Chevrolet’s resurrected 2019 Blazer is looking to capitalize on the growing midsize crossover segment, but the hot looks of the new midsizer will not come cheap. In fact, when the new Blazer begins arriving at dealers in early January, it will be pricier than some direct rivals, while offering less than equally-priced competitors.
First, a quick review of the trim level and pricing structures: the 2019 Blazer will be available in the following trim levels: L, LT (simply called Blazer), RS, and Premier. The base L model starts at $29,995. Chevrolet has yet to announce pricing for other trims.
Now, let’s look at that $29,995 starting price point: though the figure is highly consistent with the starting price points of other mainstream mid-size crossovers like the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano, and Jeep Grand Cherokee, a deeper analysis reveals several competitive disadvantages.
| 2019 CHEVROLET BLAZER | 2019 FORD EDGE | 2019 NISSAN MURANO | 2019 HYUNDAI SANTA FE | 2019 KIA SORENTO | 2019 GMC ACADIA | 2019 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE | 2019 HONDA PASSPORT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARTING MSRP: | $29,995 | $29,995 | $31,270 | $25,500 | $25,990 | $29,000 | $31,695 | TBA |
| SEATING CAPACITY (FRONT / REAR): | 5 (2 / 3) | 5 (2 / 3) | 5 (2 / 3) | 5 (2 / 3) | 7 (2 / 2 / 3) | 5 (2 / 3) OR 7 (2 / 3 / 2) | 5 (2 / 3) | 5 (2 / 3) |
| BASE ENGINE: | 2.5L I4 193 HP | 2.0L Turbo 245 HP | 3.5L V6 260 HP | 2.4L I4 185 HP | 2.4L 185 HP | 2.5L I4 193 HP | 3.6L V6 295 HP | 3.5L V6 280 HP |
| BASE TRANSMISSION: | 9-SPEED AUTO | 8-SPEED AUTO | CVT | 8-SPEED AUTO | 6-SPEED AUTO | 6-SPEED AUTO | 8-SPEED AUTO | 9-SPEED AUTO |
- Pricing figures shown are starting MSRPs for base models. Selecting other trim levels, packages, options and features will cause the price to increase.
Underpowered
On one end of the spectrum is power. The Ford Edge is priced to start at $29,995 – the same as the Blazer. However, the Edge features a turbo-charged 2.0L I-4 engine as the base powerplant. That means that the Edge offers 52 horsepower more than the 2019 Blazer’s naturally-aspirated 2.5L I-4 LCV engine.
The story repeats itself for the Nissan Murano and Jeep Grand Cherokee, both of which have higher starting prices than the Blazer, but come standard with V6 engines making significantly more power than the base Blazer’s base engine. Though pricing for the 2019 Honda Passport hasn’t been revealed just yet, we expect the situation to be identical.
Underpriced
On the other end of the spectrum is that the Blazer is overpriced compared to the two Korean offerings: the Hyundai Santa Fe, which is all-new for the 2019 model year, and the Kia Sorento.
The starting price point of the Santa Fe is $4,495 lower than that of the Blazer, while that of the Sorento is lower by $4,005. Both offerings are very comparable to Blazer’s feature set, and the Hyundai even offers very similar styling.
The GM Authority Take
How any of the aforementioned factors will impact the commercial success of Chevy’s upcoming midsize CUV is anyone’s guess. For now, two thing are for sure. First, Chevy is charging Ford, Jeep and Nissan prices for Kia and Hyundai levels of power. Second, the 2019 Blazer is entering a hotly-contested segment that is expected to become even more competitive, with Volkswagen already planning a midsize crossover offering of its own.
Those two circumstances, combined with some negative perception associated with Mexico-based production, tell us that the Blazer will need all the good fortune it can get to succeed.
The Chevrolet Blazer is a mid-size crossover utility vehicle (CUV). It is currently Chevrolet's second-biggest CUV, slotting between the compact Chevrolet Equinox and full-size Chevrolet Traverse. The current model was introduced for the 2019 model year and represents the fifth generation of the Blazer nameplate, which dates back to 1969. The model rides on the regular-wheelbase variant of the GM C1 platform shared most directly with the second-gen GMC Acadia and first-gen Cadillac XT5. The long-wheelbase variant of the same platform is shared with the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, and Cadillac XT6. The 2019 Blazer flaunts attention-grabbing exterior design, seamlessly integrated customer-focused technologies and superb functionality. Many of the exterior and interior design elements are borrowed from the sixth-generation Camaro. The 2019 Blazer range consists of four trim levels, including the base L, three mid-tier Blazer trim levels (consisting of three LT trims), the sporty Blazer RS and the range-topping Blazer Premier trim. New technology offered on the 2019 Blazer includes capless fuel fill, HID headlights, LED daytime running lights, and a Cargo Management System. Under the hood are two engine options: the base 2.5L I4 LCV and the optional 3.6L V6 LGX. Both motors are mated to the GM 9-speed automatic transmission. Pricing starts at the $29,995. The Chevrolet Blazer is built at the GM Ramos Plant by GM Mexico.
About Chevrolet Blazer
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Made in Mexico and still overpriced, ridiculous
I’m wondering how Chevy can charge MORE than the Acadia when the Acadia can seat more people and carry more cargo.
And is still made right here in the good ‘ol USA.
GM is master at kicking its customers in the nuts. This business will not survive if they continue down this failed path.
Exactly. They went down this path once before, and then had one of the biggest company bankruptcies of all time. Same thing with Chrysler, except they actually improved their products. I love GM, but if they keep doing things like this, they will just collapse again.
The sooner Machete Mary and her incompetent team are jettisoned, the better…
The American taxpayers bailed out General Motors after the banruptcy of 2009.
The American taxpayer saved this company and this is how GM repay the American people.
I will never buy the Chevrolet Blazer as long as it is made outside the United States.
Another angle to this…
Once GM lops all the sedans from its lineup- aside from pissing off those owners of the Cruze, Lacrosse, CT6, and Impala whose trade-in values will be worth a lot less because they have an extinct cars, what about all the lessees? When their lease is up, if they want a sedan it will mean going to a competitor. If they want to stay in the GM family, they will be cajoled into a Mexican-made Blazer, a Chinese-made Envasion, or a Mexican/South Korean Trax. As it stands now, GM will loose a lot of sales form the extinct cars, and any marginal sales of alternative models will come from non- NA made vehicles.
I Hope trump says no to gm, you will never get a bailout from me and this new blazer is trash, a completely disgrace to the classic, even the 1998-2004 s10 blazer was far more original then this sucker.
Honda will be making from Lincoln, Alabama. If you want american families to be fed, i think Honda Passport it your choice,
If you want the 1% Rich to be more rich , You can buy Blazer for more money and even the best part , you can get a cheap plastics.
Honda CEO was paid $944,000 in salary and a bonus of $444,000 in the most recent fiscal year. His total pay is a fraction of what U.S. auto executives earn. General Motors (GM) CEO Mary Barra has a base salary of $1.6 million, and total compensation of $14.4 million a year.
What about all the engineers in the USA that designed the new Blazer? Not sure why only union assembly workers count; please explain.
You have a point yet I just wanted to point out I believe the Honda AL plant is NOT unionized…
Who says GM does all engineering in USA ? Its global engineering. (most cars GM make are engineered outside USA ,lot engineering is done is collaborations now ( ex: fuel cell, 10 speed ) ) , Again its not only union workers, there is a full supply chain , its not just assembly line. So once its made local, there will be lot more local content and local part suppliers.
Where the manufacturing goes, so too will the engineering….
Honda makes great products – and their Accord and crossovers are designed primarily for the American market.
Unfortunately the new Passport looks cheap and bland.
GM introducing a subpar product for a higher price? Shocker.
So they decide to build cars in Mexico instead of the US to cut cost of production, but still charge us more for them?
Now that the UAW has had their saybhere.
The option package will be priced competitively and the made in Mexico will make no difference.
Never was a factor before and No one complained about any of these models.
Chevrolet Equinox (2018-Present)
Chevrolet Cruze (2016–Present)
Chevrolet Sonic (2012–2017)[2]
Saab 9-4X (2011)
Cadillac SRX (2010–2016)
Chevrolet Captiva Sport (2008–2015)
Saturn Vue (2008–2010)
Chevrolet HHR (2006–2011)
Buick Rendezvous (2002–2007)
Pontiac Aztek (2001–2005)
Pontiac Sunfire (1995–2005)
Chevrolet Corsa (1994–2011)
Chevrolet Cavalier (1982–2005)
Buick Century (1982–1996)
Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera (1982–1996)
Pontiac Sunbird (1982–1994)
Chevrolet Celebrity (1982–1990)
Chevrolet El Camino (1982–1987)
GMC Caballero (1982–1987)
Chevrolet Citation (1982–1985)
Chevrolet Malibu (1982–1983)
Chevrolet Monte Carlo (1981–1988)
Where is the out cry on the quarter million Ram truck being built there? Where is the out cry from the Sentra and Fusion?
If GM packages the Blazer at a good price it will sell just fine.
Note most of the vehicles content will be from the United States.
Looked at Ram 1500’s today. “Assembled in Warren, Michigan” in big letters on the window sticker.
True, but over 246,000 ram 1500’s are built in Saltillo, Mexico every year and have been since 1995.
But FCA is moving some Ram production to the US starting next year.
Never understood the down votes on factual posts on GMA.
99% of the buying public are purchasing their cars based on perceived value and what they can afford. Where it is assembled is way down on the list or not even on the list.
Yes that is the reality but on the web we have agendas and some folks that are just clueless. Hence down votes on actual facts.
I have only ever bought GM products my entire adult life, 40 plus years of buying GM. I have always stuck by them and for them. But the last 12 years, GM has turned into a joke, but especially since the bailout. They have abandoned anyone with a pre-bailout vehicle with terrible build quality problems, and continued that horrible build quality with post bailout bad quality, from the rusting frames on trucks to decades of poorly designed and rusting brake lines, the only think you can count on is GMs v8s. My next vehicle will not be the joke of a truck that just came out and has the interior no better than a 2000 pickup truck. Are you serious GM? No adaptive cruise control in a 2019? Insane.
Chevy Sonics are built in America for America at Orion assembly. If some of you data is flawed, I expect the rest of you research is also flawed.
Jim the Aveo and sonic were built in the Ramos Arizpe Assembly plant till May 2018. They were cars destined for Mexico, central and South America.
Not all Sonics were made in MI.
Data was not flawed it was just a list of all products built at this plant.
S10’s, full size and trailblazers were built in other plants.
I own a sonic. The window sticker stated lake Orion, Michigan. Built on the same assembly lines as the Chevy Bolt. You’re clueless. You should walk around your dealer lot. ?
at least some of those had class like the SRX, Sonic, celebrity, el camino and sunfire, this new blazer stinks badly from the beginning to the middle to the end.
I don’t have any problem paying a few extra dollars for a vehicle that looks so much better than the competitors mid size SUV ‘s
GM is just becoming a comical company right now. It is overpriced and still doesn’t even offer LED Headlights as an option even. GM is in a Funk and needs to get out of it quickly. Maybe they’re putting all their efforts into the upcoming barrage of EV vehicles they keep talking about but none of us have seen.
We can only pray.
So the Chevy Blazer starts out more than a GMC Acadia? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? And FFS, using a 4cyl with no boost is just plain cheap (as is sharing the mirrors with the entire Cadillac CUV lineup)
The GM 2.5 is a complete joke in this vehicle along with the Acadia. The Ford competition starts out with the 2.0T
Is it a joke?
Made in Mexico (for dollar cuts), price of an Edge and that s**t engine?
Blszer way to high priced i was think of leasing one but not after i see what the prices are)
The press has been ranting about GM’s high prices and lack of content and/or interior trimmings to justify the price. The new Silverado is a prime example; dead last in Car and Driver’s recent comparison test and Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year competition. Yet GM has this arrogance that it can cut a million corners and still demand a price premium. Mind boggling.
To be fair they did make some great improvements, but they are ignoring their core customers.
The exterior on GM cars for the most part are top notch but when it comes to interiors, they are almost a joke in todays market. It is a shame. Especially the Twin 1500’s. That is almost criminal how far behind they are vs the competition and these are totally new from the ground up.
The 2019 Chevrolet Blazer CUV is made in Mexico and is priced higher than competitors which means only one thing.. this is another critical error by General Motors CEO Mary Barra which is another reason why Barra needs to be replaced; one would think that with cheaper labor in Mexico would allow the Chevrolet Blazer to have lower prices while still making hand over fist profits.
GM knows damn well that an overwhelming majority of customers are not interested in an entry level base model mid size suv. Why does GM bother posting an entry level price on the 2019 Blazer L model when that will be a limited availability model with allocation based solely on location. The base 2.5 liter 4 cyl engine is a joke and the 2.0 liter 4 cyl engine that is utilized in the Buick Envision/GMC Terrain/Cadillac XT4 should be the standard engine with the 3.6 liter V-6 engine being an upgrade. Lets get it together GM!!
Just wait until they have a bunch up here they can’t sell and the high dollar discounting begins. That way one can be had in a better trim for less money.
6 or 7 times a year it will be less expensive than those competitors lowest discounted rates. They are using the frequent sale so that people looking at the product feel like they are getting the deal of a lifetime. In some cases….they are.
Now if I could just get the lowest price and the exact trim and options I want. Give the 15-20% off for people who custom order their vehicle. Then I don’t have to get what the dealership thinks will sell the best.
Those are high prices especially considering the lack of full LED lighting and the weak base engine. That’s a problem.
But then again, it doesn’t matter. I would never buy one since you can’t turn off the start/stop system. That’s a non-starter (no pun intended).
Priced with a 20% rebate in mind. Anyone paying anything near MSRP for a Blazer is a fool.
20% rebate still isn’t enough.
Add a start/stop disable switch, ditch the base engine, and maybe this will work.
GM doesn’t need to leave markets at all. What GM needs is common sense engineering, packaging and marketing. Now, why would you bring such a vehicle with 193 bhp 2.5L as the base engine, when you could have started out with a 2.0T with at least 250 bhp.
Oh boy! This company needs to start getting rid of such dumb-ass managers/administrators, who make these stupid decisions. Then you price the vehicle similar to it’s competitors, who’s base engines are superior. So GM, is coming last the new strategy?
Now GM, Just compete with common sense and gain a competitive edge so that all your products can be of some value.
Agreed.
The Cruze is a decent car at best but when compared to its rivals it was way at the bottom of the list. GM never took that Segment seriously so for them to say that buyers are not in that class anymore is pure comedy to me. Just make a good car in the Segment GM and people will finally take you seriously. You leave people that are not GM crazy like us no other choice but to go to your competition.
It is Sad what is becoming of GM. We all better hope that all the upcoming EV vehicles promised are top notch or GM may die once more.
If it’s a great vehicle then the price could work, but based on recent Chevy products I don’t expect it to be anything special.
I drove a new Equinox recently and it was kind of sad. Buzzy engine that sends vibrations throught the entire vehicle, lots of road noise, and underpowered. GM could have sprung for better engine mounts and more NVH damping material and the car would have been much more enjoyable to drive. Instead they saved a few bucks and the result is a vehicle that feels like a cheap bottom end econobox.
The base Equinox engine is short about 20 horsepower…..and a start/stop defeat switch.
It’s a shame because the Equinox is otherwise a decent vehicle.
Agree that the Equinox feels cheap. Just press on the trim next to the gear shift and cupholders. It dips a centimeter and creaks excessively. Hard plastic all over the place. It upsets me because I know that GM can do so much better. The cost cutting is going to kill them.
Ye sit will. The last Gen Malibu has a better quality interior than the current one. GM took a huge step back in the interior department. They need to bring in NON-Beancounters to run the Car programs.
And this is what GM thinks is going to keep me as a customer after they kill off all their cars. LOL
Made in Mexico- check
Higher prices the moment you move up from the virtually non existent base L model- check
Lowest powered engine from all but Hyundai/Kia competitors- check
Lack of LED headlight technology- check
Lack of advanced safety equipment even on higher trim levels as std fare- check
No stop/start disable- check
Fisher price interior materials- a huge possibility
And i’m not at all a fan of the squished rear window styling or the tiny squinty headlights so it’s exterior design doesn’t even resonate with me. Yes calling this a Blazer is indicative of how far out of touch with reality Barra really is!