The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV Might Be the Affordable Electric SUV We’ve Waited For
It’s very different than the regular Equinox but that’s definitely not a bad thing.
Egg-shaped cars are huge right now. If you want to make money building automobiles you have to have one in the form of a crossover. If you want to guarantee your future as an automaker, it has to be electric. Chevrolet and, by extension General Motors, just entered its horse into the race: the 2024 Equinox EV.
It's much larger than the gas version; seven inches longer and three inches wider. It's also pricier—but in relative EV terms, it's pretty cheap. A base 2024 Equinox EV 1LT car will start at "around" $30,000. The 1LT is front-wheel drive, with 210 horsepower, and a range of 250 miles thanks to a trim-specific battery pack. Both a big battery and AWD can be specced on this lowest trim, which means a power boost to 290 hp. A larger battery nets the Equinox EV 300 miles of range on a full charge for FWD models and 280 miles for AWD models. There is no AWD small-battery model. Regenerative braking and one-pedal driving are standard on all trims.
Level 2 charging at home will net an owner up to 34 miles of range per hour with the standard rate of 11.5 kW. The higher 3RS trim can charge as fast as 19.2 kW which means 51 miles of range per hour. This powerful onboard charger is likely part of the reason why the Equinox EV has no frunk, only 57 cubic feet of cargo area at the rear. At a public 150-kw charger, 70 miles of range can be added in as little as 10 minutes.
Despite a volatile market for battery materials, Chevy is confident in the base price for the Equinox. The lowest-trim Equinox EV doesn't look very base, though. The smallest wheels on offer in the Equinox EV are 19-inch wheels and the standard infotainment screen is also pretty big at 11 inches. Sure there are still manual seats, but take a peek. There are certainly much worse-looking base cars out there.
The safety features on every Equinox EV are also vast. Automatic emergency braking in forward and reverse, lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic braking and blind spot monitoring with steering assist are all included. The higher 2LT and 2RS trims are where things start to get more interesting in terms of comfort and convenience features. Heated front seats and a heated steering wheel are standard on the middle trims, as are power front seats. A number of great features become available once you move up to this second trim level. GM's excellent hands-free driving system Super Cruise, a bigger 17.7-inch infotainment screen out of the Blazer EV, and simple pleasures like a sunroof are all optional extras.
The 3LT and 3RS are fully loaded machines. On the inside, heated and cooled front seats are standard along with rear heated seats, a heated steering wheel, and the big infotainment screen. Also available are a heads-up display and a rear-view camera mirror. The highest trim Equinox EVs get 21-inch wheels, too.
Pricing on the higher trims has not been released yet, but they likely won't intrude too far into Blazer EV territory at around $45,000. The fact that Chevy is willing to sell you the base model with the extended range battery and AWD might also indicate that you have to pay up for those features, but of course how much the automaker won't say at this point.
The first Equinox EVs will arrive at dealers in fall 2023. All trims will be available within the first year of production.
Email the author at peter@thedrive.com
