- The Chevy Equinox EV impresses a reviewer with its design, interior, driving and range.
- Starting at $34,995 before factoring in the federal tax credit, it makes for an excellent deal on a new EV.
General Motors wants the new Chevrolet Equinox EV to be the electric vehicle for everyone, with its combination of good—albeit conventional—looks, a roomy interior with most of the tech you want, and competitive range and charging numbers. Unlike all of its recent EVs, which have had various problems that crept up at launch or later and required subsequent fixes, the electric Equinox seems to deliver out of the box.
Is it also the best-looking vehicle to ever wear an Equinox badge? This TFLEV reviewer seems to think so, although the design bar set by previous Equinox crossovers wasn’t very high.
But the new EV is certainly sharp and modern, and it looks better than the combustion-powered Equinox that you can buy today. It might be one of the most attractive electric crossovers you can buy in the U.S. today—let us know in the comments if you agree.
The same goes for the cavernous interior, which looks quite sporty and is pleasant on a longer drive. When our own Patrick George drove the electric Equinox at launch, he liked the interior a lot, praising it for its comfy seats and its adequate number of cup holders. The cabin’s point of focus is the central 17-inch screen, which warrants no complaints other than the fact that Apple CarPlay isn’t available on it, so you have to use the car’s standard infotainment.
With the base 220 horsepower single-motor front-wheel-drive powertrain, you get adequate performance but plenty of torque steer and wheel spin. If you can, you should upgrade to the 300-hp dual-motor Equinox EV, which puts its power down much better and the reduction in claimed range isn’t huge—it drops from 319 miles to 285 miles.
However, what ultimately makes the Equinox EV a champ is how affordable it is. You get an over 300-mile EV starting at $35,000 before applying the $7,500 tax credit that most of its rivals aren’t even eligible for. If the U.S. car market was flooded with cheap electric crossovers made in China, the Equinox EV would have problems.
As things stand, though, its position as an excellent value proposition is safe. The only electric crossover that’s cheaper than an Equinox EV is the Hyundai Kona Electric, but it’s smaller, it has less range and it doesn’t qualify for the federal tax credit.
