Chevrolet hopes the new Equinox EV gets American buyers off the fence. It addresses their two biggest concerns over EVs, cost and range, with a base price of $34,995 before tax credits and a 319-mile reach. Those figures alone make this an extremely compelling car.
The Equinox EV went on sale earlier this year as a 2024 model year, but this cheapest version is new for 2025. And this one here is a true base model—no options, $34,995 MSRP. It rides on GM’s Ultium EV platform, shared with everything from this Equinox to the enormous GMC Hummer EV, and it has a single 223-horsepower motor driving the front wheels. Going all-wheel drive adds $5,200 to the base price.
As much as this is a competitor to lower priced EVs like the Hyundai Kona Electric, this Equinox competes with gas and hybrid crossovers like the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and yes, Chevy’s own internal-combustion Equinox. The long range and affordable base price are meant to tempt buyers away from gasoline and into electric power.
We’ve got this Riptide Blue Metallic tester in for a week. I’m very curious to see if it’s a good enough alternative to gas crossovers.
What’s Good So Far
- It doesn’t feel like a base model. Yes, the seats are non-power-adjustable and trimmed in cloth, and the steering wheel is covered in vinyl, but the Equinox feels solid and high quality throughout. What helps is that all Equinox EVs get a standard and quite large digital gauge cluster and infotainment screen—no huge bezels to be found here.
- It seems very efficient. I only picked up the car yesterday, but on a 30-plus mile drive from the New Jersey suburbs to New York City where I averaged around 30 mph—traffic!—I averaged 3.7 mi/kWh. Not bad at all given the frigid temperatures in the Northeast right now.
- It’s a lot of car for the money. Look, a $35,000 crossover is cheap by modern standards, whether an EV or not. And if you can get one while we still have the $7,500 federal tax credit in place, the Equinox EV is a bargain.
What's Not So Good
- No heated seats. Typically, complaining about a lack of luxuries in a base-model car is foolish, but there is some logic here. It takes a lot less energy to heat up a person via touch points, like heated seats and steering wheel, than it does by using climate control to get the cabin to a certain temperature. (Ironically, the person who told me that is a GM engineer.) Heated seats would be a nice nod towards saving energy here.
- Bad visibility. The low hood, forward seating position, and huge A-pillars make this car difficult to place on the road. It’s definitely disorienting at first.
- Lackluster ride. The Equinox EV definitely isn’t bad, and generally, it’s pretty comfortable, but the ride is often busy. You have to remind yourself that this thing is a lot heavier than your average gas-powered crossover of similar size.
It’s early days. I’ve only put around 40 miles on the Equinox, so there’s still a lot to learn about it. But I’m excited. If Americans want EVs, this might be one of the best options yet. Affordable, with road-trip range, and in the crossover form factor everyone loves.
