I recently test drove a new Blazer the other day. I came back unimpressed mostly. But it dawned on me how much of a waste this new Blazer is.
Firstly, lets get the hits and misses out the way. The Blazer is a looker in person. It’s pretty damn sporty, especially in RS trim in all black. But that’s as far as its sportiness extends. I test drove a loaded RS model and while a looker for sure, I found the interior annoying and its price too high. The vehicle I drove had a sticker on it for nearly $50 grand (though I do see that some dealers have begun to put about $2500 cash on the hood of these things. $47-$48k is still too much for these things) which if I were spending that much, it wouldn’t be on a damn Blazer. I found the drive to be boring. Yes it handles pretty well for what it is, and that’s something I’ve seen praised for the new Blazer in reviews. But to me that’s like giving kudos to a boat for floating. The optional V6 engine pulls strong as well. But it all adds up to a nothing burger. Its engine, handling and styling can’t hide the fact that this is a crossover through and through and not in a good way.
The interior like I mentioned, is pretty trash. It looks good and you can honestly see the Camaro inspiration in pretty much the entirety of the dash, aside from the Chevy truck wheel.. But upon closer inspection you can see how cheap everything is. From the gearshift to the buttons, most surfaces inside don’t warrant the price tag the RS trim carries. Also the air vents are in a weird dumb place and mostly blow on your torso.
The Blazer rides on platform confusingly shared with the 3 row GMC Acadia (which itself got smaller with its recent redesign) and Cadillac’s XT5. Why? Who thought this would be a good idea? On paper it comes across as dumb, but it also sadly speaks volumes to the stupidity and blandness of the American car buyer. A “sporty” crossover with interior and exterior design inspired by one of the most iconic vehicle nameplates in history riding on a platform that negate both the styling and the powerful optional engine choice. Lets not forget this is GM we are also talking about here.
Honestly, the biggest letdown of the Blazer is that it wasn’t more. I’ve mentioned this before, we could’ve had a new age American Infiniti FX. Think about it: the engineering, albeit pricey, could’ve been done to lengthen the Camaro’s platform for crossover duty. Combine that with an array of efficient but powerful turbo 4’s and V6 engines and boom, you have a driver’s crossover that doesn’t just look the part. But that’s not what we got. We got yet another crossover to satisfy the markets insatiable thirst for mediocrity. Try harder next time GM.