Blaze trails with this blazer!

I looked forward to comparing this rental Blazer since I own a 1993 version of this same car..Some stats. I rented this 2001 red 4four door blazer from Alamo rent a car in Albuquerque NM for a ski vacation. The Blazer was had the insta-trac 4X4 system and less than 200 miles on it.

The first thing I noticed was a lack of passing power from the engine. Perhaps it was the high elevations (9800 feet on one pass I drove though) or maybe the engine just was not broke in yet, but I was suprized since both my 93 Blazer and Company 98 Astro van use the same engine with more impressive acceleration. Otherwise the engine was smooth running and had no hiccups during its one week/1000 miles with us. I did not measure fuel economy but it seems in line with my 93 blazer which gets over 20 miles to the gallon on the highway.

One item that did impress me was the ride and handling of this car. Gone was the pitching and weaving of my 93 version and replaced with good grip in corners and only modest body lean. Parking is easy wih a tight turning circle. visability was good but headrests and roof pillars clutter up the rear. The copilot noticed a drivetrain vibration at 95 MPH. I quickly vocalized a solution to this problem...SLOW DOWN!

The idiot proof 4x4 system made for confiedence inspiring driving. Four buttons on the dash allow you to customize exactly which type of drive system you want. Both low and high 4X4 modes are offered along with a two wheel drive and automatic four wheel selections as well. For my trip it stayed in "Auto 4x4 high". This worked so seemlessly that the only way I knew it was working was watching the trouble my friends two wheel drive Expedition was having.

The interior is a mixed bag for this car. The materials used created a friendly enviroment. I praised the settings on the power drivers seat while my co-pilot cursed the lumbar support (too much) of both seats. In addition the co-pilot wished for more rear-ward seat travel. I am 5'9 an thought it was fine. Both of us liked the many cubbies for CD's and drinks. Besides the glove box only one of these is covered to keep items out of sight of thieves.

Although this was a four door I did not notice any more room inside than my 93 two door version. The rear seat did fold flat with a 60/40 split. The Blazer easily swallowed seven peoples ski gear. The model I rented had the drop down tail gate vs. the full lift up hatch. Overall I disliked that tail gate becuase it was one more thing you had to strech over to get at the rear of the cargo area. It did provide a good clean spot to sit while changeing into ski gear. Another side was that I did notice that you could both see and feel the interior panels shake as the vehicle drove over rough pavement. While the car was very quiet and without interior rattles I wondered how long term durability would be.