Review Car

2011 Chevrolet Blazer

The 2011 Chevrolet Blazer is a mid-size sedan but feels like a big luxury car. It handles well and accelerates quickly when equipped with the optional 3.8-liter V6. By any other name, The 2011 Chevrolet Blazer would be an impressive, significant car. 2011 Blazer meant the flashiest full-size Chevrolet, a real working-man’s Cadillac, tame in its base form but offering performance options to match its aggressive looks. After ’65, the sporty Impala was subordinated to the more conservative-looking Caprice, and eventually the name disappeared from the Chevrolet lineup. The base 2011 Chevrolet Blazer runs with a 3.4-liter 180-horsepower V6. The more up-market LS comes with GM’s proven and highly competent 3.8-liter V6, producing 200 horsepower. The 3.8-liter engine is available as an option on the base model.

All 3.8-liter Impalas come standard with traction control and anti-lock brakes; ABS is available as a stand-alone option with the base 3.4-liter engine. All 2011 Chevrolet Blazer come with air conditioning with separate controls for driver and passenger; AM/FM/cassette stereo; four-wheel-disc brakes; a rear window defogger; power locks, windows, and mirrors; tilt steering; front and rear anti-roll bars; P225/60R16 tires on aluminum wheels, and stainless steel exhaust.

The LS Sport Appearance Package adds brake cooling ducts, a strut-tower brace, a tire-inflation monitor, and extra gauges to a graphite-finish instrument panel; the package is distinguished by embroidered logos on door panels and floor mats, a body-color taillight panel, and chromed exhaust tips. XM Satellite Radio is optional on both base and LS. This high-tech system offers 100 coast-to-coast digital channels, including 71 music channels (more than 30 of them commercial-free) and 29 channels of sports, talk, news, and children’s entertainment. XM’s sound quality is remarkably close to a compact disc, according to Chevrolet. The 2011 2011 Chevrolet Blazer is noticeably roomy inside, with 122 cubic feet of interior volume.

At first glance, the individual seats look flat, like semi-benches, but when you sit in them they provide good support for the thighs and back. They feel like bucket seats. But the front-center passenger has to straddle the split between the seats. A slight hump down the center of the floor accommodates the exhaust; but it also hampers legroom for the front-center passenger. The 2011 Chevrolet Blazer boasts more interior volume than the Dodge Intrepid, but the Impala’s rear seat area is shorter on useable legroom. Still, the Impala is better in this respect than the Ford Taurus or the even the full-size Ford Crown Victoria. The Impala’s rear seating position is comfortable and relatively high, which makes it easy to get in and out. The view out of The 2011 Chevrolet Blazer is good, helped particularly by the small quarter windows that split the rear pillars. The creases on the hood are useful for judging just where the front of the car is, which in turn is handy for parking a big car in compact spaces. The rear deck lid seems high, however, so care is required when backing up. Handling is surprisingly quick and sharp.

One reason is the Impala’s extruded aluminum engine-cradle subframe, a first for the industry says Chevrolet, which isolates vibration while allowing for a more rigid structure. A monster dashboard bulkhead made of light and strong magnesium further enhances to the Impala’s rigidity, giving the car a robust feel. The engine cradle and dashboard structure lock the steering shaft down tightly, so there are no excess wiggly movements.