SUVs are known for being spacious, and while compact models like the Chevy Equinox and Honda CR-V are certainly among the most popular, there are also midsize and full-size models that boast high towing capacities and cavernous interiors that can seat three rows of passengers without running out of space for luggage. General Motors sells plenty of large models across its lineup of brands, from the Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon to the Buick Enclave and Cadillac Escalade, and they’ve been around for a long time. In fact, the Suburban is the longest-running nameplate of any vehicle in American history.
But what happens when you go in the other direction, scaling down instead of up from a compact crossover? That’s a newer phenomenon, but one that’s worth taking a look at. If you’ve seen a Chevy Trailblazer for sale recently, you’ve probably noticed that it’s much smaller than the last model to wear the nameplate back in 2009. While it’s related in name only to the previous Trailblazer, it shares a platform with three other GM models: the Trax (also a Chevy) and the Envista and Encore GX (both under the Buick banner). Today, we will look at these four models, their evolution, and how they fit into the larger GM lineup.
Why Make a Subcompact SUV?
Why go subcompact at all? Well, the most obvious reason is probably price. Subcompact SUVs tend to be entry-level models that are priced to be affordable for new drivers, students, young families, and others who want a new vehicle but don’t have a big budget. This used to be the domain of compact and subcompact sedans, but as they’ve fallen out of favor in North America, bite-sized SUVs have stepped up to take their place. In fact, looking at Chevrolet’s 2025 model year, it’s telling that both the Trax ($20,500) and the Trailblazer ($23,100) have lower starting MSRPs than the Malibu sedan ($25,800).
Subcompact models are also ideal for drivers who like the height, look, and/or configurable interior of an SUV but want to be able to maneuver easily in tight spaces and snag street parking in busy parts of town. That’s where the more upscale Buick models, especially the top-tier trims, come into play. Drivers who want a tiny SUV that doesn’t feel cheap are guaranteed to have an option in the GM lineup.
A Brief History of GM’s Subcompact SUV Models
Tracing GM’s subcompact SUVs to their earliest origins takes you all the way back to the era of cars. The Chevy Sonic (produced from the 2012 to 2020 model years) was the epitome of the type of vehicle the subcompact SUV has largely replaced: a small, entry-level car available as either a sedan or a hatchback that delivers a solid value but doesn’t go beyond the basics.
The next model year after the Sonic’s debut, the 2013 Buick Encore was introduced. While its platform was derived from the Sonic, this model was different enough to put it in a different category: a crossover SUV rather than a car. Looking back on the early days of the Encore in their review of the 2017 model, Car and Driver noted that the release of this model put GM “at the forefront of a new segment.” GM followed up on this potential with the Chevy Trax in 2015, taking the Encore platform and stripping away the frills to make a true “budget” model.
The Encore and original Trax were steps in the right direction, but as experiments in a whole new body style, they certainly had some kinks to work out. For one thing, there was the issue of size: exactly how small is subcompact? For most people, it’s too small, and even a bargain price tag might not be enough to attract buyers. Reviewing the 2022 model, Car and Driver called the Encore one of the “smallest crossovers you can buy.” Apparently, that wasn’t what the market wanted. Both the Encore and the Trax were discontinued after the 2022 model year.
Reinventing the Subcompact
The loss of the Encore and Trax (however brief their losses ended up being) didn’t leave GM’s subcompact SUV slot empty for 2023. In 2020, the Buick Encore GX debuted, with a size between the smaller Encore and the compact Buick Envision. Chevy followed suit for the following model year with the release of the 2021 Trailblazer, a more affordable model based on the same platform.
Scaling subcompact up a bit seemed to do the trick, since the larger Encore GX and Trailblazer ultimately outlived (and essentially replaced) the original Encore and Trax, even if the Trax wasn’t out for too long, as it was revived just two years after its discontinuation. The 2024 model is still smaller than the compact Equinox, but larger than the Trailblazer and (according to Consumer Reports) “one of the biggest SUVs in [its] class.”
However, trends are rarely so simple when you look at the big picture. The 2024 model year also saw the debut of the Buick Envista, which stepped right into the empty slot below the Encore GX as the smallest SUV in Buick’s lineup. A closer look at it, however, reveals that the Envista isn’t just the Encore revisited: it has a sleeker look and an altogether different shape. While it’s longer and wider than the original Encore, it’s also shorter, to the point where Consumer Reports uses the phrase “elevated hatchback” to describe it. Where other subcompact SUV models are moving closer to compact SUVs, the Envista seems to be going in the other direction, devolving closer to a car.
Where Are We Now?
It’s been a little over a decade since the 2013 Buick Encore hit the scene. Since then, GM has done a fair amount of experimenting, shuffling the lineup around and trying different dimensions for size. The result? A segment that has caught the attention of drivers and is still on the rise.
Looking at data across the American auto industry for 2024, subcompact SUVs are gaining popularity. The Trax was Chevy’s third-best-selling model for the year, behind the Silverado 1500 (the second-best-selling vehicle across all automakers) and the Equinox. The Buick Encore GX and newcomer Envista were Buick’s best-selling models for 2024 as well. This trend extends beyond GM: models from the Honda HR-V and Nissan Kicks to the Hyundai Kona and Toyota Corolla Cross saw increases compared to 2023 as well.
What’s Coming Next?
It’s easy to see that the subcompact SUV has found its demographic. As automakers retire sedans and hatchbacks that used to be their entry-level options, they’ll likely replace them with subcompact SUV models. GM is arguably ahead of the game in this department, with two distinct options available under the Chevy and Buick brands, where many other auto brands have a single subcompact option. Since drivers on a budget are hardly a monolith, this is a good way to have a healthy range of entry-level options.
Now that the automaker has worked out some of the early issues with the subcompact category, it would make sense for them to expand their offerings in their other two brands. Filling in the lineup with a subcompact GMC SUV to slot between the Chevy and Buick offerings and topping it off with a luxurious yet attainable subcompact Cadillac would be a pretty logical next step. As with any future predictions, we’ll just have to wait and see.
