2002-09 Chevrolet TrailBlazer Comparison : standard vs EXT

Comparison of standard TrailBlazer to TrailBlazer EXT

Hello my friends stark here start date 2020.03.20 welcome to the second and final of my videos concerning the 2002 to 2009 chevrolet trailblazer and sister vehicles of the gmt 360 and gmt 370 platforms in this video we will compare the standard and long wheelbase variants this junk is a 2005 chevrolet trailblazer ext that’s the long wheelbase variant which

Means that it is a member of the relatively uncommon gmt 370 platform the vastly more common gmt 360 platform is the regular wheelbase type or short wheelbase if you prefer so which vehicles comprise the gmt 360 platform well obviously the chevrolet trailblazer also the gmc envoy buick rainier oldsmobile bravada isuzu ascender and believe it or not even

The saab 97x at that time gm was the majority shareholder in saab automobiles may they rest in peace i think i’m right in saying that the ext was only built for the 2004 and 2005 model years gm had two factories to build the trailblazer but closed the only one that had been set up for the long wheelbase this junk is a 2003 chevrolet trailblazer standard

Wheelbase which is by far the more common of the two varieties of trailblazer it’s immediately recognizable because the rear doors curve over the rear wheel arch and that is of course the case in most small and medium-sized suvs let’s open the door and we can clearly see that the door competes with the body for real estate upon the ext model the rear doors

Do not curve over the rear wheel arch in fact the door line drops almost straight down this is accomplished because the wheelbase of the ext is 16 inches longer than the standard model much more room for accessing the interior and a much larger rear door note that the front doors are identical in size to the standard model the standard model has two row seating

The rear seat does fold but the seats are not spring loaded with the exception of the head rest first the seat base and next the seat back watch the head rest manually raised the back seat design on the ext is totally different to the standard type other than both seats incorporating the concept of a left right 60 40 split the ext back seat is spring assisted

Both in the seat back and in the seat base note that i would have trouble lifting this heavy seat were it not for the spring assist on the right side of the vehicle i’ve removed the seat so that we can easily observe the spring assist for the seat base so that would be how the seat would sit when latched into position and here are the latching spots in the

Floor the rear most seat is a 50 50 split and here’s how it can be folded there’s a tab under the seat base pull up and then a looping outward motion seat base is down drop the seat back this hardboard flap which is hinged to the seat back can now be hinged forwards and that will provide a more or less flat load floor when the back seat middle seat if you

Prefer is dropped surprisingly the back seat is roomy adults would have no trouble sitting back here although i’m not tall there’s plenty of room for me in the rear seat and i would suggest plenty of room for all but the tallest of adults with my butt at the back of the seat i have a good four inches of headroom which is plenty of vertical space the rear

Hatches look the same but they are different and not interchangeable because of a difference in roof heights the ribbed roof of the standard model is essentially flat whereas the roof of the ext is domed up to supply additional headroom to passengers of the third row seat here’s a good view of the roof metalwork above the rear door of the ext compared to the

Much slimmer roof of the standard model third row seat headroom is excellent despite the rear most seat position above the rear axle accommodated by a detent in the headliner afforded by the ext higher roof line the floor level cargo depth of the ext is 22 inches it’s decent but not especially impressive the standard model has an excellent rear cargo depth

Of 38 inches significantly more room for non-human cargo provided we’re comparing the two vehicles with the seats up and in place if we reverse that comparison and compare the cargo space of the two vehicles with the seats down unfolded then obviously the ext is the clear winner both vehicles have a storage tray under the rear cargo floor but the stowage tray

Of the standard model is a little larger because it has more space behind the rear seat than the ext model does behind the rear most seat and that’s illustrated by the sizes of the stowage tray lids returning to the trailblazer ext we can illustrate the function of the stowage tray lid and i’m much too lazy to do the same on the standard model because it’s

Full of scrap metal both vehicles have a one-piece rear drive shaft but the ext has a wide diameter aluminum shaft whereas the standard model has a narrow diameter steel shaft i don’t know whether the aluminum drive shaft is a feature of the ext or merely a function of this ext being two years newer than our example of the standard model the standard engine

For the trailblazer is the atlas a 4.2 liter dual overhead cam straight six optionally available was the 5.3 liter v8 only the trailblazer ss was equipped with the 6.0 liter v8 engine and all ss models are short wheelbase note that the front and rear overhangs of the ext are identical to the standard model the additional 16 inches in length is all in the

Wheelbase so which is better the standard short wheelbase trailblazer or the long wheelbase ext i think that the ext is better trailblazers have a somewhat rounded blobby design that dates their era whereas people generally prefer boxy tough looking suvs i think that the extended wheelbase of the ext helps to offset that rounded styling furthermore the ext

Has significantly more interior space and therefore sleeping space when the second and third row seats are folded flat as someone that occasionally drives long distance road trips that’s a feature that i appreciate of course the ext is a little heavier the longer wheelbase not only means a longer body and heavier rear doors but also a longer and heavier frame

These vehicles are after all body on frame construction the extra weight means that the ext will return poorer fuel economy than the standard model engine for engine i don’t honestly recommend any of the 2002 the 2009 trailblazers see my other video where i explain why yet if you must buy one get the ext thank you so much for watching my friends i’ll junk

These two in the next few days so i promise that this will be the last trailblazer video on this channel take care see you next time

Transcribed from video
2002-09 Chevrolet TrailBlazer Comparison : standard vs EXT By MET-TECH