Chevrolet Blazer EV

Before the roaring twenties, Chevrolet brought back the Blazer name for their Camaro-inspired crossover that behaves...like pretty much most crossovers do. Now, the fully-electric Blazer takes center stage, giving prospects plenty of choices to work out with this...crossover.

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV

With prices starting at 56,715 US Dollars plus additional costs, the first-ever Chevrolet Blazer EV is part of General Motors' electric propagation to beat Tesla at its own game. Although the results aren't typical yet, this fully electric Blazer sparks plenty of unanswered questions but there's one question that deserves to be answered; what's it for?

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV interior

Beginning with the styling, the Blazer EV's exterior design shares nothing in common with its ICE-powered equivalent, perhaps Chevrolet wanted the EV version to have a different approach compared to its ICE version or perhaps they want to coexist until the times demand that one of them has to go, probably the one with the ICE in it. Still, despite all the developments, the Blazer EV is progressive by design, and as for the interior, the diagonal displays give drivers the impression of driving a sports car, except it isn't. It's a fully electric crossover built for daily purposes as long as the battery charge decides where to go next and when.

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV

Running on the hallmark Ultium platform and powered by an 85kWh battery pack, the Blazer EV's electric powertrain produces 288hp of power output for AWD variants and has an EPA-estimated driving range of 279 miles in one full charge. Later variants such as the rear-wheel-drive RS can get up to 324 miles while those who demand more will have to wait until Spring 2024 for the SS variant with Wide Open Watts performance mode, unleashing all 557 horsepower at its disposal, sprinting from 0-60mph in under four seconds.

Of course, being a crossover, the Blazer EV is nothing near exciting to drive almost everywhere but it's about as civilized as most EVs should be. As for safety, the Blazer EV comes standard with Chevy Safety Assist consisting of Automatic Emergency Braking, Front Pedestrian Braking, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Alert, Following Distance Indicator, and IntelliBeam Auto High Beams. It even comes with the rather controversial Super Cruise technology giving autonomous driving through 400,000 miles of compatible roads in the US and Canada. Yes, you can really let AI do almost all of the driving for you. Scary.

Calling the Blazer EV one of the most important models in General Motors' electrification push is a risky gamble but living consistently with its petrol-powered equivalent is like living with a rock and a hard place for commoners like us. This is the new normal we live in and the Blazer EV fits like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.

Photo: General Motors

New Chevrolet Blazer

Crossover SUVs are becoming more like the superhero movies in cinemas because they're everywhere and no one can stop the increase in numbers. It's impossible but to add all of the drama, there are a handful of crossovers borrowing famous names from its automotive past much to the dismay of its loyal fanbase. Take this Chevrolet Blazer, for example. In its glorious past, the old Blazer is a pick-up based SUV that works well in the American outdoors, but for the revived Blazer, it's basically a crossover that has almost none of the qualities of the old Blazer of yesteryears. This calls for a quick investigation on the revived nameplate used on Chevrolet's newest midsize crossover.

2019 Chevrolet Blazer

2019 Chevrolet Blazer

One look and you will notice that the all-new Blazer crossover looks more like a Chevrolet Camaro made for the whole family but don't be fooled by the Camaro looks because the new Blazer is a cousin of the Cadillac XT5 and the GMC Acadia so don't let your mind wandering off into something else.

2019 Chevrolet Blazer interior

Of course, the Camaro connection doesn't stop on the outside view because the inside view shares the same story as well and although driver-focused just like the Camaro, that doesn't stop the all-new Blazer from being a family mover for five but don't count on being a family mover just yet because with five seats present, having the second-row seats occupied by numerous child seats is a big non non so it's a bad mark for the Blazer there and just leave it as a joyrider's car for you and your mates while getting ready for a trip to Leavenworth or Vancouver, whatever it takes.

In terms of spacing, the Blazer works rather well because of up to 64.2 cubic feet of max cargo space with the rear seats folded and with the Chevy-first cargo management system, there are plenty of reasons to organize most of the stuff you bought from The Salvation Army or from a faraway estate sale at the back. Convenient enough to annoy your child for such habit, if you know what I mean.

2019 Chevrolet Blazer

Now we go under the hood and for the new Blazer, it's offered with a choice with a 2.5L four-cylinder engine and the same 3.6L V6 engine derived from the Camaro but it only produces about 305hp of power and 365Nm of torque, mated to a 9-speed AT. Little did you know that the V6 variant has 4,500lbs of max towing power, meaning that if you wish to bring your Camaro ZL1 or a Corvette ZR1 on a track day at Laguna Seca but don't want to waste its fuel, then the new Blazer's your best towing buddy to those sportscars. The more you know.

When opted with the four-wheel drive variant, the Blazer comes with a twin-clutch rear-axle design to the rear wheel which makes it as sporty as a Camaro while playing its trump card in places you can't get in your expensive sports car as they said. When engaged in Off-Road mode, the Blazer can be almost the elephant in the room while trekking on the dirtiest places of America, although it can be a bit struggling on the hillclimb stuff even in wintertime. Back on the road, you can switch to its Tour mode where the Blazer drives as a front-wheel drive car but be warned; the struggle is real.

In terms of safety, the new Chevrolet Blazer comes with a wide array of safety features such as Adaptive Cruise Control - Advanced, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Forward Collision Alert, and Forward Automatic Braking. Most are optional extra but who cares about it, they'll just jam these extras to make it even more safer to drive on the way home.

The new Blazer starts at 28,800 US Dollars and that makes it around two grand more than the base Chevrolet Camaro and the Chevrolet Equinox. That price tag may be a shocker but it's still reasonably priced so it's not a bad crossover to start with. Although people are unhappy about why Chevrolet revived the Blazer name for this crossover, this crossover take is just one of the many reasons the SUV trend is here to stay until the very end. As a matter of fact, this crossover sure knows how to make a near bold statement on and off the road.

Available colors: Graphite Metallic, Black, Nightfall Gray Metallic, Silver Ice Metallic, Summit White, Red Hot, Sunlit Bronze Metallic, Oakwood Metallic, Kinetic Blue Metallic, and Cajun Red Tintcoat.

Photo: General Motors