Great Successor to the Blazer

Author's Rating:

Pros: Roomy, smooth ride, comfortable seating, awesome handling.

Cons: Some misplaced controls, missing entry handle. Mileage could be a bit better.

The Bottom Line: 
Comfortable, smooth ride and a lot of fun. If you're looking for a great SUV, you can stop shopping once you test drive the TrailBlazer.

Author's Review
I own a 2000 Chevy Blazer which I purchased in 1999; this year I cashed in my GM Card earnings and utilized my GM employee discount to pick up a 2003 Chevy TrailBlazer.

For the Blazer, I went with a mid-range (the LT), but this time I decided to go all-out and went with a fully-loaded LTZ. I am not sorry at all.

Exterior:
The TrailBlazer looks great whether you go with the two-tone appearance or solid paint. Two-tone is standard with the LTZ, and I chose the forest green paint with pewter accent. I'm not quite sure why I like it so much, but I think the two-tone appearance does a fantastic job setting the TrailBlazer aside from other SUVs such as the Explorer. Chevy's engineers did a great job in their design work, ensuring that the appearance is pleasing to the eye without being gaudy.

A lot of times I need to drive my grandmother somewhere, and the running boards are at a perfect height for her. Furthermore, the running boards were integrated into the design flawlessly. I see too many vehicles with the running boards or bars and some look good; others just don't look right.

You might also consider this a minor detail, but I am picky when it comes to aesthetics. Chevy put a small groove just under the hood where the hood release is located. No more fumbling around trying to find that darn release. Clearly they put a lot of thought and planning into the design.

Interior:
The thought and planning Chevy put into the exterior carried over to the interior designers as well. The seats are spacious and comfortable. The leather is soft and comfortable to sit on. Several people tried to tell me that I'd hate leather; I'd either fry in the summer or freeze in the winter. I've driven in both hot and cold weather already, and I've neither cooked nor frozen. Nevertheless, if you've had a bad experience with leather, you might want to stick with cloth.

Regardless of where you sit, you have plenty of legroom. The ceiling is high enough that you're not hitting your head. I'm 6' tall and the top of my head clears the ceiling easily. The seats adjust very easily and the steering wheel tilts to several positions.

All of the controls are placed within easy reach of the driver. It's easy to access any of them without pulling your eyes off of the road.

Cup holders! Yes...they can hold 20 ounce bottles, not just cans. Up front, there are two cup holders which can hold bottles and cans plus a third, larger one that is either a cup holder or holds the front ashtray. Since I don't smoke, the ashtray sits in the console, empty.

Speaking of the console, there is a front console/armrest that you can put a variety of items in. It includes slots for CDs...very handy. The glovebox too is roomy, so you have plenty of space to store CDs, Kleenex and maps...in addition to your owner's manual.

Another great feature is the 2-position memory feature for the driver's seat and mirrors. I'm 6'; my girlfriend is 5'7". Needless to say, we don't use the same seat and mirror positions. The TrailBlazer remembers 2 driver positions. With the touch of a button on the door, either position is quickly recalled. Furthermore, the remote keyless entry remotes are numbered 1 and 2. I use 1; my girlfriend uses 2. Whichever remote is used to unlock the doors, the appropriate driver position is automatically recalled.

Handling:
The TrailBlazer handles extremely well, in both the city and on the highway. I'm from Michigan, home to some of the worst roads in the nation, if not the world. The TrailBlazer takes them in stride. It handles bumps very well and transmits very little vibration to the interior. Just don't take this as an invitation to find the biggest potholes out there... :)

Chevy also made cornering a lot better. The TrailBlazer is capable of making much sharper turns than the Blazer. In tight spaces, it is much easier to maneuver.

Miscellaneous:
The I6 engine is great. It runs quietly and smoothly.

I like that the exterior lights stay on for several seconds after exiting the vehicle in the dark. It provides plenty of light so you can walk up to your house and see where you're going. It also provides a comfortable feeling of safety.

Throw in a free year of OnStar on some models. OnStar is a great service. I've used it a couple of times and they've been very helpful. I will definitely renew OnStar at the end of my free year.

Complaints:
I don't have many, but there are a few issues I thought I'd point out:

The first is that the heated seat controls aren't placed in the best spot. They're right on the door handle and are easily bumped (and therefore turned on), which can make the seat unpleasant in hot weather. Not that it's hard to turn off, though.

Another complaint is the removal of the large entry handle from the dash on the passenger side. This existed in the Blazer. My grandmother uses it religiously when she rides in my Blazer.

My last complaint is gas mileage. It's not bad, at 17/20 for the 4x4. If they could just bump it up to 20/24 it would be perfect. I live in an area where gasoline needs to be reformulated in the summer, which pushes prices up considerably higher.

Okay, one more minor detail. This one didn't affect me, but it may affect some. The TrailBlazer LTZ is the high-end model with most standard features. Cloth interior is NOT available, so if you hate leather, you'll have to step down to the LT.

About My TrailBlazer:
2003 TrailBlazer LTZ
Forest Green Metallic/Pewter Lower Accent
Leather interior with heated front seats, 2 pos. memory for driver's seat
Independent climate control
AM/FM/CD/Cassette with RDS
Integrated steering wheel controls
Driver information center
Radio and climate controls in rear seat

My exact model stickered for $37,400. Once I took the GM discount and GM Card earnings, I got it down to around $30,000. I added an extended warranty (I financed for 5 years and would like the warranty to run at least that long), resulting in a $32,500 out-the-door price.

Closing:
Great work Chevy! You've definitely got a winner here!