Chevrolet Blazer vs Ram Promaster City: which is more reliable?

The Chevrolet Blazer is ahead of the Ram Promaster City on the federal record, 83/100 against 73/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.

The record, side by side

Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Blazer · Wikimedia Commons

Chevrolet Blazer

83/100 mean
  • 7 model years scored
  • 690 owner complaints on record
  • about 23 complaints per year on the road
  • 11 recall campaigns, 2 safety-critical
  • best year 2022 (92/100) · worst 2020 (70/100)
Ram Promaster City
Ram Promaster City · Wikimedia Commons

Ram Promaster City

73/100 mean
  • 8 model years scored
  • 234 owner complaints on record
  • about 3 complaints per year on the road
  • 19 recall campaigns, 9 safety-critical
  • best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2016 (44/100)

Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.

Year by year: Blazer against Promaster City

The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.

YearBlazerPromaster City Gap
202582 BUY——
202486 BUY——
202390 BUY——
202292 BUY93 BUY-1
202181 BUY84 BUY-3
202070 BUY89 BUY-19
201981 BUY91 BUY-10
2018—90 BUY—
2017—47 AVOID—
2016—44 AVOID—
2015—44 AVOID—

What owners actually complain about

Chevrolet Blazer

  • Electrical System — 204 complaints
  • Power Train — 181 complaints
  • Engine — 181 complaints

Ram Promaster City

  • Engine — 78 complaints
  • Electrical System — 69 complaints
  • Power Train — 57 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Blazer's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Promaster City's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.

Years to avoid on each

Chevrolet Blazer: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024….

Ram Promaster City — avoid: 2015, 2016, 2017.

A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.

What each costs today

A recent used Chevrolet Blazer prices at about $40,800 and a Ram Promaster City at about $34,200 — the Ram Promaster City is roughly $6,600 less, and they return 24.0 against 24.0 MPG combined.

Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.

FAQ

Is the Chevrolet Blazer or the Ram Promaster City more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Blazer scores 83/100 against the Ram Promaster City's 73/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.

Which Chevrolet Blazer and Ram Promaster City years should I avoid?

Chevrolet Blazer: no year scores below 45. Ram Promaster City: 2015, 2016, 2017. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.

What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Blazer and the Ram Promaster City?

The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Blazer is Electrical System (204 complaints); on the Ram Promaster City it is Engine (78).

Is the Chevrolet Blazer or the Ram Promaster City cheaper to own?

A recent used Chevrolet Blazer prices at about $40,800 and a Ram Promaster City at about $34,200, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads