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Mini-Review: Chevy Trailblazer 'mid-size?' SUV

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
We are in Florida, I rented a full size SUV, rental agency (some discount place thru Priceline) got us a deal. We ended up with their LAST vehicle, and it was a little Chevy Trailblazer. OK, that aside, I've now had the vehicle almost a week, 600 or so miles.

Exterior looks on the vehicle are meh. Looks like a Toyota Rev-4 that is not quite as rugged looking, not quite as sporty, just not quite much. But that is a personal choice.

Interior:
Very basic, easy to read layouts and basically comfortable.
This is not an upper end model. Not a complaint, it seems functional, it seems comfortable.
Cup holders in the center console are fore/aft as opposed to side by side, I strongly prefer the functionality of side x side.
There is a phone holder between the 2 cup holders, which is a nice touch.
Storage cubbies both forward of the cup holders and behind the cup holders, again, nice to have those.
No small "pocket change" holder/cubbie

Cloth seats are actually comfortable, so high marks on the seats.
Rear seat legroom is compact car size. Not sure any adult human could fit behind me as I have the seat adjusted. I sit rather upright, so the seat-back angle is not a problem, but the rear legroom will probably not fit any human older than perhaps the age of 12? High marks for making it easy to install a child safety seat in the center rear of the back seat, with all appropriate connection points both "hidden" and yet accessible.

Electronics and infotainment:
This car makes a LOT of beeping and buzzing and warning noises! OMG so damn annoying. I was able to figure out how to disable some of them, but not all.
I personally like the automatic 'lane assist' that we have on 2 of our personal vehicles, but I disabled it on the Trailblazer.
The dash has 2 screens. 1 over steering column, 2nd is centered. Brightness controls for both are 1 knob, and they have different brightness, and can NOT be individually set. So if you are like me and don't like a super-bright screen at night, you turn it down a bit. Problem being screen 1 is more dim than screen 2 which is still too bright. Dim it more and screen 1 is too dim but at least screen 2 is not totally blinding. Should have 2 different brightness controls
Comes standard with "Apple CarPlay" and "Android Auto" ... but, at least CarPlay is not well integrated into the system. Only uses the center screen, not both screens like other 2023/2024 vehicles. It also was a PITA to get set up, but once set up is working well. I don't seem to get as much info during navigation on the Chevy Trailblazer screen as I get on either my personal Toyota or Honda screens.

Engine:
High points for the performance. No race car, it's a mom's compact SUV. But it is responsive and it doesn't whine or feel like it is underpowered. Not sure what the fuel economy figures are.
Gas tank is smaller than I'd like. I really want to full up and get close to 500 miles per tank, the more the merrier. Neither of our NEWER personal vehicles hit that mark but both come close. Fuel capacity seems to top out about 400 miles on the Trailblazer.


OVERALL: I'd take a pass on this and buy something else unless it is really inexpensive compared to comparable size/utility vehilcles. A Toyota Rav-4 would easily surpass this in many ways, but, again, I don't know the cost comparison. Just my observations.
 
We are in Florida, I rented a full size SUV, rental agency (some discount place thru Priceline) got us a deal. We ended up with their LAST vehicle, and it was a little Chevy Trailblazer. OK, that aside, I've now had the vehicle almost a week, 600 or so miles.

Exterior looks on the vehicle are meh. Looks like a Toyota Rev-4 that is not quite as rugged looking, not quite as sporty, just not quite much. But that is a personal choice.

Interior:
Very basic, easy to read layouts and basically comfortable.
This is not an upper end model. Not a complaint, it seems functional, it seems comfortable.
Cup holders in the center console are fore/aft as opposed to side by side, I strongly prefer the functionality of side x side.
There is a phone holder between the 2 cup holders, which is a nice touch.
Storage cubbies both forward of the cup holders and behind the cup holders, again, nice to have those.
No small "pocket change" holder/cubbie

Cloth seats are actually comfortable, so high marks on the seats.
Rear seat legroom is compact car size. Not sure any adult human could fit behind me as I have the seat adjusted. I sit rather upright, so the seat-back angle is not a problem, but the rear legroom will probably not fit any human older than perhaps the age of 12? High marks for making it easy to install a child safety seat in the center rear of the back seat, with all appropriate connection points both "hidden" and yet accessible.

Electronics and infotainment:
This car makes a LOT of beeping and buzzing and warning noises! OMG so damn annoying. I was able to figure out how to disable some of them, but not all.
I personally like the automatic 'lane assist' that we have on 2 of our personal vehicles, but I disabled it on the Trailblazer.
The dash has 2 screens. 1 over steering column, 2nd is centered. Brightness controls for both are 1 knob, and they have different brightness, and can NOT be individually set. So if you are like me and don't like a super-bright screen at night, you turn it down a bit. Problem being screen 1 is more dim than screen 2 which is still too bright. Dim it more and screen 1 is too dim but at least screen 2 is not totally blinding. Should have 2 different brightness controls
Comes standard with "Apple CarPlay" and "Android Auto" ... but, at least CarPlay is not well integrated into the system. Only uses the center screen, not both screens like other 2023/2024 vehicles. It also was a PITA to get set up, but once set up is working well. I don't seem to get as much info during navigation on the Chevy Trailblazer screen as I get on either my personal Toyota or Honda screens.

Engine:
High points for the performance. No race car, it's a mom's compact SUV. But it is responsive and it doesn't whine or feel like it is underpowered. Not sure what the fuel economy figures are.
Gas tank is smaller than I'd like. I really want to full up and get close to 500 miles per tank, the more the merrier. Neither of our NEWER personal vehicles hit that mark but both come close. Fuel capacity seems to top out about 400 miles on the Trailblazer.


OVERALL: I'd take a pass on this and buy something else unless it is really inexpensive compared to comparable size/utility vehilcles. A Toyota Rav-4 would easily surpass this in many ways, but, again, I don't know the cost comparison. Just my observations.
I recently rented a Hyundai Santa Fe. Sounds like the Chevy. Most everything was meh. I only liked the backup camera, gas mileage and it was a bit bigger than a RAV-4. I'd NEVER buy one.

Nowadays, for a small to mid-size SUV, my favorite is the Mazda. We have a new 2024 RAV-4 in the driveway. I know it'll run forever but for options, fun, comfort... I'll take a Mazda all day long. Against my mechanic's recommendations (who said to just buy Totota), I'm just loving the Mazda Turbo offerings (bought 2 of them this year).
 
One more nit-pick.

The Trailblazer key fob does not unlock the door as you step up to the vehicle so you need to removed the fob from your pocket and unlock the door with the remote. Not a deal killer, but not convenient. What is actually WORSE is that the ONLY way to lock the vehicle is with the key fob. There is no button, sensor, touchpad, etc on the handle that allows you to LOCK the doors, so again, remove the fob from your pocket and hit the button on the fob.

This is just a personal pet peeve of mine, I try to take everything with me when I leave the vehicle, sometimes that includes bags or boxes or misc items that are in the passenger footwell, on the passenger seat, or just the trash that I stow in the door cubby. As I exit the car my hands are full, but now I have to reach into my pocket to get the fob, which means unloading or somehow rebalancing all the crap I'm carrying. I know, I'm anal about that, but damn.

I recently rented a Hyundai Santa Fe. Sounds like the Chevy. Most everything was meh. I only liked the backup camera, gas mileage and it was a bit bigger than a RAV-4. I'd NEVER buy one.

Nowadays, for a small to mid-size SUV, my favorite is the Mazda. We have a new 2024 RAV-4 in the driveway. I know it'll run forever but for options, fun, comfort... I'll take a Mazda all day long. Against my mechanic's recommendations (who said to just buy Totota), I'm just loving the Mazda Turbo offerings (bought 2 of them this year).
Just curious, was the Santa Fe one of the brand new designed boxy looking ones that came out in 2024? I think those look pretty sharp, very much like a less rugged Land Rover Defender. Or was it one of the prior model year Santa Fe that is really easy to overlook? Totally meh!

Mazda was my second choice when I was shopping for the lovely Mrs_Bob's Venza. Great style, lots of luxury features, understated and good value.
 
I don't recall the year of the Hyundai but it was meh.
I look at the new reviews and A) the Mazda is #1 but the Hyundai is close behind.
I just don't trust Hyundai for reliability. We keep our cars for decades. I don't think Hyundai or Kia are up for our expectations of 20-year reliability.
 
I don't recall the year of the Hyundai but it was meh.
I look at the new reviews and A) the Mazda is #1 but the Hyundai is close behind.
I just don't trust Hyundai for reliability. We keep our cars for decades. I don't think Hyundai or Kia are up for our expectations of 20-year reliability.
Huge difference between the ho-hum 2023 (and prior) Hyundai Santa Fe and the new 2024 Santa Fe.

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I have no use for the ho-hum 2023 Santa Fe, but had the 2024 been available last fall when I bought the Venza, I think it would probably be sitting in our garage. I typically buy new (or nearly new) and hold for about 10 years.

Mazda has performance, styling and value.

Toyota and Honda have the reliability and dealer network. Both a bit boring, but in my retirement era, I'm worried a bit less about performance and really don't need to impress anyone anymore.
 
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