Road Test: 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV RS

You have to hand it to Chevrolet. As the world ‘round EVs is imploding a little, they’re pushing forward with a pretty generous swathe of models that run solely on electrons. Not only that, but they’re giving them model names that are staples of GM’s gas line-up. Names like Silverado, Blazer (even Corvette, although the E-Ray model is more of a hybrid) and the Equinox you see here. The Equinox nameplate is a very popular one in North America and I think it’s a very calculated move by GM/Chevrolet to electrify it, essentially, by adding this version. Car buyers like

There’s still a gas-powered version of the Equinox available, but if EV is the new frontier in the car world, then Chevy is jumping in with all four tires here.

Powertrain: You can either have an Equinox EV as a single-motor FWD model with 220 horsepower or the dual-motor AWD version seen here. That cranks that figure up to 288 hp and 333 pound-feet of torque. Even for a heavy EV with a 84 kilowatt-hour battery and up to 513 km of range, those figures are enough to have the Equinox EV zip off the line and onto the freeway with nary a complaint.

Exterior: Styling-wise, the Equinox EV is slick. With no engine up front, there’s no need for the cooling provided by a grille. Instead, we get a sleek front end that helps the aerodynamics, which in turn help achieve a claimed range of 513 km in single-engine front-wheel-drive form, and 459 km with dual-motor all-wheel-drive. Then, once you’ve depleted your charge, expect a return of 125 km per 10 minutes when hooked up to a 150 kW DC fast charger.

Around back, the taillamps are actually one light bar – very nice — while the lack of tailpipes ensure the overall look is one of cleanliness and modernity. With my tester being an RS trim, the aggressiveness is turned up a notch with black wheels and lower doors, plus other trim pieces.

All of that is great, but the finish on our tester – all black everything, essentially – is surprisingly sinister in it execution. That’s an interesting take for what is essentially an electric people mover…but I really, really like it. There aren’t many EVs that hide their nerdy EV-ness as well as this, and it’s probably the way I’d have mine.

Interior: Inside, dual digital displays for the speedometer and infotainment dominate the proceedings. Behind the wheel we find a speedometer and this being an EV, there are not rotating forces for a tachometer to keep track of. Instead, we’re told how much power is being used at any given time.

The central display, though, is where the magic really happens. At 17.7”, it is the largest display in the segment. That means more info can be displayed, the buttons are large and easy to operate and the back-up cam provides a great view.

Infotainment and Tech: What you won’t find is either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. It’s all things Google in here – Google maps are bult in, as is Google Assistant and the Play Store. Audio apps like Spotify are supported, but it is too bad to not have the screen mirroring services we’ve become used to in modern cars and crossovers.

Front and rear seat space is generous for the compact crossover segment in which the Equinox resides. There is no third row, but considering the overall size of the Equinox EV, I think most users will be happy to forego any third row in favour of more storage space.

In RS guise, meanwhile, the Equinox EV gets the full gamut of luxury adds such as an eight-way power driver’s seat, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and 5G WiFi hotspot.

Drive: Out on the road, there a multi-level battery regeneration system to help drivers get the most from their charge. On its highest setting, the Equinox aggressively slows as soon as you lift off the throttle. You can choose a less-aggressive setting or turn it off completely and use a wheel-mounted paddle to provide instant regen as you come to a stop. I was glad to have the choice; driving in the most aggressive regen setting is not something you want to do in anything other than stop-and-go traffic, so aggressive is the slowdown.

Much less aggressive than the regen is the overall drive, which comes highlighted by a smooth ride and with the low centre of gravity provided by the EV battery pack, one that is low on body roll through turns. Then, with 288 horsepower and 333 pound-feet of torque on-tap, acceleration out of corners and off exit ramps is robust and confidence-inspiring.

Also confidence-inspiring – and impressive in general – is the Super Cruise autonomous driving system that came as part of the $3,240 Active Safety Package 3 on my tester. When activated – by first turning lane centering assist on, then activating cruise – the Equinox can maintain speed, stay with traffic and even change lanes with minimal input from the driver. Most impressive is its ability to sense that traffic ahead is moving too slow for the set cruise speed, and then proceed to change lanes to pass without the driver ever having to ask it to do so. We drove for 30 minutes straight with this feature on and considering it works on 750,000 miles – or about 1.2 million km – of roads in North America, drivers could be using the feature quite regularly. Then, when traffic slows to a crawl, the Equinox EV can crawl with it.

Speaking of crawling; when in slow traffic, you can set the brake regen level to three levels – off, normal or high – to help gain back energy lost through driving. Or, you can tug at a wheel mounted paddle to ask for some on-demand regen as well. Not only will this help you power the battery, it will also allow you to save your brake pads by running the EV motors backwards instead of using the friction brakes. Not bad.

Conclusion: It’s all very groovy but with a name like “Equinox”, there needs to be some mass-market appeal and a good way to crack that code centers heavily around an important factor – price.

Truth be told, the Equinox hits the mark there, as well. It starts at $48,433 in Canada for the LT FWD trim, while adding the second EV motor for AWD adds about $3,000 to that total. Yes; at $53,433 our RS trim is top of the pops but that number for a full-load EV crossover is actually nicely competitive, even if that does represent a 10 grand bump over a similarly-equipped gas version of the Equinox. There is still a price to pay for EV, but to give it a name with as much equity as “Equinox” and to equip it as they have for less than 55 grand? That’s a strong move and one that will sway buyers.

 

2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV RS
Price as tested: $59,239
Freight: $2,500.00
Configuration: Twin EV motors/all-wheel-drive
Power/torque: 288 horsepower/ 333 lb-ft of torque
Battery (capacity): 84 kWh
Combined fuel ratings (Le/100 km): 2.5 Le/100 km
Observed fuel economy (Le/100 km): 3.2 Le/100 km
Warranties: 3 years/60,000 km (basic)
Competitors: Ford Mustang Mach-E, Honda Prologue, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Jeep Wagoneer S, Nissan Ariya, Subaru Solterra, Toyota bZ4X, Volkswagen ID.4
Website: Chevrolet Equinox EV