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General Motors’ mid-size SUVs, the Chevy Blazer and GMC Jimmy, trailed the rival Ford Explorer for most of the ’90s in sales, product features and reputation.

Then came the Ford-Firestone tire-related tragedies. And the new-for-2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy showed up with smooth and powerful in-line six-cylinder engines. The TrailBlazer was picked as North American Truck of the Year by a jury of 50 auto writers, including me. The Envoy was Motor Trend’s pick for SUV of the year.

And now comes the TrailBlazer EXT and Envoy XL that add seven-passenger seating to the mix.

That cinches it for me. Those in search of truck-based, mid-size domestic sport-utilities with room for seven need to put the TrailBlazer EXT and the Envoy XL atop their shopping lists.

I recently tested a pewter Envoy XL with a pewter interior. Even that muddy color combination didn’t prevent me from recognizing the Envoy XL as a serious player. While I found the price tag of our test vehicle a little high at $39,185, it reflected the addition of features like a rear-seat entertainment system, rain-sensing wipers and heated front seats that some buyers could do without. And ours was the most expensive SLT four-wheel-drive version of the Envoy XL. The cheapest, the two-wheel-drive SLE model, starts at $30,895.

It’s easy to love the Envoy XL. It’s a very roomy, very functional SUV. Second-row seats flip up easily to provide easy access to the third row. That third row is spacious enough for two adults. All the seats are comfortable, and come with shoulder belts.

We took the Envoy XL to the beach and folded the third-row seats flat to store all of our luggage and gear. Cargo room grows to more than 100 cubic feet if you fold both second- and third-row seats.

My kids loved the rear-seat entertainment system that was part of the $2,590 SLT Professional Technology option package. It comes with a DVD player, a screen that flips down from the ceiling behind the front seats, wireless headphones and a remote control. (A few weeks later when I was testing a TrailBlazer EXT with the same system, we enjoyed a family movie night in our driveway.)

I loved how the Envoy XL drove. This is a long (207.6 inches), heavy (just over 5,000 pounds) vehicle, but it’s neither tiring to drive nor cumbersome on the road.

Power comes from a 4.2.-liter in-line six-cylinder engine that produces 270 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque at 3,600 RPM. (That’s lots more horsepower but a little less torque than found in the Explorer’s 4.6-liter V-8.) It’s a very good motor. Fuel economy — we averaged about 18 mpg in about 500 miles of driving — is decent for a big SUV, and the Envoy doesn’t require unleaded premium.

The Envoy joins a growing list of sport-utilities that now offer seven-passenger seating. Formerly the province of full-size SUVs such as the Chevrolet Su burban and Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and the Ford Excursion and Expedition, the trend has moved down — down-market and down-size — in a hurry.

At around $21,000, the Suzuki XL-7 has them. So does the new Honda Pilot. They can be found in the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer twins, too, and both those vehicles were redesigned for 2002. But where GM grew the wheelbase and the overall length of its mid-size SUV chassis to gain the extra row, Ford puts them in an Explorer that’s 18 inches shorter. And while GM and Ford tout similar dimensions for leg, shoulder and hip room in the Explorer and Envoy XL, I find the Envoy a more comfortable environment.

Although the Envoy XL and TrailBlazer EXT didn’t arrive until March, when the 2002 model year was well under way, the vehicles get a few changes for 2003, including cheaper prices for base models. Later in 2003, GMC will offer a 5.3-liter V-8 on the Envoy XL.