Exploring in the Chevrolet Trailblazer

For the explorer: Chevrolet’s Trailblazer.

If you and your loved ones are in the habit of exploring, you will know that a small hatchback or sedan might not get the job done for your needs. In most cases, a large vehicle is required in order to fit the luggage, the tents, the skottel-braai and of course the people. This is where a car like the Chevrolet Trailblazer comes in. With a high ground clearance, mansion like space and a good old reliable diesel in the front, it can make exploring look like a walk in the park.

How does it drive?

Being a large vehicle, the driver needs to be aware of the fact that this is no city car when it comes to size. A class in parking may be needed to learn how to park the car in small shopping mall parking spaces. Also if you happen to not be blessed with a basketball players’ height, get used to plummeting to the ground each time you get out of your Trailblazer. Besides that, the car drives very well, comfortable enough for day to day activities and of course very comfortable on the open road, presuming this is where you will spend most of your time in the car.

What we loved most about the way the Trailblazer drives, is how the car didn’t suffer too much from body roll, which is good for tackling sweeping bends on far away roads. The 2.8 litre Duramax diesel engine fitted in our test unit didn’t disappoint us one bit as well. The 500 Nm of  torque was delivered in a timeous manner and the automatic gearbox is well mated to the engine too. Interestingly, one would not expect a car of this size to use a 4 cylinder engine, but times have clearly changed and the engine in the Trailblazer is in no way underpowered for the mass of the car.

Practicality.

One of the most appealing qualities about the Chevrolet trailblazer, has got to be vast amount of useable space that the car offers. The car is a real seven seater vehicle, with seven adults being able to sit comfortably in the car. Some seven seat vehicles merely pose as “seven seaters” but in reality the last two seats are as big as those found in a 911 Porsche.

Up front the dashboard in the Trailblazer is not exactly fancy, it’s more functional than luxurious. That being said, the lack of expensive finishes has not impaired things like connectivity since the MyLink infotainment system allows you to pair your cell phone and enjoy all your road trip music.

One cannot judge the Chevrolet Trailblazer on not having a premium feel, instead the car has a boy/girl next door appeal to it. It’s not meant for pavement climbing, it’s meant for proper exploring. For its purpose, the lack of low profile tyres and shiny wheels makes perfect sense because African roads and low profile tyres should never be in the same sentence, nor should burr wood trim and mud.

Verdict.

After considering what Chevrolet’s Trailblazer is built for, one realises just why this car makes a whole lot of sense. Add all that to a starting price of R 451 000 and the car starts to make even more sense for an explorer or someone with an extended family. All that space and practicality for that starting price? We say for what you get, the Chevrolet Trailblazer is indeed a bargain.