The classic Chevy Blazer used to be the kind of truck where nobody questioned its motives. Its purpose was to serve as one of the most dependable and capable 4x4 off-roaders in the American market this side of a classic Range Rover. With all its other features coming second in priority. But these days, things are a bit more twisted.
To say the all-wheel-drive crossover SUV Blazer hit the global auto scene with all the force of a wet noodle wouldn't be an understatement. Just take a look at Doug DeMuro's review on YouTube if you don't believe us. It's pretty brutal. But is an all-electric alternative the key to finally making the modern Blazer a smash hit? Let's take a look back at history and the present day to understand why people feel the way they do about the Blazer.
The full-sized K5 Blazers of the late 60s through the mid 90 are some of the most sought-after Chevy vehicles around. What made them so special, especially in the 70s and 80s, was their seeming complete disregard for new emissions and fuel economy standards. In a time when most passenger cars were becoming smaller and slower, the K5 Blazer remained a heavyweight on offroad trails for decades more.
With gargantuan gas and diesel engines, a true four-wheel-drive system, and big, chunky off-road suspension, the K5 was everything the modern Blazer isn't. Even the subsequent mid-to-compact sized S-10 based Blazer and GMC Jimmy were looked like a full-on HUMVEE MRAP compared to the sedan-derived underpinnings of what passes for a Blazer these days.
Unveiled in the hip-hop Meca of Atlanta, Georgia, in June 2018, to say the launch of the new Blazer was as disastrous as when Mitsubishi tried to put the Eclipse name on a crossover SUV may be a bit hyperbolic. But not by all that high of a margin. You see, there were essentially two schools of thought you could take when looking at the inline-four-cylinder or V6 equipped new Blazer.
Photo: General Motors
You could A, feel like it's a complete affront to what the Blazer used to be, or B, complete and total indifference. There just wasn't much of anything on the new Blazer, be it under the hood, with the interior, or exterior, that elicited all that much excitement. Or anything that wasn't already done better from a different domestic manufacturer. We're looking at you, Ford Bronco and Land Rover Defender. The Camaro-inspired styling without any sporting credentials did little to help affairs.
But if Chevrolet really is dead-set on profoundly changing the public image of the Blazer, could the newly announced 2024 Blazer EV be the ticket? Let's dig a little bit further. Granted, details on the specifics of the Blazer EV are still flowing in at this moment. But what we know for certain is that it will feature the iconic Super Sports moniker. So then, not shying away from performance credentials it may or may not be able to deliver on.
With a flood of electric vehicles unveiled by General Motors so far in the last 24 months, it's safe to assume there's going to be at least some degree of technology sharing between the Blazer EV and other electric cars in the GM lineup. Be it the GMC Hummer EV, the Chevy Silverado EV, even the Blazer's sister car, the Equinox EV, there's a multitude of different places to derive parts and components for an upcoming EV Blazer.
Keep in mind the Hummer EV weighs nearly 9,000 pounds (4,082.33 kg) but can still jet from zero to 60 miles per hour in around three seconds flat. How's that for some instant torque, right? If the Blazer can be even remotely as quick, perhaps it can be deserving of its SS badge after all. But it can't all be about raw speed. Modern consumers demand a level of refinement beyond that of the norm in their EVs.
Photo: General Motors
This means if the Blazer SS EV wants to succeed in the rapidly heating up EV field, it's going to need all the same features and comforts as its competitors. We couldn't in any good faith recommend this Chevy over something like a Tesla Model Y if the level of features and quality just isn't on the same level. Knowing Chevy's nasty tendency to fall back on old habits, this is something that absolutely can not happen if GM hopes to salvage any public image points it lost with the Blazer's borderline disastrous launch.
Granted, Chevy did sell close to 100,000 Blazers in the 2020 model year. But that figure may as well have just been the signup list that Ford put out just for people to get within a few meters of a new Bronco, a model the Blazer used to compete head to head with, in the old days. But do you think a powerful, quick EV would be the perfect way for the new Blazer to win hearts and minds? Let us know in the comments down below.
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