Is the upgraded Trailblazer an outdoorsy family’s ideal companion? We take it on a little 1200km drive through the Karoo.

Our daily lives are hectic. Noise levels are high. Screens of all shapes and sizes burn into our retinas, morning, noon and night. Children make demands and jobs are stressful. And sometimes you just need to get out of town. The cure for all the stress, for me, is most certainly a road trip.

Drive me to the moon

To properly clear one’s mind, our destination would have to be at least a thousand kilometres away, to give me ample time to ponder life and everything in-between as the landscape whizzes past me. If you read our review on the Land Rover Discovery Sport, you’d have noticed we only just did a road trip to the Free State a term ago. But the school holidays have struck again and as a working mother there is only one place worth the time and the fuel money, and that is Grandma’s house in Bloemfontein. With the little ones entertained, Mommy has time to work. So Chevrolet SA kindly offered me their latest Trailblazer LTZ 2.8 4 x 4 MT (R 556 700), to test on our journey.

Riding high

My previous press car, the Volvo XC90, was a fantasy on four wheels, but apart from being super sophisticated, its construction is unitary, so the soft-roader’s ride quality is fantastic. The Trailblazer would be an entirely different kettle of fish, as it’s really just a double cab Isuzu KB bakkie in SUV guise, much like its Japanese arch-rival, the Toyota Fortuner, is based on the Hilux. Believe me, you want a bakkie’s robustness when you tackle tough off-road terrain. But sometimes the ride there can get a little bumpy.

Music to ease monotony

After I packed the capacious boot, I secured the kids in their little seats and we took to the road. After painstakingly selecting the most road-trip appropriate music the night before, disappointment followed as we realized there’s no CD player, just a USB port and AUX input. I have some music on my iPhone, which kept everyone entertained via Bluetooth. The nifty MyLink infotainment system is a breeze to use, even though you have to press the 7 inch touch screen quite hard at times. And when the sun shines on the dashboard, it is sometimes hard to read what’s on-screen. Nevertheless, what a pleasure to listen to music on the six-speaker sound system. Even when I was putting a heavy-ish foot down through the desolate plains of the Great Karoo, there was minimal interference from the wheels on the tarmac. As for the expected bumpy ride quality? I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the Trailblazer handled all types of road surfaces. And don’t let high a high kerb stand in your way. When we were parked in at a petrol station, I turned the rotary dial to its 4 x 4 setting and we simply crawled over. I then engaged standard hill descent control as we went down quite a steep decline. Child’s play!

Upgraded interior

The black and grey interior with elegant grey leather seats, is upmarket, family friendly and functional. The new circular temperature dial with surrounding setting buttons underneath the touch screen, tidies up the dashboard that could easily have been disorganized. Standard satellite controls on the steering wheel are convenient when your eyes need to be glued to the road at all times, and cruise control is also standard. With cup holders all over the cabin, including the third row of seats, everyone can have a bottle of water or juice on hand.

Fresh air

The Karoo was much warmer than the chilly Cape, hitting the early thirties even before 12 pm. The kiddies were happy about the two  air-vents for the second row, and that they could adjust it themselves. Climate control is fully electronic, with two more air vents for the third row occupants, which is not at all cramped.

Two adults of average height can comfortably lounge back there, with armrest recesses in the sides. Tumbling the second row forward to reach the two back seats is easy, even for kids. With all the seats up, there’s a sensible 205 litres of boot space left. With the third row of seats flat, a whopping 1229 litres of luggage can be carted along nicely. The standard tonneau cover protects your worldly belongings from eyes with bad intentions. And if you ever have the need to sleep in the car, the fully flat surface of the cargo load floor may prevent an emergency visit to the chiropractor the next day.

Considerable size

At 4878 mm in length, the Trailblazer is a long vehicle to park. That is why the highly (sometimes overly) sensitive rear parking sensors are absolutely indispensable, and standard on all variants. And if that is not enough, you can clearly see what’s going on behind the ‘blazer in the MyLink screen in the centre dash, as a reverse camera is standard on LTZ variants. The picture quality is not as good as the Volvo XC90, but bear in mind that the Trailblazer costs about R 300 000 less!

Shifting not for sissies

The six-speed manual gearbox is the hardcore, off-road bakkie type. Shifts aren’t terribly slick, but may get more so once the vehicle loosens up with regular use – our test model only had 1500km on the clock when we set off. But I really quite enjoyed driving around in the monster SUV. The 2.8 litre Duramax diesel engine has plenty of punch, with all of the low-down torque required of a 4 x 4. It is light on diesel too, and we averaged about 8.8 to 10 litres per 100 km, which translates to 10.1 – 11.3 km per litre. A full tank will take you a little over 800 km.

Lighting the way

The Trailblazer’s high seating position and projector headlights made driving the hellish, never-ending N1 from Colesberg to Bloemfontein after dark, a lot less stressful. I must have averaged about 90 - 100 km per hour in a 120 zone, which is slow, but sensible. You never know when a large truck may overtake another on a blind rise, and you find yourself in the right lane at the wrong time. Driving after dark is not ideal, and even experienced drivers should reduce their speed considerably, in case one has to swerve. Chevrolet has always been big on safety, so the Trailblazer with its six airbags, stability control and traction control amongst other things, is sure to set every mom’s mind at ease.

The verdict

The Trailblazer wasn’t voted Car Magazine’s Top Buy SUV for 2103 for nothing, and with recent upgrades this Chevy offers a sound, all-encompassing package indeed. Once you’re used to operating a car of this magnitude, you realize that it’s everything you never knew you needed.

Facts & Figures

Price	: R 556 700
Engine	: 2.8 litre, 4 cylinder turbo-diesel
Power	: 144 kW
Torque	: 440 Nm
Top speed	: 180 km/h
0 to 100 km/h	: 11.4 seconds
Fuel tank	: 76 litres
Realistic fuel consumption	: About 8.8 – 10 litres per 100 km
Boot size	: 205 to 1229 - 1830 litres
Ground clearance	: 218 mm
Towing capacity	: 2950 kg (braked)
Warranty	: 5-year / 120 000 km
Anti-corrosion warranty	: 5-year / unlimited km
Service Plan	: 5-year / 90 000 km
Also consider	: Toyota Fortuner