2022 Blazer - The Colorado Replacement

Well, here goes nothing for the new guy around here:

Former: 2016 Chevy Colorado 4x4, crew cab on Brownstone Metallic.

Back in early October, my wife and I welcomed our 2nd son into the world, rather unexpectedly at the time. After 23 days in the NICU, we finally got to bring him home. We knew we would need to replace the Colorado in the next few years, but we didn’t see a need to rush given the current climate and that we have a 2019 Traverse as well that is the ‘family truckster’.

Wanting to get a head of the game though, I switched our older sons seat behind the driver and out the pumpkin seat base behind the passenger side so it was ready to go after the first of the year when they both have to go with me to daycare on my way to work. That lasted all of a day, as not even halfway to daycare, my son was starting to cry and get frustrated cause he couldn’t move, despite me having moved closer to the wheel in an attempt to give him room. I measured when I got home, and he only had 3 inches of legroom, I felt like I was humping the wheel and having to sit angled towards the A-pillar and drive with the outside of my foot. It was clear the Colorado wasn’t long for our household anymore.

Because of the car climate right now, what I really wanted wasn’t an option, which is a FS truck. Even used ones near me have gone UP in price, by the tune of an additional $3k, minimum, in the last 4 months. Enter looking for SUVs and talking with a couple of friends of ours that are dealers about what our options are that fit our needs. This is where the Blazer made its first impression before we even got to the numbers.

The initial one I got to test drive was a 21’ 3LT, V6, AWD in Summit White; we just weren’t ready to pull the trigger just then, and it sold about 2 hours after I drove it. Our dealer friend though looked up incoming inventory and they had 4 coming in by the end of November, in various trims with major discounts, and I put a deposit down on the first one he found so that at least one was guaranteed to be for us.

2022 Iron Gray, 2.0 Turbo 4cyl, FWD, 2LT. And honestly, after a couple weeks owning it, it’s exactly what we needed to do; though we miss the truck at its utility for shenanigans at a moments notice.



The good;

• The 2.0 gets great mileage
• The drive mode select makes sport mode the best mode to drive it in
• The steering is light and direct
• The suspension is a delight; it soaks up the bumps but is firmly planted when driving spiritedly
• Infotainment is stupid easy to use
• Tons of space in the hatch and second row for the kids and their stuff
• Seats are comfy, supportive and the cloth actually helps keep my from sliding around

The bad:

• Not much in the way of aftermarket yet
• The 2LT trim doesn’t actually have heated seats or a power hatch
• Factory wipers are kind of shit
• It’s a GM product, so there’s a lot of plastics inside and the steering wheel is a little thin/cheap feeling

Review:

Putting this in sport mode is the only way to drive it right now, as the shift mapping and throttle response is vastly improved/different, and the mileage is still better than anything I got with the truck. It’s nice driving something that, when I put my foot into it, doesn’t shudder and stumble as it downshifts multiple gears to try and get out of its own way.

The steering is amazing for an suv, and it is confidence inspiring when tossing it around or needing to rapidly change lanes; I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it handled moderate backroads well either, maybe just not at as high of a rate of speed as most of us would take them.

I’m gonna make a statement I know y’all will call bullshit on, but I’m making it anyway: it reminds me A LOT of my GTI, just bigger with a higher center of gravity. It’s got great throttle response, more than decent brakes, tons of cargo space and interior room, the turbo provides laughable amounts of torque steer and sport mode makes an aggressive growl when you get on it.

I highly recommend anyone in the market looking at these long and hard, with an open mind.