2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer First Drive: Some Small Misses, But Big Wins

Posted On Jul 18, 2020 By admin With Comments Off

One of my oldest friends had bid farewell to her husband simply weeks prior as he deployed overseas. They’d packed up the apartment in Miami and shipped most of it back to our hometown on California’s Central Coast with the help of the Air Force, but her, the kids, and her gondola needed to get across the country in the middle of the pandemic. They’d considered flying, but between the health risks and the cost of both airliner tickets and carrying the car, she elected a member of drive. Two kids under seven, a 7-year-old Ford Escape, and 2,500 miles: What could go wrong?

“You’re gonna laugh, however busted another hose, ” read the Facebook Messenger notification on my fasten screen. Uh oh. Time to attach a save expedition. I hope the 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer in my driveway has enough space for three adults, two forward-facing car benches( with adolescents ), and a cross-country move’s merit of luggage.

By the time we got the message, she and the children were already on the tow truck and headed to a service station in the minuscule town of Needles, California, on the Arizona border. It was already late in the afternoon, so we wouldn’t be extricating them that night, but the Trailblazer was on standby.

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The next day was one long holding pattern as the store diagnosed a blown radiator , not a hose, but promised to have it superseded the following morning. Bed flaws and a 20 -minute walk in 115 -degree heat with two little kids and luggage wasn’t enough to get her to call in the cavalry. With everything that had gone wrong( did I forget to mention the car had blown a radiator hose in New Mexico, where they also discovered a bad relationship pole, and had the rooftop merchandise carrier come apart on the highway ?), we spawned a backup plan.

The next morning, my partner and I grabbed our concealments, pass sanitizer, snacks, beverages, and blaming lines, and rushed in the Trailblazer. If the browse secured her vehicle, penalize, we’d turn around. If not, we’d already be halfway there.

Trailblazer Tech and Option

According to Chevy, the Trailblazer, which is a size below the 2013 Ford Escape they were driving, is aimed at parties buying Jeep Renegades, Toyota C-HRs, and Honda HR-Vs. The Trailblazer’s movable stature baggage floor would be invaluable in maximizing space, but the flat-folding rear benches and the optional flat-folding front passenger seat were no good here. On the other hand, the astonishingly gigantic backside sit would be a godsend with an adult and two child seats back there. But would it be enough, including a 4 1/2 -hour drive?

first drives Ford

More than four hours on the interstate gave me plenty of time to get a predict on the Trailblazer. Our tester was a fully loaded “Activ” model–yes, spelled incorrectly without the E–designed to look a little tougher and more off-roady. In addition to “Sport Terrain” Hankook tires( all-seasons with aggressive-looking sidewalls ), some underbody safety, and a small lift, it gets a different damp sing that’s supposed to make it more pleasant off-road. To my well-calibrated backside, it simply felt like Chevy firmed up the trip to make it feel more like a truck. Although needlessly potent, it did assimilate big hits pretty well, but you hear them loud and clear. In fact, you discover everything the tires are doing. All the time. It’s too bad because the cabin otherwise does a awesome place of keeping out wind and traffic noise.

At $ 32,995 as tested, it’s considerably more expensive than any of its contestants we recently ranked in our Cheap Wheels small SUV comparison, but at the moment, that was a good thing. It intended we had every bell and whistle at our disposal, and Chevy parcelled a good deal of them into this little thing. Power liftgate, panoramic sunroof, automated climate control, wireless phone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, USB-A and USB-C ports in the front and rear, adaptive sail dominate, LED headlights with automated high radiations, a blind-spot warning system, and more are still jam-pack on top of a basic packet that includes forward collision telling-off and automated disaster braking, corridor retirement telling and automated lane preventing succour, pedestrian sensing ability, and more standard. The fund surely proceeded places.

The only missing aspects the comparing test-winning Kia Soul offers, for a good deal less coin, are multi-zone automatic climate control and built-in navigation. The onetime is nice to have when you and your spouse live at different body temperatures, but not common in the class. The latter I is impossible to assume isn’t available because Chevy knows you’ll precisely use Google Maps on your telephone anyway.

Value

Ford Escape Kia

On the other hand, the Soul starts at $ 18,610 to the Trailblazer’s $ 19,995, and guessing by manufacturer-supplied photos( and based on experience with entry-level Chevys ), the cornerstone Trailblazer looks like the cheaper vehicle inside, altogether devoid of color and full of button blanks. Up on the top rank edging status( Activ and RS are two different versions of the highest edging elevation, one off-road oriented and one sport-oriented ), at least, there are some nice contrasting shades and even real accent stitching on the hyphen. Still, a laden Soul is $4,400 less costly than a loaded Trailblazer.

Trailblazer Engine, Transmission, and All-Wheel Drive

Then again, the Soul doesn’t offer all-wheel drive( AWD ) like our Trailblazer has–a $ 1,500 alternative. Getting both the AWD and the Activ trim level too made we got the strongest engine, a 1.3 -liter turbocharged inline three-cylinder paired to a nine-speed automated instead of the standard continuously variable dissemination. With 155 horsepower and 174 lb-ft. of torque, it outmuscles everything in that comparison test, and you’d be totally forgiven for thoughts it’s quicker than it is. This three-banger is a salty little thing.

After a hit of turbo slowdown and a noticeable amount of tremor precisely off idle–three-cylinders are naturally unbalanced and tuning-out all the hums is expensive and robs power–the enhance races in, and there’s healthful low-end and mid-range torque that obliges the car feel punchy and responsive. It runs out of breath on the top goal, and the computer will never let you get within 1,000 RPM of the observed redline, but the gear rates are neatly spaced and throw you right back into the torque with an upshift.

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You don’t notice how sluggish the car actually is until you floor it getting on the roadway or try to make a pass at street speedings. Chevy estimates an 8.7 -second 0-60 go, and it seems very optimistic. Our test facility is still closed due to the pandemic, but an unscientific stopwatch exam registered more like 10 seconds. Even premising human fallibility, 9.5 seconds feels like a realistic number. Not quick, but dead centre of the competitive establish. That’s no thanks to the checkered flag button, which just stirs the direct heavier and deems paraphernaliums longer.

Scooting around city, though, you’d never know it. Once you learn to give it more gas off the line to mask the turbo lag, the Trailblazer zips through metropoli transaction. The nine-speed auto always has the right gear and only once gave us a potent downshift. Otherwise, it disappears into the background, one less thing to worry about. That allows you to shift some intelligence superpower to feathering the restraint pedal, which is both singularly firm and a bit grabby until you get be applicable to it.

Although the AWD system does shunt some supremacy to the rear wheels as you taken away from from a stop, it’s neither a achievement plan nor rock-crawling hardware. Instead, it’s a resistance facilitate, which helps you to go in there confidently in slick or steep–or both–conditions. To game the fuel-economy testing for additional CAFE credit, Chevrolet insists on stirring it selectable via a button by the shifter instead of precisely having it is everything all right automatically when necessary like every other non-GM vehicle on the planet. Instead, it blinks a message to turn it on when the breast motors start inventing. Chevy notes that turning it off saves gas, which is why every other non-GM vehicle automatically turns off AWD when it’s not needed and automatically locks it when it is.

Back to The Story

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The new radiator arrived just as we were leaving the house, but the cord of bad luck already encountered told us to keep going, just in case. The closer we got, the better this decision searched. Repairs were taking much longer than predicted, with no end in sight. By the time we arrived over four hours later, it still wasn’t done despite the old radiator having been removed the day before in preparation. Showtime.

Hoping against hope the age-old Ford would be fixed soon, we offered to make the boys off her hands, and she could meet us back at the members of this house last-minute. An overstuffed full-size suitcase and a self-contained travel toilet went in the stalk with a handful of interesting thing, as well as two autoes tushes in the back. Wide-opening back doors and well-positioned LATCH spots concluded installing the car accommodates easy enough. The ample leg office intended the teenagers couldn’t fairly kick the backs of our sets if we scooted exactly a little farther forward than normal. So far, so good.

Not five minutes down the road, we got the call. The patronize couldn’t get the coolant courses to line up with the replacing radiator and were seeking now hoses to be delivered several days later. Back we went to cram an adult into the Trailblazer, too.

Trailblazer Interior

Although it wasn’t like having the whole row to yourself on an airplane, changing the car fannies closer to the doors actually attained fairly area for an adult to sit in the middle without being suppressed. Between the wireless phone charger and the figurehead and rear USB ports, everyone’s phone was coming accused. A rear A/ C vent would’ve been nice for everyone in the back, but all told , no one was unbearably awkward on the 4 1/2 -hour journey home across the desert.

An exceptionally high roof was appreciated all around, establishing both front and rear passengers a ton of headroom even with the panoramic sunroof, which normally clogs headroom. That and identical squarish windows for everyone gave me abnormally good outward visibility, while the electronic motorist assistances all manipulated delicately to ease my drive. I did find the seat bottom cushion a bit short, but no one else was riled by it, and the seats were otherwise pleasant for the length of the impromptu superhighway tour. Tire noise aside, communicating between the breast and back seats was no trouble.

Trailblazer Fuel Economy

More than 10 hours when we are left, we plucked into the driveway, three parties and a batch of luggage heavier. Between all the people and stuff inside, as well as my inclination to cruise at 80 mph, the car’s self-reported 23 mpg norm wasn’t bad even if it was below the EPA thinks, which are on the low intent of the competitive set at 26/30/ 28 mpg metropoli/ freeway/ combined with AWD and 28 -2 9/31 -3 3/29 -3 1 mpg without. The most efficient car in that comparison came 31/36/ 33 mpg, for context.

Should You Buy A Trailblazer?

The conclusion of our crossover comparison experiment was an easy label: The Soul was head and shoulders over the Nissan Kicks, Hyundai Venue, and Toyota C-HR( in that say ). Where might the Trailblazer fall if we did the test again? My vote parallelled the final result of that experiment exactly, and I’d leant the Trailblazer in second. It goes expensive where reference is fully loaded; it’s missing an option or two; and it can be a little rough and a little loud at times. On the other hand, it’s comfortable, pleasant to drive, and furnishes features like wireless phone casting and AWD the others don’t. Its misses are small, but its prevails are large-scale, and Chevy’s smacked the segment right on the head.

2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer AWD Activ

BASE PRICE $27,895 LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV

ENGINE 1.3L/155-hp/174-lb-ft turbo DOHC 12 -valve I-3

TRANSMISSION 9-speed automatic

CURB WEIGHT 3,300 lb( MT est)

WHEELBASE 103.9 in

L x W x H 173.7 x 71.2 x 65.7 in

0-60 MPH 9.5 sec( MT est)

EPA FUEL ECON 26/30/28 mpg

ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/ HWY 130/112 kW-hrs/ 100 miles

CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.70 lb/ mile

ON SALE Currently