2022 Chevrolet Blazer LT AWD

By: Krish Persaud
May 1, 2022

For most car enthusiasts, the K5 Blazer is the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the name Chevrolet Blazer. That Blazer was created to compete with the Ford Bronco, which was also a popular vehicle at the time. The Blazer nameplate was in use from 1969 to 1994, then replaced with the Chevrolet Tahoe in 1995. The rest, as they say, is history. In 2019, the Chevrolet Blazer was reintroduced as a mid-size crossover SUV that sat nicely between the Chevy Equinox and the Chevy Traverse.

The Chevrolet Blazer has received a lot of mixed reviews, so we decided to put in a request to test the 2022 Blazer to see how it compared to its competitors. GM Canada kindly provided us with a 2022 Chevrolet Blazer LT AWD Redline for testing, which included 20″ gloss black-painted aluminum wheels, a Silver Ice Metallic paint finish, and jet-black cloth seats. Some of the features available on this trim level include rear cross traffic alert, lane change alert with side blind zone alert, black Blazer badges with red outline, and front and rear Black bowtie emblems.

Chevrolet has dropped the 2.5-litre 4-cylinder engine and now offers only two engines for 2022: a 2.0-litre in-line 4-cylinder engine with 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, or a 3.6-litre V-6 engine with 308 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. The V-6 engine in our Blazer LT Redline Edition was paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission and AWD. This configuration works well together, and while it may appear dull off the line, once revved up, the SUV accelerates to highway speeds in no time.

The Chevy Blazer is not like most mid-size crossover SUVs; it has a very sporty appearance and a driving mannerism to match. It bears a striking resemblance to the Chevy Camaro. This also extends to the interior, but we’ll get to that later in the review. The Blazer’s most notable feature is how well it handles anything you throw at it. The steering is nicely balanced in town and gains some pleasing weight at higher speeds. The engineers did an excellent job on the 9-speed transmission, which appears to work well with the 3.6-litre V-6, always ready for action.

Although the Blazer doesn’t do the best job of soaking up the imperfections of bumpy back roads, it compensates by providing an overall satisfying experience on either a highway jaunt or a twisty back road.

The interior of the Blazer, which resembles the Camaro’s interior, features a simple design with an easy-to-use climate control system that includes round air vents beneath the center stack that can be twisted to adjust the temperature. The jet-black cloth front seats provide good support, and the rear legroom is a nice bonus for rear passengers on longer drives.

The Blazer LT Redline features an 8-inch infotainment system with a familiar face across the Chevrolet lineup; navigating through the functions on the touchscreen is simple, and it integrates nicely with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto without too many button presses. Our test vehicle came standard with a six-speaker sound system that does an adequate job of sound representation, but you can upgrade to an eight-speaker Bose system for much better sound field representation.

The Blazer comes in a variety of trim levels with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, with the LT FWD starting at $37,498, the True North starting at $43,898, the RS starting at $46,998, and the Premier starting at $47,598. Our 2022 Chevrolet Blazer LT was nicely equipped with options such as the LT Plus Package and the Redline Package, bringing our as-tested price to $44,603.

Our Blazer LT Redline AWD with the 3.6-litre 6-cylinder engine isn’t the most fuel-efficient vehicle on the market. It gets 12.6 L/100 km in the city, 9.2 L/100 km on the highway, and 11.0 L/100 km in combined driving. Our test week didn’t come close, with a combined average of 12.4 L/100 km. However, we believe it will be better as the climate warms. If you want to save money on gas, the 2.0-litre 4-cylinder may be your best bet, with a combined 9.8L/100km rating. Aside from the fuel savings, we’d rather keep the V-6 because the engine’s soundtrack at higher revs is unrivaled in this segment.

When it comes to weekend getaways, the 2022 Chevrolet Blazer LT AWD Redline is fully equipped with everything you could possibly want. When equipped with the 3.6-liter V-6 engine mated to the 9-speed automatic transmission, this vehicle, in addition to being one of the most attractive mid-size crossover SUVs on the market today, is a very good vehicle.