I recently had a chance to drive the 2025 Chevy Equinox EV, and overall, I liked it. It’s a competent and fun machine, and it’s priced really well, relative speaking. But right now the EV market is in a tricky spot, and the new Equinox EV is entering the lion’s den. So I have to wonder: Would you buy one?
A couple weeks ago Chevrolet held a ride & drive event just outside an Erewhon, a grocery store whose spelling I can proudly say I had to look up.
Honestly, it was a brilliant little ad campaign. Erewhon shoppers are generally well-off, environmentally-conscious folks who love the idea of EVs but maybe aren’t huge GM fans. Come to think of it, I bet the environmentalist-GM shopper Venn Diagram doesn’t have a lot of folks in the middle, especially when compared to, say, Subaru or Tesla. Chevy, obviously, wants to change that.
So the brand set up camp just outside this hilariously boujee grocery store that’s become kind of a viral sensation in its own right, and in addition to offering free rides, the brand gave out a free “Electric Juice” made blue by “Spirulina,’ which I think is some kind of algae. Though many have joked that I have gone “Hollywood” since moving out of Detroit two years ago, the truth is: I’m more of a chocolate milk guy. Still, I decided to make the sacrifice and try out the chocho-filled blue “wellness beverage,” but only for you, dear readers. I also tested the Equinox while I was at it:
GM says Equinox sales are off to a good start, but the brand is really leaning on California, which has huge purchasing power in the EV space. From Chevy:
In August, Chevrolet had its best month ever for EV sales, powered by strong demand for the Equinox EV. Los Angeles is home to one of the country’s largest EV markets.
“We are looking forward for more customers to discover the Equinox EV – a fun-to-drive electric SUV,” said Steve Majoros, chief marketing officer, Chevrolet. “This relationship allows us to connect with potential new EV customers in southern California, an important market for Chevrolet.”
The car I drove was a 3LT, with dual-zone climate control, fancy wheels, an optional two-tone roof and Super Cruise-equipped Active Safety Package — as well as all the features a standard 2LT Equinox features like a 17.7-inch LCD display, power liftgate, and a front-wheel drive powertrain that offers 319 miles of range. All in, the car was probably in the low $40,000 range after $7,500 federal EV rebate.
You may be wondering: “What about the sub-$30,000 Equinox EV we were promised?” That’s the 1LT, and it’s not yet on Chevy’s configurator; that’s expected as a 2025 model, and while it will start around $35,000 (so around $27,500 after rebate), even the pricier 2LTs and up are getting discounts right now at dealerships. You can find sub-$30,000 brand new Chevy Equinox EVs right now. And that’s a decent deal, though again, is it enough given the crazy depreciation we’re seeing from EVs? We’ll get back to that.
For now I want to just focus on how much Chevy absolutely nailed the execution with the Equinox EV. You step into the car, buckle up, and then instead of reaching for a start button or a floor-shifter, you grab a lever behind the steering wheel:
Yes, a column shifter! No weird screen-shifter, no waste-of-space floor shifter — a column shifter. It’s the right shifter for 2024, and it frees up all this space for cupholders, a phone slot, USB-C ports, and a big storage bin just below the center stack:
Below all that is a nice, spacious storage bin, which is an acceptable use of space. A flat-floor or a floor-mounted bin that’s accessible from above for taller items would have been great, too, but Chevy’s setup works:
Overall, the car seems quite spacious, with a reasonably large two-tier cargo area:
The raked hatch limits how high one can stack a load, but there is some extra room below the floor:
The rear seats offer lots of leg and headroom, with a flat floor:
There’s no frunk, which I know is going to upset some people, but this hardware has to go somewhere, and if it’s not in the frunk it’s likely reducing cabin volume, so I’m sympathetic to that, even if I do like a frunk:
So, it’s a big enough car for most, and what’s more, the cab is just a nice place to spend time, with good quality materials and fun design-touches everywhere. How about that two-tone dashboard?:
And look at those gorgeous outer vents:
And notice how the HVAC and volume buttons are actual, real buttons:
The Human Machine Interface team at Chevy nailed the Equinox EV. You step in; you pull the satisfying shifter to drive off; you adjust your radio and HVACs via nice, well-located switches; the crisp and vibrant screen feels well integrated into the dash. It’s a great example of how to just get the fundamentals right and not try to overcomplicate things – something that has happened a lot in the EV space, especially in the early days when automakers felt all EVs had to feel like spaceships.
Once you’re in drive, you punch the pedal and the car drives off…quickly enough. It’s an almost 5,000 pound vehicle, which is quite absurd, but that’s thanks to a massive 85kWh battery pack needed to propel the vehicle over 300 miles on a charge. The 213 horsepower front motor should get the car from zero to 60 mph in around 8 seconds. The Equinox has about 25 percent more weight per horsepower than my BMW i3S, and it definitely felt that way when I punched the pedal. EVs are generally quick: The Equinox is only sorta-quick.
It still feels quicker than an ICE car with similar horsepower by virtue of the single-speed gear reduction in place of a multi-gear transmission as well as the relative lack of sound. I say “relative,” because there’s still a speaker outside warning pedestrians of an oncoming 2.5-ton SUV, and, especially under heavy acceleration, I heard — perhaps through the speakers — acceleration noise in the cabin that was helpful in giving me an understanding how quickly I was speeding up.
I’ve already voiced my concerns about EVs offering absurd amounts of power to the layperson, so it’d be foolish for me to complain about the Equinox’s 8 second 0-60 time. It’s totally fine. But just fine.
I didn’t play with the car’s regenerative braking settings, but it’s cool that it’s adjustable from “off” to “one-pedal driving.” I think I was driving in normal mode, which felt about as aggressive as, say, a gasoline car downshifting a gear or two (obviously, that’s a pretty general comparison given that not all downshifts are created equal, but the point is — it doesn’t jolt you to a stop, but it’s far from a simple coast).
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Anyway, the Chevy Equinox EV is spacious, it’s extremely intuitive to use, it’s got a modest but sufficient amount of power, it’s got all the tech you need, and — especially with the two-tone roof — it looks decent as well. It’s a compelling car, even at $35,000-ish bucks, though I’d still have a hard time suggesting that someone pay that much.
EV values are dropping like rocks; buying a new car only to have it depreciate 30%-50% in a couple years seems like a bad call. I mean, just look at what a 2022 Chevy Bolt — which had an MSRP of $32,000 — goes for these days:
Heck, you can buy a two year-old Tesla Model Y for only $30 big ones these days, too:
Ditto with Polestar 2s:
Equinox EVs are already seeing discounts from dealerships:
And while the 1LT will drop the price below $30,000 (after tax rebate), the question is whether that’s going be enough to make the car a sales success. That’s what I’d like to ask you all today. If you want a fuller review of the car, go ahead and read Sam A’s review on our site, but first let me know in the comments how you think the Equinox will fare in what has become a really difficult new-EV market.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: I hate to admit it, but Electric Juice was delicious. It tasted like a blend of almond milk and coconut milk — it was oat-y and milky and, honestly, fantastic. But then, you’d hope it would be given that it probably would have cost me $20 if I had to pay for it myself.
Would I? Nope. Wrong wheels driven, can’t tow and the only Chevy dealer who isn’t a slimeball is across town.
I went through this decision already. There’s a Model Y AWD in the garage.
I was planning to buy one of these back when my Volt was worth around $5K as a trade and the Equinox was going to start at $30,000 ($22,500). That would get the price under $20K out the door.
Then I replaced my roof. Thought that would run around $20. Try $36K. Got it knocked down to $27K after deciding not to have a cosmetic-only issue fixed on one side and skipping my 40×14 shed altogether for the time-being. Still owe $18,500. Hoping the 2012 Volt holds out long enough to get through that and then I’ll probably just replace it with a nice used Bolt.
Or, if enough time passes, maybe a nicely-depreciated Equinox.
Of course I won’t buy it! My boycott of all things GM continues until they change their stupid policy around using reverse lights to indicate something other than reversing.
Looks good. I traded my gas powered Equinox in on a Ford Mustang Mach E a few months ago. Had the EV Equinox been available, I certainly would have considered it.
I use both (the gas and electric) for business mostly around town. I loved the Equinox. Love the Mustang. Must be easy to please.
I plug the Mustang in at work every morning and I’m good to go. Range will get me to all of the local airports and other spots that I regularly visit.
The Equinox, with rebates probably would have been about $10 G less expensive than the Mustang – which didn’t have a rebate as a result of its Chinese battery. The Equinox also has greater range, but is a bit less swift. On the other hand, the Mustang is quicker and Ford offered 0 percent interest, so substantial savings there. Also, I always loved the Mustang styling and it’s nice to drive something that looks cool. The Mustang interior is really sweet too.
In a couple or three years when I’m looking for a new car, I might consider the Equinox, but hopefully can afford to remain a slave to fashion. The Equinox, though a handsome car, is a little staid. Either way, I’m sold on EVs. I never thought I’d own one, but now don’t see going back. (Caveat…I’m old so there is always the possibility of a Corvette in my future!)
We have six paid-for vehicles in our family fleet. Living in a small town, with my home having only a 100A panel, with only 120V in the garage, and the nearest charger (Meijer) about 50 miles away, there’s less a less than zero chance I would buy one of these.
We did buy a 2024 Trax LS at the beginning of this year. It’s averaging a little over 33 mpg so far over 2600 miles. When we fill the tank, the computer shows around 425 miles of range.
For a little under $23K, we’re happy enough with the Trax.
If I can get a good enough deal on about 100 feet of 3/C#4 direct burial cable, I’ll run a 240V 50A circuit out to the garage. Then, if we sell the house, the next owners could put a charger in the garage. It’ll help with the home resale value, anyway.
Nope, not a chance Hell would I buy one of these.
A. I have five paid-for cars and zero need for another one.
B. The savings in gas will not even remotely offset spending $30K+tax and fees to buy one. And in my home state you pay annual excise tax on the FULL MSRP forever – and that adds up no matter how much discount you got up front.
C. I have no commute, and other than REALLY long trips between ME and FL (or FL to NC to avoid a hurricane), I drive relatively few miles. I can’t be bothered to deal with charging an EV on those trips.
D. I despise crossovers. With the burning heat of 1000 white hot suns.
E. I find EVs *exceptionally* boring to drive. 4/5ths of my cars are manuals, and 1/5th is an autotragic ONLY because I need something my elderly mother can drive in a pinch – as in when avoiding a hurricane.
F. I don’t trust GM to make an ICE car for the long haul, never mind an EV. My current cars are 50, 34, 14, 13, and 10 years old, and I have owned them for 28, 10, 14, 5, and 2 years respectively. No plans to replace any of them anytime soon.
I do give them kudos for resisting the “everything in the screen” nonsense to save a buck. Real controls for important stuff – imagine that!
Question – did GM follow through with no CarPlay/AA in their cars? I see the Play Store and Google Assistant in the video, but no icons for either screen mirroring option. I don’t care THAT much about it, but MANY will cross it right off their lists for that. It seems conspicuously not mentioned here.
Second question – with one-pedal-driving turned off, does the brake pedal still do blended regeneration/real braking? Toyota figure that out, what, 25 years ago now? I LOATH one-pedal driving. And when using one-pedal, do the brake lights come on when the car is rapidly slowing down? I know some EVs don’t, and that seems like a massive safety issue. My Germans manage to light the brake lights when the *cruise control* is braking the car…
I wouldn’t buy an equinox ev or ice. It’s just a boring car. If I want boring I may as well get boring and reliable so I would be leaning towards Toyota or Honda
NO. I wouldn’t buy one of these, or anything like it.
I couldn’t give a flying fuck about depreciation. Didn’t cars used to depreciate even more before the federal government mandated that they not wear out immediately? Yay socialism!
That said, I think that’s the real problem is that the cost of repairing new cars, not just EV‘s, is so hive that nobody wants to take the plunge to buy a car just off lease where a broken windshield will cost six thousand dollars to replac.
I think we have all come to the same conclusion about this car/SUV/mommobile:
Social media turned opinion-sharing into the main method of social interaction. Now people express opinions not because they have something to say, but because they have to say something. The need to be part of the discussion proliferates discussions no one needs to be part of.
If it suits you, fine. If it doesn’t…it’s just another generic EV.
Yes, a column shifter!
The shifter on top of the transmission tunnel made sense for a manual transmission with an internal shifter.
I prefer manual transmissions, but for automatic transmissions it’s stupid.
Actually I’ve had cars with column mounted three and four speed transmissions that were better than some floor shifted mid ending cars. 914 shift linkage is just plain evil.
The shifter thing on my Prius is quite comical. why it is floating in mid air between the seats is nearly as much of a mystery as why it even exists. You can’t even tell whether you are in forward, reverse, or the other forward by looking at it.
Being able to buy a column shifter car without shopping for used police cars is a win.
On one hand an appealing proposition, but…
The stack of tablets on the dashboard look like shit and from what I have heard, the software displayed on them matches the look.
Then there is the fact the vehicle is just too damn wide for my urban parking requirements.
Neither is a sin unique to this vehicle. It seems many manufacturers just prefer to follow trends v.s. do better. That and everyone in the western world has become too fat to fit in a sensibly sized vehicle.
I will give it points for having proper rear door handles instead of those c-pillar abominations that are the latest trend. Although, I do prefer grasping pulls to the clasp (what’s the term?) thingies.
Part of the problem is the interior design of automobiles. Apparently the best car for the large, 400 pound large for instance, population is the Volkswagen New Beetle.
The price of electricity vs. gas in my area makes any EV a questionable proposition, even without the expected rapid depreciation.
This is an often overlooked point. I can Home charge for 7.9 cents per Kwh in my area; charging at a Tesla or Electrify America station runs at least $0.28 per kwh, and up to $0.50 per kwh. At those prices, you’re basically paying the same amount as you would in gas for a comparable vehicle, but you also have to Pay a larger upfront cost to purchase a more expensive electric vehicle. I Am seriously considering purchasing an electric car (Used) as an around town runabout and commuter, but I will only charge at home. Otherwise the math makes no sense
Where I live the currently cheapest utility rate (not counting taxes, fees, etc) is $0.31/kWh which puts it on par with the local price of regular.
For even a REALLY cheap EV, like a used Fiat 500e, for me the added insurance, registration, and maintenance cosst to have one for JUST running around town far offsets the gas I would save. And you run the risk of the battery pack or other $$$$ EV bits taking a dump. And I live in a place with *relatively* cheap electricity most of the time. At my summer, place, where electricity costs a fortune it’s a serious non-starter.
I just want a PHEV proper station wagon that I can stand. Volvo is SOOO close – if they would offer the V60 recharge at a non-stupid price without the Polestar nonsense I would buy one. Would fit my use case to a T. But $72K to start for a Volvo is a non-starter. And I refuse to buy a jacked-up plastic-slathered V60XC for $20K cheaper because they are *stupid*.
I don’t see EVs as being worth much beyond serving as a local commuter car that I can charge at home at night. So $40k is just too much for me to spend on that. The Bolt when it could be had closer to $20k was more my speed.
And the lack of CarPlay here is a problem. My phone does everything I need. I just need a larger screen to display it on. That is all I want.
I don’t need features you think are “added value” or stuff you ultimately want me to pay for when my phone already does it.
No CarPlay, no sale.
My biggest problem with EVs is there’s too much BS tech and much of that is tech for the sake of tech that offers no improvement to the experience or real benefit to the user, but is a safety, crash damage, reliability, and operational liability and largely annoying AF. It’s a problem with ICE, too, but stuff that doesn’t suck is still available. Sure, I had to get a sports car and a utility trailer to get away from it, but it’s still an option (shit, actually, they put that Eyesight garbage in the manual twins in ’23 or ’24). And the weight. I hate the weight! Equal power:weight ratio isn’t equal in terms of feel when one car is a fat pig and the other is merely a reasonable weight, never mind especially light. I’ll even take a much worse power:weight ratio if it means the weight is low enough. I contend that my ~1:30 ratio of my FWD ’83 Subaru 5 speed with an aftermarket steering wheel and shift knob (made a big difference in feel) was a better driver’s car than these overpowered anodyne battleships of today and consumables lasted forever even driving like you were in a perpetual sprint race.
The only way I’m buying an automobile with electric door handles is if said automobile is like a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco, as in the doors are easily removable and there are aftermarket door and door alternatives.
In such a case I’d immediately remove the doors and sell them.
I love that you always mention this and it should be mentioned constantly—it’s a dangerous, stupid, failure prone design with absolutely no benefit whatsoever as pop-out flush mechanical doorhandles of multiple designs have existed for decades, closing on 100 years, even. The Talbot Lago F&F teardrop coupe had them—that was pre WW2, FFS! There might even be an earlier example, but that’s the first I can think of off the top of my head.
Hell, they don’t need to even pop out to be flush fit. Subaru pulled it off in the 80s with their XT.
That and the original SL were two of the styles I had in mind. Even the first Miata had a nearly flush handle (aping an earlier design used by multiple OEMs). The issue with the XT-style was that they were painted, so the lower part you pushed in got scratched up from fingernails and I heard people say they were harder to unfreeze if the car got iced over, though I can only confirm the scratches. Anyway, that’s not an insurmountable or even a difficult problem to solve.
Replicating Tesla’s door handles with a mechanical system wouldn’t be hard either.
Raked hatches need to go away. If you have dogs or tall cargo the entire hatch is then as useful as a trunk with a lid. David, I think perhaps you grew up being influenced by early 2000’s stereo mini system speaker grilles? Thats what those vents look like. Tacky in my eyes. Your mileage may vary. We bought a used EV, it depreciated horrendously. Not buying another.
They need the rake for the aero, but I absolutely agree. It’s another of my problems with CUVs in general, too, where the quoted volume of space is often vertical rather than the far more useful horizontal and part of the reason for the uselessness of the more vertical space is the rake of the rear windows, curvature of rooflines, thick interior trim pieces, and intruding tumblehome of the side windows. The amount of shit I could fit in the cargo area of my pretty cubic-volumed and largely horizontally oriented mk1 Legacy wagon with what would be a tiny footprint and low roof height today (same wheelbase—and slightly less weight!—as my GR86 and about 3.5″ narrower, though 13″ longer and about 4″ taller) was simply astounding compared to newer vehicles that tend to measure their ostensibly greater space more vertically. It was not only barely less than the volume in my sister’s school bus-sized Ascent (71 vs ~73-76 cu ft), but more usable. Some of the problem is aero (squared off volumes aren’t efficient) and some is safety (intrusive, front line bunker-thick doors and sides), but it’s insane how heavy and massive vehicles have become with such poor space efficiency, particularly from vehicles with “utility” as part of their label.
Nailed it with the aero and safety features. Our old Camry wagon could fit certain pieces of lumber in it width wise, and the much newer, larger G550 can’t. Has a lot to do with the airbags and more sound deadening in the Merc vs the Toyota but it’s evident across all models as safety standards increase.
The value is not there for me to buy any new car. I can’t wrap my head around spending so much on a rapidly depreciating asset.
That said, as elder care is becoming a part of my life I am now shopping for crossovers for ease of ingress and egress. In two years at half (or better) off I could consider this. Functions as a car and the rural yokels that inexplicably hate teslas while bootlicking Musk won’t key it at the grocery store.
The interior looks way better than a Tesla Model Y, and it seems to work well. I still haven’t seen any on the street, which could be availability, I should have taken a peek at the Chevy dealer yesterday. Where I am in Oregon Teslas are dominant, followed by Hyundai/Kia Rivian and Ford. I’ve a Fisker Ocean, a couple of Lucids, and Porsche Taycans are semi common but the only common GM electrics are old Volts.
I don’t think I’d buy one, my wallet and empty nest make a Bolt more attractive, although I’m understanding range after a 250 mile jaunt last week sine I do live in the rural West
Here’s where it falls apart: software. I’ve experienced Android Automotive in both the Lucid Air and the Cadillac Lyriq now and it continues to be buggy at best, and an utter UX nightmare. I’m saying this as both a car enthusiast and a smartphone enthusiast who has partaken of everything from Windows Mobile to the latest iPhones and everything in between such as the original HTC Dream. Control layout is nonsensical at best and most aspects of the UI seem to be lazy uncustomizable thrown-together lists of icons with little thought given to user workflow or preference. Why do I have to dive into menus to get to a garage door control? Why can’t I pin it to a home screen or quick access bar? Why does the home screen constantly nag me to subscribe to a service for some unknown seemingly unconfigurable reason? And they want us to give up CarPlay, the one respite from this nightmare, in favor of this user hostile disaster?
Not only on, but *hell* no.
Yep, this. From Mazda with the radios that didn’t sanitize radio station data inputs to Kia’s utter lack of authentication for Kia Connect, automakers and decent software on a good day are still not aligned.
It seems they have decent mechanical bones here but no way if I have to fiddle with a screen for headlight controls or worry about a software update bricking the car. (See: New generation Chevrolet Colorado for both, Fords for the latter)
It’s especially bad in EV’s since manufacturers feel they have to make them super high-tech looking and lean hard into the half-baked technocruft.
You’d hope that android automotive would give them better stuff to build on. Sigh.