Chevrolet’s Equinox EV – A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT

Chevrolet’s Equinox EV

A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT

For those paying attention, you know it’s been an extremely tough year for automotive OEMs and, to a lesser extent, their retail partners. After spending billions (yep, with a ‘b’) on electrification, a new presidential administration scraps most of the incentives that made EV investment viable. And then there were tariffs, not only on fully assembled vehicles but on any and all of the components produced beyond our U.S. borders for those vehicles. And then those tariffs were modified, eliminated or reintroduced. It’s enough to generate an economic whiplash, and – not incidentally – pervasive indigestion.

If looking, however, for calm in this sh*t storm, GM’s Chevrolet is here for you. Offering three car-based platforms for your consideration, I’ve taken a recent drive in Chevy’s Blazer EV and the smaller (but not that much smaller) Equinox EV, while the reintroduced Bolt is waiting in the wings. I see the Equinox EV as the sweet spot – not too big, not too small – and while it checks most of my boxes, I wish it was more Dinah Shore belting out the Chevy theme than Dinah doing a talk show.

Chevy gives you a choice of two powertrains: The base Equinox EV provides 213 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque, driving the front wheels only. With a curb weight (unladen) of 4900+ pounds, acceleration is adequate, with 60 arriving (according to the right foot of Car and Driver) in 7.7 seconds. That number is sufficiently quick, but almost two seconds slower than the AWD option, which couples front-and-rear-mounted motors to deliver a combined 288 horsepower and 333 lb-ft of torque. The front-wheel drive wins the award for range (a claimed 319 miles), but all-wheel drive delivers more smiles, and – of course – better all-season capability.

On the driveway or parking lot, we’d again hand it to GM Design for its consistently good taste. The sheetmetal is what I’d call softly organic, the greenhouse is more than adequate, and attention given to the front fascia looks fully adult and not done at a 6^th-graders design camp. The overall impression is midsize, with a length of 190 inches on a wheelbase of 116, but within that you have generous room for four, adequate room for five, and 26 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row seat. 

Also of note: Like the Honda Prologue, which I see as a direct competitor, the Equinox EV is more wagon-like in its proportions than your traditional 2-box SUV. And I like that. As you’d know, EVs are blessed with a low center of gravity, given the location of the battery packs. But Chevy’s Equinox EV underscores that with a relatively low roof height of under 65 inches, where most traditional SUV profiles are almost six feet. If trying to hoist a bike or luggage on a roof-mounted rack you’ll appreciate the easier access.

Inside, driver and front seat passenger enjoy ample head, leg and shoulder room, while left to interpret almost 18-inches of digital instrumentation and infotainment. I had no issues with any of it, except this: You start the Equinox EV with a simple approach of the key; if you’re near it or in it, the Equinox is on. I’m still liking the ignition button to turn the mechanism on, and that same button to turn it off. And I don’t think I’m alone on this…

The roadability is everything you’d hope in a 2026 electrified platform, while it’s not – as previously implied – as smile-inducing as you might hope. In Car and Driver’s ranking of the segment, the Equinox EV is 7^th, behind Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6, Tesla’s Model Y and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E. I’ve driven all of them except the Tesla, and all are more recreational than the Equinox EV. But then, not all consumers want to be ‘transported’ in their vehicular choice; many simply want to be transported. 

In the absence of an assist from the Feds, the manufacturers have stepped up with their own inducements. Based only on what I’ve seen online, our test vehicle’s $50K MSRP will more realistically cost you around $40,000. And while I’d still recommending leasing an EV rather than buying that EV, this is a lot of content for around $750/month if spreading out the purchase over 60 monthlies. No muss, no fuss. Which – at the end of a Hard Day or year or term – has gotta’ be worth something…