With the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, General Motors Co. takes a significant fork in the road to the company's electric future as governments from California to Washington state target gas engines for elimination over the next decade.
Until Chevy unveiled the Equinox EV — and its recent Blazer EV and Silverado EV siblings — the General had been content to pioneer electric vehicles in the niche EV space with green customer-targeted nameplates like the EV1, Volt and Bolt.
No longer. By committing its flagship SUV and truck badges to electric drivetrains, Chevy is signaling the elimination of its mainstream gas-engine lineup has begun.
"We are at a turning point where EVs will be the mainstream choice for the next generation of customers," CEO Mary Barra said, "and Equinox EV will lead this charge for us."
The gas-powered Equinox will continue to be offered alongside the EV, and its value will be a challenge to EV adoption. Expect rising government penalties to try and cripple gas-engine production (see Dodge's cancellation of V6 and V8-powered Challenger/Chargers due to government fines), but Chevy is putting its own thumb on the scale to encourage EV adoption in the US market's biggest segment.
Here are five things to watch for as Equinox EV comes to market one year from now:
Chevy says that it will aggressively price the EV at close to $30,000 for its base, LT model (a sportier RS model will also be available). Add destination fee (as The Detroit News always does when listing vehicle prices) and an estimated $31,000 starting price would significantly undercut competitive compact EVs like the VW ID.4, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Toyota bZ4X, and Ford Mustang Mach-E by more than $10,000.
The EV would still sell for 4 grand north of the $27,695 gasoline-powered Equinox. But, include the federal government's new, $7,500 EV subsidy, and the Equinox EV's starting price is comparable to a $23,295, gas-powered, subcompact Chevy Trailblazer.
The subsidy is also important because it would allow Chevrolet to undercut its chief Japanese rivals — Toyota, Honda, and Nissan — which have long dominated the compact SUV class. The $43k Toyota bZ4X, for example, is made in Japan and does not qualify for the federal tax credit.
Undercutting the price of the gas Equinox is key because charging is EVs' Kryponite. Buyers can put their savings into spending the $2,000 necessary to install a home charger (apartment dwellers are are at a greater disadvantage).
Equinox EV boasts 250-300 miles of range — up from the Bolt EUV's 248 — but that is still a long way from the gas Equinox's 420 mile range. Owners of mainstream compact SUVs — unlike luxury SUV buyers — tend to rely on one vehicle for local and distance travel.
"You will no longer have to stop at the gas station," says Chevy VP Scott Bell. But you will have to stop at charging stations on a trip to, say, Madison, Wisconsin, to see U-M thump the Badgers. The 450-mile trip from St. Clair Shores would require one, five-minute stop in a gas Equinox — but two, 30-minute stops in a Equinox EV on a 150-kW fast charger.
To make such road trips more relaxing, the Equinox EV is optioned — like the Bolt EUV — with Super Cruise, GM's state-of-the-art driver-assist technology that allows hands-free driving on divided interstates.
Equinox EV also comes with regenerative braking pioneered on Bolt. Regenerative allows one-pedal driving that can bring the vehicle to a stop only using the accelerator pedal (with assist form a steering column-mounted paddle).
Equinox EV is different from its gas brother inside and out. The exterior dumps Chevy's traditional split-grille design for a more Tron-like visage of thin LED light bars and dimpled surfacing. The digital interior is simpler, too. Where standard Equinox's instrument and infotainment displays are compartmentalized, Equinox EV adopts a large, hoodless, 17.7-inch glass display stretching across the dash and housing both instrument and info displays.
The architecture is similar to interiors debuted on the Silverado EV and Blazer EV. Though the Equinox EV removes the engine from the under the front hood, don't expect dimensions to change much inside. Chevy says passenger room is similar — while rear cargo volume actually shrinks (with rear seats folded) from 63.9 cubic feet to 57 cubic feet (which is about the same as the Bolt EUV).
That space is not recovered up front as the Equinox won't feature a frunk (front trunk) like a Ford Mustang Mach-E.
What the Equinox will have up front (and in back ) are dual motors for all-wheel-drive — a popular feature on the gas Equinox. The Bolt only has front-wheel-drive.
The AWD system makes for a significant performance jump over the gas Equinox with horsepower increasing from 170 to 290 and torque jumping from 203 on the AWD gas Equinox to a massive 346 in the AWD electric. Even the standard, FWD Equinox EV sees gains over the gas mule with 210 horsepower and 242 pound-ft torque.
Just watch that your hot-rodding doesn't drain the battery.
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