8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Luxury Utility Vehicles
Date of Review: Mar 16, 2001
The Bottom Line: If you are in the market for a reliable, sharp SUV without selling all of your stock, the Chevy S-Series Blazer is a must-see.
It seems nowadays that SUV's are quite the thing to have. Or at least I see a million of them everyday. They are also becoming more of a luxury car and straying from the "International Scout" purpose and customers of yesterday.
Growing up with more of the "Scout" type SUV's, this purchase was a shock to me. Being as that I traded in my 1990 T-10 Blazer on this (which by chance was "luxury" enough for me), The 2001 S-series has come quite a long way from being classified as a light-duty truck. Comparing the driveability of the 2001 to the 1990- the 2001 feels to me more like a tall car than an SUV, but that might be just because it's been that long since I have owned a new one. It is so much smoother and quieter that the radar detector I bought has already helped me twice- you don't realize how fast you are going, because 20mph feels and sounds like 40mph, and so on. Its not quite as smooth as a Mercedes-Benz obviously, but for a sticker price in the high 20's and the fact that it's an SUV is amazing.
It used to be that anyone could buy an SUV, but then be killed with options and add-ons. Now it seems most of the add-ons come standard, such as the 4 wheel ABS, power doors and locks, push button 4WD, AM/FM Stereo cassette, etc. The 4.3L V-6 is also the only engine that Chevy offers with it now, which is great because if you have ever owned one with a 2.8L or 2.5L, you would know why.
As you can probably already tell, I was just a spectator in this purchase, since the wife had the "new car breeze" blow up her skirt. But contrary to my previous state of mind, I am the one driving this thing the most. It just seems very easy to drive since it handles excellently (except for the fact that sharp turns make you feel like tipping over since it seems a little more top heavy than before.), and besides oil changes etc., I have had no trips to Auto-Zone or the Dealer at all(20,000mi).
The interior has grown incredibly- now there is actually significant storage room behind the backseat without having to fold it down. I am in the construction business, so the trips to Home Depot are easier thanks to the 4 tie-downs that are now bolted into the rear flooring. With what seems like (or is, I'm not sure) 3-4 inches more headroom the length of the car, it feels more like a full size from the inside than an S-Series.
The $30,000 I am spending on this was hard to part with, but it seems so far to be paying off.
Overall, if you are in the market for an SUV but you don't feel like selling all of your stock, the 2001 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer is a must-see.
