2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV Review and Test Drive

This compact electric crossover from Chevrolet boasts excellent range and value.

James Riswick | 

Dec 5, 2024 | 7 min read

James Riswick

The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV has the potential to be a game-changing new vehicle for anyone seeking an electric vehicle or a compact crossover SUV or a two in one. Its combination of affordability, features, and range (319 miles is standard) is one that many rivals can't match. That's before considering its eligibility for the federal tax credit that many other electric SUVs do not qualify for.

The Chevrolet Equinox EV comes in 2LT, 3LT, 2RS, and 3RS trim levels, with the number indicating equipment levels and the letters mainly representing differences in appearance. Prices range from the mid-$40,000s to the low $50,000s, including the $1,395 destination charge to ship the SUV from the factory in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, to your local dealership. The Equinox EV also qualifies for the $7,500 federal tax credit.

For this 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV review, I test-drove a 3RS with front-wheel drive in Southern California. It had a single option: a package including Super Cruise hands-free highway driving assistance system and an automated parking assist system. The manufacturer's suggested retail price was $49,495, including the $1,395 destination charge but not the tax credit.

General Motors provided the vehicle for this Equinox EV review.

James Riswick

Is the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV a Good Electric Vehicle?

The Equinox EV is a very good electric vehicle and compact crossover SUV. Its accommodating back seat and cargo area make it genuinely family friendly, and its infotainment system and driver-assistance technology are state of the art. Its range is also exceptional for the money, as competitors such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Nissan Ariya, and Volkswagen ID.4 can't travel as far or cost significantly more.

James Riswick

The 2024 Equinox EV Has a Sporty Look

With its narrow slit of front lighting, big wheels, long wheelbase, and aerodynamic shape, the Equinox EV legitimately turned heads while parked in my driveway. One of those heads was consistently my own.

Inside, the colorful 17.7-inch touchscreen beautifully pairs with a sculpted dashboard that features Chevrolet Camaro-inspired air vents and colorful accents. In other words, it's not just a screen mounted to a horizontal slab. The material's quality is quite good, too, with soft-touch surfaces on the dashboard, front doors, and center console.

In terms of functionality, the Equinox EV is pretty normal. One unusual detail is the headlight controls, accessible via the touchscreen. Also, there's no start button. You just get in, and the EV is ready to go when you press the brake to put it into gear. Overall, there's nothing I found annoying.

James Riswick

The front seats offer a vast amount of travel. I'm 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and I didn’t have to push the seat all the way back. Even when I did, though, the Equinox's 38 inches of rear legroom still let me sit comfortably in the back with knee room to spare. The headroom was also excellent, and getting a large child seat inside was easy. The Equinox EV is very family friendly.

The specs say the cargo area measures 26.4 cubic-feet, barely better than the Chevrolet Trailblazer subcompact SUV's 25.3 cu-ft. In my testing with actual luggage, however, the Equinox EV's two-level cargo floor and under-floor storage bin allowed it to hold more bags than both the Trailblazer and the bigger-on-the-outside Chevrolet Blazer EV.

James Riswick

State-of-the-Art Infotainment and Safety Tech

Every 2024 Chevy Equinox EV has the same infotainment features, including an 11.0-inch digital instrument panel and a giant 17.7-inch infotainment touchscreen. Not only are these screens colorful with modern graphics, they are easy to use.

The Android-based system features integrated Google Maps, the Google Play app store, and Google Assistant voice controls. The latter was exceptional for interacting with Google Maps because it understood every request without fail. It could not, unfortunately, select a specific SiriusXM satellite radio channel.

The presence of Google built-in should essentially make up for the absence of Android Auto phone projection, but it's a different story with the also-missing Apple CarPlay. I could send text messages via voice commands and select a playlist with the touchscreen, but choosing a streaming podcast via Apple's app was impossible.

James Riswick

In terms of advanced driver-assistance systems, the Equinox includes the typical features you might expect, plus a few items that are sometimes optional, such as blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and reverse automatic emergency braking.

Adaptive cruise control is standard, but my test vehicle had the optional Super Cruise hands-free highway driving assistant. Its ability to steer, maintain a safe distance, and drive in a convincingly human manner is impressive.

I found its automated lane change better suited to four-lane divided highways — more lanes with more cars created more variables than the system could manage. You can also initiate quasi-automatic lane changes with the touch of the turn signal or just do it the old-fashioned way.

As of publication, 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV crash-test ratings are unavailable from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

James Riswick

Lots of Range and Torque Steer in the 2024 Equinox EV

With front-wheel drive (FWD), the Equinox EV's single motor produces 213 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. Opting for all-wheel drive (AWD) adds a motor to power the rear axle, increasing output to 288 horsepower and 333 lb-ft of torque.

While this differing amount of power and torque between FWD and AWD models is consistent with other EVs, many competitors come with rear-wheel drive as standard. Those living in frostier climes might feel forced to pay extra for AWD and, therefore, extra performance they may not need. Front-wheel drive is, in my opinion, perfectly acceptable from a bad-weather perspective.

On the other hand, I found that my FWD test car's ample horsepower and torque tended to overwhelm the front wheels. If I accelerated through a turn, the Equinox EV would feel like it had locked onto my steering angle, making it harder to input corrections or return to center. This sensation is known as torque steer. I do not consider it a safety issue, but it does make this SUV harder and less enjoyable to drive.

Furthermore, I found the Equinox EV less agile on my mountain evaluation road than rivals such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Volkswagen ID.4, or even a Kia Niro Electric. It felt heavier and less composed, and the steering was less responsive.

Far more impressive was the Equinox EV's highway performance. Wind and road noise were kept at bay, and the ride was nicely damped. However, the RS trim level's big 21-inch wheels made me feel bumps in a way I doubt the LT trim level's 19 inches would.

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As for range, efficiency, and charging, the Equinox EV FWD can travel 319 miles on a charge, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It also says you can expect it to use 31 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity over the course of 100 miles.

I averaged a bit better than that at 32.3 kWh per 100 miles despite the fact that most of those miles were traveled on the highway. That makes the 319-mile range perfectly feasible. The Equinox EV AWD is estimated to provide a range of 285 miles.

This efficiency is consistent with most competitors. However, the Chevy generally travels farther on a charge, especially compared with the standard-range versions of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Nissan Ariya, and Volkswagen ID.4, which can go 100 fewer miles. The Tesla Model Y, however, basically matches the Equinox EV FWD's range.

The Equinox EV's maximum DC fast-charging rate is 150 kW. The long-range Hyundai Ioniq 5's 272 kW and Kia EV6's 253 kW models can significantly exceed this speed, as can the Tesla Model Y's 250 kW. Most other competitors are roughly equal or offer less, though. The Equinox can also use Tesla Superchargers with a GM-approved plug adapter.

I exclusively charged at home using a home charger capable of 9.6 kWh. As the Equinox EV can suck up electrons at a rate of 11.5 kWh, it rapidly regained range overnight.

James Riswick

The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox is a normal enough compact crossover that should appeal to those weary of overly futuristic EVs. At the same time, it has the technology and EV specs to attract those already on board the electric revolution. Its competitive price and access to the federal tax credit make it a must-look for any EV shopper in its price range.

James Riswick

James Riswick has been testing cars and writing about them for more than 20 years. He was the senior reviews editor for Autoblog and previously served multiple editor roles at Edmunds. He has also contributed to Autotrader, Car and Driver, Hagerty, J.D. Power, and Autoguide Magazine. He has been interested in cars forever; his mom took him to the Toronto Auto Show when he was 18 months old and he has attended at least one every year since (OK, except in 2020). When he's not testing the latest cars, he has a babied 1998 BMW Z3 in James Bond blue, a 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 Wagon, and a 2023 Kia Niro EV.