I have seen a lot of Darth Vader, but have you seen Darth Vader with aristocratic flavor?

The popularity of SUV models in China is self-evident, but do you know who really started the four-wheel drive SUV?

1969, Chevrolet launched a four-wheel drive pioneer multi-purpose sports car in the American market. This is a unique model. Compared with other competing products, the car body is bigger, the internal space is wider and the power is stronger. It is a leader in the field of SUV and has created new demand for four-wheel drive vehicles in the market. It is-Chevrolet Blazer!

Since 1980s, Pioneer has sold more than 4 million units. This time, I was lucky enough to get the Chevrolet Pioneer test drive to see if this pioneer who returned with a new image can better meet the demanding requirements of consumers for SUV models.

At first sight, you will be amazing.

The test drive we got this time is the top version of Chevrolet Trailblazer with RS 650T dual-clutch four-wheel drive, which highly restores the design elements of the concept car FNR-CarryAll.

At first glance, the front face of the Chevrolet Trailblazer adopts the Chevrolet family-style double grille design, and the use of a large number of lines outlines the aggressive front face shape, the prominent front enclosure, the blackened honeycomb mesh, the sharp-looking Xinghui split LED headlight group and the red RS logo. This Chevrolet Trailblazer gives you the feeling of a Darth Vader sports car at first sight.

On the side of the car body, the most eye-catching is the 2 1 inch blackened feet, and Chevrolet is also very kind to use Michelin series tires with Porsche Macan 3.0T top matching (market price is 2400 RMB/piece). Moreover, it can be seen that the size of Chevrolet Trailblazer is much larger than that of Highlander and Sharp, so its body lines should be more slender, and with the rising rear triangular window and sports tail, its whole sideways shape is more design-oriented.

The highlight of the rear part is the double Y-shaped LED taillights that draw lessons from the design elements of Chevrolet national treasure sports car Corvette. It not only echoes the hub in shape, but also has very good effect and recognition after lighting.

It's equally wonderful inside.

Entering the car, you can see that the interior style of Chevrolet Pioneer is very similar to that of the sixth-generation Camaro (the interior design of the sixth-generation Camaro won the title of "Ward's Top Ten Interior"), and it adopts Chevrolet's classic flying wing double cockpit design, covering a large area with leather material, with first-class texture.

It is worth mentioning that the air conditioning operation area of Chevrolet Pioneer is compressed into a small strip, and the buttons are arranged in order. Air conditioning temperature adjustment and air volume adjustment are integrated in the air outlet. Rotate the outer ring to adjust the temperature, and rotate the inner ring to adjust the air volume. This iconic design element is also similar to Camaro.

The details are decorated with tungsten and silver strips and red hand stitches, which enhance the overall texture and sporty feeling of the interior. The finishing touch is the bright moon white atmosphere lamp and the cup holder lamp. Lighting at night will set off a low-key and elegant atmosphere for the car.

Moreover, this Chevrolet Pioneer seems to be deliberately overthrowing people's careless impression of the details of "American cars". Not only the function buttons in the car are excellent in workmanship, but also the armrest box, glove box and other equipment are outstanding in damping and advanced design when opening and closing.

While having an excellent sense of design and advancement, Chevrolet Trailblazers are also unambiguous in comfort and technology configuration! Not only does the whole system come standard with 70 comfortable and safe configurations, but on this top model, we also see the technological configurations such as assisted driving and remote start, which can greatly improve the convenience of use. It can be said that engineers have taken into account our daily car needs when developing this Chevrolet Pioneer.

Of course, since it is a 7-seat SUV model, then space is definitely the focus of our attention. Chevrolet Trailblazer has a body length of 4999mm and a wheelbase of 2863mm, which can be said to be unique in its class. You know, Highlander, known as the benchmark of seven SUVs, has a car length of only 4890mm and a wheelbase of 4890 mm.

According to the actual experience, the Chevrolet Trailblazer with 2+3+2 seat layout not only has rich internal space, but also has hollow body and roof, giving people an unexpected sense of openness when entering the car for the first time.

Crucially, the third row seat of Chevrolet Trailblazer is not a "chicken rib". On the premise of ensuring the front row and the second row, there is no need to worry about the third row. No matter whether it is a sense of space or a comfortable configuration, it has not fallen at all (Pioneer has the only cushion of its class with a thickness of more than 30cm, the backrest of the seat reaches 14cm, and the third row of seats are separately equipped with air conditioning outlets, cup holders and other comfortable configurations). Moreover, the second row seat of Chevrolet Trailblazer has the easy-to-enter function, which can simultaneously perform front and rear and tilt operations, and will fully reflect the concern for the third row passengers.

Many "black technologies" are integrated.

After watching the static electricity, the next step is to turn it on! Chevrolet Trailblazer is equipped with the eighth generation Ecotec 2.0T intelligent variable cylinder turbine engine, which covers almost all the latest engine technologies of General Motors, including intelligent variable cylinder, DVVT dual variable valve timing, electronic bleed valve dual scroll supercharger and so on. What needs to be emphasized is the intelligent variable cylinder technology, which is the world's first engine technology of GM Group. It can intelligently select the current optimal valve lift according to the engine speed and the position of the accelerator pedal, and smoothly switch between three working modes (two-cylinder smooth operation, four-cylinder high efficiency and four-cylinder surge), which can not only improve fuel economy, but also bring more calm power and smooth driving experience.

Matching the engine is a 9-speed HYDRAMATIC? Different from the "pseudo-9-speed gearbox" in previous years, the automatic manual gearbox can cut into the ninth gear at the speed of 95km/h, and has a wider speed ratio range (7.6: 1) and finer gear allocation. With the general patent, you can choose one-way clutch, which can bring better shift comfort.

In terms of chassis and body, Chevrolet Trailblazer adopted the suspension form of front McPherson and rear five-bar linkage. What needs special attention here is that the rear suspension is in the form of five-links (compared with the four-link suspension at the same level, the five-link suspension system has better performance in handling, comfort and NVH performance), which is a very kind configuration at this level. The body part adopts ultra-high strength body structure, which improves the reliability and durability while ensuring the firmness of the body. In addition, it also helps to improve the cornering stability of the vehicle.

The above parts are all technical explanations, but when driving, we can find that the response of the accelerator pedal of Chevrolet Pioneer seems to have achieved a balance between Japanese and German styles, and the power is not very rapid, and there is no sudden feeling of pushing back. The shift logic of intelligent gearbox makes the vehicle get more linear power output at lower speed. In terms of starting acceleration, Chevrolet Trailblazers won't feel car-scrapping when they test-drive other seven SUVs.

At this time, if you continue to step on the accelerator, the gearbox will downshift quickly. With the increase of engine speed, the whole vehicle will present another state. At this time, you will have an illusion, as if this 2.0T engine is particularly grumpy. However, limited by the engine displacement and its own weight, it can't bring a sense of acceleration like a sports car. However, if we just speed up overtaking, the performance of Chevrolet Trailblazers is still relaxed and pleasant.

The 9-speed automatic transmission responds positively in both upshifts and downshifts, and is well integrated with the engine. During the whole acceleration process in daily driving, the gearbox will appear very calm and smooth. Compared with the general 6-speed gearbox, it can be said that the performance of this 9-speed gearbox has been improved by more than one grade, and it is more predictive of gear shifting, and the driver's intention can be well understood in actual driving.

However, the performance of the chassis tends to be balanced. Thanks to the five-link rear independent suspension, the Chevrolet Trailblazer has very good supporting performance when driving fast on the flat road, but it will not bounce too much when facing the small potholes. The setting of this chassis can well meet the daily driving habits of several consumers. Good quality chassis with obvious light steering feeling, long-term driving feels comfortable rather than resistant, simple and easy to use, and it is easy to open the word across my heart.

It is worth mentioning that when cruising at a high speed of 120km/h, thanks to the ANC active noise reduction system and the excellent sound insulation performance of the whole vehicle (reaching Class A silence), the previous experience of driving a large SUV surrounded by various disturbing noises will no longer appear on this charming "Black Warrior".

Who says darth vader only represents sports?

At the beginning of the article, it is mentioned that Pioneer is a multi-purpose sports car that appeared as early as 1969, so in addition to road test drive, off-road test of unpaved pavement is also essential. You should know that the hardware strength of Chevrolet Pioneer is excellent (approach angle: 16, departure angle: 22, minimum ground clearance: 163mm). With the support of dual-clutch intelligent four-wheel drive system and All-road all-road driving mode, it can be said that it is fully equipped with off-road and short-distance crossing conditions.

When we really came to the unpaved road, the first thing we saw was the muddy road and the big pits in the crater. At this time, Chevrolet Trailblazer's electronic slip-limiting system will operate very sensitively. We can feel that some tires that have lost grip will stop idling within half a second after the initial slip, and the engine output power will be quickly distributed to other wheels with grip, so I can easily pass obstacles as long as I keep the throttle steady.

Moreover, as far as the off-road sections we cross are concerned, Chevrolet Pioneers can easily cope with the "AWD four-wheel drive" mode, but this has aroused my curiosity more and more. How strong is the positioning city SUV? Of course, I will switch the mode to "off-road" mode and find some more difficult road conditions to test. What needs to be praised here is that Chevrolet Pioneer doesn't need to adjust in neutral when switching off-road mode like traditional models (the official claims that it can be switched at any time).

When the vehicle enters the "off-road" mode, it can be felt that the power output performance of the whole vehicle changes immediately and the torque output is much stronger, so it will be more confident when facing steep slopes and muddy roads. I even deliberately chose some deep ruts and potholes to create a scene of getting stuck in a car and saving myself, but whether it's stopping two wheels in the air before starting or finding a muddy road to create an "unexpected situation" where only one tire has adhesion, I can easily cope with the dual-clutch intelligent four-wheel drive system.

By the way, I also found an unexpected surprise on the way back through. Chevrolet Pioneer's HDC steep slope descent function was originally an option with calibrated speed. When the steep slope descent function is turned on, the speed can be adjusted by setting the cruise speed button, which not only saves me a lot of worry, but also greatly improves the passing efficiency.

Write it at the end

At the end of the article, let's make a simple summary. Chevrolet Trailblazer 4999× 1953× 1736mm body size and 2863mm wheelbase are much larger than competitors of the same level such as Highlander and Sharp. It is actually a very good practice to highlight the advantages of size.

As far as the overall strength is concerned, Chevrolet pioneers also have profound "skills", not only the design that combines science fiction with strength, but also the advanced sense, sense of science and technology, comfort and practicality of the interior, which I did not expect. However, what surprised me most was the driving experience. The sense of calmness when driving it is completely different from driving a 7-seat SUV weighing close to 1.9 tons. Don't forget, the pioneers with dual-clutch intelligent four-wheel drive system and All-road all-road driving mode also have quite good performance in off-road.

Although the starting price of Chevrolet Trailblazer is 259,900 yuan, which may be slightly higher than other competitors in the same level, whether it is its hard power or the sense of being ahead of the "American car" in the car, it will make you feel worthwhile. Coupled with the 50% off car purchase gift just listed and the long warranty policy, I believe that Chevrolet Trailblazer, a high-end seven-seat SUV, will become an extremely powerful competitor in the seven-seat SUV class.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.