FIRST DRIVE: 2019 CHEVROLET BLAZER BLAZER IS BACK, SPORTIER THAN EVER
Chevy resuscitates dormant moniker, but it is more like a sporty sedan
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. My dad bought a brand new Chevrolet K5 Blazer in 1977. It was a base model, powered by a 350-cubic inch V8, and it had a four-speed manual transmission. Predating the SUV by a couple of decades, it was then known as a light truck, and it felt like one, with a choppy and loud ride, and an insatiable thirst for gasoline.
I accompanied my dad on countless off-road hunting and fishing trips in that Blazer, and it’s in that K5 that I learned to drive. The Blazer survived a couple of generations past my dad’s truck, but the name was put to sleep more than a dozen years ago.
Chevrolet looked into the past for a name to tag onto an all-new mid-size SUV, and it has resurrected the dormant moniker on the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer. If you, like me, have fond memories of the Blazer, you might be saddened to know that despite its historic nomenclature, the modern Blazer has nothing in common with its utilitarian workhorse ancestor. But since the new one proved to be a remarkably competent SUV that handles like a sports sedan, that’s a good thing.
The new Blazer fills the relatively small gap in Chevrolet’s lineup between the Equinox and the Traverse, and joins a busy segment occupied by several popular two-row SUVS, including the Ford Edge, Honda Passport, Hyundai Santa Fe, Nissan Murano and Toyota RAV4, among others.
The Blazer will come in six variations, ranging in price from $35,100 to a hefty $48,700. The base model is a front-driver powered by a 2.5-litre in-line four that produces 193 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque, and is mated to a nine-speed automatic. Also available is a 3.6-L V6 that bumps output to 305 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque, and it’s available with either front drive or all-wheel drive. It, too, is paired with a nine-speed automatic.
Both engines have a standard automatic start/stop system to reduce fuel consumption around town, and the V6 includes cylinder deactivation. Average fuel consumption is rated at 8.8 L/100 kilometres for the four-cylinder engine, and 9.5 for the AWD V6.
While the old-school Blazer had a penchant for off-road exploration, this new Blazer is mostly a road-going machine, despite the availability of all-wheel drive. This is exemplified with the sporty $46,300 RS model, which looks the part. Aside from its Camaro-like facial features, it has an AWD system that uses a twinclutch rear differential — as does the top-of-the-line Premier — to electronically distribute more torque to the outside wheel in an effective torque-vectoring system.
It really enhances handling, allowing the Blazer RS to arc tightly around corners, especially when powering through a turn. The difference this system makes is felt immediately once you switch from Sport mode, to fuel-saving FWD mode. In the latter mode, the Blazer understeers when encountering the same conditions. Drive modes are selected via a dial on the centre console, and can be changed on the fly.
In fact, from the driver’s seat, the Blazer RS feels more like a sporty sedan, its firmer suspension keeping it level though turns while its quicker steering ratio — 15.1:1 versus 16.1 for non-rs models — is well weighed and communicative, if somewhat artificial in feel. Eighteen-inch aluminum wheels are standard on all but the RS and Premier, both of which come standard with 20-inchers. You can opt for 21-inch wheels on the RS, though I suspect they will give a harsher ride.
The V6 returns a satisfying growl when getting hard on the gas, and has generous, free-revving pulling power. It’s expected in the RS, and a bonus in the other V6 models. Chevrolet engineers have done an excellent job with the mapping of the ninespeed transmission: it never seemed to search for gears, and dropped a cog when needed.
A brief drive in a standard, V6-powered front-drive Blazer reveals it’s almost as capable of handling winding roads as the RS, with a softer suspension that’s more compliant yet still quite sporty, and lighter steering that feels a bit more vague just off centre. Overall, however, both models are supremely quiet on the highway.
When equipped with the towing package — standard on all AWD models — you can haul up to 4,500 pounds. With the rear seats stowed, you can access more than 1,800 litres of storage space, and storing items there safely is facilitated by a sliding, removable rail.
The interior is tidy, with minimal buttons; the ones on the centre stack are mostly for the climate control, while the trim rings around the central vents are used to adjust climate control temperature. The seats are firm yet supportive.
Standard and available features abound, with the more notable ones being adaptive cruise control, hitch guidance and hitch view — both of which help a driver hook up a trailer without a spotter — and automatically activated heated steering wheel and seats, which turn on depending on interior temperatures. Android Auto and Apple Carplay are standard across the lineup.
The 2019 Blazer enters the hotly contested mid-size SUV segment, which Chevrolet says is attracting buyers primarily with styling in mind. In that respect, the Blazer is a hit. But it also has a competitive starting price and a ride quality that is better, or at least less truck-like, than much of the competition.