What is a Chevrolet
Blazer?
1. As an answer to the Ford Bronco that arrived in fall 1965, the full-size Blazer was introduced in fall 1968, on a shortened C/K pick-up 104” chassis, using its body panels, as an open off-roader, or with an available bolted hardtop, initially as four-wheel-drive only with a rigid front axle and leaf springs. Rebodied models arrived for 1973 on a 106.5” wheelbase. A new 2-door wagon body was used for 1992, with the wheelbase increased to 111.5” and independent front suspension for the 4wd as well, while for 1995 the Blazer was renamed Tahoe, when a 4-door body came on the pick-up’s 117.5” wheelbase, both sold as Grand Blazer in South America (Silverado in Mexico).
For details of the Grand Blazer gasoline and diesel engine, see the Global Mission books.
2. The compact S-10 Blazer from fall 1982 was a 2-door wagon, on the shortened S-10 pick-up 100.5” chassis, with a (narrow) 4-door added in March 1990 on a 107” wheelbase and a body change by 1994, dropping the S-10 prefix, but again using the (wider) pick-up’s body panels and with rather narrow rear doors, contrarily to what Ford did with its highly successful Explorer with the 4-door on a more sizeable 111.9” wheelbase. To enhance the looks, the Brazilians added a modest flare to the Blazer’s front and rear quarter panels, changed the body panels by 2001, and sold it until 2012. Jinbei GM in China then built this early Brazilian Chevrolet Blazer from 2001 to 2004, while Indonesia built the American model as Opel Blazer (2/4dr) from 1995 to 2002, and hereafter the revised Brazilian model as Chevrolet Blazer. The US Blazer re-introduced the Chevrolet make in South Africa in 1999. The successor to the North American Blazer was the 2002 Trailblazer on a 113” chassis and rear coils instead of leaf springs. Brazil made its own Trailblazer since 2013.
For
details of the additional second-generation Blazer’s two gasoline and two
diesel engines used in Brazil, as well as the additional engine used in China
and Indonesia, and for the first generation in Mexico, see the Global Mission
books.
Chevrolet Blazer USA:
January 2019, China: April 2020
3. More tan a year after its release in North America, the crossover Blazer came by April 2020 in China with an extended rear overhang to accommodate two extra passengers in this 5-meter vehicle. Just like the earlier Chevrolet Blazer that had ended 15 years before, the Chinese name is Kaitazhe (pioneer). Initially it was in China only available in the 2+3+2 seven-seat layout, with the center seat in the second row for short distances and transformable into a central armrest with cup holder. A 5-seat variety came in August 2020. The American model with a 112 mm shorter rear overhang is for five seats only with a similar second row. In the US, the entry-level 8-seat Traverse, on the C1 platform with the 8” longer wheelbase, is only $100 more expensive than the Blazer.
The majority of the Blazers, sold in China, are four-wheel-drive, but the opposite (4 out of 10) occurred by 2021. Top models adopt an advanced twin-clutch AWD system that independently controls torque through both rear axle clutches, enabling continuous distribution of torque between the left and right rear wheels. In August 2021, the 48V mild hybrid system was added in China. In 2022, 2,525 units left the factory (vs 7,427 in 2021), with retail sales of 3,312, and 3,800 in 2023.
A facelift took place in China in July 2023, in line with the February 2022 facelift in North America, increasing the length to over 5 meters and dropping the 5-seaters and the non-twin-clutch regular AWD model.
|
platform: |
C1UC |
Chevrolet
Blazer |
||||||||
|
rear
suspension: |
5-link
independent, coil springs |
GM |
GM |
GM |
GM |
|||||
|
curb
weight from: |
1715 |
kg |
CSS |
CSS |
L850 |
HF6
II |
||||
|
wheelbase
(cm): |
286.3 |
4
cyl. |
4
cyl. |
4
cyl. |
V6 |
|||||
|
length
from (cm): |
486.2 |
DOHC |
DOHC |
DOHC |
DOHC |
|||||
|
width
(cm): |
194.6 |
cc: |
1998 |
1998 |
2457 |
3649 |
||||
|
dir.
inj. |
dir.
inj. |
dir.
inj. |
dir.
inj. |
|||||||
|
turbo |
turbo |
|||||||||
|
mild hybrid |
||||||||||
|
market: |
||||||||||
|
USA/CDN |
19.10- |
19.01-21.08 |
19.01- |
|||||||
|
fwd/awd |
fwd |
fwd/awd |
||||||||
|
9A |
6A,19>9A |
9A |
||||||||
|
172
'20 > 170 |
143 |
228 |
kW |
|||||||
|
230
'20 > 228 |
193 |
308 |
hp |
|||||||
|
350 |
255 |
368 |
Nm |
|||||||
|
24/23 |
23 |
21/21 |
mpg |
|||||||
|
Mexico |
19.02- |
|||||||||
|
fwd |
||||||||||
|
9A |
||||||||||
|
228 |
kW |
|||||||||
|
308 |
hp |
|||||||||
|
Colombia |
19.06- |
|||||||||
|
awd |
||||||||||
|
9A |
||||||||||
|
228 |
kW |
|||||||||
|
310 |
hp |
|||||||||
|
China |
Chevrolet
Blazer (Kaitazhe) |
20.04-21.08 |
21.08- |
|||||||
|
curb
weight from: |
1835 |
kg |
650T |
650T
(-23.07) |
||||||
|
wheelbase
(cm): |
286.3 |
fwd/awd |
fwd/awd |
|||||||
|
length
from (cm): |
499.9 |
9A |
9A |
|||||||
|
width
(cm): |
195.3 |
net
kW |
169 |
169
+ 10 |
||||||
|
net
hp |
227 |
227
+ 13 |
||||||||
|
Nm |
350 |
350
+ 50 |
||||||||
|
l/100
km |
7.4/7.8 |
7.1~7.7 |
||||||||
|
WLTC |
7.47~8.14 |
|||||||||
Chevrolet Blazer EV USA:
September 2023 (SS: spring
2024)
Featuring the same 3094 mm BEV3 platform as the Cadillac Lyriq, the Blazer EV will also be available with front-wheel drive only, joining the 215 kW (part-time) all-wheel drive, and the rear-wheel drive models launched in autumn 2023. The rear induction motor in the all-wheel drive model only supports the permanent-magnet front motor for a few seconds at a time, like in passing maneuvers or on slippery surfaces. Super Cruise will be available on the SS, to be expected in spring 2024. The 2024 Honda Prologue, to be built on the same platform, will not be offered with rear-wheel-drive, while the Acura ZDX will not be offered with front-wheel-drive.
Production
is in Mexico. Mexico has plenty of
appeal for future EV production due to low costs and full access to the US
federal EV tax credit. General Motors
wants to produce exclusively electric cars at its plant in Ramos Arizpe from
2024 onwards. Brazil will be served as
well.
Considering that the fuel version of the Blazer model is currently on sale in the Chinese market, it is not ruled out that the Blazer EV will be introduced to China in the future.
|
platform: |
BEV
3 |
Blazer
EV |
23- |
|||||||
|
front
suspension: |
double
wishbone, coils |
USA |
||||||||
|
rear
suspension: |
5-link
independent, coils |
USA |
||||||||
|
|
wheelbase
(cm): |
309.4 |
||||||||
|
length
(cm): |
488.3 |
|||||||||
|
width
(cm): |
198.2 |
|
||||||||
|
4WD
height (cm): |
165.1 |
|||||||||
|
part- |
full- |
|||||||||
|
time |
time |
|||||||||
|
all-electric |
fwd |
rwd |
4wd |
4wd |
||||||
|
USA |
23- |
tbe
24 |
23- |
23- |
tbe
24 |
|||||
|
SS |
||||||||||
|
curb
weight from: |
2536 |
2421 |
kg |
|||||||
|
drive
motor: |
180 |
255 |
212 |
410 |
kW |
|||||
|
245 |
340 |
288 |
557 |
net
hp |
||||||
|
305 |
440 |
451 |
878 |
Nm |
||||||
|
battery
capacity: |
85 |
102 |
85 |
102 |
kWh |
|||||
|
EPA
electric drive range: |
471 |
524 |
449 |
473 |
km |
|||||
|
0-100
km/h: |
5 |
6 |
4 |
sec |
||||||
Net output data are
approximate.
For more specifications on North American and
worldwide Chevrolet SUVs and engines, see:
On
a Global Mission: The Automobiles of General Motors International
29 January, 2024