2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV review: a great Bolt EV substitute

When General Motors announced the EV component set formerly known as Ultium, the automaker promised that it would accommodate many different types of vehicles. So far, though, we’ve mainly seen big pickup trucks and luxury SUVs. Those more profitable models will help GM more quickly amortize the upfront cost of its EV investment, but they don’t play to the automaker’s traditional strength of, as defined by executive Alfred P. Sloan, offering “a car for every purse and purpose.”

The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV changes that. Chevy launched this electric counterpart to its gasoline Equinox compact SUV for the 2024 model year, but for 2025, the Equinox EV becomes truly affordable thanks to an entry-level front-wheel drive LT model priced at $34,995 with 319 miles of range.

This goes a long way toward helping the Equinox EV stand in for the Chevy Bolt EV as a mass-market electric model until the latter returns from hiatus. I spent a week driving one to see how it compares to rivals like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Volkswagen ID.4 and whether GM’s latest tech really makes a difference over the last Bolt EV in a mass-market vehicle.

2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV: design

GM is still planning a new Bolt EV, but for now, the Equinox EV capitalizes on the current popularity of SUVs and a recognizable name that’s been around for almost two decades at this point. With its wide stance and long, low roofline, the Equinox EV looks sleeker than the last Bolt EV despite being a larger vehicle. But it will never be confused with a gasoline Equinox, as the latest version of that SUV goes for a more rugged, truck-like look.

The Equinox EV looks very much of the moment, even in base form. The first thing that struck me upon seeing this Equinox EV LT test car was that it didn’t look like a base model. It sported 19-inch wheels that nicely filled the wheel wells, intricate headlights and taillights, and a minimum of unpainted plastic. The second impression, however, was that the Equinox EV looks more like a hatchback than a true SUV — something that can also be said of the Hyundai Ioniq 5. And like the Hyundai, the Chevy’s ultra-long wheelbase gives it odd proportions in profile view.

That stretched wheelbase creates plenty of passenger space, though. Front- and rear-seat headroom and legroom are competitive with rival EVs like the Ioniq 5. Headroom is particularly impressive given the Chevy’s sleek roofline, and despite the relatively high, flat floor, second-row passengers don’t have to sit with their legs awkwardly elevated. The Equinox’s 26.4 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats in place and 57.2 cubic feet with the rear seats folded are also respectable, albeit not segment-leading.

Inside, Chevy did an excellent job of balancing cost and class. Manually-adjusting front seats and cloth upholstery are giveaways that this is the base model, but there’s nothing entry-level about the Equinox EV’s expansive digital dashboard display and cool design details like the large round air vents that flank the dashboard. The interior was mostly dark-colored plastic, but fit and finish were excellent and Chevy largely avoided the shiny piano black and shoddy hard-and-grained plastics that make so many new-car interiors feel cheaper than they are. This is the rare entry-level cabin that doesn’t make you feel bad for spending less.

2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV: specs

2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV: tech

The aforementioned dashboard display includes a 17.7-inch touchscreen and 11.0-inch digital instrument cluster, both in the same curved housing. A head-up display is also available as part of the optional Convenience Package, although there’s no option for upgrading beyond the basic six-speaker audio system.

As a new GM EV, this Chevy does not feature Apple CarPlay or standalone Android Auto. That’s due to the Google-intensive infotainment system that also makes Google Maps and Google Assistant the default apps for navigation and voice recognition, respectively. The Google Play Store is also built into the infotainment system, allowing third-party apps to be downloaded directly to the car rather than projected from a connected smartphone.

The lack of CarPlay will likely remain a point of frustration for iPhone users, but it was hard to find fault with the native interface. The touchscreen is well positioned for easy swiping and responds quickly, while the reconfigurable instrument cluster offers plenty of options for paring down or building up displayed information, including a map view.

That being said, GM falls into the same trap of touchscreen over-reliance as many other automakers. You shouldn’t have to use the touchscreen to turn on the headlights, for example, and even the big volume knob is too far away for the front-seat passenger to easily use.

This LT test car came standard with typical driver-assist features like automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane keep assist and lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and park-assist sensors.

A surround-view camera system and traffic sign recognition are available at extra cost, along with GM’s Super Cruise hands-free driver assist system. It may not be standard equipment, but most automakers’ systems can’t match the capability of Super Cruise, which allows for sustained hands-free driving on most U.S. highways. And it generally operates more smoothly and predictably than the equivalent Blue Cruise system available in the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV: driving experience

The gasoline Chevy Equinox was never a performance car, and that’s also the case with the Equinox EV. A single-motor front-wheel drive powertrain is standard, offering a respectable, but not excessive, 220 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. Dual-motor all-wheel drive models bump output to 300 hp and 355 lb-ft of torque, but you get an 85-kilowatt-hour battery pack in either case.

Automakers like Hyundai and Volkswagen opted for rear-wheel drive for their EVs despite normally going for front-wheel drive with their internal combustion models, but Chevy kept things consistent. Rear-wheel drive usually offers the edge in driving dynamics because it more evenly divides labor between the front and back wheels, but nothing about the way the Equinox EV deployed its horsepower had me wishing for a switch. With the standard all-season tires, traction was a bit limited on cold and mildly damp pavement, though, so there’s still a case to be made for all-wheel drive.

From behind the wheel, it felt like Chevy’s engineers paid more attention to ride quality and handling than they did with the Chevy Blazer EV. An underwhelming experience with that larger SUV left me with low expectations for this entry-level model, but the Equinox EV pleasantly surprised with excellent suspension that allowed it to smoothly change directions with no fuss. And while this EV’s substantial weight made itself apparent at times, soft damping and competent body control made for a much more polished driving experience than the Equinox EV’s more expensive sibling — and one less likely to make passengers uncomfortable.

GM also avoided messing with a good thing when it comes to regenerative braking. It included a steering-wheel paddle for calling up additional deceleration in the Chevy Bolt EV, and thankfully, that’s still the case with the Equinox EV. This is a handy way to maximize the use of one-pedal driving without having to toggle between modes, although the Equinox EV has those, too. The default one-pedal mode worked well in most situations, although I did turn it off on longer highway stints to save some energy by coasting when possible. Switching modes is done via a simple icon on the touchscreen, so you don’t have to go digging around for that function.

2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV: range and charging

In addition to punching above its weight on design, tech, and the driving experience, the Equinox EV base model avoids a range penalty. Regardless of trim level, all front-wheel drive 2025 Equinox EV models are rated at 319 miles. For 2025, all-wheel drive models also manage 307 miles, up from 285 miles for the 2024 model year.

This gives the entry-level version of the Equinox EV more range than the Kia Niro EV, Toyota bZ4X, and Volkswagen ID.4 offer in any configuration. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 offer 318 miles and 310 miles, respectively, but only if you spring for larger battery packs that inflate the price beyond the Chevy’s. The Tesla Model Y gets 337 miles in its least-expensive Long Range rear-wheel drive form, but at press time, it was just over $11,000 more expensive than the base Equinox EV LT.

Chevy didn’t pull off the same trick with charging, but the Equinox EV should still be easy to live with. It can DC fast charge at up to 150 kilowatts, which should allow for a 10% to 80% charge in the approximately 30 minutes needed to make this worthwhile, but it means the Equinox EV can’t take advantage of higher-power 350 kW public fast chargers. The standard 11.5 kW AC onboard charger can also easily accommodate overnight home charging, and a more powerful 19.2 kW unit is also available.

2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV: How DT would configure this car

The Equinox EV is at its best in its most basic form. At $34,995, the front-wheel drive Equinox EV LT undercuts its rivals while offering over 300 miles of range and no drawbacks. Some might want to consider the optional dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain or Super Cruise, but the base model stands out as a compelling value.

Standing out isn’t easy considering the number of small electric SUVs now crowding dealership lots. From the sleek and sporty Ford Mustang Mach-E and Kia EV6 to the retro Hyundai Ioniq 5 and thoroughly modern Volkswagen ID.4, this is one segment of the EV market that’s truly fleshed out.

These are all competent EVs with their own plus points. The Ioniq 5 and EV6 offer better charging performance, while the Mach-E is more entertaining to drive. But getting the best version of these cars requires a closer perusal of the spec sheet and some sticker price inflation. By offering its maximum range at its base price, with design, driving dynamics, and an interior that don’t feel entry-level, the Equinox EV takes the guesswork out of buying a new EV.