2015 Chevrolet City Express Preview: 2014 Chicago Auto Show

Chevy was on the outside looking in over the course of the past 12 months when it seemed like every competitor was announcing its own compact cargo/passenger van.  Enter the 2015 Chevrolet City Express, which is at its core a re-badged version of the Nissan NV200.  This means that the Chevrolet City Express, while giving domestic dealers a fleet-oriented weapon, doesn’t really bring the same level of features or equipment to the table as most other Chevrolets.  Think of it as a stop-gap until General Motors decides to design and build something in-house.

New 2015 Chevrolet City Express: What’s New

It certainly helps that the 2015 Chevrolet City Express is based on a very competent Japanese van.  The NV200 donates both its bones and its guts to the all-new model, which means a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine under the hood mated to a very un-Chevrolet-like continuously-variable automatic transmission (only the second such gearbox in the automaker’s lineup).  Power is listed as 131 horses and 139 lb-ft of torque, but fuel economy has yet to be listed.

You won’t find OnStar in the City Express – which is a bit odd, considering how easy it would have been to retrofit that into the vehicle – but the van does offer 122.7 cubic feet of cargo space, along with the ability to haul a 40 inch x 48 inch pallet.  The rear doors open to 180 degrees, and total payload capacity shows as 1,500 lbs.

New 2015 Chevrolet City Express: What Autobytel Thinks

The 2015 Chevrolet City Express isn’t an ideal situation for General Motors, but the van’s lineage is excellent, which means that brand-loyal commercial shoppers won’t have to worry about quality or capability from the pint-sized hauler.  It also means that they can bring the City Express in to be serviced alongside their full-size Express vans, providing another incentive to stay within the Chevrolet fold.  With strong competition from Ford (the Transit Connect), of course Nissan (the City Express’ donor, the NV200), as well as an upcoming compact cargo van effort from Ram, Chevrolet couldn’t afford to sit on the sidelines any longer.