While the compact and 3-row SUV segment has been growing by leaps and bounds, this 5-passenger midsize type has been getting squeezed out. But with our insatiable appetite for utility vehicles these too are on the comeback. This is the all-new Blazer.
When we last saw it a decade and 5 cogs ago, the TrailBlazer was an American-built, body-on-frame sport utility whose key competitors included the Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango…models that’ve since moved on to the 3-row arena. Having its name pruned once again to simply Blazer, this 2019 Mexican-made reboot weighs nearly 300-pounds less, now arranges its 6-cylinders in a V formation, produces more horsepower but less torque and improves MPGs by over 30%; collectively, a microcosm of the industry’s evolution during its 10-year hiatus.
Similar in length, wheelbase and ground clearance to the TrailBlazer before it, the new Blazer is marked by daring design and robust levels of technology. This one here is the sporty RS trim with a host of distinguishing traits and blacked-out features that lend it a Camaro-like persona. Not for the introverted, the Blazer RS is a visually stunning specimen with a futuristic patina and crazy 20” Dark Android wheels. So you see it and think it’s going to be all spicy and sonorous, but in reality it’s soothing and serene.
The Blazer’s design says racy but this SUV is more of a teddy bear, with the headline being quiet and soft. This RS trim is all about style and the V6 is very strong but the Blazer coddles its occupants with automatic everything and technology that doesn’t fight you. For something that looks this cool though there’s not a lot of excitement here. Over 300 horsepower produces some torque steer when you step on it and while the 9-speed is typically very smooth there is one exception; in stop and go traffic it tends to lurch ahead as you slow down and start again…something GM should address with a software update because it sullies an otherwise pleasing experience.
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