The Blazer is Back

Chevy Is Bringing Back the Blazer

The much-beloved name is coming to a new two-row SUV for 2019.

By Andrew Moseman

Chevrolet

It must be time to throw some beers in the cooler and head out to the lake, because the Chevy Blazer is coming back.


Chevrolet has officially announced the return of the Blazer name and released concept images of what the 2019 vehicle will look like. This revived Blazer will be a two-row crossover meant to compete with the likes of the Ford Edge and Nissan Murano.

As you can probably tell from the looks of the thing, this ride doesn't have much in common with the boxy, leaky, all-wheel-drive, body-on-frame Blazer of yore. The 2019 version rides on a unibody frame it'll share with the GMC Acadia. Its shape looks, well, not like a serious off-road machine, but rather like just about every other crossover on the roads today, albeit with a slightly meaner, Camaro-inspired front.

Blame aerodynamics, but also consumer demand. We're living in the crossover age, to the point that Ford is killing off most of its car lineup to sell more profitable trucks and SUVs. As Car and Driver points out, GM already had five crossover in the Chevy lineup—Trax, Equinox, Traverse, Tahoe, and Suburban—before it decided to reboot the Blazer, which now sits somewhere between the second and third entries on that list in size. With all those family haulers already in the group, you have to wonder why Chevy didn't seize the opportunity to make a serious off-roader again.

The new Blazer will come with a standard 3.6-liter V6 and optional AWD. The 18-inch wheels come standard, but 20- and 21-inchers will be available. Expect to see it in early 2019.