2002 Ford Explorer Vs 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer

It's not often two head-to-head competitors are completely redesigned from the ground up in the same model year. Usually, adversaries' products are separated by at least a year, so carmakers can wait and see the other guy's hand before showing their own cards (or to avoid comparisons like this one). But here, both manufacturers, and to some degree the marketplace itself, determined the time was right for a clean-sheet redesign of both Ford's immensely popular Explorer (along with its platformmate, the Mercury Mountaineer) and the aging GM triplets: Chevrolet Blazer (known as the TrailBlazer from the '02-model year forward), GMC Envoy (GMC dropped the Jimmy name), and the last new Olds, the Bravada.

As America's current appetite for SUVs is seemingly insatiable (climbing from 900,000 sales in '91 to over 3 million by the close of '99), the competitive nature of this market segment is fiercer than ever. Ford sold some 445,000 Explorers in 2000, maintaining its boast as the best-selling SUV for the tenth year in a row. The GM models accounted for a solid, combined total of around 336,000, with the Blazer taking the lion's share at 226,000. These are big numbers, making these vehicles big-profit generators. Betting big can win big, as with the original Explorer. Bet wrong, and you can lose big in short order: Aztek two-step, anyone?

So: Between the challenger TrailBlazer and reigning champ Explorer, who's been training harder for the title bout for the best domestic midsize sport/utility for '02? Both manufacturers supplied us with preproduction '02 models that were so close to production-level equipment we could discern no obvious glitches in either. Fit and finish, mechanicals, and even performance abilities were what we expect the showroom models will display.

Though these two new SUVs will fight for many of the same buyers, they're not just Chevy- and Ford- badged renditions of the exact same song. Shared equipment on both includes six-cylinder LEV-compliant engines, electronically activated automatic 4WD systems (the TrailBlazer can also be switched to 2WD mode), rugged body-on-frame construction, four-wheel disc brakes (only fronts are vented on the Ford; all four are vented on the Chevy) with ABS, rack-and-pinion steering, upper/lower control-arm front suspension with coil-over shocks, and various and powerful electronic monitoring/controlling/reporting systems. Are we talking about sport sedans or trucks here? The big news for each model this year is hardware, but in two completely different arenas.

For the first time in a very long time, GM is putting an inline-six-cylinder gasoline engine in a truck. For the first time in the Explorer's 10-year history, it's fitted with independent rear suspension. Both strategies are bold and both work wonders for the trucks they replace. The General's new 4.2L inline-six, which replaces the sturdy but less-than-polished 4.3L V-6, packs more tech than we have room to talk about here. And the net result is a V-8-like 270 hp and the inherent torque and smoothness of a six-in-a-row engine. Plus it's the first truck to achieve stringent National Low Emissions (NLEV) standards. A V-8 isn't offered-or needed.

GM started with a brand-new, lightweight (407-lb) aluminum block with cast-iron cylinder sleeves and high-compression (10.0:1) pistons, attached an aluminum DOHC head with roller/follower cam actuation and variable timing on the exhaust valve overlap, fitted each spark plug with its own coil, and controls it all with a powerful new electronic powertrain control module and throttle-by-wire system. This sounds like it could come right out of a BMW, doesn't it? The engine not only produces some high-revving horses, but also makes 90 percent of its 275 lb-ft of torque from 1600 to 5600 rpm. And it's so quiet and smooth-running, GM's engineers made the ignition key's start mode inoperable, while the engine is running to avoid burning out the starter motor and damaging the flywheel teeth.