2002-2008 Chevrolet TrailBlazer: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

Chevrolet's all-new midsize sport-utility vehicle shared its design, powertrain, and body-on-frame platform with the GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada. All three debuted for 2002. Each was a four-door wagon with its own styling details inside and out. Each, too, was larger than the model that it replaced. The wheelbase of the TrailBlazer was 6 inches longer than that of the 1995-vintage Blazer, and its body was 10 inches longer overall. Some 5 inches wider and taller than the Blazer, it was also bigger inside, though seating was limited to five passengers. A longer-wheelbase seven-passenger model with three rows of seats arrived later. These redesigned General Motors SUVs shared a new 270-horsepower inline six-cylinder engine, linked to a four-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel-drive models could have available traction control. TrailBlazers could instead have GM's Autotrac four-wheel-drive system, which could be left engaged on dry pavement and included low-range gearing. Antilock four-wheel disc brakes and front side airbags were standard (the driver's bag covers the head and torso). LTZ models had 17-inch wheels, but other TrailBlazers rode on 16-inchers. TrailBlazer rivals included the Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer, and Toyota 4Runner. Chevrolet continued to produce the previous Blazer,repositioned as a budget SUV.