Chevrolet just launched their first-ever electric Blazer SUV (or EUV electric utility vehicle as they like to call it) last week, and GM aims to target Tesla’s Model Y. The Blazer EV is part of Chevrolet and GM’s electric project, and the Blazer EV is based on GM’s Ultium platform, which is shared by many other GM cars including the upcoming Cadillac Lyriq.
The first thing you notice about the Chevrolet Blazer EV is that it looks so muscular. Chevrolet has definitely taken inspiration from their past muscle cars to create the new Blazer EV. From some angles, the Blazer EV looks like a Range Rover, especially at the rear where the roof spoiler slightly hides the rear window. Overall, it is a very sexy design bound to get any EV enthusiast’s heart pumping.
Chevrolet and parent company GM is on an absolute roll with their EV models. GM has axed many gas-powered cars from all of its brands including Chevrolet in order to focus on electric vehicles. In some ways, the new Blazer EV may be an indirect replacement for the Chevrolet Camaro which GM aims to ax next year.
One of the issues GM has had over the years compared to Tesla is making cool electric cars. For many years, the Bolt was the only electric vehicle you could buy from GM and although it was a good car, it wasn’t cool. Prior to the Bolt, GM experimented with the likes of the Volt, and the hideous Cadillac ELR. GM was in fact one of the main reasons why Tesla exists today. GM killed the EV1 project in the early 2000s which laid out the inspiration for Tesla to make an electric car and later on take advantage of these former passionate EV1 customers.
GM could have had an electric vehicle monopoly by now if they had fully invested in the EV1 project. But due to profit matters and other reasons, it was canceled. Twenty years on, GM is investing 35 billion dollars into their electric vehicle project just in order to keep up with the likes of Tesla who are lightyears ahead of GM in the EV game.
So then, is the Blazer EV a good car? Or is it simply a sheep in wolves’ clothing? Let’s find out.
picture via: elecktrek.co
It Is Very Practical
Don’t let those sporty looks make you assume that the Blazer EV is more style over substance. The Blazer EV is a pretty practical SUV that seats five people with ease and has a decent-sized trunk. If you opt for a panoramic roof on your Blazer EV, it really opens the interior up nicely and makes it feel so much more spacious. Without the panoramic roof, the Blazer EV can feel a little claustrophobic inside due to the slightly sloping roofline at the rear and the small windows.
The dashboard gets a diagonal 11-inch driver display which is placed next to another diagonal 17.7-inch touchscreen display. It’s very organized but also a bit boring. Every manufacturer in the game these days are having a similar setup whereby they have two screens placed next to each other. The car which started this whole trend, the Mercedes S-Class, doesn’t even utilize this anymore.
In between the two screens, you get a volume knob as well as some of the car’s main controls such as lights and cruise control settings. The screen for the infotainment is an irregular shape with one side being very curved and the other being completely straight.
Beneath the infotainment screen is the climate controls settings which thankfully are physical buttons and knobs. The two knobs for the climate control, are placed on either side of the buttons. The buttons are arranged in a “piano key” layout to give them a more premium look. Beneath these, are the actual vents and they are pretty weird. Firstly, they’re very low which is a bit annoying and secondly, they look as if they have been lifted straight out of a Mercedes A-Class.
The rear seats don’t get much light unless you have a panoramic sunroof fitted to the car. Although the rear is spacious, without the sunroof it just looks and feels really cramped and small. Overall though, the interior is pretty nice. On SS models you get SS badged seats which make it feel far sportier.
It’s Fast
The Blazer EV is no slouch. In SS trim, it hits 60 in just 4 seconds which is absolutely insane for such a large SUV. It is as if the SS model tries to be the “muscle car” out of all of the Blazer trim models. The SS gets larger 22-inch alloys too as well as AWD to help with traction.
The SS starts at around $65,995 which is more than a C8 Corvette and Tesla Model Y Performance. The SS aims to rival the likes of the Mustang Mach-E GT as well, which has been selling quite well recently. In my opinion, the SS is a better-looking car than the Mach-E GT since it looks far sportier. However, it isn’t as fast as a Mach-E GT which is a bit disappointing. Neither is the SS as fast as a Model Y Performance.
The base 1LT trim is far saner. Though you can’t have one until winter 2024 which is a very long time away. Performance figures have not been released not yet though we expect the 0-60 to be something around 5 to 6 seconds. The 1LT has the least range of 247 miles and it’s also FWD. However, the FWD may come in handy because it could increase trunk space at the rear.
To Conclude
The new Blazer EV is a very sexy car that is bound to become a best seller. It’s a very muscular SUV that is heavily targeted at Camaro and Corvette owners, especially in SS trim. The Blazer EV is definitely far cooler than the Model Y but overall, it will really have to put up a fight against it especially when it doesn’t have access to the ultra-fast Tesla Supercharging network which is the real selling point for any Tesla.