[JimC]

The Car Connection published an updated review to follow up their original one from June. Here's the link to the full article: https://www.thecarconnection.com/ne...-blazer-is-a-fully-modern-crossover-for-today

To start things off they really liked the Blazer's interior and exterior design.

It’s fresh and modern in all the right ways. The 2019 Blazer leaves the squared-off design in the history books and has a fresh, dare I say, sharp, face. Its Camaro design influence is clear with slim, horizontal daytime running lights, boomerang taillight design, and rounded rear end. The stance and overall design of the five-seater is far sportier than its GMC sibling, the 2020 Acadia (which, ironically became more brick-like with its 2020 refresh).

Camaro, is that you? If the exterior is Camaro-inspired, the interior started with the muscle car’s blueprints. The center stack, including the standard 8.0-inch infotainment screen, air vents, along with climate and infotainment system controls, is nearly all ripped right out of the current Camaro’s dashboard. Things get less sporty with the four-spoke steering wheel and more pedestrian gauge cluster design.

It’s well packaged. Inside Chevy carved out plenty of passenger space and cargo space. The second-row seat slides fore and aft to trade space for legs or cargo, and while three can fit across in back it’s more comfortable for two for longer distances. The largest demerit is front seat comfort. While there’s plenty of back support the front seat bottoms are both flat and short, even in the sportier RS model.

They also highlight how family-friendly it can be.

Families welcome. Those in need of a sharp, sporty, family-mobile that want a Camaro but need a crossover won’t be disappointed when it comes time to put the car seats in the Blazer. Unlike the Honda Passport, the top tether mount for car seats is mounted in the middle of the second-row seat back. This makes it extremely easy to get to regardless of whether the second-row seat is all the way back on its rails or not.

They also like the Blazer's V-6 engine and it's efficiency numbers.

Plenty of energy. There’s no V-8 engine option for the Blazer like back in the ‘90s, but the transversely-mounted 3.6-liter V-6 has plenty of motivation with its 308 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque sent to the front or all four wheels. All-wheel-drive models have a switch that engages the system, otherwise the Blazer can be operated as a front-wheel-drive vehicle for better fuel economy.

Reasonably efficient. The 2019 Blazer carries EPA fuel economy ratings of 18 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined when equipped with the V-6 and all-wheel drive. While running in mostly front-wheel-drive mode I saw an indicated average of just over 24 mpg in mixed suburban driving and just over 26 mpg on a highway road trip.

Their main criticism came when they discussed the Blazer's safety features. They didn't like how automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning are not standard on the Blazer.

Safety shouldn’t be an option. The 2019 Blazer starts from just under $30,000, but the Blazer in upper Premier and RS models start at over $40,000. We would recommend these trims for families since they are the only models to be offered with automatic emergency braking and forward collision warnings. Even then they are bundled as a $3,575 package, which is absurd given these are standard safety features on a base Toyota RAV4 and Volkswagen Tiguan.

At $50,756 my 2019 Chevrolet Blazer RS was well equipped with an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated and cooled leather seats, Bose premium audio system, 21-inch black aluminum wheels, and large panoramic sunroof.

With a field of bland crossovers for consumers to choose from the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer offers a sporty design, family-friendly interior, and lots of power. It’s just a shame buyers have to pay so much to get active safety tech with that style.