Hi everyone! I'm new here at the blazerforum.com forums.

I'm in the market for a *new* car, and I'm interested in a First Gen (1983 – 1994) Chevy Blazer.

Onto my questions:

1) I'm looking for a model with good MPG; what should I be looking for? Also, how about 4WD vs RWD in terms of MPG? Does a 4WD model have the option of running in "2WD" mode?

2) I've noticed a couple aesthetic differences in the front end.

1983 - 1989:



1990 - 1994:



I really like the 1990 - 1994 front end, but I think the majority of them came with the 4.3L V6 (which I also heard isn't good on gas). Does anyone know if you can install the 1990 - 1994 grille/front end on the 1983 - 1989 model? Just curious.

Anyway, thanks in advance for the help!

 

1. these engines run about the same mpg wise, it just depends how well they were taken care of and how you drive, my 97 gets about 16-19 city and 23+ hwy (23-26)

rwd is on all of these vehicles, what ur doing is comparing 2wd and 4wd........on the newer models they have awd, awd has all the wheels spinning of course 4wd is like awd but you can choose to engage 2hi,4hi or 4low.....and 2wd is just the rear spinning

2. i dont know because i drive a 97, but like most cars, they change in the years, same engine size, but designed a bit differently

oh and welcome

 

Don't mix up AWD with 4WD... they're different animals. AWD will send power to all 4 wheels all the time, 4WD will disengage the front hubs but you'll always be losing some power to the transfer case since you're always spinning those parts. A 2WD would be most "efficient" because there isn't any power loss to the moving parts of a 4WD or AWD system.

If you have winters you'll LOVE the 4WD, and the nice thing about the 1st gens is the manual shift T-case, with 2nd gens you have an "electronic vacuum actuated" T-case shifter which likes to go out on you when you need it the most. Try and get the newest First-gen possible, as the 4.3 will have newer technology and will have more power and should be more efficient.

Welcome to the forum, and I swear I used to be a Blazer owner...