What is it?
An all-American SUV that dwarfs almost everything on the road including the mighty Toyota Fortuner. Big, emphatic and with an old-school design, the Chevrolet Trailblazer is as SUVish as an SUV can be.
Spot one in the rear view mirror and you will want to scamper out of the way sooner than if you were confronted by your boss in a foul mood. From every angle it is a huge car; put it in perspective with its competitors and the Trailblazer is both wider and longer than the Fortuner and the Pajero Sport making it the biggest in the segment, at least till the next-generation Endeavour is out at the Auto Expo.
It looks menacing, but that is purely due to its size. It terms of design, it is rather sedate. The front is typical Chevy with the split grille, honeycomb mesh and the huge bowtie logo. There are no cuts or creases on the front like we are used to seeing on the modern cars, the only interesting element is the black bash plate that along with the grille and fog lamp housing creates a sort of dual tone effect.
The side profile is simple as well, there are flared wheel arches and roof rails, of course, but that apart there is hardly anything to talk about, not even the body cladding. The 18-inch alloy wheels look apt for the size of the car and even their six-spoke design is simple. The logo at the rear is even bigger than one at the front, the LED tail lamps, on the other hand, are tiny and the extra-long ‘Trailblazer LTZ’ badge looks clumsy. This is the only variant to go on sale in India, it is not the top-end in the Thai market where it is imported from and hence misses out on few cosmetics like the twin exhaust and the rear bash plate.
The Trailblazer is intended to be a big fat SUV and does a pretty damn good job at that. It gets attention and respect on the streets and simply for this virtue it might find plenty of takers in India.
How is it on the inside?
The interior is a mixed bag; while there is some good quality equipment, few of the inserts would be unacceptable even on Rs 10 lakh cars. The cabin is mainly beige, the dashboard comes in two-tone black – the top is matte while the music console gets a glossy piano black surround.
Climb into the cabin with the step and the view is towering from high up. Both the corners of the bonnet are visible from the driver seat, so it is more of a watch and drive than judgement. The front seats are spacious, the driver gets a six-way adjustable power seat though there is no lumbar support. The middle row is bolted to the floor with tumble function to provide access to the rear, the space here is not a problem, but accessing the rear is a task. Whatever 10 minutes that I spent in the third row were comfortable, there is no thigh support since the floor here is much higher, but I found the knee room to be acceptable – agreed I am short, but not so much compared to the average Indian.
The features list is decent. You have a touch screen music system that does not feel like an aftermarket addition, the instrument cluster is well-stocked, there is climate control, a rear camera with sensors and leather upholstery. Small cubby holes are littered across the cabin, there are four at the front, apart from the two cup holders under the AC vents and the doors. There are also four closed storage bays at the front. In terms of safety features, the Trailblazer gets front dual airbags, ABS-EBD, traction control with stability programme and hill descent control.
How does it drive?
The Trailblazer uses a four-cylinder 2.8-litre diesel engine with VGT turbo to produce 200bhp and a massive 500Nm of torque. For now, it will be available only with the six-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive.
For this size, it is a surprisingly quick car and refined as well. All the old-school SUVs that we have in India at this moment have more in common with the tractors in terms of refinement, this one, however, feels like a passenger vehicle. The engine is smooth and for a big diesel engine there are hardly any vibrations inside the cabin.
The gear shifts are a bit jerky, but not too slow. Be gentle on the throttle and the car shifts at around 2,000rpm; go harder and the gear shift points will change depending upon the throttle input. It can cruise at 100kmph at around 1,600rpm in sixth gear, even 120kmph comes under 2,000rpm. It is at these speeds that the cabin becomes slightly noisy. The efficiency isn’t expected to be all that great, this is still a two-tonne SUV with a big diesel engine.
The low-speed ride is comfortable, the suspension is softly set up and the SUV goes over all the potholes and undulations unperturbed. At high speeds, the SUV does feel jittery something that can be rectified once it is properly loaded. The steering does weigh up with speed, but it feels dead and three and a half turns from clock-to-clock are a little too much. The brakes feel spongy but do their work well enough.
I might sound too critical about a few things and that is mainly because of our expectations from the modern day cars. But compared to rivals, the Trailblazer is so much better to live with.
Why should I buy one?
If you are one of the many Indians obsessed with the big SUVs, I probably don’t even have to explain why this one seems exciting. It has the look, an assuring name and fit-finish levels better than all the competitors on sale at the moment.
The only worry will probably be service, since the Trailblazer will be imported from Thailand as a CBU. But even that won’t affect too many if Chevrolet manages to get the pricing right. A price tag of around Rs 25 lakh and Chevrolet will finally have a winner on its hands.
Where does it fit in?
The Trailblazer competes with the old-school seven-seater SUVs like the Toyota Fortuner and the Mitsubishi Pajero. The competition might seem drab at the moment, but the segment will heat up with the launch of new Endeavour at the Auto Expo followed by the next-gen Fortuner later in 2016.
