Believe it or not, this rather sizeable looking vehicle is categorised as a “Mid-Sized” SUV. It sits in Chevrolet’s range of SUVs between the smaller Equinox and the even bigger Tahoe and Suburban duo. Like these latter pair, it has a close relationship to the bigger-selling truck models, which in this case means the Colorado. That means that this is a traditional body-on frame type vehicle unlike the smaller Equinox which is more accurately categorised as a Crossover. The TrailBlazer name was first used in 1999, as a trim designation for the established 4-door S10 Blazer range, offering a long list of additional features over what had been the top spec LT model. The TrailBlazer trim level was discontinued after 2001 as the name was then used on a new vehicle, the 2002 TrailBlazer, though production of the standard compact S-10 Blazer continued, overlapping the new car to some extent, until the 2005 model year, when it was finally replaced by the Equinox in the US. Confused? Well there’s more, of course, as the TrailBlazer is simply the Chevrolet version of a product that has also been sold as the GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, Oldsmobile Bravada, Isuzu Ascender and the slightly improbable Saab 9.7X. Who said badge-engineering was dead? The Chevrolet and GMC are the big sellers and they take on the Ford Explorer and Mercury Monterey head-on. I drove the Explorer earlier in the year and although it had some strengths, its alarming handling and terrifyingly useless brakes in the wet led to me wonder whether GM’s offerings would be any better. This rental Trailblazer, which was mine for a couple of days in the Chicago suburbs before flying on elsewhere in the US would be my chance to find out.

Standard engine in the TrailBlazer, and the one fitted to the test car is a 4.2 litre inline six which puts out 291 bhp, which makes it the most potent car in its class. Before you get too excited and think that this is quite a lot, remember that this is a large and heavy vehicle. As well as winning the North American Truck of the Year award in 2002, this 4.2 litre engine appeared on the Ward’s 10 Best Engines list from 2002–2005 with innovative features such as DOHC, variable valve timing on the exhaust camshaft and GM’s patented lost-foam casting process. Driving it had me scratching my head about this, as it struck as really nothing special at all, in any regard. It did the job, but no more. Maybe the fact that the TrailBlazer has what now is a rather old-world style 4 speed automatic gearbox does not help. Mid-range acceleration was adequate, but from low speed there seemed to be something of a lack of oomph meaning that the car had to be worked hard. Once underway, the engine was reasonably refined but that is about as good as it gets. Noise levels were generally low, with limited intrusion from road or wind sources, so the car was peaceful on my admittedly short freeway journeys.

You don’t select something like a Trailblazer expecting it to be fun to drive, and indeed it is not, but all models do benefit from independent front suspension and 5-link independent rear suspension and from 2006 Chevrolet have added their StabiliTrak electronic stability control system as standard across the TrailBlazer lineup, which is intended to help drivers maintain control by reducing or eliminating skidding in emergency handling situations. 2006 TrailBlazer models also received an upgraded brake system designed for improved responsiveness along with sound-deadening measures designed to reduce noise. There is a chunky plastic steering wheel to hold and it is connected to a system that is light and without much in the way of feel. This is a heavy vehicle with a relatively high centre of gravity so you need to remember that when you reach the bends. It seemed more agile than the Explorer, though that did set a particularly low bar, and I did not get the chance to test this one out in the wet like I did with the Ford. Buyers are more likely to be interested in grip and traction when things get rough and this is where the 4-wheel drive system will come into its own. You can select this from a dial in the dashboard, with 2 High, 4 High and 4 Low settings available. A locking diff is an optional feature not fitted to the test car. The TrailBlazer has soft suspension and so the ride is pliant to the point of being a bit wallowy, but it certainly was not unduly troubled by the concrete-ridged surfaces that you find on the freeways around Chicago O’Hare airport where I sampled the car. The brakes seemed well up to par, bringing the car to a halt without undue drama. All round visibility is good, with plenty of glass, a good field of view from the large door mirrors and of course the fact that you sit up high relative to regular passenger cars allows you to see more than you otherwise would.

The dash design and the choice of materials epitomises what Europeans still think of as traditional American, and being honest, that really is not much of a compliment. Cheap plastics abound, with a variety of shades of grey used so there is at least some colour contrast, but there is nothing particularly appealing here, though at least what is presented is clear and easy to use and most of the switches and buttons do fall readily to hand. There are a lot of dials – 6 in total, arranged in a single cluster with a half moon-shaped speedo sitting in the upper centre, and a circular rev counter to the left and four smaller dials to the right, including an ammeter and oil pressure as well as water temperature and fuel level. The speedo has a lot of markings in it so looks a little cluttered. There is a small display area under the speedo for odometer and trip functions, with a now somewhat old-fashioned looking green dot matrix display used. There is a single column stalk to the left of the wheel, which controls cruise control, front wipers as well as the indicators, with the rear wiper controlled by a rotary in the centre of the dash. This multiplicity of functions on one stalk means that there are some awkward operations for the wipers, with the need to pull on a flap, for instance. Lights are operated from a rotary dial on the dash to the left of the wheel. The centre of the dash contains an AM/FM radio with CD slot. To its left are rotaries to select 2 or 4WD and the rear wiper then below this are the controls for the dual-zone air conditioning. Somewhat unusually for a truck-based product, there is a pull-up handbrake between the seats, as opposed to the more usual foot pedal.

Seat trim is a sort of velour-like grey cloth which does little to convey any sense of luxury. In the LS trim of the test car, it is all manual adjustment to help you to get the desired driving position, with the backrest moving through a set of pre-defined steps as is common in US cars, and the steering column adjusts in/out as well as up/down. First of all, you have to get in, and the Trailblazer reminds you of its size here, with a decided step-up compared to a regular saloon car. The upside of this, of course, is that you do sit considerably higher and you really do get that “commanding view” that devotees of this sort of vehicle talk about.

There is plenty of space for those in the rear seats. They are shaped more to suit two than three, though there is ample width for three adults to sit here and thanks to a flat floor, there is as much legroom for a middle occupant as those on the outer edges of the seat. Headroom is particularly generous here, too. The occupants here get their own air conditioning control as well as a pair of vents on the rear face of the centre console.

As you might expect from a vehicle of this size, the load area is capacious. The floor is flush with the bottom of the rather large and heavy tailgate, so you could just slide heavy or bulky objects in directly. There are a number of tie-down hooks in the floor area, which is a nice regular shape, both long and wide. Intrusion from the wheel arches is minimal, as the reality is that this floor is quite high up. A much larger cargo area can be created by folding down the rear seats. First of all the seat cushions are lifted and then, having swivelled the rear seat headrests through 90 degrees, so they will point upwards when the backrest is dropped down. The resulting long load platform is completely flat. Inside the cabin there are plenty of places for odds and ends. The glovebox is a decent size and there are bins on the doors, a deep cubby under the central armrest and a small tray in front of the cupholders and gearlever in the centre console. Those in the back get pockets on the back of the front seats. All TrailBlazer models come with a detachable rear towbar, and the towing capacity of the vehicle is impressive, though you would probably be well advised to upgrade to the V8 engine if you were going to tow on a regular basis.

There are a number of different TrailBlazer models available, with a choice of three different engines, two or four wheel drive, three different trims and two different vehicle lengths. The EXT models are 16″ longer than the regular cars between the wheels to provide space for a third row of seats and more luggage. The base engine for all TrailBlazers is the 291 bhp Vortec 4200, a 4.2-litre inline-6. The Vortec 5300 5.3-litre overhead-valve V8, rated at 300 bhp and 330 pound-feet of torque, is available as an option ($1500) on both the standard and EXT models. All come standard with a four-speed automatic transmission. The TrailBlazer SS ($32,890) comes with GM’s LS2 6.0-litre V8 engine, which produces 395 bhp and 400 pound-feet of torque. Chevy claims the SS can go from 0 to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds. The SS is equipped with a heavy-duty version of GM’s four-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, the 4L70E, and is available with two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. LS models are nicely equipped with dual-zone air conditioning, CD player, reclining bucket seats and floor console, power windows and programmable door locks, tilt steering, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, 16-inch alloys, luggage rack roof rails, and three power outlets. An optional package ($1,185) adds remote keyless entry, content-theft alarm, heated foldaway mirrors, a rear window defogger, colour-keyed carpeted floor mats, crossbars for the luggage rack, and Charcoal-coloured body-side mouldings. LT adds fog lamps, an overhead console with HomeLink transmitter and Travelnote digital recorder, body-colour grille and door handles, eight-way power for the driver’s seat, a trailer wiring harness and 17-inch alloys. Two-tone leather seating surfaces, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and dual front eight-way power reclining bucket seats with adjustable lumbar support are available as a package ($1,180). The front and rear fascias, grille, headlamps, rocker panels and body side mouldings on the LT have been revised for 2006 to give the upscale model a more distinctive appearance. TrailBlazer EXT LS and TrailBlazer EXT LT are equipped similarly to their standard-wheelbase counterparts, but add third-row seating plus separate rear-seat heating and air conditioning controls. EXT LS models come standard with a HomeLink transmitter, fog lamps, 17-inch wheels, and other upgrades. Options include a new Sun, Sound, and Entertainment Package ($1,165), which includes the sunroof, ETR audio system with six Bose speakers, 6CD changer, XM Satellite Radio, and DVD rear-seat entertainment system. Cruise control ($275), a tilt-and-slide sunroof ($950), and OnStar ($695), are available separately, but OnStar and cruise control can be ordered as a package ($700). Adjustable pedals ($150) and navigation ($1,995) are offered on the LT only. XM Satellite Radio ($325) is optional on all models, and an MP3 player is offered on LS ($135). DVD entertainment ($1,295) is available on all models. Standard features have gradually been added during the TrailBlazer’s production life, though the top spec LTZ proved short-lived, lasting only until the 2004 model year.

Chevrolet had originally planned to replace the TrailBlazer and the rest of the family with an all new version, called GMT361, for the 2007 model year, but with costs of so doing rising, in early 2006 the decision was taken to proceed with an updated version of the underlying GMT360 platform that was known as the GMT361. That plan did not last long and instead, the decision became one of phasing out the truck-based TrailBlazer and to replace it with a Chevrolet-badged version of the Lambda crossover platform, the Traverse, a variant of a model already familiar to the market as the Buick Enclave. That means that production of the TrailBlazer will cease in the coming weeks, and indeed with it will come the end for the Moraine plant where it and the also outgoing Chevrolet Uplander are made. The real strength of large truck-based SUVs like the TrailBlazer are the combination of space inside, an ability to tow heavy loads and to cover rough terrain. As I needed none of these, then the real sweet spots of the TrailBlazer were perhaps somewhat lost on me. And they will be on some of the other people who have traditionally bought a vehicle like this, as until recently they had no alternative. But gradually, we are going to see truck-based SUVs replaced with the Crossover, with more car-like characteristics. Fans of these truck-based SUVs will doubtless lament the decision, but for everyone else, the change is likely to be welcomed. The TrailBlazer is seen by many in the US as one of the best of its genre, and whilst it did strike me as better than the rival Ford Explorer, not least because it handled better and it seemed to have brakes that pulled the car up promptly, it came across very much of a product of a previous generation in many respects. I was glad to be able to test it, but look forward to seeing how the genre moves on with the new Chevrolet Traverse, sales of which are due to get underway very soon.