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.
Besides the data mining they do on their own “customers,” battery replacement costs are outrageous. It doesn’t make fiscal sense to own an EV right now. Until that comes down to a reasonable amount $5000 or so, these things will depreciate like rocks off a cliff.
I’m in a pretty tough position, I DO NOT WANT any of the modern siphoning of all my data straight to the OEM tech in modern vehicles. I’ve driven them, and none of the technology is useful enough to me for the privacy trade-off, but I also want something safer and much more efficient than an early 00’s Civic (Which is pretty fuel efficient at 30+ MPG, but still needs fuel)
I’m just not willing to dump every aspect of my mobility to a “Software Company that makes Cars” in exchange for being good for the environment, and safe for me and my passengers. It’s a real philosophical problem for me, mostly philosophical because my Shitbox still works fine and has no real need for replacement; and should manage to keep going for at least a few more years barring catastrophe.
So am I forced to build my own EV? Or do I pay tens of thousands of dollars just to give away all my “data” Real first world problems right here, I know.
Like other commenters have said, the infotainment setup really kills it for me. I like a lot about what it has going on with a physical shifter and everything but I’m not a fool and I can recognize an attempt to lock me in to GM’s ecosystem to harvest ever more data or fees from me.
Would I? Only used and depreciated.
The only EV that can handle everything I need from one right now is a Lucid Air. There’s a very specific section of my drive home for the holidays where it can be hard to find an open gas station, much less a place to charge an EV. Going the “safe” route adds several hours and getting a place for a night to what’s normally a 17 hour drive I can make in one day. Now, if I were buying a second car, this would get a serious look. I drive about 70 miles total a week and can charge at home or half a dozen different places within a five minute walk at work.
That being said… A Rivian R3, if it comes in around the projected 35-45k range (including the R3X) will be my first EV unless they somehow completely botch the execution, which I doubt they will. It’s a much more compelling choice to me.
I think in a less crowded market it would sell well. Although if I were GM or any other EV Manufacturer I would release my EV models as far from hurricane season as possible. I would bet that about 6 states are going to have very low EV Sales for a while.
I’m in Florida. Believe it or not, our EV charging infrastructure recuperated faster than our gas stations.
In my area, we still can’t buy gas, but I can charge my car.
I need to be convinced this vehicle can meet my typical needs. The only real way that can happen is a have an extended test drive, which in my drive cycle can cover as much as 400 miles. Along the way, I’d have to measure charge time, as that can be a significant issue if I can’t make it one way without requiring a charge. If I can make the 170-mile uphill drive on a single charge and still have enough left to drive to dinner and back, it might work. Or it still might not. But no Chevy dealer in their right mind would even consider this. It’s hard enough to get one for 10 miles let alone 10 times that distance.
More screen than I’d like, but seems otherwise hitting a sweet spot.
If they could give it real door handles and android auto I’d say home run. My wife’s bolt euv has been excellent and has all the right knobs and features and has a very similar balance. I would take this stalk shifter over her buttons-thingy any day though.
I think the large depreciation of used EVs is more about Tesla lowering their prices from the highs of the pandemic and other companies doing the same to be competitive. This really only affected EVs from a certain time period (2020-2022) and now that new EV prices have stabilized more I don’t think the depreciation will be as hefty in the future. Take for example the price of the bolt which was reduced from that 32k MSRP in 2022 to 27.5k MSRP in 2023 (which means only 20k after 7500 tax credit) and things don’t look so bad. My bolt purchased new in Feb 2023 for 20k (after tax credit) still has a KBB value in the 19xxx range, which is an extremely small amount of depreciation for a new car. Meanwhile my mother purchased a used Kia Stinger in April 2023 for 44k that is now worth 29k, talk about a sting from depreciation!
Makes sense to me
You do not want to be a Bolt owner. They are the Edsel of the EV world right now, even more so than Teslas.
Based on what?
After joining some different EV groups on Facebook this year, everyone seems to really hate on Bolt owners. A lot of it is due to their slow charging speeds and general lack of charger etiquette (always taking the 350w charger, cutting lines, etc.)
Apart from the slow charging speeds, that is an incredibly dumb reason to not own a certain vehicle. That’s like not owning my tracker, because I’m scared of looking like a hairdresser, or not owning my mercury because I’m worried about looking like grandma ethyl. If it’s a good rig, who cares what image it may or may not project.
Okay.
My dad just leased an all Electric 2025 Blazer on Friday. Great car.
That being said, GM can eat shit. The second worst dealership/GM experience I’ve ever had. Whole, separate story there, but suffice it to say, GM has the ability to ruin a wet dream.
They lease you an electric car, and can’t even throw in the basic, slow charging cable? And what’s worse, the dealership didn’t know that the car didn’t come with the basic slow charging cable, and didn’t even have any to sell you!
I’m not talking about the fast home charger where you have to have an electrician come and install it (which we did buy, and it’s in the car). I’m also not talking about the Tesla converter, which you also have to buy separately. I’m talking about the cable that plugs into the household outlet.
Have you ever bought any electric appliance, and had to purchase the plug separately? Of course not. And electric cars, if not all cars that people actually use for transportation (as opposed to pleasure vehicles) are all but appliances these days.
A piss poor dealer experience, and GM has to take a lot of the blame here.
not that you don’t have a completely valid point, but at least in the US electric clothes dryers can not come with the plug included and are separate because there are two different ones that the house could be wired for depending on age.
so there’s one (1) previous electrical appliance lol
electric ovens too.
Utilitech Appliance Power Cords 6-ft 50-Amp 3-Prong Gray Range Appliance Power Cord in the Appliance Power Cords department at Lowes.com
oh yeah, garbage disposals… and dishwashers
I haven’t yet had to replace or install any of those yet, so they weren’t in my mind, lol
“My dad just leased an all Electric 2025 Blazer on Friday. Great car.
That being said, GM can eat shit.”
Has there ever been a better summation of GM?
Based on my one experience with GM, that does indeed sum things up. The bolt I’ve had for several years has exceeded expectations, other than the garbage software. But between things like getting yelled at by the sales manager in the dealership for “cheating” on them by going to a different dealership, to chevy corporate claiming that properly refilling the battery coolant circuit was not part of the battery replacement recall, I have zero desire to ever buy a GM product again. I’m not sure any other company would be any better though.
Huh. I just bought a new GMC (ICE not EV) a few weeks ago, and it was the best dealership experience I’ve ever had. Given that they’re franchises, I guess that shouldn’t be that surprising. Hopefully my future experiences with the service dept. are on par with the sales experience.
It looks like it has the apps built in that’d I’d use CarPlay for anyway, so I could live without CarPlay.
Overall, I’d consider buying it if I was in the market.
I think leasing is the best option for EV’s right now, too much rapid change and uncertainty. I would be open to leasing this.
Does it come with a spare tire? Or is a spare tire at least an option?
Would You Actually Buy One?
No. An EV is not a good value for how much I drive. No Android Auto. Don’t like the door handles.
I feel like you should show the depreciation of a non-EV Equinox. I’m seeing loads of them that were high $20k and low $30k now selling for low $20k; some higher trim ones with low miles (and were more than low $30k to start) are mid $20k. So let’s call that a ~30% depreciation So the real difference is about $5k between a gas an EV deprecation? Over two years? That’s not… horrible.
HD buries the lede here: he went out for his daily super juice and got suckered into doing a car review.
He doesn’t just bury the lede; in typical LaLaLiberalLand fashion, he composts it.
The horror.
And he leaves it to a link to inform us that chocho is derived from a type of lupin, missing the most important part.
Maybe he was thirsty like the wolf?
Do-do-do-do, do-do-do, do-do, do-do-do, do-do
Two questions and/or story ideas:
1) What is the minimum amount of technology that is legally required in a new automobile?
1) What is the sweet spot of used cars that are reasonably safe, durable, repairable, and economical? The current new cars are profoundly unappealing. Well maybe the maverick if it were a car and about half as long.
Anything more recent than a w123 diesel Mercedes, Ford Panther, or a turn of the century Camry come to mind if you had to pick a car to last another 25 years? Airbags seem to have worked out, engines are pretty good, cars are more crash survivable although the w123 mercedes that we had that got rear ended by a semi that then ended up going over the top and crushing the car in front in one of those 40 car pileups in the fog seemed pretty good in that respect.
Recent cars seem to be good on the safety, but also seem to be designed as deliberately un fixable devices. I can’t imagine anything new lasting 20 years without being held hostage by the dealer.
After I bought a 300SD, I went with bil to look at a 300D. The parts car had suffered a high-offset head-on with a full-sized early 70s station wagon. Like, they mated their left headlights at 55mph each. Everybody walked away. The only injuries were that a couple of the 5 kids riding in the 300D got poison ivy from perching on the bank while waiting for the authorities.
Impact drove the headlight area almost to the wheel well, but we could see how it crumpled as intended and thereby absorbed the energy. Impressive.
Several years later, while salvaging parts from a 300SD parts car, my buddy flipped it over with a tractor to access the suspension. Didn’t break any glass, and doors opened & closed with the same secure ‘chunk’
I called my 300TD my forever car, but finally sold it after 20 years of 126s & 123s. I sometimes regret it a bit, but wanted a manual in a car small & light enough to toss around. But nothing else since has given me that sense that it was built to last through about anything.
Neighbor of ours as a kid survived an otherwise fatal crash in a W116 S class in the late ’80s. We saw the car, there was nothing left. He would have died in a contemporary Lincoln or Cadillac.
“1) What is the minimum amount of technology that is legally required in a new automobile?”
Depends how you define ‘technology’. In the broadest sense, it would also include the body/chassis design. So from that basis I’d say the tech would have to include:
-body design that can pass modern safety standards. And that will include airbags and the sensors that go with it.
-Electronic Stability Control – that includes the hardware, senor suite and software for ABS.
-Backup cameras
-the stuff related to ODBII
-lighting and daytime running lights
-automatic emergency braking (not a requirement just yet, but is about to be)
-Lane departure warning system – mandatory in the EU, not mandatory in North America… yet.
-For an EV, the electronics and sensors needed to drive the electric motor or motors as well as the battery management system.
-For an ICE vehicle, the electronics and software needed to operate the ignition, emissions and transmission.
-Tire pressure monitoring system
And that’s off the top of my head. I’m sure I’m missing a few things.
In the words of Wade, “GM, trust the tech companies for the tech. You just keep struggling with the mechanics!”
If it had android auto? I’d maybe consider it. Without that it’s automatically off any lists.
This may be stupid but without CarPlay, I’m just not interested.
It’s not stupid. I wouldn’t buy it either without CarPlay. Don’t care how good it is otherwise, ACP is a dealbreaker for me.
Yep. Updated my 2016 car to have CarPlay and it made such a world of difference. Now, it doesn’t matter that the 2016 stereo is antiquated by 2024-measures. My CarPlay gets updated every time the phone does.
If I were in the market for a car (I will be once I get another job, probably) I’d certainly consider it. My old commute was four miles each way, so short enough that I was concerned about engine wear on my Mazda; a full EV seems like a good idea. I haven’t driven outside the metro since before the pandemic and I’m in southeastern Virginia, so there are more than enough Superchargers and probably enough non-Tesla fast chargers to cover any long-distance drives I might take. Android Auto would be nice but not necessary, as I was fine in my old car once I got a good Bluetooth adapter for the AUX input and a Qi mount. I’d probably prefer something one or one and a half size classes smaller, closer to the C-segments I’ve been driving since 1990. But. since I’m scatterbrained, I don’t need more than one car to keep track of, so a wagon-like body’s appealing (the Mazda was a 3 hatch.)
I’d probably prefer a Kia EV3 or Volvo EX30, I’d most likely wait to see how the next Bolt turns out, and I’d also compare it to a Model 3 or Model Y Long Range, even though Elon leans into the Great Replacement and hypernatalism-for-the-right-people thing even more than Trump. But I’d probably lease rather than buy given the state of flux (heh heh) in the current (I’ll stop now) marketplace.
Yeah, I’d buy…in fact I may look into trading in my three year old Model 3. My EV still really works for me as a commuter, but I have a charging station near my place of work and a 60 mile drive.
Seems like a lot of money for a mid size economy EV….even after all the rebates. Regardless, I wouldn’t buy one because GM will never sell them in Australia.