2023 Chevy Trailblazer Review

Name: 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer Review
Brand: Chevrolet

Price Range: $16,998 - $27,998

2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer ACTIV 4dr SUV Exterior

Chevy's done a great job with the latest 2023 Trailblazer. It isn't the most efficient or the best-performing vehicle in the class, but it is exceedingly competent at nearly everything it does. In the increasingly competitive class of extra-small SUVs, the Trailblazer is a half-step ahead.

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Price & Payment

462 cars

$23,024 avg. price

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2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer Review

by the Edmunds Experts

What's new

No significant changes for 2023
Part of the second Trailblazer generation introduced for 2021

Cost to Drive

Monthly estimates based on costs in California

$188/mo

$222/mo

Avg. Compact SUV

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Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

4.5/5Excellent

#1 out of 16 among Fullsize SUVs

RepairPal Reliability Ratings are based on the actual cost, frequency, and severity of unscheduled repairs and maintenance on make/model data for select 2008-2022 vehicles. The reliability of a specific vehicle may vary depending on its maintenance and driving history, model year, trim, and features.

Cost

$330/yr

vs. $614/yr
for Average Fullsize SUV

Frequency

0.98x/yr

vs. 1.59x/yr
for Average Fullsize SUV

Severity

7.6%

vs. 16.7%
for Average Fullsize SUV

Chevrolet Trailblazer Owner Reviews

3.9

48 reviews

5(52%)

4(17%)

3(13%)

2(8%)

1(10%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Engine

Jessica, 08/24/2022

2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer LT 4dr SUV (1.2L 3cyl Turbo CVT)

Loved it when I got it about a month ago but now I’m having trouble with the engine not working right and it makes a nocking sound when I turn it on now. When I push the gas the RPM will go up to 4 or 5 but the car will move at like 2 mph. I was coming out my driveway one day and pushed the gas and it slowly started poking into the road and I pushed the pedal harder and had it all the …

Not too shabby!

Ryan W, 01/18/2024

2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer LT 4dr SUV AWD (1.3L 3cyl Turbo 9A)

Bought my new TB at the end of July in 2023. I was in the market for a new vehicle, the local dealer had this one coming in within a month (at MSRP), and they were also offering 36 months at 1.9% so I pretty much had to pull the trigger. After 6 months of ownership, I feel like I can give a fair review. Pros: This vehicle hit the things I wanted more than anything else: affordable, AWD, … and heated seats (Wisconsin winters are the worst!). I did some research before buying this and there was a consensus that this vehicle is too slow. With the 1.3 and 9-speed, I feel like there is plenty of "go" for driving around town. You're not going to win a drag race with this vehicle, and I would like a little more power when passing on the highway, but overall, it's better than expected. Also having moved from a half-ton pickup- I love parking this vehicle. It's crazy how small this vehicle is. It has so much room for the passengers in the front and back, but it's so easy to park in a spot with ease. The storage is great as well- the rear seats fold flat, and the coolest feature is that the passenger front seat can actually fold down too if you want to haul anything larger like some boards or a kayak. Seat height is pretty good in my opinion, as is the clearance below the vehicle. The design is great. This is such a nice-looking vehicle! The tech is also really nice! Factory speakers aren't great, but they're fine for me. Also has the Wi-Fi which would probably be worth it for a family that goes on lots of trips. Satellite radio is nice. The touchscreen is a decent size- I see they put a huge one in the 2024. Lastly, the highway MPG is amazing! I have done a few trips where if I can set the cruise I have got as high as 38 mpg in a 50-mile range. Cons: While this vehicle is affordable, I still feel like all vehicles are so overpriced right now. I was fine paying what I paid due to everything being so expensive in comparison, but I still feel like this vehicle should be like $5K less or include even more features. The radio hasn't been perfect. 99% of the time it works just fine. I've had a couple times where the radio was super glitchy and slow. I tried Un-connecting my phone and that didn't help. I essentially had to turn my car off and wait a bit for it to go back to normal. I had this happen again where I was trying to use my phone GPS on the radio, and it just would not sync up at all. The satellite radio worked just fine, but I had to look at my actual phone to utilize the GPS- not fun when you're unfamiliar with where you're driving. While these aren't huge issues, they're very annoying when you invest in a new car- wanting and expecting things to work great shouldn't be an unrealistic expectation on a car that has been out a few years already. The AWD doesn't seem great to me. I haven't really had to test it yet, but I feel like it may be a little underwhelming. This could also be due to the tires or just having that really short wheelbase. I haven't really tested the capability of it yet but have had some noticeable sliding while turning on snowy roads. I had a 2010 Ford Escape, and I never had that similar sliding. Again, this could be due to other reasons as well. I haven't been stuck in the snow yet, which is my whole reason from wanting the AWD. I just feel like my confidence in slippery driving has decreased a little with the vehicle. Most of my other cons are due to what was available to buy when I bought. Like I had mentioned, I was able to get a really good rate for financing- 1.9%. I also put enough down to keep my monthly payment below $500/month for the 36-month financing period. While the LT trim is what I wanted, it literally only had one option on it- 18" wheels. While I don't have any problem with this option (I probably would have been fine with 17's), there are other options I wish would have been available. The biggest option I would have liked to have is the blind spot monitoring. The visibility by the C-pillars isn't great, and that's coming from someone who never has passengers in the back seat. I think this tied into an option that also replaces the shifter with a leather appointed shifter as well as the steering wheel. While those sound fine, they're not huge to me. I also would have liked the parking assist sensors. The rear camera is fine, but like others have said, it's not great at night or once it's obstructed by rain or snow. I think the location is fine, but it does feel like a pretty cheap quality camera. Things I did buy: The supplied carpeted floormats are terrible. I knew living in Wisconsin I would replace them right away anyways though. I did go with WeatherTech floormats in the front and back since I have had them with a few other vehicles and thought they did a good job. For the cargo area I bought the Chevrolet brand mat that also attaches to the seat backs of the rear seat. I thought this would be nice for when the seats are folded down. They're alright. My biggest issue is you have to punch holes into the seat back to anchor the mat to it. I had one hole that was not aligned very well, so it's anchored like a 1/4" from where it is designed to be. Again, I have expectations of buying something new and buying the accessories that are made by the same company. I'm still fine with that purchase though. The other purchase I made was a security blind for the rear cargo area. I would skip this. It's really expensive for what it is. I wish it had a traditional rolling cover. This is like a laundry hamper material. Yes, it does what it says, but it just feels so cheap. The windows are also tinted enough I think you can probably just cover anything back there with a blanket if you're that concerned. Overall: Overall, this has been a great vehicle so far! I think it has a great design and lots of functional add-ons. It's a comfortable ride for the most part (could be a little smoother over those potholes) and the cabin is pretty quiet for the most part. I think there are a few little things that could use some tweaking, but it seems to be a good vehicle overall so far. I have seen some complaints about the engine. It's a little engine! I am usually driving around by myself or with my girlfriend. If I was hauling a full load of people, I do feel like that could be a lot for this small of an engine. I also wouldn't really expect this to be good to pull anything (rated at 1,000 lbs.). I would probably stick to a bike rack on the back or a couple kayaks on top at most. Most of my issues are from having a limited number of options due to chip shortages at the time my vehicle was being built. I think if you can actually get everything you want on this vehicle, it will make a difference. I will update this review if there is anything drastic that changes over the next few months/years. Vehicle Purchased: 7/2023, New Original Post: 1/18/24 (2,700 miles)

Subcompact SUV? Not in my book.

Rafa_Rey, 07/11/2023

2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer RS 4dr SUV AWD (1.3L 3cyl Turbo 9A)

So, I'll make this short and sweet. The new Trailblazer has gone above and beyond my expectations. I purchased and RS this past May and seem to find more and more to like about it as time goes on. I'm an old muscle car guy, and the TB is hardly that. But it has the old style accents my Camaro had. Fuel efficiency? Well for me, it is between 25-28 in the city which isn't bad at …

8 Months - 7500 Miles - 3 Roadtrips

HeyImMatt, 11/22/2023

2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer RS 4dr SUV (1.3L 3cyl Turbo CVT)

I really want to get detailed with my review because so far my owner experience has been a love/hate relationship. I have a 2023 RS and overall it's been a good vehicle so far but I'll give a list of pros and cons. PROS: Lots of space, tons of headroom for myself in the driver seat. The passengers have tons of foot and leg space in the back and cargo room is plentiful. I do not have … the panoramic sunroof. The heated seats and steering wheel have to be the hottest I have ever felt. After about 5 minutes, I have to turn them down. The touch screen is responsive and has good resolution. Apple CarPlay is wireless and connects right away when you start the car. There are plenty of USB ports, cup holders, and different little storage areas. Acceleration is decent from the 1.3L, it isn't quick but it gets the job done and I've never thought it didn't have ENOUGH power. Now the CONS... SQUEAKS AND RATTLES ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY! I understand this isn't the most expensive vehicle but goodness it rattles. I've taken almost everything out of the car, checked screws, everything and it just always rattles. You have to turn the radio up so you don't hear it. The speakers are terrible, by the way. I've blown the tweeter on the passenger side and I don't turn the volume up all the way. Safety systems are annoying and not very good. The forward emergency breaking is always flashing that stupid red light at me and beeping because it thinks I'm going to hit something when nothing is near me. Mine personally has a terrible brake feel. Sometimes it feels like I can push them to the floor and I get no braking and other times I throw myself thru the windshield because it stops so hard. That could just be a problem with mine that I need to get checked. Window on the driver side has an annoying rattle when it's rolled down half way. The touch screen is good most of the time but do have times where it glitches and or restarts. I do not have the HD camera option but the standard back up camera is USELESS. It's the lowest quality camera ever and at night, it's seriously useless. FUEL ECONOMY ---- 21.6 MPG Lifetime average ---- 30 MPG Highway ---- 14 MPG City (I do lots of idling at my job and city driving) $40 to fill from empty with gas at $3.79/gallon Listen, for $30,000 or so, it's a pretty good little SUV. I'm happy it is on a lease because I'm not sure how reliable the little 1.3L Turbo is going to be but time will tell. I think if you can deal with some of the faults, it's going to do good for a small family or couple. You can load lots of items into it, I've thrown things up on the roof racks before. It does the job and overall you'll be happy. If any problems or things change, I'll update my review.

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2023 Trailblazer Highlights

Trim:

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$22,100
Engine Type	Gas
Combined MPG	30 MPG
Cost to Drive	$188/month
Seating	5 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	25.3 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	front wheel drive
Warranty	3 years / 36,000 miles

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Safety

Our experts like the Trailblazer models:

Automatic Emergency Braking: Detects if a collision is imminent and applies the brakes if you don't respond in time.
Following Distance Indicator: Displays the distance to the car in front and warns if you're following too closely.
Lane Keep Assist: Warns you if the vehicle begins to drift out of its lane and nudges the car back in line if you don't respond.

NHTSA Overall Rating

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration offers independent analysis.

Frontal Barrier Crash Rating
Overall5 / 5
Driver5 / 5
Passenger4 / 5
Side Crash Rating
Overall5 / 5
Side Barrier Rating
Overall5 / 5
Driver5 / 5
Passenger5 / 5
Combined Side Barrier & Pole Ratings
Front Seat5 / 5
Back Seat5 / 5
Rollover
Rollover4 / 5
Dynamic Test ResultNo Tip
Risk Of Rollover18.5%

IIHS Rating

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.

Small Overlap Front Driver-Side Test
Good
Small Overlap Front Passenger-Side Test
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Original
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Updated
Not Tested
Side Impact Test – Original
Good
Side Impact Test – Updated
Not Tested
Roof Strength Test
Good
Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint
Good

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2023 Chevy Trailblazer Review

Price & Payment

2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer Review

What's new

Cost to Drive

Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

Cost

Frequency

Severity

Chevrolet Trailblazer Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Trending topics

Engine

Not too shabby!

Subcompact SUV? Not in my book.

8 Months - 7500 Miles - 3 Roadtrips

2023 Trailblazer Highlights

Safety

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