2024 Chevrolet Blazer vs. 2024 GMC Acadia: Why the Blazer Outshines

Overview

The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia both represent strong entries in the midsize SUV category, though the Acadia has taken a big departure—literally—this year in this category. The iconic Blazer has stuck to its roots, building upon its long-loved features and curating details that are perfect for busy families and commuters that live in busy urban areas. With its sleek, sporty exterior design, the Blazer presents a fiery, spirited demeanor with a family-friendly appeal to drivers seeking both performance and flair. The Blazer’s performance and power reflects that demand, giving a range of powertrain options and performance features to suit diverse tastes and needs. Meanwhile, the Acadia has gone bigger this year, supersizing everything from its body width and length to its infotainment screen—while staying conservative with a single engine option and minimalist, traditional take on trims and versatility. Overall, the Blazer stands out with its bolder design, diverse options, and versatile capabilities, offering a more engaging choice for commuters and families in Sterline and the Loudoun County area.

Trim Levels

The 2024 Blazer and the 2024 Acadia take vastly different stances in trim levels. The GMC Acadia offers 3 trim levels: the base Elevation trim, the rugged AT4, and the luxury Denali. Where the Acadia is bigger this year in dimensions, it reserves its choices to these 3. The 2024 Blazer offers a vast array of trims to suit diverse preferences and cover different levels of customization. The Blazer 2LT brings the essentials with some flair and an athletic look, with the 3LT adding convenience features and aesthetic enhancements. The Blazer’s RS trim caters to the performance enthusiast with its sporty features like unique 21-inch wheels, black accents, and unique sport grille. There is no comparable racy trim to this in the Acadia lineup, where the Acadia instead offers the more off-road-oriented AT4 trim. They appeal to far different enthusiasts. At the top tier, the Acadia’s Denali is certainly well known for its luxury options—that are only available in that trim. The Blazer Premier trim offers very similar accommodations and amenities, with mid-range trims offering pared-down versions of the same. Another element that the Acadia does not offer.

Where the Blazer pulls strongly ahead is in its special editions and the Blazer EV’s trims. The gas-powered 2024 Blazer features a dark and daring Midnight/Sport Edition with blackout accents on a black body for a brilliantly dramatic look. The Redline Edition goes the other direction with bright red decals, badges, calipers, and emblems, for starters, which give it a race-ready, brazen look inside and out. All of these options are available in the Blazer EV as well, giving a wide array of options that’s rare in electric vehicles, and not present in the Acadia at all.

Size

This is a hot-button issue between the 2024 Blazer and the Acadia. When searching for a midsize SUV, the Blazer is the definition of what it should embody: seating 5 passengers to accommodate a sizable family, with an ample 64.2 cu. ft. of cargo space for sports equipment, groceries, camping gear, and whatever else your active lifestyles need. With its cargo rail system and innovative storage, this space accommodates carry-ons and multiple suitcases for the whole family, sports equipment for several activities at once, dozens of bags of groceries, and even furniture. If your family is larger, the Acadia seats up to 8 over 3 rows, with enormous cargo space that may come in handy for transporting extremely large items.

However, if you’re looking for a vehicle that’s easily maneuvered through Loudoun County’s busy streets and narrow roads, able to fit into tight parking spaces and small lots, and generally easier to drive for errands and practices, school and commutes, the Acadia, ironically, falls short. Its wider turning radius and less precise steering make it more difficult to navigate through an urban setting. For midsize families looking for a midsize SUV, the Blazer continues to reign, with a tight turning radius, precise cornering, and agile handling. When it comes to size, the Blazer comes out on top as the elite of midsize SUVs, despite the Acadia’s bigger-is-better approach.

Power and Performance

The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer boasts two renowned gas powertrain options. The 2.0L Turbo engine delivers 228 hp with 258 lbs.-ft. of torque, while the 3.6L V6 engine powers out 308 hp with 270 lbs.-ft. of torque. On paper, the GMC Acadia appears stronger, with its 2.5L Turbo engine delivering a commendable 328 hp with 326 lbs.-ft. of torque. However, with the Acadia boasting its much-increased size this year, topping out midrange SUVs with its 204-inch length and nearly 5,000 lb. body, it takes about 7 seconds to get to 60 mph. The Acadia also offers only one powertrain. The Blazer provides a powerful V6 engine option that enhances acceleration, making it ideal for drivers who appreciate responsive power at their fingertips. Additionally, the Acadia did not increase the size of its fuel tank enough with its new massive body size, requiring more trips to the pump than the gas-powered Blazer which gets 26 highway miles versus the Acadia’s 23 miles.

Additionally, the Acadia does not offer an electric option—a huge downfall in comparison to the Blazer EV. The Blazer EV offers a monstrous 595 hp with 645 lbs.-ft. of instantaneous torque, propelling it to 60 mph in a mere 3.4 seconds. Its 324-mile range lets you go further longer. In short, the Acadia, while respectable, does not offer the versatility, range, or fuel economy, that the renowned Blazer offers, leaving it behind in responsiveness on the road, especially during rapid accelerations and tight turns.

For a family of 5 in the active Loudoun County communities, the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer surpasses the GMC Acadia in design, performance, fuel efficiency, trim options, and powertrain choices. While the Acadia has gone big in every visible way, its single engine choice, smaller fuel tank, limited trim options, and lack of electric vehicle for the eco-conscious, economical driver make it pale in comparison to the historically loved Chevrolet Blazer, known as the A-Lister of SUVs.