2021 Chevrolet Blazer

 Carrying over pretty much unchanged over the 2020 Chevrolet Blazer, the car gets three engine options - a 2.5 L in-line four, a 2 L turbocharged in-line four, and a 3.6 L V6 and has six trim levels on offer. For this year, the Chevrolet Blazer price starts at MSRP $29,995 and it competes against the Ford Edge, Hyundai Santa Fe, and Toyota RAV4.

The Chevrolet Blazer is offered in a wide variety of trim levels, namely six trim levels along with a multitude of engine options and two powertrain options. It starts with the base L trim level, goes up to the Premier trim level that is very highly equipped and also pretty expensive at $43,695. Overall it aims to create a good value and appeal to a lot of buyers since the car has something that the other can pick for every budget and type of buyer.

Which trim should you buy?

We find the base trim level a bit too bare-bones to justify the investment that comes on it. But however, the trim levels that are most high up are also competitive at a much more expensive price than its rivals and hence our recommendation would be the 2LT trim level. This trim comes with a more powerful turbocharged engine and also can be equipped with the V-6 and all-wheel drive. Adding optional packages like the Convenience and Driver Confidence Package will add necessary features that you will only get to the much more expensive trim levels.

Powering the Chevrolet Blazer is a set of three power plants - the base trim comes with the 2.5 L in-line four-cylinder that generates 193 hp, while the 2LT trim level and upwards comes a 2 L in-line turbocharged four-cylinder engine that generates 230 hp. Then there is a 3.6 L V6 engine that generates 308 hp that comes in the RS trim level and upward. The base engine might be a bit underwhelming but the 2 L engine definitely does fix things a lot. All-wheel-drive is a relatively inexpensive addition at $2000.

When it comes to acceleration figures the Chevrolet Blazer performs adequately well with the 7.9 seconds 0 to 60 mph time as well as a 16.3-second quarter-mile time. All engines come with the same nine-speed automatic transmission and the front-wheel-drive is standard. The front-wheel-drive variants can tow 1500 lbs while the V-6 can tow 4500 lbs.

The Chevrolet Blazer is one of the most expensive cars in this category even with its relatedly uninspiring base trim. However, it is not an especially powerful car as one can observe that it is the slowest accelerating car in the segment. Ford Edge has the most powerful engine but the Hyundai Santa Fe the fastest accelerating car as we can see from the real-world tests. However, things have improved a lot for the Chevrolet Blazer as we equip the better-performing engines.

How well does the 2021 Chevrolet Blazer SUV handle?

 The Chevrolet Blazer is one of the best handling SUVs from the brand and rightfully so because it does borrow design cues from the Chevrolet Camaro the car feels confident and planted even when navigating tight corners. The RS model has noticeably better handling however you do exclusive suspension and steering tuning.

It is also one of the most engaging cars in its segment even without the V-6 engine. The right does get a bit stiff when equipped with the large 21-inch wheels but the 18-inch wheels feel very comfortable and also look decent. The steering is quick and precise in terms of feedback.

2021 Chevrolet Blazer SUV Braking Performance

 Being part of the heavier cars in this category at 3782 pounds, braking performance definitely needs to be good to bring the car to a stop. The pedal is a bit firm but does deliver a bit of confidence. The car has 12.6-inch rotors and 12.4-inch rotors in the back which are the largest in the category. These rotors are enough to bring the car to a halt from 60 mph in 126 feet which is decently impressive.

 The Toyota RAV4 is the lightest vehicle in this category because it only weighs 3370 lbs. As a result of this and being equipped with nearly the same size rotors as the Chevrolet Blazer, this car can bring itself to a halt from 60 mph in just 120 feet which sets the class benchmark. The Chevrolet Blazer comes next at 126 feet and the Ford Edge only manages to come to a halt at 129 feet. In terms of statistics, nearly all cars have similarly sized rotors and braking performance is mainly dictated by weight.

One of the worst things about the 2.5 L engine that comes with the Chevrolet Blazer is that not only deprives you of performance but also returns dismal fuel economy. It returns 21 MPG in the city, 27 MPG on the highway, and 23 MPG combined. The 2 L engine from Chevrolet returns 22 MPG in the city, and 29 MPG on the highway which is pretty impressive considering it is also fast. The fuel tank capacity is 19.4 gallons which is the largest in its class and hence results in an excellent range of 407 miles in the city and 524 miles on the highway.

When it comes to fuel efficiency, we can see that the Toyota RAV4 is the most impressive because it delivers nearly six MPG more in every aspect, and hence even with a much smaller fuel tank of just 14.5 gallons, it has nearly the same range. The Chevrolet has the largest fuel tank but is the least efficient in its category. The Ford Edge is not too efficient either and shows that the American competitors need to step up in terms of fuel efficiency to compete with their Asian counterparts.

The interiors of the Chevrolet Blazer are filled with more design cues that remind one of the Chevrolet Camaro. Although it does have soft-touch materials here and there, there are plastic bits that don’t exactly give it a luxury feel. However, the layout is pretty nice. The lower trim levels don’t have attractive interiors in terms of either quality or colors used. It also performs badly in terms of cargo capacity with just 30.5 ft.³ of storage.

In terms of interior space, however, the car feels very roomy and that is definitely a plus point. The seats are not the most supportive ones that we have seen but might do the job well for most people during long journeys. There are enough storage spaces inside for most stuff and the back seats are more comfortable to be in.

Interior space of all the cars in this category is generous but the Chevrolet Blazer still has the lowest space when compared to its category. However, the Ford has excellent cargo space that totally blows the competition out of the water. The Santa Fe has the most amount of space inside and also has a very nicely designed cabin which impresses a lot. The maximum cargo capacity in the Chevrolet Blazer is a decent 64 ft.³ with the seats folded. Some standard features include:

• Leather seats
• Cruise control
• Heated front seats
• Tinted rear windows
• Heated steering wheel
• Power adjustable steering wheel
• Heated steering wheel

What’s there to keep you entertained?

The Chevrolet Blazer is a truly modern car and hence it does not skimp on its infotainment features. The system is very attractive but lacks a rotary controller. On the other hand, it has enough USB ports as well as a 120 V power outlet available which makes it very convenient. An 8-inch touchscreen interface that comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard is also one of its biggest plus points. 

The touchscreen interface looks nice and well-integrated into the dashboard. Other features include built-in navigation, wireless charging, satellite radio, Wi-Fi hotspot, and so on. There are optional features like an 8 speaker Bose system, as well as built-in navigation, wireless charging, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. Some features of the infotainment system include: 

• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• HD Radio
• SiriusXM satellite radio
• Four USB ports
• 4G LTE Wifi Hotspot
• 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Standard 6-speaker audio system

In terms of looks, the Chevrolet Blazer is definitely one of the brand’s most enticing offerings. It looks much more modern and sharp than its competition, retaining very distinct design cues borrowed from the iconic muscle car. Even next to much more sophisticated rivals from the Asian counterparts, we feel that the Chevrolet definitely has an edge in terms of its looks. Its proportions are all very much perfect and overall impresses buyers.

We find out very quickly that the Chevrolet Blazer is much bigger than its rivals in terms of all dimensions. In fact, the only place the rivals have an advantage is in terms of ground clearance where they have approximately half an inch more which is not a lot either. It is also impressive that the car is lighter than the Ford even with large dimensions. The Toyota RAV4 is much smaller and hence is lighter. Some standout features include:

• 18" Wheels
• Fully adaptive LED headlamps
• Heated outside mirrors
• Black/chrome exterior trim
• Hands-free liftgate
• Mesh grille

Even though only in the RS and Premier models does the Chevrolet Blazer come with advanced driver assist technology, it has scored pretty well in crash tests. It has scored an excellent five stars overall safety rating from the NHTSA which is very nice. It also performs very well in the IIHS crash test although it’s not named as a Top Safety Pick. It mostly has only passive safety features a standard but optional extras include several active safety features like forward collision warning, automated emergency braking, and so on. Some of the standout safety features include:

• Automatic emergency braking
• Lane Departure Warning
• Blind Spot Monitoring
• Lane Keep Assist
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert
• Front and rear park assist
• Rearview auto-dimming mirror
• Automatic on/off headlamps

2021 Chevrolet Blazer SUV Vs. 2021 Ford Edge

The Ford Edge might be a more powerful car when you compare the cheapest versions but it does not have a lot of strengths if you look at an overall picture of the car. The Edge is much heavier while also being smaller and is not nearly as modern as the Chevrolet Blazer. The Blazer also has much better handling and proves to be a more entertaining car overall.

2021 Chevrolet Blazer SUV Vs. 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe

The Santa Fe is an excellent offering from Hyundai that packs a lot of features and focuses on luxury much more than the Chevrolet. While the Chevrolet is undoubtedly better to drive, the Santa Fe’s acceleration is more powerful. It offers a lot of space in the interiors and also much better warranty terms.

2021 Chevrolet Blazer vs. 2021 Toyota RAV4

 The Toyota RAV4 might be an excellent product from the Japanese brand but it does fall short of a lot of measures when you compare it with this category. To begin with, it is a much smaller car and hence offers compromised interior space as well as cargo capacity. But it does perform a little better due to its decreased weight, both in terms of acceleration as well as in terms of braking.

 The 2021 Chevrolet Blazer is one of the best offerings from the American brand and impresses us. It provides a large number of options in terms of powertrains while also impressing us with its design. It can definitely be improved in terms of its interiors as well as the fuel efficiency of the base engine, but as we said, the 2 L turbocharged engine and the middle variants do solve most of the problems that we have with the car.