WARNING: THIS IS ONE OF MY LENGTHIER REVIEWS, SO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE BEFORE YOU START READING

!!!THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN UPDATED FOR THE DRIVING AND SAFETY SECTION. I HAVE MARKED THE UPDATES FOR EACH SECTION

Welcome to the 59th review of the Chevy Blazer. Because most reviews of the Blazer are older, I thought I give you a view of how it has held up for the past 8 years.

I have purchased my 1997 Blazer just about two months ago. So for me it's a whole new car.


MY BUYING CRITERIA

About six months ago we started looking for a new vehicle. We still have the Olds, but on these dirt roads it's not the ideal car to have.
My next vehicle had to fulfill several key points:

1. Must be 4-wheel drive. I frequently transport farm equipment into the "high country", meaning whatever I drive has to be able to climb a very steep and rocky hill. Once up there, there is no way to turn around, so I have to back up over a distance of 180 feet (and not in a straight line). Because the "road" gets flooded frequently I need the support of the 4-wheel drive. Basically what I was looking for was a mountain goat on wheels.

2. Must have enough space. My husband is 6'3", my son close to 6'. There's no point in me buying anything where they are not comfortable. We actually did look at a Jeep Cherokee, but both guys felt totally cramped.

3. Must be roomy. If I don't have room for at least four bales of hay, there's no point in even looking at it.I also need something with four doors. Grandma is getting on in age and there's no way she can climb over a seat to get into the back. And if I take Josh and his friends to football practice there better be enough room for three teenagers and all their gear.

4. Should be somewhat fuel efficient. I knew that I won't find anything that will fulfill the above criteria and give me 30 miles to the gallon. But I also did not want something that needs it's own gas station in the back, because I have to fill up every two minutes.

5. Price. We pay cash for all our cars and trucks, but our recent move has cost a bundle and I was not willing to bring more than $6000 to the bargaining table. I also wanted something that does not kill me with high insurance rates.

WHAT WE LOOKED AT AND WHY WE DIDN'T BUY IT

We knew quite early that we needed either a station wagon or an SUV. So we looked at a lot of different makes and modles. Here are some we took a closer look at, but did not buy and why.

2001 Jeep Cherokee: Looks great, had lot's of extras, price a little steep and not enough legroom for hubby.

1996 Ford Explorer: Not so good reviews, transmission looked like it needed replacing. Insurance was skyhigh.

1998 Chevy S-10 pick-up with one extra seat in the back. This "rumble" seat simply wasn't working for Josh. He thought about having to sit in it for 700 plus miles for our trips up north and nixed that one quick. Otherwise it was great.

WHY WE PICKED THE BLAZER

Sometimes the best deals come to me while I'm sleeping. At a very early 5:30AM on a Monday morning my mother in law called me and told me that a mutual friend wanted to sell his Chevy Blazer. We've known this guy for years, know that he keeps all his vehicles and farm equipment in excellent shape and trusted him completely. Still, buying a car from a friend was not necessarily something I wanted to do. But we agreed to take a look.

I must admit I was somewhat hooked when I first saw the Blazer. It's the LS model (somewhat differently configured than the LT)and for once it was in a decent color. Color is usually not part of our buying criteria, so over the years we have owned everything from really, really green to bright blue. This one was a dark metallic green with black trim. Nice, very nice.

Exterior and Interior Looks

The 1997 Chevrolet Blazer LS is not overly sporty, but also not outright boring. All corners are rounded off softly and the first impression is of a solid SUV. There were no scratches, rust or imperfections in the paint. In an eight year old car I find that impressive.

The windows are tinted for privacy, yet, from the interior offer a clear view all around. The rear window has a wiper and defrost feature. That will come in handy on cold winter mornings or when it's raining buckets.

Our Blazer has a rooftop carrier, but I am not sure whether this came standard or was optional equipment. I haven't used it yet, but it feels and looks very sturdy.

This Blazer has "daytime running lights". Our pick-up has that too, so for me it was no big change. The minute you start the engine the lights come (and stay) on. This makes for better visibility and I really have come to like it. At least I know that other drivers can see me better. Sometimes it gets confusing at night when I start the car. I know my headlights are on, but I can't see anything in the cabin. Then I have to remember to switch the regular lights on, so my dashboard is illuminated.

The Chevy Blazer has only one feature I really had to get used to: The tires look impossible small. Don't get me wrong, we have a set of 8-ply radials on there, but they are only 15-inch tires and there's a lot of room between the top of the tire and the bottom of the car. But considering that there is a lot of bounce when I'm going over a gravel road, I know nothing will rub or bend while I'm driving.

The rear window/tailgate offers good visibility and is easy to operate. From the cabin I can just push a button and open the window/tailgate that way, or I can use my key. The window opens upward, so if I only have a few small packages, I don't have to monkey with the tailgate. The tailgate does not open unless the window part is also opened. Then the tailgate comes down automatically and very slowly. It's possible to open it faster, just by pushing on it, but why?

The spare tire on our Blazer is mounted underneath the vehicle. My mother in laws S10 pickup has a little hole over the bumper so it's easy to loosen the spare should I ever need to. The Blazer does not have that. In order to get to the spare I have to crawl underneath and loosen a butterfly nut to get the tire off. There is a jack in a little compartment in the rear cargo area, but we prefer a collapsible hydraulic one and carry that separately.

UPDATE: The spare tire is a full-size tire. According to the previous owner it came standard with the vehicle. However, he never had the need to use it, so we took it off (no rust on the butterfly nut in eight years!) and replaced with a new "spare" tire that matched our existing ones. The spare had lost some air, but was otherwise okay. END OF UPDATE FOR THIS SECTION

The drivers side and passenger mirrors are oversized. That almost eliminates the blind spots when backing up. But only almost. So a little bit of extra caution when backing up is advised.

On the interior, the Blazer is equally nice. It is somewhat utilitarian. We have neither a CD player nor a DVD player so the kids can watch their movies. While I like it that these features are available, we don't need them to get from point A to point B. The AM/FM stereo with cassette player puts out enough power to be heard in the front and rear and the output is good enough that nothing gets distorted or sounds like I'm listening through speakers that sound like a tin can.

The dashboard displays are layed out nicely too. They are not digital displays, but I have all the necessary information I need to keep the car running or to be able to tell if something is wrong. Besides the Spedometer there are displays for Oil pressure, temperature and Battery power. And at night it is illuminated with a soft orangey-off white, instead of the bright blue I am used to from the Oldsmobile.

The controls for the lights and the button to open the rear hatch are to the left of the steering wheel. The button for the lights is oversized and easy to find even in the dark.
Controls for the Heating/AC system are to the left of the radio. Yet it's not so far away that I'd have to stretch to get to them. They are standard dials and easy to operate.

The controls for the additional 4 wheel drive are to the left of the steering wheel. If you are in 4-wheel drive, the button will light up and only go out if you change back to regular 2-wheel drive.

This SUV is an automatic. The gearshift is in the center, between the seats. This took some getting used to, because the Olds has it's shifter on the steering column. But once I got used to that I had no problem.

There is a center console between the front seats. It's not very large, but it is deep. We can store Tapes on top and put all the other stuff we cart around underneath. I've got the feeling this will be our bottomless pit, where everything will go never to see the light of day again. This console is not lockable.

Underneath the radio is a small space that is probably meant for a CD player, should we choose to install one. I had thought it a great spot for sunglasses and such, but it is not tall enough for that. My husband keeps his wallet there when he drives and I keep the cellphone there. It's only good for small items.

The glovebox is roomy, but since it also houses the boxes for the relays and fuses, there's not much room. All we keep in there is the owners manual, our insurance papers and the thingy for the lugnuts. There are two very shallow cupholders molded into the glovebox lid. Okay for putting your coffee/soda when the car is standing still, but not while it's moving. One turn and everything will tip.

Two additional (and much better than the ones in the glovebox) cupholders with a removable (and washable) rubber liner can be found right in front of the gearshift. I find that when I am driving alone I tend to put my soda/coffee in the cupholder meant for the passenger. It's a little easier to reach. When it's two of us and I want to grab my soda, I have to be careful not to catch my coatsleeve on the gearshift, because I have to reach over the gearshift to get to my soda.
Chevy has kept this design, because they do the same thing in the Trailblazer. I thought by now they would have caught on that this a potential safety hazard.

The seats are comfortable even on long trips. We recently took a 820 mile turnaround trip to Illinois and with only a few short breaks for gas and lunch I though we would eventually feel sore and stiff. Not so. Even Josh in the back seat (he only rode halfway with us) felt comfortable. The front seats have adjustable head rests which come in very handy for hubby, who has his fully extended because of his height. I leave mine in the lowest position, because I am barely 5'5".

UPDATE I have noticed something I think is more weird than an actual safety issue. I have long legs, so whenever possible I rest my left leg against the driver's door when I am driving. Every time I do that and crack the window, the door moves outward a bit. I'm sure it has something to do with air pressure inside the cabin. It does the same thing when I close the window again. This is not unlike the ear-popping feeling you get when you are in an airplane, only my ears don't pop, but I swear that door moves. This only happens on the driver's side door, not any other. END OF UPDATE FOR THIS SECTION

The rear seats do not have a head rest. I did not notice that at first, but Josh mentioned that he would have to bring a pillow on longer trips and sit sideways because there is nothing for him to rest his head on. I have noticed that in a few SUVs we looked at and think that for the money they charge, they could certainly put in a headrest. On the other hand, the rear seats wouldn't be able to fold completely flat if they had a head rest.

The backseat is a 60/40 split bench. In order to transport bigger things, like skis or bikes I can fold either half of the seat (or the entire seat) forward to lay completely flat. This is a one hand operation. I simply pull the latch behind the seat(s) upwards and fold the seat forward. Very easy to do.

The cargo room is ample. There are not a lot of weird boxes sticking out that cramp it or make it impossible to put large boxes in it. If we have a lot of luggage or valuable purchases I have the option of pulling a cargo cover across everything, so nobody sees what's underneath. This is, I believe, standard for the blazer. The cover simply pulls out of one end of the cargo area and latches onto the other end. It seems very sturdy, but I wouldn't recommend trying to cover something that sticks out over the backseat very much.

Visibility from the interior is great all around. There is somewhat of a blind spot in both rear corners (where the rear window is), but because of the oversized side mirrors that is easily navigated. Just takes a little extra caution when backing up. The rearview mirror on the interior is also somewhat larger than what I am used to. This makes it easy to see little ones in the back seat and to find out if they're up to no good.

Seatbelts are easy to operate. There are shoulder belts on both front seats, on the rear window seats and a lap belt on the rear center seat. There is a latch for car seats, so they will be properly secured.


GRAB ANOTHER CUP OF COFFEE OR TAKE A POTTY BREAK, DRIVING AND ALL THE TECHNICAL STUFF IS NEXT.


HOW'S MY DRIVING?

Compared to other SUVs the Blazer is small. But it is a powerhouse when it comes to the engine. The 6-cylinder Vortec engine provide me with about 190 HP, that's not a race car, but plenty power for me when I want to get somewhere fast. I am not sure if the "Vortec" refers to the order in which the cylinders fire, the way they are set up or if it's just a fancy word. So someone please enlighten me. Thanks.

This Blazer does not hesitate to speed up when it comes to passing or having to get out of the way in a hurry. There is no reluctance of the gas pedal to go all the way to the floor. Even at higher speeds (75 mph ) the Blazer sits on the road like a brick and there is not a lot of rattling or increased driving noise.

The anti-lock brakes stop me when I need to stop, but they need a tad more pressure than the ones in my Olds. Yet they don't loose grip and the car stays balanced even if I have to stop this car NOW. I recently had to slam on the brakes in order to avoid a cow that was out for a late night stroll. The Blazer stopped in time and the tires. never lost traction. Bet you that cow was more scared than I was.

UPDATE

We recently took a long road trip (1500 miles total). I still stand by my opinion that this is a comfortable vehicle. But we did notice that for some reason the Blazer lags a bit when trying to pass while going more than 75mph. Once I hit 80 or so and then want to step on the gas some more, it needs a bit of talking to in order to take that extra step. This is easily done by taking my foot of the gas for a second and then stepping on it again.
I am not sure if this is a mechanical problem or has to do with the way the engine is set up. We talked to other Blazer owners and only one of them said they had the same problem.

Overall driving even over long distances was great. This car handles like a dream and responds to the slightest correction. I had to suddenly swerve to go around a driver that slowed down without warning and the Blazer responded easily and without any hesitation. What could have been a scary situation turned into "okay, this was nice and easy". It did earn me a "nice move, Mom" from the kids in the backseat.

While I usually keep both hands on the wheel while I'm on the Interstate, I have found myself using only one hand in the City or out here on our Country Roads. It really does not need any strength at all to steer.END OF UPDATE FOR THIS SECTION

Driving this Blazer has been a joy. Except for turning it around. A small turning radius is not something in the Blazer's vocabulary. For whatever reason it needs a bit more room to get it to point the opposite way. It's easy enough to back up, but turning it all the way around leads to a bit of opposition fromt the vehicle. So I avoid that as much as I can.

The fuel efficiency is a bit better than what I had expected. Our recent long distance highway trip was a good way to check our mileage. Highway driving in moderate traffic (okay, except for St. Louis, there traffic was the usual cluster....) got us about 21 miles to the gallon.

I checked my City driving and found I get about 19 miles to the gallon. Not bad for an SUV. With gas prices this high, we use regular unleaded, could be that a mid-grade will get me a little better mileage, but right now I can't afford it.

Now for all the weights and measures:

Engine: Vortec 6-cylinder

Horsepower: 190 (at 4400 rpm)

Wheelbase: 107.0 inches

Length: 175.4 inches

Height: 67.0 inches

Width: 57.3 inches (front); 55.1 inches (rear)

Fuel Tank: 19 gallons


Any money left?

Driving the Blazer has not hit our pocket book as much as we thought. The insurance rate is only about $30 bucks per month higher than what we pay for the Oldsmobile. Your rates may vary depending on the type of insurance you get and your driving record.

As stated before we get good mileage out of this vehicle, so we really don't have to spend a much larger amount for gasoline. We bought this car with about 96.000 miles on it and for that engines life, we feel the mileage/gas ratio we get is phenomenal.

We maintain all our vehicles ourselves, except for bodywork, but repair records that came with the vehicle indicated no major problems. The hose for the rear wiper had to be replaced once and that's about the extend of it.



TYING UP LOOSE ENDS

Overall this is one of the best purchases we ever made. I know after only two months of ownership this might be a bit premature, but all records that came with the Blazer indicated that it is a problem free vehicle. Driving it has been fun and I know people won't necessary yell at me for driving an impossible large SUV and cramping their visibility.

There are some safety concerns about the missing headrests for the backseat, and a little issue about the large turning radius, but these are the only two problems we have found.

We are thinking of owning this for about two to three years and I think by then we are able to upgrade to another Blazer or Trailblazer.



Amount Paid (US$): 5,200.00
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1997
Model and Options: LS