2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer

There are five trim levels offered with the 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and those are L, LS, LT, Activ, and RS. The RS trim of the SUV will get its separate article and will be reviewed separately. Price starts at MSRP $19,000 and goes all the way up to $27,000, but a lot of changes within this price range. Being a brand-new model, it is equipped with the latest in convenience and infotainment features and offers a lot like a Wi-Fi hotspot, 7-inch touchscreen, Chevy safety assist suite, and so on as standard features.

Which trim should you buy?

Although there are many trim levels, all of them stand for very different strengths, and it is easy to choose one among them. The base trim is solely aimed at reducing the price tag and making the Trailblazer look accessible. This makes the car very basic. With the LT trim, you get a lot more as extras, including keyless ignition and entry, cruise control, remote ignition, power-adjustable driver seat, and heated front seats. At a price of just $23,700, this is good value, but we would also recommend adding the more powerful 1.3L engine and all-wheel-drive system for an additional $2,000.

Powering the Chevrolet Trailblazer are two engines. The first one is a 1.2L in-line turbocharged three-cylinder engine that is very much uninspiring. This engine produces 137 hp and 162 lb.-ft. of torque, which makes it rather slow. To add insult to injury, this engine is mated to a CVT automatic transmission while front-wheel-drive is the only powertrain option as standard. However, things don’t exactly get a lot better when you opt for the 1.3L in-line three-cylinder turbocharged engine as it only produces 155 hp. However, this engine has a better automatic transmission and also all-wheel drive, which makes the experience much better.

When it comes to acceleration figures, the Trailblazer has a sluggish 10-second 0 to 60 mph time as well as an 18-second quarter-mile time. This makes it one of the most lackluster products in this category. Even if you go for the more powerful 1.3 L engine, it only makes things a little better with a 0 to 60 mph time of 9.4 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 17.1 seconds. Hence one can say that the performance aspect of the car is not exactly great.

The Chevrolet Trailblazer is priced in a way that it is cheaper than all the other cars in its category. Despite being one of the most updated and modern cars, this is a good thing. However, in terms of performance, it is the most lackluster vehicle as it is the slowest on paper as well as in real-life acceleration tests by a lot. Even when equipped with a more powerful engine, it fails to remain competitive against its rivals.

How well does the 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer handle? 

The Chevrolet Trailblazer is not exactly the car for the enthusiast. One would expect that the car should make up a bit in terms of the performance lost in the acceleration department through better handling. However, the Chevrolet fails to impress here as well as there is nothing great about the way it handles corners that are thrown at it.

This would leave one hoping that the car at least has some ride quality to compensate for its bad handling. The biggest disappointment is that it does not back that either. The ride is harsh and road imperfections do filter into the cabin. Neither does it have particularly communicative steering. Hence the car is not built for spirited driving. Overall, it is a pretty disappointing car in terms of performance.

2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer Braking Performance

The Chevrolet Trailblazer is equipped with 10.4-inch brake rotors in the front and 11.8-inch brake rotors in the rear. There is nothing much about the brakes that can be written home about. The pedal is a bit firm but does not inspire a lot of confidence. We also do not have much data regarding its braking performance. Even the curb weight of Trailblazer is not available for making any comparison.

As we can see from the table, the Trailblazer’s braking performance is not exactly quantified yet. Among the rivals, Mazda seems to have the best brakes. Both Mazda and Kia have identical 60 to 0 mph stopping distance of around 120 feet, and the Hyundai trails right behind at 129 feet. Overall we can see that the Mazda CX-30 performs the best in terms of acceleration, handling, and braking.

Despite every single disappointment that the Chevrolet Trailblazer gives one in terms of performance, fuel economy is an area where it performs according to the class benchmark. The 1.2L engine returns 26 MPG in the city, 30 MPG on the highway, and 28 MPG in the combined cycle, which is quite decent and explains why Chevy went for three-cylinder engines. The fuel tank capacity is adequate at 13.2 gallons, which is enough to have a range of up to 434 miles on the highway and 364 miles inside the city.

Once again disappointment awaits the Chevrolet’s buyers as the Mazda manages to outperform the car despite being much more powerful and fun to drive. In terms of performance, this has to be the last nail in the coffin of the Chevrolet Trailblazer. However, Mazda has a slightly worse fuel tank size and suffers in terms of the overall range. Both Hyundai and the Kia have the same sized fuel tank as the Trailblazer but have slightly lesser range due to their lower fuel efficiency.

The interior of the Chevrolet Trailblazer doesn’t exactly look as modern as something that came out in 2021. There is a lot of energy design on the outside, but when it comes to the interiors, the SUV has adopted a more traditional layout and fails to impress in terms of the design. However, material quality is decent, especially for the category. The space offered is also quite generous considering how small a car it is. It performs very well in terms of cargo capacity with 25.3 ft.³ of storage.

In terms of interior space, however, the car feels very roomy, and that is definitely a plus point. When the rear seats are folded down, the total capacity of the boot enlarges to 54.4 ft.³, which is much more than necessary for most people. The dashboard is good-looking in upper trim levels as well.

In terms of interior space of the cars in this category, we find that the Chevrolet offers the most legroom in the backseat, and that too by a fair amount. Even though none of them have a specific advantage in terms of space, Kia is based on the lengthened chassis of a Hyundai Kona, and hence has a better room. It also has excellent cargo space as well as interior space, and that sets the benchmark in this category. That said, the interiors of the Chevrolet are the only place we don’t have any complaints about. Some standard features include:

• Automatic climate control
• Proximity keyless entry
• Push-button start
• Remote start
• Cruise control
• Panoramic sunroof
• Power liftgate

What’s there to keep you entertained?

One of the things that remind us that the Trailblazer was designed for the 2021 model year is its infotainment system. It is easily one of the most modern aspects of the crossover SUV. Even though all trims come with a small 7-inch touchscreen system, it can be upgraded to an 8-inch unit as well. It packs all the latest features and also allows wireless integration of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is a feature missing in much more expensive vehicles. Other features in higher trims include built-in navigation, wireless charging, satellite radio, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and so on. There is a four-speaker audio system available as standard, while a six-speaker system or a premium seven-speaker system from Bose are available. Some features of the infotainment system include: 

• 8-inch touch screen
• HD Radio, satellite radio
• Two additional USB ports
• Six- or seven-speaker stereo
• Premium seven-speaker Bose audio system
• Wireless device charging

In terms of looks, the 2021 Trailblazer has followed the path of the Blazer by borrowing design cues from the Camaro. Although the Blazer follows that up with extremely good handling, this car fails to do so. However, there is no denying that it still looks more modern and sharp, and maybe it is restricted to only that. It does feel and look bigger than its rivals as well.

We can see from the table that the Chevrolet Trailblazer is one of the bigger cars in its category, but we do not have the exact data about its weight. It also offers the best ground clearance in its category, which is definitely a big plus point and gives it the best offering capabilities in the segment when combined with all-wheel-drive. The Kona is much smaller, while the Mazda CX-30 proves to be nearly the same in terms of size. Some standout features include:

• LED daytime running lights
• LED headlamps
• Automatic headlamps
• Fog lamps
• Powered liftgate
• LED tail lights
• Rain sensing wipers
• 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels
• Heated and electrically adjustable outside rear view mirrors

Being a car that was made for the 2021 model year, there was no way that Chevrolet could have overlooked the safety aspect of this car. The 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer was not tested by the IIHS at the time of writing this article, however, it has scored an excellent four stars overall safety rating from the NHTSA, which is also very impressive. It does pack several active safety features like forward collision warning, automated emergency braking, lane departure warning, and lane-keeping assist as standard right from the base trim level. Some of the standout safety features include:

• Automatic Emergency Braking
• Buckle to Drive
• Teen Driver
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System
• Automatic Emergency Braking
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Forward Collision Alert

2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer Vs. 2021 Mazda CX-30

The Mazda CX-30 is one of the best cars in its segment. It is a bit more expensive than the Chevrolet Trailblazer but is more fuel-efficient, better performing, better looking as well as a hoot to drive. When compared with this car, the Chevrolet does not have any single advantage apart from the better infotainment features.

2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer Vs. 2021 Kia Seltos

Even though the Kia Seltos has been around for a while, it has not aged terribly. Kia is a bit more expensive and packs somewhat lesser features as standard but is more spacious for both passengers and cargo. It also has a good array of standard convenience as well as infotainment features and remains in the competition.

2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer vs. 2021 Hyundai Kona

Hyundai Kona has been an innovative product from the Korean brand. Although it is very much similar to the Kia Seltos in most aspects, it is a unique car. However, it is much smaller both from the outside and on the inside and hence would prove to be a much harder car to live with if you’re buying a car for the family.

The 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer is a brand-new subcompact crossover SUV that tries to introduce something new in the segment. However, it suffers from not having been provided with good parts mechanically, and the performance is very much lackluster. However, it is the most suitable car if you want to take any of the cars in its category for off-roading. Other than the infotainment system, it does not have too many strengths. All in all, the 2021 Mazda CX-30 proves to be a better pick.