2003
Chevrolet TrailBlazer
Class:
rear- or 4-wheel-drive midsize
sport-utility vehicle
MSRP: $ 28,515 - $ 33,730
Consumer Guide Rating: No CG
Rating
Pros: Passenger and cargo room,
Trailer towing capability
Cons: Steering/handling, Fuel
economy
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Chevrolet's
redesigned midsize SUV shares its design,
powertrain, and new body-on-frame platform with
the '02 Oldsmobile Bravada and GMC Envoy. Each is
a 4-dr wagon with its own styling details inside
and out, and is larger than the model it replaces.
TrailBlazer's wheelbase is 6 inches longer than
the 1995-vintage Blazer's, and its body is longer
by 10 inches, wider and taller by 5. It's bigger
inside, too, though seating is limited to five. To
match rivals with 3rd-row seating, a
longer-wheelbase 7-passenger TrailBlazer is
planned for sometime in calendar '02 as a 2003
model. These redesigned General Motors SUVs share
a new 270-hp inline 6-cyl. engine linked to a
4-speed automatic transmission. Offered is
rear-wheel drive with available traction control
or GM's Autotrac 4WD that can be left engaged on
dry pavement and includes low-range gearing.
Standard are ABS, 4-wheel disc brakes, and front
side airbags (the driver's bag covers head and
torso). LTZ models have 17-inch wheels, other
TrailBlazers get 16s. Note that the 1995-vintage
Blazer continues alongside TrailBlazer,
repositioned as budget-buy SUV.
Model
News
Though Chevy's
new midsize SUV is just hitting the trail, an
extended-body TrailBlazer is on for 2003, with a
possible on-sale date in early to mid-2002.
Wheelbase will be stretched 16 inches to make room
for a 3rd-row seat, which regular models don’t
offer, and rear doors will be longer than the
fronts for easier aft access. Standard power
should be the 5.3-liter V8 that’s optional in
regular models.
Beyond that,
TrailBlazer will sire two, possibly three spinoffs.
Definitely in the works is a showroom version of
the SSR convertible/coupe/pickup concept that
garnered rave reviews in 2000. This would be built
on a shortened TrailBlazer chassis with standard
V8 (likely the above-mentioned 5.3), but would
retain with the concept’s basic rounded,
early-‘50s styling theme, two-seat cab with
retractable hard top (perhaps power-operated), and
likely the SSR name. Industry watchers see this as
a sort of new-century performance car to take over
from the soon-to-be-deceased Camaro. Word is that
SSR will enter production in early to mid-2002 as
an ’03 model. Further details should be
available soon, so check back with us often in
coming weeks.
Chevy is also
cooking up a TrailBlazer-based junior brother to
its new 2002 full-size Avalanche pickup, with a
similar rear-cab “midgate” that can be folded
to extend the bed. Like Ford’s popular Explorer
Sport Trac, its main rival, this Chevy, which is
rumored to be called Warrior, shares its parent
SUV’s powertrains and 4-dr passenger cell, but
styling is likely to be more in-your-face a la
Avalanche. Barring delays, Warrior should arrive
as a 2004 model.
Less certain,
though still possible, is a “truck-based
sedan” patterned on the 2000 Transverse concept.
Name and timing have yet to be decided, but this
4-dr hatchback will reportedly have a standard
255-horsepower 4.5-liter enlargement of
TrailBlazer’s inline-6, plus permanent all-wheel
drive and car-like suspension tuning, interior
appointments and styling. Despite truck
underpinnings, this will be Chevy’s answer to
car-based SUVs like Lexus RX 300 and Acura MDX.
Assuming it gets the go-ahead, it will likely be
an ’05 model unwrapped by mid-2004.
The
Competition
This is by far
the hottest market segment right now. Crowded with
more than 20 vehicles, midsize SUVs vary in size
and type but nearly all seat five adults and offer
V6 or V8 engines. Our Best Buys is the car-based
Lexus RX 300. Though it lacks a low range in 4WD
mode, is the most carlike to drive and offers all
of the versatility of a truck-based model.
Our Recommended
choices are all traditional SUVs: the Dodge
Durango, which offers optional third-row seating;
the best-selling Ford Explorer clone Mercury
Mountaineer; the Teutonic Mercedes-Benz M-Class;
the utilitarian Nissan Xterra; and the refined but
expensive Toyota 4Runner. Contd'... |
