Spend one summer afternoon crawling along US-17 Business past the MarshWalk and you already know what a generic buying guide won’t tell you. Murrells Inlet puts every vehicle through a specific kind of test. Stop-and-go through the restaurant strip in July. A tight left turn into the public boat landing with a center-console on the trailer. Weekend parking-lot shuffle at Huntington Beach State Park. Those demands look nothing like a commuter suburb, and the Chevy that nails one of them isn’t always the one that nails all three.
On our lot, we frame it differently. The question isn’t “what’s the best Chevy?” It’s “what’s the best Chevy for how YOU actually drive Murrells Inlet?” Size, fuel economy, towing rating, and cargo room each carry different weight depending on your answer.
- Daily errands and US-17 traffic: The 2026 Trax (EPA-rated 28/32 mpg) keeps fuel stops infrequent and fits tighter parking along the business strip.
- Family trips to Brookgreen Gardens or Huntington Beach: The 2026 Traverse seats up to eight and hauls up to 98 cubic feet of cargo when needed.
- Towing a boat or camper to the landing: The 2026 Silverado 1500 handles up to 13,300 lbs when properly equipped. Verify your door-jamb label.
- Splitting the difference (family + light towing): The 2026 Equinox tows up to 1,500 lbs and returns 26/29 mpg with FWD.
Browse the 2026 Trax at Palmetto Chevrolet
What Actually Matters When Choosing a Chevy for Murrells Inlet?
Three variables run everything here, and they pull in different directions depending on your week: fuel economy for the stop-and-go miles on US-17, passenger or cargo capacity for beach and Brookgreen runs, and towing rating if a boat or camper ever leaves the driveway. The table below maps each 2026 model to its honest best-fit scenario and names the real tradeoff you’re accepting.
| Model | Best For | Key Spec | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Trax | Solo/couple daily driving, errands, tight parking | EPA 28 city / 32 hwy mpg; 178.6″ length | No AWD option; Chevrolet does not rate it for towing |
| 2026 Equinox | Small-family daily driver with occasional light towing | 175 hp; 1,500-lb tow rating; EPA 26/29/27 mpg FWD | Not the pick if you’re hauling anything heavier than a jet ski trailer |
| 2026 Traverse | Larger families, Brookgreen day trips, light boat towing | 328 hp; 5,000-lb tow capacity; 98 cu ft max cargo; seats 7-8 | Longer wheelbase means tighter turns at the boat landing; fuel economy less impressive than the Equinox |
| 2026 Silverado 1500 | Serious towing to the public boat landing, work use | Up to 13,300 lbs towing (properly equipped); up to 2,260 lbs payload | Overkill for pure commuting; parking in the MarshWalk lot gets creative |
Buyers walk in assuming a bigger engine automatically means better beach-town driving. It doesn’t. The Trax’s 1.2-liter turbo pushes 162 lb-ft of torque early in the RPM range, which makes it feel livelier in slow traffic than the horsepower number suggests.
The Stop-and-Go Reality of US-17 Business
Fuel economy earns its keep on US-17 Business, because in season the corridor through Murrells Inlet runs slower than the posted limit on a good day. The overall footprint of the vehicle matters here too, more than it would on a highway commute.
Our everyday recommendation for most Murrells Inlet drivers is the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox. At EPA-rated 26 city / 29 highway / 27 mpg combined with front-wheel drive, it handles the crawl without punishing you at the pump. The 1.5-liter turbo delivers 175 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. Not a rocketship. But relaxed and unhurried in the kind of low-speed maneuvering that defines a summer afternoon on the business strip, and 63.5 cubic feet of max cargo covers beach chairs, groceries, and a cooler without drama.
Buyers who want something smaller than an Equinox but more feature-rich than the entry-level Trax should look at the Trailblazer. It’s still a front-drive-only platform in base trim, which suits Murrells Inlet’s flat coastal roads just fine, since AWD rarely earns its keep around here.
Pros and Cons of the Traverse for Murrells Inlet Families
Bigger households should start with the Traverse. It seats seven or eight, tows up to 5,000 lbs when properly equipped, and opens to 98 cubic feet of cargo. For the drive out to Brookgreen Gardens with grandparents and kids in tow, nothing in the Chevy lineup comes close to that combination. The tradeoff lives in the details.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Up to 98 cu ft cargo (all rows folded); genuine utility | 121-inch wheelbase makes the boat-landing turn tighter to execute |
| 5,000-lb tow rating for a smaller boat or camper | Fuel economy trails the Equinox on the US-17 stop-and-go stretch |
| 328 hp / 326 lb-ft from a turbo 2.5L I4; enough pull for SC-707 on-ramps | Larger footprint; summer parking lots near the waterfront require patience |
| Seats 7 or 8 for family beach runs | A heavier boat or a big camper still calls for a Silverado |
Match the Chevy to How You Actually Drive Around Here
Towing to the Silverado 1500 is the right conversation the moment a real boat or camper enters your life. Chevrolet lists up to 13,300 lbs of maximum towing capacity for the 2026 Silverado 1500 when properly equipped with the right engine and the Max Trailering Package. Always verify your specific truck’s Tire and Loading Information label on the door jamb before you load up. Tow ratings vary by engine, cab style, and configuration.
For the Murrells Inlet driver who mostly runs the family to Huntington Beach State Park and occasionally pulls a kayak trailer, the Silverado is more truck than you need. The Equinox handles that kayak trailer comfortably within its 1,500-lb rating. Keep the distinction in mind, because the Traverse’s 5,000-lb ceiling and the Silverado’s 13,300-lb ceiling both serve real needs here, and they aren’t interchangeable. Matching the truck to the actual trailer weight (not the aspirational one) is where the decision lands.
Our team keeps coming back to a plain bottom line. Murrells Inlet is not a one-vehicle town. A household with a boat and three kids might actually need two Chevys. A Silverado handles tow days, while a Traverse or Equinox covers everything else. We’re not pitching you. It’s just the math the driving life here produces.
See What Your Current Vehicle Is Worth
The Coastal Humidity Factor
One more thing worth saying plainly. South Carolina’s coastal humidity is real, and it affects interior comfort more than most buyers budget for. Every 2026 Chevy in this lineup comes standard with Chevy Safety Assist (automatic emergency braking, forward collision alert, lane-keep assist, rear camera). You get the same safety baseline whether you’re in a Trax or a Silverado. If you’re adding features for heat management, ventilated seats are available on higher Traverse and Equinox trims. A test drive in August tells you more than a spec sheet ever will.
*By the Palmetto Chevrolet Team | August 2026*
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Chevy Trax good for driving around Murrells Inlet?
The 2026 Trax works well for solo drivers and couples who spend most of their time on the US-17 Business corridor and around the Murrells Inlet area. Its EPA-rated 28 city / 32 highway mpg makes it efficient in stop-and-go beach traffic, and its 178.6-inch overall length is easier to park than a full-size SUV near the MarshWalk. One limit is worth knowing up front. Chevrolet does not rate the 2026 Trax for towing, and it comes only in front-wheel drive. If you ever need to pull a trailer (even a small one), the Equinox or Traverse is a better starting point.
Can a Chevy Silverado 1500 tow a boat to the Murrells Inlet Public Boat Landing?
Yes, and it’s built for exactly that kind of use. Chevrolet lists up to 13,300 lbs of maximum towing capacity for the 2026 Silverado 1500 when properly equipped with the Max Trailering Package and the right engine configuration. Most boats trailered in the Murrells Inlet area fall well within that ceiling. The important step is verifying the Tire and Loading Information label on your specific truck’s door jamb, since tow ratings vary by engine, cab, bed length, and configuration. If your boat is on the lighter end (a small center-console or a fishing skiff), the 2026 Traverse (rated up to 5,000 lbs when properly equipped) handles it comfortably while giving you room for the whole family on the same trip.
