Olds Bravada : Good or Bad?

[toyman]

My girlfriend is in the market for a 4x4 SUV.
We test drove a fully loaded 99 Bravada with 145000 highway miles & looks like a brand new car other than some minor paint chips on the front end. It has the Smartrac 4 wheel drive which I've never heard anybody speak of before.

I don't think it will ever see much if any off road use if she buys it but I'd like to know if this drivetrain is a good & reliable design?

Is this the same as a Chevy Blazer?

Any input you may have pro or con towards this SUV would be appreciated. She wants to make an offer on it tomarro.

 

[88Wrangles]

I don't know anything about them, but a girl that I know has one that I've rode in a few times and it seems really nice. Nothing much has ever gone wrong with it, and its from about the same year as the one you're looking at. It doesn't seem like it could do any serious off-roading at all, but for a daily driver I think it is pretty nice.

 

[White]

I know a guy named Gordo who drives one hard on the www.paragonap.com forum...

 

[White]

tube frame chassis for all year cj's

I dont think they have 4 lo ..?

 

[TwistedCU]

Yeah, it's basically a Blazer with a few more creature comforts. Does it have the Vortec 4.3? If so, excellent motor.

 

[toyman]

I'm pretty sure it's simply full time 4x4 hi range only. I'd be nice if it had a part time conversion done to it (if even available) as she'll rarely ever need the 4x4 but I'll be testing it out. He He!!!!

It does have the Vortec engine & I was impressed with performance.

 

[odjeep]

I used to have a 97' blazer and it did awesome in the snow. Im not sure what 4x4 system it has but it has two electronic switches on the dash. One was for 4high and one was for 4low. Never really had it offroad too much but I dropped the front passenger tire in a drainage ditch along a mountain road when i pulled off to the side to let a car pass. It was dark and I never saw it comming, but it didnt take long and it backed out of it after some steering and some power even with the rear drivers side tire 2' off the ground. My dad bought the thing off me and he's still driving it. Not sure how many miles are on it but it hasnt had ANY problems.

od

 

[redrooster]

I think the Smartrac system is a full time 4wd. I'm pretty leary of the full time systems. The thing to do would be to go by the service department of a dealership and ask about the reliability of the full time setup. Other than that it's a GM so I would say that you shouldn't have any problems out of it.

 

[avyoung]

Grinding into Reverse... grrrr

The bravada is the same as the up to 94 S-10, 95- and up blazer then the trailblazer. All have full time 4wd with no low range. They are just done up with more plastic and other frills. I would look for a blazer, you can usually find them cheeper, unless this is a killer deal which I doubt since it has 140K+ miles on it.

 

[odjeep]

All have full time 4wd with no low range

I had a 97' Blazer and it had part time 4x and low range. I dont believe it was a special edition or anything but im sure it was part time and it had low range.

od

 

[avyoung]

Sorry All Bravadas have full time 4wd with no low range.

 

[toyman]

Well guys she got the Bravada. It really is a sweet ride with all the bells & whistles. The power 8 way leather seats are very comfy.
She got pretty nervious when I tromped on it to spin the tires while on a gravel road. It hooks up very well. Not much ground clearance for any off roading but it'll give her peace of mind come next winter when the snow falls. Now I just have to coax her into letting me use it to trailer my CJ to events.

 

[Snitty]

i dont' like any all wheel drive systems... yeah for on road they are great... and i'm quite sure that will stay onroad.. but i like to control the drivetrain

 

[judge09]

My grand cherokee has the full time four wheel drive and I think its great come snow season. With some good tires on there I had no problems whatso ever staying on the road. Of course you have to drive smart in the snow no matter what you drive. One thing my gf still doesnt comprehend

 

[jps4jeep]

snow plow

Me and the misses have a 01 ZR2 blazer, and it is awesome!!
factory 31's and a lot of skid plates. unfortunatly it is not the best off road, but again this is our daily driver. the only problem we have had is, they only come in two door, and the fuel gauge sending unit is junk, always reads full.

The pre 96 blazer/s10 were good trucks, but are rattle boxes. It seams everything rattles after 15K miles. the 97+ were better construction, the motors were a little different configuration and get better milage (I can't remember all the exact changes) and they also added a 10 bolt rear end option (found on the ZR2's and the occational 99-01 trail blazer)

I will look for a pic of the misses truck!

 

[Junkpile]

The non low-range equipped full-time case is more fitting for that vehicle. The Bravada isn't that bad, when you put things in perspective. ALL of the S series vehicles are turds offroad, the lack of a low range can't really make it any worse....the worst part is that you can't switch to 2wd for "spirited" driving and economy. The engine and transmission are both quality units that perform well and are reliable. The Tcase and axles are light duty, but they are proven designs that will be quite reliable as long as you don't beat on them. For what you guys are going to be using it for, it should be a good vehicle. They're comfortable, have good power, and look nice.

 

[toyman]

Is there a Part time conversion kit available for these? I have one on my Quadra-trac CJ-7. She is a pretty happy camper right now as we looked at quite a few SUVs the last day before purchasing this one. Most were pretty trashy looking even with far less miles. Most had fewer options also. She wanted a plush ride & it is. I hope it tows as well as it rides!!!

 

[avyoung]

I would not think there is much demand for a part time kit. You could drop a transfercase, and electronic buttons from a blazer/trailblazer (I can't remeber when the bravada switched from blazer to trailblazer), but I would doubt there is a conversion.