HOW do you trump a colossus of the new-vehicle market? The most simplistic theory would be to introduce a product that appears to render the segment leader obsolete – as well as overpriced – and, of course, pummel the market with provocative marketing messages about the newcomer.
As it stands, the now-ubiquitous Toyota Fortuner is a perennial sales success produced by the maker of South Africa’s top-selling LCV. Its new rival, the Trailblazer, bears the insignia of a brand that is best known, at least since its reintroduction to the local market, for value-for-money runabouts and family cars. Sales of the Australian-built Lumina and Korean-made Captiva soft-roader have been less than stellar. Not a good start…
In its defence, the Trailblazer is not merely a closed-cab, urban-oriented spin-off of an established bakkie platform. It was designed in Brazil, is built in Thailand and powered by a Duramax turbodiesel developed in collaboration with Italian company VM Motori. Granted, it is based on a shortened wheelbase of a well-known upcoming Japanese one-tonne bakkie, the new Isuzu KB, but this rather eclectic four-wheeled contrivance does not have a leaf-spring rear suspension, as one of its rivals does, and sports a family-friendly MPV-like seven-seater configuration.
Upon its arrival at CAR, the road-test team immediately warmed to the muscular kerb presence of the Trailblazer. If ever a vehicle of this nature exhibited an ability to impart SUV style without drawing people’s attention to bakkie-derived body panels, this Chevrolet does it best. The clamshell bonnet, large split grille and sweptback headlamps give the Trailblazer a bold front end while running boards and roof rails beef up the profile. The rear end is neatly finished with wraparound taillamps. Is it handsome? The jury is out on that score, but the testers were in agreement that the test unit’s body engendered a sense of tough solidity.
Ingress to the cabin requires somewhat of a vault (younger passengers will appreciate the practicality of the side steps) because of the high floor that the body-on-chassis demands, but grab handles on the insides of the A-pillars make entry easier. The interior feels airy and instantly spacious by virtue of the light-coloured leather upholstery and door trims. The combination of the beige trim, satin inserts and dark dashboard work particularly well, and there’s good weight to the switchgear, although the plastics feel sturdy and hard-wearing rather than expensive.
The circular cabin temperature and ventilation binnacle on the facia has an attractive digital temperature display integral to the central climate control knob. The audio system has auxiliary and USB inputs (the latter requires the utilisation of an extension cable) and is WMA and MP3-compatible, but testers remarked that the dot matrix-like green display did clash with the slick temperature readout below it. Air-conditioning can also be piped to the second and third row of seats through ventilation outlets in the roof, the side mirrors fold in electrically to cope with tighter parking spaces and the cruise control, Bluetooth and audio system can be manipulated via buttons on the Trailblazer’s steering wheel.
The rearmost pair of seats can be accessed by tumbling the second row of pews forward and can accommodate adults in reasonable comfort on shorter trips. The second row offers good legroom and the seatbacks can recline when required, but exiting the Trailblazer from the rear doors may require a pelvic swivel to the outside before hopping out – the rear foot well is not particularly large. For maximum loading utility, both rows of rear seats can fold flat with ease, although the edges of the rearmost seatbacks aren’t flush with the loading floor, leaving a bit of ledge just beyond the edge of the loading sill.
Chevrolet claims there are as many as 11 cup- and bottle-holders scattered round the cabin, as well as several 12-volt input sockets, dual illuminated vanity mirrors and a sunglass holder. These create the impression of a well-appointed product.
From the high driving position, the driver has a good idea of where the Trailblazer’s front extremities are and rear-sited parking sensors are particularly handy. A six-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat compensates for the lack of reach-adjustability on the steering column.
The clatter of the 2,8-litre Duramax motor is omnipresent at idle, but smooths out appreciably at cruising speeds and the six-speed automatic transmission mated with the torquey powerplant shifts slickly. Unfortunately, the electronic calibration of the transmission sees the revs drop to just below 1 000 r/min immediately whenever the driver releases the throttle, which urges you to keep your foot lightly on the long pedal without reason. Then, in cut-and-thrust driving, the ‘box can kick down erratically instead of utilising the motor’s ample reserve of torque (470 N.m).
Apart from the unease about the transmission’s quirks, the Trailblazer was widely praised for its on-road dynamism. By virtue of its five-link independent rear suspension, the hefty cab-on-chassis SUV handled the road imperfections with marked composure and even traversed a muddy, rutted dirt track during the photoshoot with aplomb.
Directional stability is acceptable and the steering, although weightier and not as smooth as on most passenger vehicles, is positive in feel. The softly sprung suspension does translate into a propensity to nose-dive under hard braking, but not disconcertingly so. On balance, the test team agreed that the Trailblazer’s ride quality was class-leading.
Over and above the myriad braking- and traction-assistance systems (including hill-descent control), this range comes with trailer-sway control and a lofty towing rating (braked trailer: 2 950 kg), which will be welcomed by the lifestyle-oriented clientele.
Test Summary
The match-up panel of this evaluation attests to the fact that the Trailblazer has landed the first blow in its battle with the market-leading Fortuner. Is Chevrolet’s newcomer good enough to unseat the Toyota as CAR’s Best Buy in the SUV segment, though? We won’t be able to reach a verdict until we’ve tested derivatives with manual transmissions and in four-wheel-drive guises. Still, the Trailblazer represents the most distinctive family-oriented Chevrolet we’ve tested in recent memory. It’s well-specced, refined and has a five-year/100 000 km warranty and a 90 000 km service plan.
Moreover, this Chevrolet appeals to buyers’ tastes and not just their pockets. It’s evidently a trailblazer in more than name, then.
