In the recent
past General Motors India has been in the news for some good reasons. One of
them is that Ms May Barra, CEO of General Motors globally has promised to pump
in 1 $ billion more into India. This is definitely music to the boys out here.
More money means more cars ...whether they make it here or import it from their
backyard in Thailand. The Chevrolet Trailblazer will be a big one for the
company. It’s big in all terms, size, performance and price.
To take on the likes of the Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour and priced at Rs 26.40 lakh, the Trailblazer is a mighty machine that
could find favour among the big lads of our country. Indians have a penchant
for driving big cars and at every price bracket there is one customer waiting
to climb on to the driver’s seat.
Report: P.Tharyan & Photography: Mohd. Nasir
When we got
our hands on the latest SUV from General Motors, we were impressed by two
things...its mighty stance and its even mightier engine. Yes this 2.8 litre
Duramax diesel engine has some crazy power and some very crazy torque. The
engine produces 200hp @ 3600rpm and a peak torque of 500Nm @ 2000rp. Even
though it is a rear wheel driven car without a 4X4 feature, the fact is that
even on uneven and off road terrains, it can pull itself out of any mess. I was
able to demonstrate that quite clearly when we took it up a steep broken piece
of track. The SUV simply glided over it with its four massive tyres rolling
past the hurdles.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
|
Engine
|
2.8L/4
Stroke/DI/CRI/16 Valve /Variable Swirl/VGT / 4
Cylinder In-Line
|
Transmission
|
6-Speed Automatic
|
Power
|
200hp @ 3600rpm
|
Torque
|
500Nm @ 2000rpm
|
Fuel
|
Diesel
|
Construction
|
Body on
Frame
|
Ground clearance
|
241 mm (and at Rear Muffler 253 mm)
|
Suspension
|
Front: Independent, double
wishbone with gas shock absorbers
Rear: 5-link coil spring rear
suspension
|
Brakes
|
Front: Floating caliper ventilated disc
Rear: Floating caliper ventilated disc
|
Tyres
|
265/60 R18
|
Kerb Weight
|
2068 kgs
|
Fuel Tank Capacity
|
76 Litres
|
Length x Width x Height
|
4878 x 1902
x 1838mm
|
Wheelbase
|
2912mm
|
Boot space
|
530 litre
|
Drive Type
|
Front Wheel
Drive
|
Price (ex-showroom Delhi)
|
Rs 26.40 lakh
|

The
four-cylinder 2.8-litre Duramax dieselengine comes with double overhead
camshafts, 16 valves, a water-cooled, variable geometry turbocharger and
common-rail injection. Engine refinement is quite laudable in this Chevy beast.
The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and a simple dip of
the accelerator pedal sends this huge machine roaring ahead. The gears shift
very rapidly and the moment you accelerate you can feel the vehicle lurching
forward.
On a straight
tarmac, the Trailblazer was a smoothie. It simply sped as though it was a light
footed gazelle out for a sprint. The vehicle comes with Front Dual Airbags,
Anti lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD),
Hill Start Assist (HSA), Hill Descent Control System (HDC), Traction Control
System (TCS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Cornering Brake Control (CBC)
and Panic Brake Assist (PBA). Now all these features come to your aid whether
you are on a rough track or speeding down a lonely winding road.
On the looks
front, the Chevy Trailblazer comes out as a neat, big fella. It’s not radically
designed nor is it overly ornamented with silly claddings. It’s neat and it’s
big, to put it simply. It’s like a gentle giant. It has the Chevy split grille
and a subtly imposing front. It has sporty cannon type projection type front
headlamps, projection type front fog lamps with chrome surround, rear fog
lamps, chrome outside mirrors with led turn indicators, LED tail lamps, dual
tone metallic roof rails, rear defogger with timer and those 6 Spoke 18 Inch
alloy wheels (Including an alloy spare wheel tucked away under the boot area).
The massive 265/60 R18 tyres dominate the land the SUV treads, whether rough or
smooth. Chrome is used sparingly on the outside with a bit of chrome grip type
door handles and chrome rear garnish.

As for the
interiors, the car comes with premium dual tone athos beige and charcoal black wraparound
theme, a corvette inspired dual cockpit interiors, triple pod instrument
cluster with icy blue illumination and leather wrapped gear selector and 3
spoke steering wheel. There is ample storage space both around the dash area as
well as on inner door panels and elsewhere. For those in search of power there
are four 12 V Sockets – two are in front, one each is for the second and third
rows.
For the
comfort of the passengers and the driver there is a tropicalised automatic
climate control ac system, dedicated rear ac system with 2nd & 3rd row
vents & blower controls, cruise control, tilt adjustable steering column,
rear view camera with touch screen display, rear park assist with adaptive
gridline and buzzer warning, power adjustable & foldable outside mirrors
with turn indicators, etc.
The SUV also
has an automatic door lock, theatre dimming effect for map lamp and centre
lamps (2nd & 3rd row), luggage area illumination and dimmable instrument
cluster and displays. As for the
infotainment the car comes with a 7 Inch ‘MyLink’ Infotainment Audio Touchscreen with Smartphone App Link , an Integrated 2 DIN Radio/MP3/USB/AUX/VIDEO/BLUETOOTH
Audio System and a premium 6 speakers system.
Talking of
seating, the driver seat has the best to offer. The car has a 6 way power
adjustable driver seat. Now you better think twice before asking your chauffeur
to drive this mammoth, tamed beast. It has 60:40 split double folding 2nd row
seats with 4 step recline function, 50:50 split collapsible 3rd row seats and a
theatre type 5+2 flexi seating (flat folding type seat layout). Fold all the
seats behind the driver seat and you get ample space to put in your mattress
for two people to snuggle in comfortably!
The Chevrolet
Trailblazer performed well on both smooth roads as well as rough terrains. It’s
not one of the blue blooded off-roaders. But it does take you out of some of
the rough patches if you were to come across them. Keeping in mind India’s terrible roads and a
crumbling infrastructure, this no-nonsense SUV from Chevrolet could be the
ideal vehicle to transport your family in comfort and safety! It’s like the
gentle giant you would love to befriend.
