
It's a.
Also a good car.
Yeah.
It's somewhat more luxurious than the Trax in terms of interior and the exterior styling
is smoother.
But I will say this.
I think the outside of the Trax looks pretty good.
It's a.
It's OK.
It is very clearly like it feels like it's look it based on a car.
It feels like it's based on a car.
But if you get it, if you get it in a color like you can get a red and a blue and I think
you used to be able to get like a green kind of that was that was very sage.
Yeah.
Sage.
OK.
You get very matcha.
Those are not the same thing, but.
Continue.
Ever.
Evergreen.
Very minty.
Very minty.
If you get the the Trax in a color, you can see the details of the Trax much better than
you can.
Mine was in black.
It has something called the Midnight Package, which is.
So it was more than just black.
It was black with additional black.
Yeah.
They like black mirrors, black wheels.
If they didn't want you to see any of those details that you were just about to mention.
It's odd.
I don't know what the fascination is with black.
I own a black car because.
Me too.
It's constantly dirty.
It was only sold in two colors though.
My car.
So like I didn't really have a choice.
But the yeah, it's it's it's not as appealing in black.
I think because the other thing about black that on a crossover is it contrasts against
the plastic on the fenders.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
If it's not like color match to that, that body cladding, it looks no.
And the cladding will fade at a different rate than the black.
And over time that can be the worst case scenario for this is the via cross, which has like
you often see these via crosses that are totally faded on the plastic and they have huge amounts
of plastic.
Let's step like take a step back.
Not everyone is on a first name basis with the via cross.
Can you give it a year and model and make and model late nineties to early 2000s is
a via cross and a very, a very special car in our hearts that has become a one named
car here.
More so than the tracks.
More so than the tracks.
Fun fact.
I went to the original tracks as debut.
Me too.
16 I think in San Francisco.
I want to say I went to one in Ottawa.
That's a very different experience.
It was a very different experience.
It was a, for me, it was a combined tracks and couldn't have been 2016.
It was a combined tracks and sonic experience.
So maybe it was 2013.
It was one of my first press drives in Canada.
And here's what I remember.
We went to Ottawa.
I drove this car in some very snowy weather.
I met a guy who was like, I don't know if he was domesticating or, or just like rescuing
raccoons.
I don't think they can be domesticated.
I think they'll always have one.
And he was, he was really obsessed with telling us about this fact that he had to help them
pee.
Okay.
Well, the retelling of that story.
How did you meet that person?
He was, he was at the lodge.
A part of like, yeah, he was like, he was like one of the side shows that, you know,
accompany these events that the automaker put on.
He was brought in by Chevrolet.
To do what?
To know to, huh?
Yeah.
Like with the raccoons to show that like there, we were out in nature or something.
Okay.
So the raccoons were indoors.
Yeah.
That does seem a bit domesticated.
It was so silly.
My experience was, my experience was very different.
I believe it was a dual tracks and sonic event.
I was there with a friend journalist from Quebec whose name I will not bring up because
of what happened, but this person.
So the tracks in general was a problematic event.
Well, this person was a huge Metallica fan and the driver that we were on took us through,
I guess, Marin County on the other side of the bay from San Francisco.
And in that area in general is where James Hetfield lives.
Do you know James Hetfield?
You're going to have to, you're going to have to spell it out for me.
Lead singer and guitarist for Metallica.
And how did you guys embarrass yourself?
Well, my driving companion was pretty sure he knew where Hetfield lived.
And so we ended up like in what looked like a gated community in up a mountain.
And we pulled into a driveway and into a yard of a house.
Like this is like, we're not just out front of the house.
We're in the yard of this house.
And at that point I was kind of like, maybe we shouldn't be here.
There didn't seem to be anyone home.
And my companion was like, no, this is definitely where Hetfield lives.
So I went to James Hetfield's house, but Hetfield did not know that.
And then we left.
So that was weird.
It just seems like the first generation tracks was somewhat cursed, it seems.
I believe technically what we did was called trespassing.
I don't know about technically.
We'll let the legal.
Well, it's been like more than a decade.
So I think that the statute of limitations on trespassing has expired.
You better hope so.
Yeah, or I'm going to get Hetfield's going to land on my lawn in a helicopter.
And ask you for your co-driver.
And take my house from me.
Oh man.
So back to the tracks.
Tracks now is very different than tracks then.
The exterior I think looks really good.
Get it in a color if you want to see more details.
There's two new colors this year.
You can get something called Crimson Metallic and something called Nitro Yellow Metallic.
Oh no, sorry.
Scratch that.
Those colors are gone.
They've been replaced.
Oh my goodness.
Nitro Yellow is not what I would imagine.
Nitro to me is a very fiery color.
Nitro to me is something that you push a button in the Ivan Iron Man,
Stuart off-road game and you can boost your car.
What color was that button?
I think it was yellow.
So the Crimson Metallic Nitro Yellow are gone to replaced by White Sands and Apex Red.
There aren't really any other differences.
In Canada though, one thing that perhaps in the United States as well,
I drove a one RS trim level of the vehicle.
That is the base model of the tracks.
However, four years ago, the tracks was available.
What was four years ago?
Three years ago when it first debuted, you could get an LS version.
I believe it was called and that was the real, real entry level.
The reason I bring this up is because there is a tale of two tracks.
In the United States today, the track starts at 23 grand and it goes up to 27,000.
That includes destination.
That's very, very competitive.
There are a lot of vehicles at around 23,000 that are comparable to the tracks
that you might want to consider, but the tracks is very much in the conversation there.
It is in fact the second cheapest car you can buy in the States.
I believe the venue is the only less expensive vehicle.
However, in Canada, the tracks now starts at 30,000 Canadian.
That is $6,000 more than it cost three years ago.
A big part of that is because the LS trim is gone, but even still,
every single year from 24, 25 to 26, the tracks has gone up in price.
Features have not changed.
It is still the one RS basically that you were getting three years ago.
Now, this is something that we've noticed in a number of affordable cars, Sammy.
I think the biggest offender here is the Maverick.
Yes, and I think maybe the, well, when the kicks got a redesign,
it also went up significantly.
The kicks is now about $29,000, but as you said, it's redesigned.
You can also get all wheel drive with it, which you couldn't before.
All sorts of tech stuff that the old one didn't really have.
The Maverick has gone up in the United States at least, I believe $7,000.
Yes, it has gained nothing on that entry level model.
Yes, the tracks, so now we have the situation where I really,
really like the tracks.
If you live in the United States, if you live in Canada,
I think you could maybe do better if you're looking for basic transportation.
And that's because the venue is five grand less.
The Celtos is a grand less.
The Elantra is four grand less and the Sentra is two grand less.
That's four vehicles that are cheaper than the tracks.
That's double the number that are cheaper versus the U.S. market.
I have to be clear.
The venue is a car that I could not recommend.
I just cannot recommend it.
I've never driven it, but if you're looking,
if you thought the old Hyundai Accent was a bit basic,
this is somehow like not, it's worse, like it's somehow worse.
If you're looking for the cheapest car you can get though.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's the only reason to get it.
I'm not, that's all I got to be clear on.
That's, I do not recommend the Accent unless you're really stuck to
a very, very strict budget and you can't get a used car.
But the other cars you mentioned are exceptionally good.
I do, I do find the Celtos to be somewhat decent
and the Elantra is a fantastic car.
And in Canada, as I mentioned, the Kix is now 29.9 or 29 something,
which puts it right up there with the, the tracks,
but the vehicle has been redesigned much more recently.
It looks more modern.
The interior feels a bit more modern, et cetera, et cetera.
I want to get back to what I like about the tracks
because there are a bunch of things that are good about it.
Well, we used to really like the price.
That used to be like the one thing I used to really like.
And I still really like it in the States.
So the interior of the vehicle is very basic.
And by basic, I mean the RS model, which is now the base,
you get a eight inch infotainment screen,
but there's not a lot going on there.
Pretty much everything you're going to do
is going to come from your phone.
So you're going to be using Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.
There's no navigation.
There's, there's none of that stuff.
The, there's an 11 inch infotainment screen
on higher trim levels.
I think you have to get to the LT or higher to do that.
The analog gauges are a nice throwback.
It's actually fine.
I'm totally into it.
My car also have that.
But they're a throwback.
They're not.
They're just, that's the way you like gauges work.
You know,
but they're a throwback in the sense that they're not fake
at a lot of gauges.
They're actually, you know,
made of plastic and they're in there.
And the screen that's between them is like a single color LCD
screen is the three and a half inch screen on the RS.
You can get a much larger eight inch infotainment cluster
on higher trim levels if you want.
But I just, you know,
if I'm looking at basic transportation,
if it's just going to be getting me to work in back,
and I don't think about it for anything else,
I think that's kind of appealing.
I don't need all the distractions.
The interior is also much, it's very plasticky.
Don't get me wrong.
It's gray and it's black.
There's some red stitching and highlights.
But again, you will see where the cost cutting went in.
And that is the interior of the vehicle,
but it is comfortable.
And in fact, I had a family visit for the weekend
and we went all over the area in this tracks for adults.
The back seat was fine.
And in fact, the cargo area is almost as big as the Equinox
that I had last week, which is like a class above vehicle.
And in fact, I think it's bigger than the CX 50
or like the same size.
You're talking about the rear seat space or the cargo space?
The cargo space.
Wow.
Yeah.
So even while people are able to...
That's total cargo space.
But the actual amount while people are sitting
is still pretty good too.
I want to say it's 25.6 cubic feet
and it's 54 with the back row down.
So you're beating vehicles like the GTI, for example,
quite handily and you're tying the CX 50.
It's very, very close and very, very close to the Equinox,
which is in the same showroom.
So I was impressed with that.
That's not something that I expected.
And when you look at the tracks, it looks small.
It does.
Yeah.
You don't think that it's going to be very useful
and it turns out that it is.
The comfort level inside,
people riding in the back didn't have any complaints.
There's no heat vents back there as far as I know.
That's not great.
The climate controls are manual and single zone,
which is interesting and I'm into it.
But it's something you're going to have to get used to.
The fun part of the...
This feels like a luxury.
But remember how last week I was complaining about
how the Equinox moved the lighting controls
to the infotainment system?
Yes.
So that's not the case in the...
You have physical controls for them now?
Physical control over to the left of the steering wheel.
There's a dial.
So it's almost like they spent more money on the tracks
than they did on the Equinox interior,
which I know isn't true, but it does feel that way.
And there was another cool thing that I liked about the tracks
that the Equinox didn't have.
And that's probably because the Equinox
is a wireless charging pad, which my vehicle didn't.
You have to buy it, or maybe it did.
I don't remember.
But if they did, it wasn't obvious.
In the tracks, in between the cup holders,
there's a slot where you can stick your phone
like straight up or down.
And that's a nice feature.
Like almost every car asks you to lie it flat.
But this is like, you could still see it if you wanted to.
I know you shouldn't be looking at your phone,
but let's say you're using navigation
and you don't have a windshield mount.
You could do that.
Because this car doesn't have...
Like all the other Chevy's doesn't have...
Does it have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay?
I mentioned that earlier.
I knew you weren't paying attention.
It has both of those things.
It does not have Google...
You slinged it out there quickly.
It does not have Google Apps built-in.
Oh, yeah, okay.
You're going to be doing everything
through your phone projection.
But sometimes you might not have the cable or whatever,
and you need to put your phone somewhere.
Well, you don't need a cable. It's wireless.
But the other thing that's nice about that slot
is if your phone is plugged in,
you can put it in upside down,
and your cable isn't going to catch on anything.
You know what I mean?
Okay.
Sometimes you put it in like a glove compartment
or a little storage nook that's under the center screen,
and the cable catches on something
and you're pulling at your cable connection,
and that's no good.
So I appreciated that.
It's something that's cheap,
and it actually adds to the vehicle, which is rare.
Very true.
It's weird to me that I think...
I find that to be considered a sense of practicality
about how people and what people bring into the car
and how accommodating it is.
So yeah, basically everybody I know has a smartphone
and will likely either take it out of their pocket
when they get into the car,
either to make sure they don't sit on it or whatever,
to make sure it's close at hand.
We're like attached to these things.
So to have a place dedicated for it is smart.
It really is clever.
And I think it's more so than just putting it flat
in a little cubby somewhere,
there's more than that.
And sometimes there's more than one phone in a car, right?
There's passengers and...
Too many phones, Sammy.
Well, not too many, but...
The phones are probably just calling each other too,
spying on you.
They should, honestly.
The other thing is you'll see other automakers,
they'll start talking about specific sizes for cups
and what is this whole new...
I think there was this whole thing with Stanley-sized cups or...
That fad seems to have passed everyone by.
Are people still talking about it?
I think that there's some automakers that designed the cup holders
to, like, accommodate them.
Well, I think...
And those other big ones.
What are they called?
Nalgene?
Nalgene?
I think what happened was some car companies realized
that their cup holders were big enough for these Stanley mugs
and they wanted to piggyback on the hype
and so they just made it a point.
Yeah, that's true.
I think that happens.
But then again, the problem is when you have a cup holder
that is that big and you put something that is not that big in,
it is not a cup holder, it's basically a spill containment area.
Everything I have is that big, Sammy.
There's a few other things about the infotainment on the tracks
you're going to have to get used to.
If you're in the 1RS, you're stuck with a four-speaker audio system.
It's not fantastic.
No, that doesn't sound fantastic.
Yeah, you can get...
It sounds like it would be bad.
There's a six-speaker one on higher trim levels.
Again, I assume once you get the larger infotainment screen,
it comes with its own deal.
What a huge upgrade.
50% more speakers.
50% more speakers, yeah.
The vehicle drives pretty well.
It's got 137.
What does that mean?
Is that in relation to its class
or what you're expecting size-wise?
Sometimes you get in these little crossovers
and they're super buzzy.
It's like a CVT, it's buzzy, it's annoying,
and you really feel like it's straining all the time
looking at you Honda HRV,
which is a vehicle that remains a low bar for this podcast.
But there's a 1.2-liter three-cylinder turbo in this car.
Whoa, those are all kinds of weird numbers.
1.2-liter three-cylinder...
137 horsepower.
That sounds so European.
Well, it sounds more Korean than European to me.
I believe this is built in Korea.
It's 137 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque.
That's not a lot, but it's small.
Yo, 137 from a 1.2 is pretty nice.
Yeah, three cylinders.
Imagine if they had a fourth in there.
Or they did like Jaguar style,
but it's just like a fourth in the back that's filled in.
Yes, that would be perfect.
Wonderful.
So I had no complaints about the motor.
The only thing you get that might be off-putting
from an engine this size is the same thing
you'll get from every small displacement turbo.
It sounds like a vacuum when you're on the throttle heavy.
There is some throttle hang when you get off.
Other than that, I mean, yeah, you got to plan your passes.
There were times where I just didn't want to pass someone
because I didn't have a confidence that I would get around them
before we got to the next corner.
I didn't want to take the risk.
But with the whole family in the vehicle,
we went up to the bottom of a ski hill nearby,
which is a quarter-mile climb.
No problems.
The only thing I really noticed that was a little odd,
every once in a while, when I would be on part throttle,
it felt like it was lugging the engine.
Like it didn't want to downshift.
Yeah.
And that was something I only really noticed
with a full load of passengers.
There are times where, let's say, you're turning a hard corner
and you're getting on the throttle after.
Like, let's say you're exiting from a highway or something.
There'll be a little bit of stumbling where it's like,
I'm not so sure we're going to get all the power right away.
Other than that, though, like I said,
most of this is small turbo engine stuff.
It's not specific to the tracks.
And it's not a CVT.
It's an eight-speed automatic.
OK.
But that means that when a CVT isn't involved,
that sometimes the fuel efficiency can suffer.
Does this thing have rough fuel mileage?
It's not great.
It's 30 miles per gallon combined according to the EPA.
You're in a very small vehicle.
That's not impressive.
You know what I mean?
30 is really not that nice, no.
And in the real world with temperatures hovering
around the freezing mark, I saw about 25.
26.
OK.
And it's important to point out that this is a front-wheel-drive
crossover, not a normal-wheel-drive one, too.
Oh, man.
To translate that into Canadian, I saw 9.2 liters
per 100 kilometers.
Wow.
The official city rating is 8.5, and the highway rating is 7.6.
Holy moly.
I'm not sure I meant to that.
I honestly was wondering if the fuel tank was smaller
than normal, but no.
I'm filling up too much, yeah.
Yeah.
There are a lot of compact SUVs, larger SUVs that will beat
that, hybrid and non-hybrid, or at least match it, you know,
in the real world.
You mentioned its front-wheel-drive.
That wasn't an issue for me because it had winter tires on it.
We had a bit of a blizzard on one day when I had the vehicle.
It handled it no problems, and the muddy roads around here
also weren't an issue.
I don't think it will be a problem for anyone who lives
in a city, especially.
It's hard to think of a time when you absolutely have to have
all-wheel-drive.
I'm sure you might encounter that one or two times a year,
and if you're in the tracks, you'll probably be frustrated
by that.
But if you want an all-wheel-drive vehicle from Chevrolet
that's roughly the size, you can get the trailblazer.
OK.
And if you want one that's not from Chevrolet,
you can get the kicks, which now has all-wheel-drive as an option.
OK.
So the reality, though, is like most of the time,
you don't really need all-wheel-drive.
90% of the time, you don't need it.
And I think that is a totally appropriate trade-off
in terms of pricing, because usually a front-wheel-drive car
is better priced.
But usually, it's better on gas.
Fuel mileage is really, really difficult.
That sounds like that turbocharged through similar.
It's really busting it.
It's really trying to get going.
There's no adaptive cruise in the vehicle.
I know that that sounds like it's not a big deal,
but mine had something called, sorry,
you can add it to the vehicle using a package called
Driver Confidence Package.
Otherwise, you get forward collision warning with braking.
You get lane departure warning and lake keeping assist.
All that stuff worked fine.
But if you want blind spot monitoring and adaptive cruise,
you have to pay more for it.
I like adaptive cruise because of my commute into Montreal.
It's really helpful in heavy traffic.
OK.
But other than that, I mean,
it's still decent that it has those other features.
Honestly, this is a good basic vehicle.
Like when icebergs started driving,
basic cars were awful.
They were awful, and they were awful for a long time.
And now pretty much every basic car is really good.
If this thing was cheaper in Canada,
I would wholeheartedly recommend it.
Now I have to say, drive other stuff too,
because especially if you're looking above the base model,
you can start paying a fair amount for the tracks.
And at that point, you can look at something like the
Crosstrek from Subaru, which has standard all-wheel drive
and a bunch of other stuff.
I believe it has standard adaptive cruise
because all Crosstrek have eyesight, right?
Yeah, I think so.
So I think the Crosstrek starts around 33.
So if you're looking at a track and you get to the point
where you're paying 33 grand,
you're probably going to do the same fuel mileage
with all-wheel drive and adaptive cruise in the Crosstrek.
Yeah, the main issue, the main thing I can think about
when it comes to the Crosstrek,
it does have a couple of drawbacks.
Mainly the CVT can be really like droney,
and the Crosstrek is not, and it's not a fast car.
Well, neither is the tracks though, at all.
Yeah, just wanted to point that out.
You're not gaining a benefit in that either.
The benefit is the all-wheel drive and the eyesight.
Yeah, those are pretty big.
And it's a bigger vehicle.
It's a bigger car, yeah.
It's a bigger vehicle, yeah.
So if you can match the fuel mileage
and get even more practicality out of it,
that's where I start to lean away from the tracks.
I don't think it makes sense to buy a top-tier tracks
in Canada, especially.
Yeah, I think that adds up.
Because especially with the way they've increased the base price,
just the moment you crest that $30,000 mark,
the cheapness no longer is known on our novelty, right?
Yeah.
It's not there.
It's not there.
And you might even start to look at Invista at that point.
That's a great point, because you're getting
a slightly more accommodating interior.
Yeah, it's a more refined package.
And the styling might be...
My brother-in-law bought an Invista in,
I believe it was early winter or late December,
and they're very happy with it.
Interesting.
Did they do a lot of cross-shopping?
What was else on there?
They were looking at some other stuff.
They talked with me about a few different models
before they ended up buying it,
but they at least did on it fairly early on, I think.
I think what happened was they ran into a friend
or a family friend who had one,
and they were taken with it.
Okay.
So that's what steered them in that direction.
Cool.
Anything else you want to talk to me about with this
tracks or the cheap car segment in general?
No.
I mean, it's sad that things are getting more expensive.
I don't think there's realistically a smaller vehicle.
You can tuck in under these subcompacts anymore.
We're in a world where mirages are pretty much done
and the Versa is gone.
So it's like, this is just how it is.
Yeah, it's really problematic to me.
I think that cheap cars still have a place.
The question is, are cheap cars,
we used to say the alternative to a cheap car
is like a used car,
and you don't get the same guarantees
in terms of reliability or a long term longevity
or ownership goodies.
Yeah, but I'm team used car.
Yeah, I think lately cars have become so good
and reliable that a used car,
let's say a five year old car or four year old car
can still be valuable,
can still last you another 10 years perhaps.
But they're also expensive.
Used cars are so expensive these days.
It's insane.
You think so?
Yeah.
It's not as bad as it was maybe two or three years ago,
but they're still very expensive.
I'm asking you in terms of an expensive new car
or an expensive used car, right?
I'm saying that if you looked at a Camry
that was three years old versus a new Camry,
there's not a lot of daylight there.
Yeah, but Camry's have that crazy resale value.
That's true.
That's a very good point.
I don't even know how to answer my own question
after you told me that.
I think a five year old used car is still a decent...
I have a 10 year old used car.
You're preaching to the choir here.
No, but I mean that allows you to stay within a generation.
Maybe you get in both like a pre-refreshed car
or an off lease car.
You want to be careful too because sometimes
the difference between a four year old used car
and a five year old used car is insubstantial.
So really do your homework.
You don't necessarily have to go back as far
as you think you do for some models.
It's almost like there's a point where depreciation,
just kind of the curve really shallows out.
That's a good point.
I tend to look at that like four or five year mark
because that's the usual lease deals
and I try to take a look at like when a car got a redesign
or a new generation and try to determine where I want,
what features and what design I'm looking for.
You're always looking at Land Rover's too, right?
You always want to use Land Rover.
Yeah, no, I want a G-Class.
Ben, we have another thing I want you to discuss if possible.
You had a really cool interview with a movie star
and I would love it if you could let me know
what that was like and who that was
and why you were talking to them
because generally we need to have good reasons
to talk to people when we do what we do.
I guess it's been a couple months now.
I had a chance to talk to Sun Kang
who's at the Toronto Auto Show.
I wasn't at the Auto Show, I was in the vicinity
and the opportunity came up to talk with him
about the new movie that he has.
It's called Drifter.
Cool.
This is not a Fast and the Furious movie
which is what he's known for, I guess.
No, basically, just to get the movie stuff out of the way,
it's his first real foray into making a movie himself.
He approached the world of drifting
with a very different perspective from, say, Fast and Furious
in terms of how the movie was produced.
He worked with Brian Scotto,
who's one of the co-founders of Hoonigan.
Scotto is the guy who directed Ken Block's Jim Khanna videos
and that was really the vibe that he wanted for his movie
and he had worked with Scotto on another movie
earlier that didn't end up happening
but he was able to pick his brain during that development period
and Scotto would talk about this thing called the Honest Angle
which was an approach that he tried to take
when he was putting together the Jim Khanna videos
and that was to put the viewers in the driver's seat
in the sense that it didn't feel like it was a special effect
or a stunt person driving.
It felt like you were in the car
or you were seeing the car in a natural environment
and you were seeing the car moving at speed.
There was no CG, there was nothing like that.
Okay, that's cool.
When Sung Kang was wanting to do this, his own movie,
he was like, I want to make a movie that takes this Honest Angle
and applies it to drifting but like cinematically
and it was a really hard sell.
It was really hard for him to convince studios
that there was this huge market of people who loved these Jim Khanna videos
but weren't being served by a movie that was taking that same type of approach
and they just couldn't understand it.
So he ended up having to fund the movie himself
and how that worked was he would be hanging out at his garage
and a friend would show up, a car friend
and he would explain the concept for the movie
and they would be like, I totally get it
and get out their checkbook and be like, how can I get involved?
So the movie was largely funded by individual enthusiasts,
people in the car community
and that's kind of why he's going around to various auto shows
and auto events to talk to the kinds of people
who will basically be the same audience
for the film as the people who supported it with their money.
It's like a mobius strip of supporting viewers.
But it was really cool to talk with him for a number of reasons.
The first was he came across as very genuine and personal.
We talked about a lot of stuff that was completely unrelated to the movie itself.
We talked about the fact that we're both Z owners.
He has a couple of S30s.
I also have an S30.
That's the first generation Datsun Z
and he was just talking about how we were comparing
our different philosophies on the race track.
I was saying that when I'm on the track, I find it very relaxing.
It's the only time in my life really where I'm just focused on one thing
and not thinking about anything else
and that's primarily so I don't hit a wall, right?
Like I have to be really focused in the moment
and he says that he can't enjoy being on the track
because he's too competitive and it just burns him up
and he ends up being obsessively focused about that.
But what he really likes to do is go out on canyon drives
and that's a moment where he's able to just relax from behind the wheel
and he enjoys doing that with his Z.
We talked about a couple of things like his first car
which was a 1983 Dodge Monaco that was in the family
and he had been promised this car by his dad
and when he finally got his license,
before he got his license, he and his friends used to sit in the car in the driveway
and pretend they were driving it and he's very excited.
He's 16 years old and he was, you know,
he spent all this time building up to this moment
and he goes to get the keys from his dad
and his dad's like, well, do you have insurance for it?
And he's like, what do you mean?
And he's like, well, he goes, my dad was like a military guy
like teaching him these lessons
and what he described as the strictest and cruelest way.
And so his dad was like, well, you better get a job
so you can get insurance so you can drive this car.
So he's like, I never ended up getting the job
and what happened was my dad sold the car to a neighbor
and my neighbor ended up driving it.
So he had to see it like...
That's so brutal.
Yeah, he had to see it driving around his neighborhood
with his neighbor behind the wheel and not him.
So that was like, I guess a teachable moment in a way.
His first car ended up, his first car that he actually drove
was a Tercel D
and he said that he got that in college
and he's like, D stands for does not have anything.
It was a manual car and it taught him how to drive manual
and he liked it because it was indestructible.
Like in the moment, he felt embarrassed
driving a little red Toyota around campus
but now he appreciates it, the freedom that comes with it.
And he grew up in Georgia before moving to California
where he moved to Barstow, California
and graduated high school from there
but it was a really big change, just having wheels
and getting out in that world.
He also talked with a couple other things
that maybe didn't make it into the interview.
I'm going through my notes here
because it was kind of a wide-ranging conversation
but I asked him because he...
Obviously, he's worked a lot with Vin Diesel.
I am a pretty big Fast and Furious fan
so I had to ask him like, if when he was on the set of Fast and Furious
did he ever get roped in to like a Dungeons and Dragons game
because Diesel is known to be fanatical about it
and has a character that he's built up over a very long time
and surprisingly, he told me that no
because on set, he said Diesel is very method
and he's totally in character as Dominic Toretto
and he's like, the quote was,
Dominic Toretto does not play Dungeons and Dragons.
That's a little too bad
but there was one other fun thing that he talked about.
I don't know if everyone knows this
but he's gone on record a bunch of times talking about the Toyota Sienna
and how much he loves the Sienna
and they had a bunch of Siennas on the set of the movie
that Toyota had given them Siennas and Tacomas
and the Tacomas ended up in front of the camera
as like character vehicles for...
I believe there's a lot of AE86s in the movie
so some of the drivers would have these...
Anything that has to do with drifting, there's the AE86s involved.
Yes, so the Tacomas were being driven as like dailies by the characters
but they couldn't find a way to get the Sienna in front of the camera
but it was behind the scenes all the time
and apparently they got beat up pretty bad
just by how often they were being used, right?
They were very appreciative to have these vehicles
but what he did talk about was
he loves the Sienna, he says it's a really great vehicle as a daily
and I asked him...
He's talked about it on previous podcasts
and I asked him where his love for the Previa came from
or sorry, the Previa, the Sienna
and he's like a long time ago
he was working on a baseball movie that was being filmed in Hawaii
and there was, I believe, a coach that was in the movie
who was teaching him how to look like a ball player on camera
and the coach was always driving the Sienna around
and he thought it was really weird
he had a Tacoma and one of the earliest Sienas
and he found out that this dude was very wealthy
like one of the richest people on the island in Hawaii where they lived
and he thought it was weird
he's like, why does this guy have these super modest vehicles?
So he asked the coach about it
and the coach was like, look
if you drive a Sienna
there's three things you're going to find out
about the person who either drives or owns this type of vehicle
he's like, the first is
he's a family person
because he has family values, he's driving this family vehicle
if he's proud of having a Sienna, that's what it means
but he's like, number two, he doesn't care what other people think about him
like he's secure in his self-image
this is a vehicle that he's driving for himself enough for anyone else
and he's like, the third thing is he knows the value of a dollar
because the resale on a Sienna is really good
and he told me, I didn't put this in the article either
but he said that he had a lease Sienna for like a really long time
and his friend wanted to buy it out from him when the lease was over
it was like a $23,000 buyout
but what happened was when he brought it back to Toyota
Toyota paid him 10 grand to sell it back to them
so he made money leasing that car because of how intense the demand was
so he's like, Sienna, one of the best cars ever made
it's not easy, yeah
when the automaker themselves are paying you for it
you gotta go for it
so it was a fun conversation
I've been watching him act since his first movie, Better Luck Tomorrow
or at least his first mainstream movie
which he made with Justin
damn it, I can't remember his name now
he directed a bunch of Fast and Furious movies
Justin Lin, that's right
they had collaborated on that
and there's a lot of talk that his character in that movie from the early 2000s
is Han in the Fast and Furious movies
it was like this weird non-canon
or is it non-canon?
it's their head cannon, right?
like as they develop it
it's this really cool head cannon
I like it, I think it's one of my favorite like
pseudo, if you're in the know, you know, kind of thing
definitely recommend that movie if you haven't seen it
it's about a group of students in California
who start basically living a little bit of a criminal lifestyle
and getting over their heads fairly quickly
I very much enjoy it
I come back periodically and watch it
but I enjoyed the conversation with him
Drifter doesn't have a release date as of yet that I know of
so if you want to see it
I can't tell you when that's gonna happen
but hopefully soon
and just a shout out to someone who
throughout the course of our conversation
genuine car person
not just leaning on the community to promote a film
someone who enjoys doing many of the things
that many of the people listening to this podcast do
and if you think about it
there aren't a lot of people in Hollywood who are like that
there have been, you know, big names
like Paul Newman and Steve McQueen
who were notorious for their on-track exploits
there was Jason Priestley
who was I believe really into cars
and did some racing
I believe it was Priestley, he's Canadian, right?
Priestley? I think so
Is it Priestley was Canadian? Yeah
he did some racing and then he had a bad accident
he had to get out of it for health reasons
and then there's the guy who plays
Would we like him if he was not Canadian?
Well, it's just because I'm trying to remember
I read his autobiography and he's Canadian
but I couldn't remember if I had the right name
because there were a bunch of pretty boys on 90210
I can't remember them all, Sammy
I know that's... I can't believe you don't
You have all the posters and the NKOTB stuff
but I don't have that easily accessible
then there's the guy who plays
McDreamy on
what is it? Not Ally McBeal
Grey's Anatomy
Patrick Somebody
Do you know who I'm talking about?
He does a lot of racing
Oh Dempsey! Patrick Dempsey, yeah
so those are like kind of the pantheon
they're like the pantheon of car people in Hollywood
and I think you have to add him to that
you know, like he's right up there
Well, I appreciate him because he's
he's a different
he's a different person
like it also feels like he's not exploiting
the enthusiast base
for
like his own personal gain
it feels like he's actually like speaking to
the audience
Like he's part of a community
Yeah, exactly
and giving back I think is important
No, I also think that there's
there's like an authenticity to it
for sure
because his form of
at least from what it looks like in this movie
is really like kind of grassroots
rather than like something a little bit more
I don't know
like really like high-end race car-y
stuff
so I really appreciate looking and watching
and seeing somebody who's like
with the people when they're showing these kinds of
movies, these things on the big screen
Sammy if people want to ask us questions
like we asked him questions
How can they do that?
You want to grill us like we did to him
We just need to go to our website
unnamedautomotivepodcast.com
When you get there there's a contact form on the website
fill that out, it lands in our inbox
If you don't want to go through all of that
just send an email to Benjamin
at benjaminhunting.com
Or send a message to us on social media
You can find both of us on Instagram
I'm at Sammy underscore
HA like you're laughing
HA
And you can find Ben, he's at Hunting Benjamin
What are you going to be driving next week Sammy?
I am
not sure yet actually
I can't remember if I've confirmed what I've got next week
It might be a car, it might not be
Very mysterious
I'm going to be talking about the Mazda 3 sedan
Not mysterious at all
Not mysterious at all, very cool
We haven't talked about Mazda 3 in a long time
And also this weekend I got my Cadillac out of storage
Which means all three
Of my cars will be on the road soon
The Jeep has been licensed
And the Datsun is getting a
Rollbar installed and the new fuel tank installed
Finally, I'm dropping it off tomorrow
So in theory they'll all be working
At the same time, which is very nice
Very exciting, I'll talk to you then
Yeah, thank you for listening everybody
Bye bye
About this episode
The hosts break down the 2026 Chevrolet Trax like a “two-country” story: in the U.S. it’s a standout value, but in Canada the price hikes (and loss of the LS trim) make it harder to recommend. They praise the practical cargo space, simple, phone-driven RS interior, and clever phone slot, while criticizing basic features like no adaptive cruise and mediocre real-world fuel economy. The second half features an interview with Sung Kang about his drifting film Drifter, funded by enthusiasts and inspired by the “honest angle” style of Hoonigan videos.
Original notes
The Unnamed Automotive Podcast is still looking at cars that are affordable and available with this weeks review of the 2026 Chevrolet Trax. One of the top choices for shoppers on a budget, Benjamin has found out that things aren't as cheap as they used to be—but that doesn't mean the Chevy is bad, does it? Maybe it just depends on where you're buying, as prices vary significantly when you cross the border. Also is a 1.2L turbo three-cylinder engine enough for keeping up with traffic? Benjamin has all the details.
Then the show goes into some big-screen talk, as Benjamin recently interviewed Sung Kang, one of the stars of The Fast and The Furious franchise, as he prepares his new movie Drifter for release. Sung Kang talked about his first car, cars on set, and more to Benjamin who relays it all to you deal listener. Thanks for listening!
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