2019 Chevy Blazer first drive review: Sharp style and a smooth ride

Chevrolet’s new Blazer is a throwback in title alone. Sure, it revives the Blazer nameplate, which disappeared from Chevy’s lineup in 2005, however that is just about the place the homage ends.For starters, the Blazer’s look attracts extra from Chevrolet’s automobiles than its vans, inheriting most of its design DNA from the Camaro sports activities coupe. The Blazer is angular and aggressive, from the sharp headlamps and jagged grill to the geometric profile and muscular flanks. The look will get a bit of softer across the SUV’s upright rear finish, whereas nonetheless trying taut and decidedly sporty. Personally, I feel it is one of many best-looking SUVs within the midsize crossover class — however I do know that is not an opinion held by the remainder of the Roadshow crew.The design inside feels economical however considerate. The cabin’s design is straightforward and principally nicely made. There are a number of small goodies all through the cabin which might be enjoyable to find. From my RS mannequin’s pink accents and stitching to the illuminated USB ports to the best way the central vents double as dials for the local weather controls (one other Camaro-like trick), I stored catching myself smiling at cool little particulars.But that is additionally a special Blazer from a structural standpoint. For starters, it’s underpinned by a front-wheel drive, unibody development fairly than rear-drive, body-on-frame setup of the previous Blazer. This essentially makes the brand new Blazer extra road- and commute pleasant, buying and selling the trucky experience of the previous Blazer for one thing extra akin to a big automobile.Two engine choicesThe primary Blazer powertrain setup consists of a 2.5-liter I4 engine that sends 193 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque to the entrance wheels through a 9-speed computerized transmission. This can also be essentially the most environment friendly of the 2 engine choices, estimated at a reasonably middle-of-the-class 22 miles per gallon metropolis and 27 mpg freeway.If you improve to the 3.6-liter V6, you may be handled to 308 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. This stronger model of the Blazer additionally incorporates a nine-speed computerized transmission and nonetheless comes normal with front-wheel drive, however you may get V6 fashions with Chevy’s superior twin-clutch all-wheel-drive system — primarily, it acts as a FWD car more often than not, till rear-end energy or traction is required. Of course, going massive with energy comes with effectivity tradeoffs: V6 fashions step all the way down to 20 mpg metropolis and 27 mpg freeway with front-wheel drive or 18 mpg metropolis and 25 mpg freeway when geared up with all-wheel drive.The front-wheel-drive, V6 RS mannequin impresses with its robust acceleration. The gearbox feels — in its default setting — tuned for effectivity, and is pretty fast to upshift via its 9 gears. That could make the Blazer really feel a bit of lazy to speed up throughout passing maneuvers whereas the transmission types itself out, but it surely additionally implies that the SUV has a relaxed and quiet character, each round city and on the freeway.
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The dealing with division is staffed by a MacPherson strut suspension up entrance, a five-link unbiased rear suspension and wheel-and-tire packages starting from 18-inches for base fashions to 21-inch choices for RS and Premier fashions. The electrical energy steering feels gentle and straightforward to make use of round city, whereas nonetheless providing pretty good responsiveness for a car of this measurement. Still, the suspension cannot overcome the legal guidelines of physics — you may really feel each little bit of the Blazer’s 4,017 kilos (in FWD V6 trim) when hustling round a nook. I just like the Blazer’s mixture of a soft-yet-controlled experience, agile-yet-easy steering and confident-yet-relaxed energy supply. These dynamics really feel actually applicable for this sort of crossover SUV.Chevrolet Infotainment 3The new Blazer options the newest technology of Chevrolet’s cabin tech. Front and heart within the dashboard is a typical, 8-inch Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system — maybe not essentially the most cleverly named setup within the enterprise, however nonetheless a well-designed one with plenty of potential for future upgrades.From the smartphone-esque house display screen to the well organized menu construction, Infotainment 3 is intuitive to navigate and, maybe extra importantly, attentive to my faucets and swipes. A brand new shortcut bar alongside the underside of the display screen hyperlinks again to the homescreen and numerous infotainment capabilities. You can faucet it to get standing data: Tapping the 4G LTE bar shortly jumps to the OnStar Wi-Fi hotspot controls, for instance.
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Onboard app choice is fairly stable with main audio streaming gamers like Spotify and iHeartRadio making appearances. That’s alongside a choice of communication apps like Glympse, a favourite of mine that permits drivers to easily and briefly share their reside location and ETA with family and friends.A refined however helpful new function for Infotainment 3 is the power to register and save particular person profiles, which might retailer the whole lot from radio presets to software program preferences to software logins on a per-driver foundation. This implies that my shortcuts, addresses and Spotify playlist, for instance, could be stored separate from the remainder of my members of the family’, since a number of driver profiles could be saved. Driver profiles are PIN-lockable and in addition synced to the cloud, which can ultimately enable customers to deliver their preferences to any GM car gadget working Infotainment 3. Imagine hopping right into a rental automobile on trip and having the whole lot arrange precisely how you want.USB-connected Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are normal, when you’d choose to deliver your personal tech and apps on the highway. The Blazer is out there with as much as six complete USB ports unfold between its two rows, three of that are USB-C connections. There’s additionally an obtainable wi-fi Qi phone-charging pad when you’d choose to not plug in.Driver assist optionsDriver assist expertise is much less progressive, however I used to be happy to discover a totally trendy suite of ordinary and non-compulsory options. Every 2019 Blazer options a typical rear digicam, rear seat reminder and the corporate’s teen driver system, which lets mother and father set velocity alerts and audio quantity limits, and get driving efficiency report playing cards for youthful drivers.My Blazer RS has the HD Surround Vision 360-degree digicam, which affords a chook’s-eye view of the realm across the car at low speeds. I additionally love Chevrolet’s non-compulsory rear digicam mirror which could be toggled between a standard optical mirror and a reside show from a digicam mounted on the tailgate with the flip of a swap. This permits a wider-angle view of the realm behind the automobile, which reduces blind spots, and an view that is not obstructed by passengers’ heads or tall bits of cargo.The Blazer can be had with non-compulsory lane-keeping steering help, lane-departure alert and blind-spot monitoring. The obtainable adaptive cruise management system works in stop-and-go site visitors, sustaining a secure following distance behind a lead automobile. Finally, there’s computerized pre-collision braking with pedestrian detection obtainable.
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Pricing and competitorsPricing begins at $29,95 for the bottom mannequin, recognized merely because the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer, and stretches to $41,795 for the sport-styled and well-equipped Blazer RS. You can climb a bit of greater and spend $43,895 for the feature-loaded Blazer Premier — earlier than choices and vacation spot fees, after all.The Blazer’s largest competitors appears to be like to return from the brand new Ford Edge, which has similarities in scale and value. After driving each, I might give the early benefit to the Blazer primarily based on my very constructive first impressions of the Chevy’s design, efficiency and Infotainment 3 tech. However, the Blazer will face stiffer competitors when cross-shopped with the Hyundai Santa Fe and Hondas’s brand-new Passport, however I feel the Blazer will fare nicely given its aggressive value and putting fashion.Editors’ observe: Travel prices associated to this function had been lined by the producer. This is widespread within the auto business, as it is extra economical to ship journalists to automobiles than to ship automobiles to journalists. While Roadshow accepts multiday car loans from producers with a view to present scored editorial evaluations, all scored car evaluations are accomplished on our turf and on our phrases.The judgments and opinions of Roadshow’s editorial staff are our personal and we don’t settle for paid editorial content material.