The Morning Call and Mcall.com's view

The compact four-wheel drive utility vehicle is a relative newcomer to the automotive scene but over the past couple of years sales and popularity have grown tremendously. In fact, to the point where it is now selling more than two to one over the big utility vehicle.

There are still some advantages to the big utility vehicle when it comes to heavy duty hauling, but even this gap is closing. Take for example this week’s test vehicle, the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer, a sporty-looking 4 by 4 that is now available with a much larger V-6 engine.

This engine is the 4.3 liter/262 cubic inch V-6 engine, the standard powerplant for the full-size Chevy pickup, so right away you can see it is serious business. Until this year, the largest engine available in the S-10 Blazer was the 2.8 liter/173 cubic inch V-6, the same engine used in many General Motors passenger cars. Absolutely nothing wrong with this engine, but as the old hot rod adage goes, nothing beats cubic inches.

Indeed, the more cubic inches, the higher the torque, and it is torque that’s needed to pull trailers or, for that matter, move about a utility vehicle. I realize there are many people with small cars with small engines towing good sized trailers. It works but somewhere along the line they end up paying for it.

Anyway, the 262 V-6 produces an impressive 160 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and an even more impressive 235 foot pounds torque at 2,400 rpm. Just teeming with torque. So much so, in fact, that the S-10 now has a towing capacity of 6,000 pounds. Just give this figure a thought for a minute and you will see it is ready for some big boats and big campers.

It doesn’t take too much imagination to figure out that when a trailer isn’t attached to it, the S-10 Blazer can really move out. Just put that four- speed automatic transmission (the only transmission available with the engine) in OD, stomp on that gas pedal and the S-10 jumps into action. Acceleration is swift and there is no let up. Just like the old days, only on a slightly smaller scale.

Some features of this engine include electronic fuel injection, swirl-port cylinder heads, centralized spark plugs and electronic spark control. There is also a serpentine belt system that eliminates the three-belt system and is designed for 100,000-mile operation.

Fuel mileage is fairly decent. The test vehicle averaged 14 miles per gallon for city driving and 22 mpg over the highway. The 9.3:1 compression ratio is near the borderline for unleaded premium. The test vehicle was fed unleaded regular and it worked fine. But it may need premium for the added demands of towing.

(The 2.8 liter V-6 is the standard engine for this vehicle. It is rated at 120 horsepower at 4,800 rpm and 150-foot pounds torque at 2,400 rpm. This engine won’t knock you in the back seat but it will provide decent performance for all Lehigh Valley driving conditions. Towing c apacity, of course, will be much lower.)

As with other compact utility vehicles, the S-10 Blazer is somewhat small on the outside, but quite roomy inside. The vehicle has a wheelbase of 100.5 inches, overall length of 170.3 inches, width of 65.4 inches and height of 64.3 inches. This makes it somewhat tall, narrow and stubby. Since it is basically a box from the windshield back, there’s a good amount of space for passengers and cargo.

The two front seats are generous in size and will accommodate all but candidates for Dick Gregory’s weight loss clinic. The back seat (actually an option) will hold three passengers and provide plenty of leg room. There is 28 cubic feet of storage space behind the rear seat and 67 cubic feet with the rear seat folded forward. A convenient feature for rear seat passengers is a front passenger seat that slides forward for easy access. The seat also returns to its original location.

Another convenient feature of this veh cle is a tailgate body, something missing from a lot of other utility vehicles (and station wagons too). The tailgate is a split unit that allows the upper glass part of be opened separately for loading/unloading or lowering the bottom section for a base when hauling long objects or just someplace to sit.

The S-10 Blazer is not a difficult vehicle to drive. The relatively short wheelbase allows for easy maneuvering and the squared-off back end aids in judging (especially when parking). Because of its higher stance, the driver sits tall in the saddle and has a better command of the road (better than a passenger car).

The test vehicle had the usual utility vehicle disclaimer mounted between the sunvisors warning drivers they should not make sharp/quick turns or speed around curves or engage in any maneuver that deviates from a straight line. If these warnings are ignored, the vehicle is liable to turn turtle. Well, not quite in these words but you get the idea. Compact utility vehicles won’t rollover ever time the steering wheel is moved but they are different than passenger cars and some common sense is needed in driving.

Although the test vehicle was driven around curves faster than the manufacturer would recommend, it didn’t show any signs of getting away or even leaning hard. But pay attention to the disclaimer. The suspension system features independent torsion bars up front and two-stage leaf springs in the rear. Nothing exotic but all very rugged and trucklike. The ride proved to be good for this type of vehicle and this was probably helped out by the low pressure gas shock absorbers.

The four-wheel drive system features ”Insta-Trac” and is extremely easy to use. In fact, I would go as far as to say it is klutz-proof. There is a choice of two-wheel high, four-wheel-high and four-wheel-low. The system is synchronized to shift from two-wheel drive to four-wheel-high and back again while the vehicle is in motion. For four-wheel-low (seldom needed), the vehicle must be stopped. All sweet, all neat. No hubs to lock, no messing around. Obviously there wasn’t any snow for the test vehicle to show its stuff, but it was driven through downpours and up very steep dirt roads without even showing a sign of effort.

Four-wheel drive utility vehicles, whether large or small, have never been cheap and the S-10 Blazer is no exception. Base price is $12,590 and includes the 2.8 liter V-6, five-speed manual transmission, tinted glass, two-tone paint with stripe and just enough equipment to get it off the showroom floor.

The test vehicle, a very well equipped piece of machinery, had a bottom line of $18,975, which included options totaling $5,980 and a destination charge of $405. The big option was the Saver-Pac ”3” which listed for $4,416 and had an $1,100 discount. Included in the package is sport trim, deep tinted glass, heavy duty shocks, cast aluminum whe els, intermittent wipers, folding rear seat, transfer case shield, tachometer, luggage carrier, color-keyed mats, AM/FM stereo cassette with equalizers, power mirrors, speed control, tilt steering and a couple of other items. Other options included the 4.3 V-6, $155; four-speed automatic, $735; rear window defogger, $154; 3.42 rear axle, $38; rear mounted spare carrier, $159; P235/70R15 steel-belted tires, $182, deadweight trailering hitch, and leather high back bucket seats, $412.

The S-10 Blazer is protected by a General Motors 12 month/12,000 mile basic car warranty; a 6 year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty, and a 6 year/ 100,000 mile outerbody rust-through warranty.