The Chevrolet Blazer is a 5-seat mid-sizecrossover SUV produced by General Motors brand Chevrolet. The vehicle went into production in December 2018 and sales began in January 2019 as a 2019 model. In China, it is a larger, 7-seat crossover SUV, which debuted in 2019 and went on sale in April 2020.
Overview
The Blazer nameplate, whose history dates back to 1969 when it was introduced as a two-door large SUV, was introduced to the public in Atlanta on June 21, 2018 as a mid-size CUV that will be slotted in between the compact Equinox and the 3-row full-size Traverse. It will serve as a counterpart to the GMC Acadia in the midsize CUV segment and will be built on the same platform as the Acadia. The vehicle's design will detail a sporty-style look that takes its cues from the Camaro but will have a CUV feel.
Powertrain
The Blazer will be powered by a standard 2.5 L I4 engine rated at and of torque. A 3.6 L V6 engine option will also be available, offering up and of torque.
Transmission
The Blazer will make use of GM's 9-speed 9T50automatic transmission. The same transmission is also used in the company's Cruze, Malibu, and Equinox models.
Trim levels and pricing
The Blazer will feature both FWD and AWD, with a choice of L, LT, RS, and Premier trim levels. It will have a starting MSRP of $29,995, including destination charge, for the base L model when it officially goes on sale in January 2019. Standard features on all Blazer models include the Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system with eight-inch touchscreen and Apple CarPlay and Android Autosmartphone integration, OnStar with 4G LTE Wi-Fi capabilities, keyless entry with keyless access and push-button start, and alloy wheels. Options include remote start, upgraded alloy wheels, a Bose premium audio system, GPS navigation, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, a power sunroof, heated and ventilated front bucket seats with driver's memory, red interior accents, and a power tailgate. Chevrolet also announced that ten colors, three exhaust styles, and seven wheel designs, will be featured for the Blazer.
Changes
2020
The 2020 model year Blazer will see a 2.0L turbocharged 4 cylinder LSY engine that will be optional on 2LT and 3LT level trims.
2021
The 2021 model year Blazer will offer a new towing package called the VR2 Trailering Package, equipped with front-wheel-drive and the 3.6L V6 LGX engine. The optional package will include the same robust cooling system as the aforementioned V92 package available on AWD models and is expected to increase the maximum towing capacity of front-drive models to 4500 pounds, the same as on the AWD model.
Three-row version
In November 2018 at Auto Guangzhou, Chevrolet unveiled the FNR-CarryAll concept, a larger 3-row crossover SUV counterpart of the Blazer. It had a length of 5,000 mm on a wheelbase of 2,867 mm, a width of 2,258 mm including mirrors and height of 1,693 mm. It previewed a production version, to be sold in countries where it could fill the same full-size crossover SUV slot reserved for the Traverse due to the latter's length and width. The FNR-CarryAll will not see production as the concept was meant to be used as a prototype for Chevrolet’s next generation models. On November 8, 2019, Chevrolet officially introduced the 3-row, 7-seat Blazer during 2019 Chevrolet Gala Night, a special event held in the Chinese city of Hefei. The Blazer, using the same model name as the 2-row version available in other markets, will serve as its flagship SUV in China albeit marketed as a full size vehicle. There will be three trim levels available: standard, RS, and Redline. Pre-sales began in March 2020, with deliveries starting by mid-year. The full size Blazer went on sale at dealerships in China and began production at its Jinqiao Assembly in April 2020. So far, in addition to China, Chevrolet has looked at Brazil and South Korea as key markets, but they have yet to be confirmed for production. Contrary to rumors that it would be called the "Blazer XL" in North America, Chevrolet will not make the 3-row Blazer available there.
Production and assembly
Intended to be built in Spring Hill, Tennessee, or possibly Lordstown, Ohio, GM chose the Ramos Arizpe Assembly in Mexico instead due to its capabilities to assemble midsize vehicles and to allow the Spring Hill facilities to focus more on producing the Acadia and Cadillac XT5 because of shift hour issues. On November 27, 2018, Chevrolet began production on the Blazer in Ramos Arizpe, phasing out production of the discontinued Chevrolet Cruze altogether. The latter ended its North American production in March 2019.
Sales
The news and buzz surrounding the Blazer and its expectations has paid off with customers acquiring the SUV ahead of its January 2019 debut. According to GM, the first 27 units were sold in December 2018, a rarity for a soft launch among GM vehicles. At the end of first quarter 2019, it had sold 3,023 units in the United States. By the fourth quarter of 2019, it immediately swelled to 23,008 units sold, and closed out 2019 with 58,115 units sold overall, making it one of Chevrolet's fastest selling model.
International markets
North America
Although the Blazer debuted in the United States and Canada in December 2018, the vehicle was not launched in Mexico, where the CUV is built, until mid-February 2019. This gives all three countries a complete crossover and SUV lineup, ranging from the Trax all the way up to the Suburban. The Mexican version differs from the ones built for U.S. and Canada markets, as the levels trims are Tela, Piel, and RS, exclusive to Mexico.
South America
Chevrolet sells the North American Blazer in South American markets, with Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia receiving the vehicle in 2019 as part of its lineup expansion in the region.
Oceania
GM was looking at expanding the Blazer to Australia and New Zealand as a Holden, up until GM’s decision to eliminate the Holden brand in 2020. It would have been slotted as a mid size entry between the Acadia and Equinox as part of its expansion of its North American vehicles into this region; with Chevrolet planning to export vehicles to this region, it is not known at this point if the Blazer will be among the CUVs joining the lineup.
The use of the Blazer nameplate on a midsize CUV has sparked mixed reviews, mostly from fans of the K5 Blazer and S-10 Blazer SUVs, as well as the TrailBlazer faithful, who were disappointed in Chevrolet applying it to a CUV instead of importing the international TrailBlazer to North America, building it as an SUV on the same platform as the Suburban/Tahoe, or putting it on an SUV platform based on the Colorado, hopefully as an answer to Ford's planned revival of the Bronco, citing the Blazer's history as an adventurous off-road vehicle. The TrailBlazer will return to North America as a compact crossover that will be slotted below the Equinox in 2020 as a 2021 model.
Reception
In a side-by-side comparison with the Ford Edge, Car and Driver declared the Blazer the best, for its "responsive and stable handling, aggressive styling, and stout V-6 engine."
