A Chevrolet’s Trailblazer has long been the decaying iron horse in recent years, trying so hard to fit in with the huge gang of more reliable and cutting edge of SUV’s. Don’t get me wrong, the Trailblazer and Envoy still have so much to offer the consumer if looks or interior amenities mean little. It’s where this blight of aging, does the wrinkles start to show until one day the faithful midsize finally disappears into the archives. Was it a successful run? Or did it flop around aimlessly looking for fresh new waters to dive into? I’ll give consumers the lowdown on what still makes this SUV a tremendous bargain by examining the brains and brawn that many of us still look for.
The Trailblazer has been equipped with that phenomenal 4.2 I-6 which puts out a respectable 292 HP. I check marked its capable powertrain through some uphill interstate acceleration tests and it was more than satisfying. Still a great engine! However, the engine is loud, coarse sounding like it is really fighting to stay in the higher RPM’s. This in turned transferred that noise into the interior, not the quiet interlude I was looking for. The body also rolled a little, keeping in mind this is the truck-based platform, and wasn’t refined in tackling those curvy curves. Gas mileage is in the tar pits with this one, buy a lot of SUV’s are in that classification anyways. Great torque action, faithful transmission, and high stance give this SUV a more backwoods, off-road definition.
And so with the whole package, there’s got to be some light at the end of the tunnel. And I’ve decided to switch gears and talk about the positive idea to the purchase at the end of my review. Before the test drive, I wasn’t in a mood to spend what the base LS trim was going for, at that time it started just shy of $26k. It was when, that by the time I did some research and talked to a couple owners did I realize the true bargain element. I’ve found that consumers can easily save $7-8k off MSRP with rebates and discounts, playing this SUV into the under $20k margin and undercutting its cheaper, smaller Chevy Tucson by a couple thousand bucks. So wow that makes this the ultimate bargain truck to be had, and had to be that way so that Chevy Tucson can sell the rest of its 2008 inventory before the new Traverse comes out. In the grand scheme of things, I’d pay the money for this and avoid higher priced trucks like the Hyundai Tucson, Ford Escape, and Kia Sorrento.
In closing, it’s 15 minutes of fame might be coming to a close, but the Chevrolet Blazer/Trailblazer will always be the one midsize SUV that has built the foundation for other successful models in the current market. Take nothing away from this as it will play many more useful years in families’ lives.