In the market for a used Holden Trailblazer? We’ve taken a relook at Josh Needs’ 2019 Holden Trailblazer LTZ Review.
2019 Holden Trailblazer LTZ specifications
The Holden Trailblazer was an essential piece of Holden’s SUV puzzle. Trying to reinvent itself following the death of local manufacturing, it blitzed TV and print advertising with its SUV range, the Equinox, Acadia, Colorado and Trailblazer.
That said, the big Holden off-roader didn’t find favour in Australia, outsold by the segment-sales-leading Isuzu MU-X by around three to one. Indeed, look at sales, and the Holden Trailblazer was a perennial wooden spoon holder. Why?
Back in 2019, we got our hands on a Holden Trailblazer LTZ to find out whether it should have been on your shopping list.
What’s the price and what do you get?
The Trailblazer LTZ was priced brand new at $52,990 drive-away in 2019, with seven-years scheduled servicing as well as a five-year unlimited-kilometre warranty. The entry-level LT was priced at $46,990 drive-away while the Z71 retailed at $54,490 drive-away.
If you take a quick squiz at carsales.com.au, you’ll find the 2019 Holden Trailblazer going for around $24,000 to $39,000 in 2024.
Standard equipment on the LTZ included leather trim, heated front seats, an eight-inch colour touchscreen with native sat-nav and Apple Carplay/Android Auto, climate control, roof rails, LED DRLs, LED taillights, heated- and power-folding exterior mirrors, remote window operation via the key fob, and 18-inch alloy wheels.
In comparison to the Holden Trailzer, in 2019, the segment-leading Isuzu MU-X mid-spec LS-U listed from $52,600+ORCs with a six-year warranty along with seven-years capped price servicing, one-upping the Trailblazer. Meanwhile, the Ford Everest Trend 3.2L, the mid-specification model, was priced at $59,990+ORCs.
What was the performance like?
The Holden Trailblazer boasted some of the best performance figures in the segment, bettered only by the Ford Everest’s 2.0L bi-turbo engine in 2019. The Trailblazer’s 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel Duramax engine made 147kW at 3600rpm and 500Nm of torque at 2000rpm. This was mated to a six-speed automatic, and fuel consumption was a claimed combined 8.6L/100km. But if our week-long test was anything to go by, you’ll see figures closer to 11L/100km when driving around town or towing a trailer.
The six-speed automatic seemed a little off the pace compared with its rivals, but it was well suited to the engine and did its best to get the most from the motor. That said, the transmission did run to top gear as fast as possible (and tried to hold it there too) in the name of fuel efficiency (and reliance on the Trailblazer’s lowdown torque), so it could feel a little clumsy when being driven in undulating terrain, or when coasting along on partial throttle. Those who towed appreciated the strong engine braking, with the transmission thumping hard into lower gears to maintain the set speed.
Could you fit a second battery under the bonnet? Yes, there’s technically room to do it, although you had to reposition a computer to do it. So no, we wouldn’t recommend it at all. Instead, look at locating your second battery in the boot in an aftermarket box.
Can you tow with a 2019 Holden Trailblazer?
The Holden Trailblazer had a maximum braked towing capacity of 3000kg and a towball download of 300kg. But, let’s do some math — kerb weight measures 2203kg, which includes a 75kg driver and a full tank of fuel. The Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), which is the heaviest the vehicle can weigh, is 2820kg. Subtract the kerb weight from the GVM, and you’re left with a payload of 617kg.
Let’s keep going. The Gross Combined Mass (GCM) is 5700kg, which is the combined weight of the trailer and vehicle and everything in it. If you want to tow a trailer weighing 3000kg, then the heaviest your vehicle can weigh is 2700kg, but, out of that, you’ve got to subtract the towball weight, and we’ll assume that it’s 10% of the trailer, meaning 300kg.
That will leave you with a payload of just 197kg. So, realistically, when towing with a 2019 Holden Trailblazer, you’re best off looking at trailers that weigh around 2000kg.
Towing test
In the week we were testing the 2019 Holden Trailblazer, we were lucky enough to have a caravan at the office. Weighing in at 2340kg (empty) we found some balance issues between the vehicle and trailer and, once we hit 80km/h the trailer began swaying. We ended up filling the caravan’s front-mounted water tank, and this settled things down, and the Trailblazer towed the caravan without issue.
That said, the Trailblazer’s rear suspension sagged under load, lifting the front and reducing steering control. With the caravan attached, the rear ride height measured 874mm and the front 918mm, without it the measurement was, 911mm on the rear and 905mm at the front. If you were to purchase a 2019 Holden Trailblazer as a tow vehicle for your camper, a rear suspension upgrade would be worth considering.
What’s it like to drive on-road?
Unlike, say, the Ford Everest, you can feel a 2019 Holden Trailblazer’s ute-based origins. While the leaf-spring rear end had been replaced with coils, it lacked the refinement and body control of the Everest. That’s not to say it’s uncomfortable, but it feels better sorted than the Isuzu MU-X. The Trailblazer’s steering is a highlight, being nice and light at parking and around-town speeds but building weight as speed increases. Unfortunately, the Trailblazer’s on-road refinement was let down by a lack of insulation, with a lot of road, wind and tyre noise leaking into the cabin.
What’s it like to drive off-road?
Leave the bitumen behind, and you can engage 4H on the move via a rotary knob down by the gear shifter (2H, 4H and 4L). On the 2019 Holden Trailblazer, you’ll need to remember to select 2H when you get back to the black stuff, as only the Ford Everest was permanent all-wheel drive while the Pajero Sport via Super Select II could be run in four-wheel drive on all surfaces.
The 2019 Holden Trailblazer, once in 4H, handled dirt roads easily enough. But when the going was slower and the terrain more challenging, you needed to be very careful to select the right line. See, the Trailblazer missed out on a rear differential lock (it got a limited slip diff instead), had only 218mm of ground clearance (measured), and the large side steps were likely to get caught up on rocks.
What’s the interior like?
As mentioned, we tested the mid-spec LTZ and the interior was a real mixture of cheap-feeling plastics and functional equipment. Some of the controls weren’t as straightforward as they should be, like the digital information screen between the analogue dials on the instrument cluster, which you cycled through via the indicator stalk rather than steering wheel controls.
The 2019 Holden Trailblazer had an eight-inch infotainment screen which looked and felt smaller than it was. That said, the screen was angled to protect it from glare, and you got native sat-nav as well as Apple and Android connectivity. The native infotainment system was relatively basic, missing out on the feature-rich system used in other Holden vehicles, like the Commodore. General controls, like active safety, 4×4, and HVAC were big, clearly labelled and easy to reach from the driver’s seat.
The basics were there with a practical-looking dash layout dominated by the infotainment screen and centre-directional air vents. But it all felt cheap for a vehicle costing more than $52k.
Seating in the 2019 Holden Trailblazer
The 2019 Holden Trailblazer LTZ was sold as a seven-seater, although the third-row seats were too cramped for an adult to use, with a lack of headroom the most significant issue. That said, the third-row seats were wide and there were roof-mounted air vents and cup holders with enough boot space behind them for some groceries.
The second-row seats tumbled forward for access into the third-row, and there was good head and legroom, but the issue was the shape of the seats. The seat base was mounted too low, and the base was too short while the backrest was too upright. It all felt like you were sitting in the back of a pickup rather than a roomy 4X4 wagon. The middle seat in the second row was a perch rather than a seat an adult could use. The two outboard seats offered ISOFIX mounts and there were three top tether anchor points on the backs of the seats.
Into the front, and the driver’s seat had powered adjustment on the 2019 Holden Trailblazer. Although the passenger’s seat only got manual adjustment. Thanks to the side step and grab handles, getting in and out of the front two rows was quite easy. As far as storage was concerned, there were cup holders near the centre console storage, which was deep. There was also a glovebox and doorbins that held a 500ml water bottle.
The boot with the third-row seats folded away offered 878 litres of space, which reduced to 235L with the third-row seats in use. The cargo blind could be stored under the boot floor, which means the loading height was higher than expected, and the tie-down points were too high up the side of the space. There was a light and 12V outlet in the back, which was handy for a fridge. The full-size spare is underslung, but you needed to raise the boot floor to get to the release mechanism.
What about ownership?
The Trailblazer offered a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and seven-year capped-price servicing if you purchased the Holden Lifetime Service Guarantee. The service schedule was 12 months or 12,000km with a free one-month health check. Servicing costs at the time ranged from $319 to $499.
What about safety?
The 2019 Holden Trailblazer had a five-star ANCAP rating, which was based on a test back in 2016. So if it were tested today, it would fail to meet that rating. See, the Trailblazer missed out on critical active safety features, like autonomous emergency braking, although it did get a forward collision warning, which was just that, a warning.
Beyond that, there were seven airbags, stability and traction control systems, hill descent and hill-start assist, front and rear park assist, lane departure warning, tyre pressure monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and reversing camera.
So, what do we think?
The 2019 Holden Trailblazer was a solid performer, offering a strong engine, class-competitive towing, plenty of room inside and decent off-road ability. For the money, the Trailblazer LTZ was/is a good offering, and it’s a real surprise it didn’t sell in better numbers, especially given that there were plenty of accessories out there to turn it into a decent family outback tourer.
I bought a new LTZ Trailblazer and unfortunately it was a lemon for me. Several problems in the first year all fixed under warranty but the time wasted taking it back to the dealer took its toll. The final straw was a cracked inlet manifold just before a planned interstate holiday. It was only driven on road and always serviced by the dealer. We eventually sold it back to the dealer at 27,000km.