1996 Chevrolet Blazer Redesigned from the inside out, and it shows. By Sue Mead, New Car Test Drive .com

Chevy's Blazer was introduced as an all-new model in 1995, with a host of features

that made it far more like a passenger car than its original version that was brought

to market in 1983. It still has the heartbeat of a truck, but now has the flexibility

to ferry your family, tug a trailer and stash your cargo -- all with a more comfortable

ride and a little luxury along the way. The S-designation was dropped, but the Blazer

is mechanically similar to the GMC Jimmy and the all-wheel drive Oldsmobile Bravada.

The Blazer comes to '96 showrooms riding largely on its laurels from last year which

included Consumer's Digest's "Best Buy" award, Motor Trend's Truck of the Year award,

as well as winning the 1995 North American Truck of the Year award. It's not a

surprise that it garnered recognition in the industry since GM redesigned this SUV and

gave it a new outside, a new inside and new suspension packages. But its best

feature is its price. Here it outpaces its chief competitors--the Ford Explorer and

Jeep's Grand Cherokee--by a good margin. The original Jeep Cherokee, however, is

priced less.

What's new for the Blazer is a shot of adrenaline to its horsepower, improved

performance and reduced emissions, new extended maintenance schedules, and an optional

all-wheel drive. The Blazer comes in five models: two-wheel drive (available in

two-door and four-door), four-wheel drive (available in two-door and four-door) and

full-time all-wheel (available in four-door only). Trim packages are base and uplevel

LS on all versions and an LT package on 4-door models only.

Competitors in this ever-growing compact sport utility segment other than the Explorer

and Cherokee models are the Toyota 4Runner, Nissan Pathfinder, Honda Passport and

Isuzu Rodeo. Not to be discounted are the recently introduced Kia Sportage and

Toyota's new RAV 4.