The 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer hits the not-compact, not-subcompact crossover scene this year with a stylish design and an impressively low starting price of $19,995. But its most buzzworthy aspect is the all-three-cylinder engine lineup. We haven’t tested the segment-splitting small SUV yet, so we don’t know how those modern, tiny engines will perform on the road. But we did expect the three-cylinder engines to deliver better fuel economy than the figures just released by the EPA.
Why? We figured the Trailblazer’s smaller-than-usual three-cylinder engines—four-cylinders are still typical in most new small cars, with a few exceptions such as Mini’s Hardtop—might net a fuel-economy benefit relative to its rivals. That isn’t the case. The Trailblazer’s entry-level 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine makes 137 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque, comes paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), and is only available with front-wheel drive. It is EPA-estimated to deliver 28 mpg in the city, 31 mpg highway, and 29 mpg combined—okay numbers that are matched or exceeded by some one-size-up, four-cylinder compact SUVs such as the more powerful Honda CR-V and even Chevy’s own Equinox.
If you want more power and better efficiency, pick the optional 1.3-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine. It delivers 155 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque, and also comes paired with a CVT and front-drive. In that configuration, the Trailblazer is EPA-estimated to return 29 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, and 31 mpg combined. The bigger engine also unlocks the Trailblazer’s all-wheel drive option, which swaps the CVT for a nine-speed automatic transmission. Unfortunately, AWD knocks the Trailblazer’s fuel economy down two pegs, to less than the entry-level, front-drive 1.2-liter model, or 26 mpg city, 30 mpg highway, and 28 mpg combined.
Amongst its direct competitors, the Trailblazer’s best fuel economy ratings are similar to those of the 2021 Kia Seltos (29 city/34 highway/31 combined mpg) and slightly better than other ‘tweeners sized between the subcompact and compact classes. Those include the And the sleek and stylish 2020 Mazda CX-30, which tops out at 25 city/33 highway/28 combined mpg, as well as the 2020 Nissan Rogue Sport (25/32/28 mpg) and the 2020 Subaru Crosstrek (27/33/30 mpg, in non-hybrid guise).
Chevrolet‘s small crossovers seem to offer increasingly better fuel economy the larger they get (or at least they don’t get worse), which seems backwards. The Trailblazer’s fuel economy only barely exceeds that of the one-size-smaller Trax, which is fully subcompact and comes with a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine and theoretically should be the smallest and lightest of the bunch, and therefore the most efficient. Meanwhile, the one-size-larger Equinox (a compact) offers more or less the same fuel economy as the Trailblazer, despite being bigger and more powerful. In short, we expected better from the Trailblazer’s unconventional three-cylinder engine lineup—although for its class, it delivers entirely conventional fuel economy.
