The best Chevy cars for road trips

When you hit the open road this summer, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to choosing the perfect vehicle to make your journey as efficient, comfortable and memorable as possible. Chevrolet’s lineup is full of vehicles perfect for road trips, including the Dry Malibu, the Dry Bolt, the Blazer and the Traverse.

Chevy Malibu

If fuel efficiency is on your road trip priority list, check out the Chevy Malibu. With the impressive fuel efficiency of a gasoline-powered sedan, confident handling, and plenty of rear legroom, the Chevy Malibu is the perfect choice for getting from province to province, or across the country.

The standard Malibu engine is a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that produces 160 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. This engine is mated to a continuously variable transmission and the EPA rates it at 29 mpg city and 36 mpg highway. Choosing the top Premium model gets you a 2.0-liter turbo engine paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission and up to 250 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. This powertrain is rated at 22 mpg city and 33 mpg highway.

In terms of room, the Chevy Malibu has 41.5 inches of front legroom and 38.1 inches of rear legroom. Trunk capacity is 15.7 cubic feet, which is plenty if you’re heading out for a weekend getaway or packing a lot for a longer trip.

Chevy offers the Malibu in five trim levels: L, LS, RS, LT and Premier. Standard features on the L include a six-speaker audio system, an 8-inch color touchscreen with Chevrolet’s 3 Plus infotainment system, cruise control and a rearview camera.

The move to the LS version adds 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, Chevy Teen Driver and Buckle to Drive technology. The RS Edition adds an eight-way power driver’s seat, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and a rear seat armrest.

LT versions come with dual-zone automatic climate control, heated driver and front passenger seats, remote start lights, SiriusXM and LED headlights. Finally, the Premier Select adds a six-way power front seat, a nine-speaker Bose premium audio system, a driver memory system, a HD rear-view camera, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a leather-wrapped gear shift knob, and ventilated front seats.

Chevy Bolt

If you want to save fuel and be kind to Mother Nature while driving across the country, choose a Chevrolet Bolt. This all-electric vehicle has an EPA-estimated range of 259 miles on a full charge. Chevrolet also provides information on how to drive efficiently to get the most out of your charging, as well as direct you to charging stations along your route, through the myChevrolet mobile app. Level 2 charging will get you around 39mph on a charge, while DC fast charging will add up to 100 miles of range in about half an hour.

The Chevy electric truck offers plenty of room to stow your belongings, with a volume of up to 57 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. If you need to keep the rear seats elevated, you’ll have 16.6 cubic feet of storage space available. With 44.2 inches of legroom in the front row and 36.01 inches in the second row.

The Chevy Bolt comes in two trim levels: 1LT and 2LT. The 1LT features LED headlights, a high-resolution rear view camera, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone capabilities, and Chevy Safety Assist. The 2LT upgrade gives you leather seats, auto-dimming rearview mirror, rear park assist, and lane change alert with side blind zone alert.

Chevy Blazer

The Chevy Blazer is a crossover that seats up to five and can tow up to 4,500 pounds when properly equipped. This makes it the perfect road trip vehicle for a small family using a lightweight RV or pop-up camper.

Also standard on the 2021 Chevy Blazer is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. This engine puts out 193 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque. There are also options for a 2.0-liter turbo (227 hp, 258 lb-ft) and a 3.6-liter V6 (308 hp, 270 lb-ft).

And when the Chevy Blazer is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and front-wheel drive, the Blazer has a maximum EPA-estimated fuel efficiency rating of 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway.The Chevy Blazer is available Six levels: L, 1LT, 2LT, 2LT, RS, and Premier. The L comes with 18-inch wheels and the Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system with an 8-inch color touchscreen.

Moving on to the lineup, the 1LT Edition offers available heated seats and additional safety technology. The 2LT can be configured with AWD and a towing package. The 3LT features perforated leather seats and standard Chevy features to aid in safety. RS models come with unique RS styling, 20-inch wheels and perforated leather seats in black with red accents. Finally, the range-topping Premier model features a unique chrome-accented horizontal grille and perforated jet-black leather seats, plus all-wheel drive is available.

Chevy Traverse

For large families or those with dogs, there is no better road trip vehicle than the Chevy Traverse. This mid-size SUV can accommodate up to eight seats in its three rows. It also has best-in-class cargo space and plenty of family-friendly comfort, entertainment and safety features. This model from Chevrolet looks family and huge and is suitable for long trips, camps, desert trips and safari.

With the second and third rows folded, the Traverse has a massive 98.2 cubic feet storage capacity. But with only the third row folded, you can still get 57.8 cubic feet of space, and with all the rows in place there’s 23 cubic feet which is no small amount of space.

Traverse comes with a standard 3.6-liter V6 on all models. This engine is mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission and produces 310 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy is rated at 18 mpg city and 27 mpg highway, but with front-wheel drive; Fuel economy drops to 17 mpg city and 25 mpg highway with AWD. And when the Chevy Traverse is properly equipped, we can tow up to 5,000 pounds behind it.

Traverse trim levels include L, LS, LT Cloth, LT Leather, RS, Premier and High Country. On L and LS models, you’ll get 10 cup holders, 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, active noise cancellation, and the Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system with a 7-inch color touchscreen.

The LT models are similar in terms of cloth and leather, but (shockingly) have LT Leather seats, while the LT Cloth version has cloth seats. RS models come with an automatically heated steering wheel, automatic emergency braking, a Bose premium audio system and integrated navigation. The Premier Edition adds heated and ventilated front seats, heated exterior rear seats, memory settings and perforated leather seat trim. Finally, the High Country model has additional safety features such as adaptive cruise control and improved automatic emergency braking.