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Caraganza Review 2026 Chevy Blazer EV SS: Great EV, Wrong Moment in History

I’ve always liked the Chevrolet Blazer — genuinely liked it. I’ve spent time with the 2021 and 2023 models and thought they were among the better, more sensible midsize SUVs out there. The kind of machines that didn’t shout, didn’t posture, didn’t promise Nürburgring lap times they’d never attempt — they simply did the job and did it well. Then I did what middle-aged men do: I forgot all about them. These days I regularly walk into the kitchen and can’t remember why, so misplacing an SUV in my memory bank was inevitable.

Chevrolet reminded me recently by dropping off a 2026 Blazer EV SS for a week. And as soon as I saw it, two things hit me at once. First: Oh right — the Blazer! Second: Good grief, those seatbelts. Day-Glo orange, as if GM’s design department was trying to make sure the survivors of any future crash could be spotted from low Earth orbit.

And then the real shock arrived — the badge. SS. A sacred pair of letters. A badge that, for people of a certain age (my age), evokes V8 thunder, unburned hydrocarbons, and the sort of deep, subterranean rumble you feel in your chest cavity. Yet here it was, glued to a vehicle that makes about as much noise as a dentist’s drill running on AA batteries.

Now, in fairness, the thing is suitably quick. The 615-horsepower electric drivetrain and standard all-wheel drive shove the Blazer EV SS to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, nearly a full second faster than Chevrolet claims. But a silent SS is still fundamentally wrong. It’s like holding a rock concert in a library: technically impressive but lacking the one thing that makes the experience worth having.

As I reacquainted myself with the Blazer, it dawned on me how much had changed since my last go-round. When I’d driven the previous models, Chevrolet was still firmly in the gasoline era. Now, the Blazer EV — introduced in 2024 — sits squarely in the middle of an electric movement that has slowed so dramatically it’s practically rolling backward.

There was a time not long ago when “saving the planet” was the hottest trend in America. Coal = bad. Solar panels, recycled denim, and hamster-wheel energy = good. Corporate America released press statements with words like sustainability and synergy while removing plastic cups from break rooms. But the auto industry couldn’t just hand out reusable mugs and call it a day. They had to bow deeply at the altar of electrification.

That enthusiasm pressured the auto industry into big, bold promises. Volvo swore off gasoline entirely. Jaguar pledged full electrification. Mercedes announced its serene, battery-powered destiny. Even GM vowed to go 100% zero emissions by 2035. Then, this year, GM backtracked, and quietly admitted that the 2035 promise was, in their words, “more an idea than a strategy.” Which is polite corporate language for: “We panicked. Please don’t yell at us again.”

Meanwhile, the cultural winds shifted so hard they practically sandblasted the beard oil off the Green Crowd. EV enthusiasm cooled. Hybrids surged. Buyers, when not being bribed with $7,500 tax credits and state rebates, began leaning back toward convenience and common sense. And that’s the uncomfortable truth the EV evangelists hate admitting: the strongest growth in EV sales didn’t come from the cars. It came from the incentives tied to the cars. Every spike in EV demand lined up with government cash. Every lull happened when the cash dried up or the rules changed. Incentives were the training wheels, the safety net, the bungee cord holding the whole thing together. Pull that away, and the “revolution” suddenly looks like a very expensive science fair project.

And this brings us back to the 2026 Blazer EV SS — a very good electric SUV launched at a moment when the world seems to be asking for something else entirely. Which is unfortunate, because judged purely as a machine, it’s excellent. The cabin is roomy and quiet. The materials feel right. Rear visibility is questionable at best, but the ride is smooth and composed over even the worst potholes. It looks sharp too, leaning more Camaro-adjacent than eco-appliance. The LT and RS trims, running front-wheel drive, stretch the range out to a respectable 312 miles. Even the more powerful versions drive with an easy, predictable grace. Chevy has given it good manners: firm, confident braking; low body roll; and steering that could use more feel but won’t offend anyone.

For 2026, they’ve cleaned up the lineup. The rear-wheel-drive RS is gone, replaced with front- and all-wheel-drive versions. A new Polar White Tricoat is available, along with a Tech Bronze appearance package featuring giant 22-inch bronze wheels. There’s even a NACS adapter now, so charging won’t feel like trying to plug an American toaster into a European hostel.

But as I drove it through my week, one question wouldn’t leave me alone: What is the actual purpose of an all-electric Blazer right now? With incentives drying up, consumer tastes shifting back to hybrids, and even GM admitting its EV master plan was sketched onto a cocktail napkin during a panic attack, how long will this thing actually be around?

The Blazer EV SS is quick, it’s handsome, it’s well made — and it also feels like a brilliant answer to a question no one is currently asking. An SS with no rumble. An EV launched into a market that suddenly isn’t buying what electric SUVs are selling. It deserves a better time in history — or at least a better soundtrack.

The 2026 Chevrolet Blazer EV
MSRP: $60,600
MSRP (as tested): $ 63,985
Engine: Electric 615 horsepower, 650 lb. ft torque
Transmission: CVT
Fuel Mileage (MPGe): (EPA): 92 city, 77 highway, 85 combined
Base Curb weight: 5,730 lbs.

Exterior Dimensions
Length: 192.6 in.
Overall width with mirrors: 86.5 in.
Overall width without mirrors: 78.0 in.
Height: 65.0 in.
Wheelbase: 121.8 in.
Minimum Ground Clearance: 7.49 in.

Interior Dimensions
Front head room: 39.4 in.
Front leg room : 44.2 in.
Front shoulder room: 58.7 in.
Rear head room: 3637 in.
Rear leg room: 38.9 in.
Rear shoulder room: 58.3 in.
Cargo Space/Area Behind Front Row (cubic feet): 59.1
Cargo Space/Area Behind Second Row (cubic feet): 25.5

Warranty
36,000 Basic Miles / 6 Corrosion Years
3 Corrosion Years / 100,000 Corrosion Miles
36,000 Corrosion Miles / 8 Hybrid/Electric Components Years
100,000 Hybrid/Electric Components Miles / 5 Roadside Assistance Years
60,000 Roadside Assistance Miles / Towing: 8 Years/100,000 Miles Roadside Assistance
8 years / 100,000 miles of battery coverage

Greg Engle
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