Chevrolet Trailblazer review, test drive

Think big

Our day starts early, but the schedule is tight. We have to share the Trailblazer with the TV crew and, to make matters tricky, it looks like it’s going to pour. But we can’t just jump in and drive off. The Trailblazer warrants a long, detailed look.

If you like your SUVs big, in all probability, you’ll be drawn to the Trailblazer too. The Chevy’s 4.8-metre-plus length and 1.9-metre height make it longer and marginally taller than a Toyota Fortuner, which, as you know, is a large SUV in its own right. The Trailblazer looks bigger still, thanks to its seemingly jacked-up stance. There’s a sizeable gap between the wheel arches and meaty 265/60 R18 tyres, and also between the body and the ground; the spec page we’ve been handed reads ground clearance is a class-best 241mm. The sheer size of the Trailblazer gives it amazing presence, but the design has more than a few good bits too. Chevrolet’s split grille gives the Trailblazer a suitably imposing face and the raised bonnet only adds more muscle. The Trailblazer will certainly get a lot of respect on our roads. But some of us do think the headlights look a bit ‘soft’ on something so big. There’s also a relative lack of flash elements at the front — chrome is used solely to line the grille and the shrouds for the fog lamp lower down on the neat bumper.

You also won’t find any cladding on the sides of the Trailblazer. It doesn’t look bad, just different from the norm. The rising window line is also unique in this segment and the sharp slash low down on the doors further helps jazz things up. What also looks really nice is the way the body widens from the rear doors towards the tail. Still, there’s something very Fortuner-like in the manner the rear quarter glass merges with the rear windscreen to give that wraparound look. In fact, the tail is quite generic and only stands out for the jewel effect of the brake lamps. In case you are wondering, the spare wheel is mounted under the boot and is a full-size alloy.