1,800 km drive experience with my mammoth Trailblazer SUV

A consumption of 56 litres to cover 640 km which means an overall fuel efficiency of 11.4 km/l.

BHPian suryaj1990 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Started the Journey at around 8 am from Mumbai via the Atal Setu! Tanked up at a Jio BP pump to a full tank. Cruised through the expressway at 100kmph throughout achieving close to 11.5kmpl on the MID. We stopped for a short break at the Pune pitstop for a quick snack. By now, the efficiency feels 10.5 km/l thanks to the uphill section of the Ghats we encountered and some mild traffic. The heat was unbearable with temperatures soaring to 38 degrees! Just 30 30-minute break at the pit stop made Trailblazer into a Fireblazer! Thanks to the Assistance of the Tinted Glasses all around including a light one in front in addition to the 70% clarity glasses by the OEM, cooling picked up in 5 minutes making the cabin breathable again. The car has bottle holders smartly placed in front of the side air vents which do a good job in cooling drinks. Initially, I assumed it to be a gimmick but it really does help! Post the expressway, we continued our journey all the way to Hotel Fern, Karad which is marked as the centre point of our Journey. The temperatures continued a northward trend to 42 degrees. The vehicle maintained the same 10.5 km/l which included random overtakes and spirited pulls up to triple digits and some mild high speeds up to 140kmph too. The vehicle grips well and the drive is great apart from the body roll which will take some time to get used to considering its humongous size. Steering inputs need to be rallied in higher compared to electronic-assisted steering which needs to be kept in mind, especially on winding roads. Post Karad, we entered the Anushkura Ghat route which included a two-lane tarmac road with literally zero potholes! The 160km run through these narrow winding roads which include a lot of steep uphills broke the efficiency on the MID to 10kmpl but it also included a lot of spirited driving and overtakes which meant the car was always in power and regular downshifts too!

One thing is certain, this car revs high on climbs. the gearbox is tuned to keep the car in power. Once we made it to Rajapur, we were greeted by lovely 6-lane roads throughout and speeds were at 120 km/h. 50km on this route, we heard a thud sound and at first, we assumed we hit a huge stone on the road. On closer inspection, no damage or stone was found, we found the intercooler pipe had slipped out! Fixed it, tightened it nicely and continued the Journey ahead! Seems the workshop must have not tightened the Jubilee clips well. The journey to Goa was uneventful, the efficiency rose to 10.3 km/l and we made it to Madgaon where we finally retired after covering 640 km. I had a quarter tank of fuel left which meant 20 litres balance and a consumption of 56 litres to cover 640 km which means an overall efficiency of 11.4 km/l

The vehicle does well with mild throttle inputs and you seldom need to push all the horses out. I was able to do overtakes with 30-40% throttle inputs which included downshifts. I rarely used 100% throttle inputs for overtaking but when I did, the car just darted through. I felt if that is not planned or managed well, it can be alarming because the car really pics up fast! The Car is on the original set up for headlamps and the throw and reach are pretty good. Fog lamps in general are useless but in dark roads and tunnels, they help in illuminating a wide spectrum down below. The suspension is extremely well-tuned! Even on bad patches of roads/non-existence, you won't feel anything inside the cabin. the car runs super silent at high speeds. it maintains 1500rpm at 100kmph speeds on 6th gear. the engine grunt can be heard at times when the engine is revved hard but in normal driving or cruising, the car is super quiet!

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