Michael Satterfield
In the age of spaceship-styled EVs that come with eye-watering sticker prices, the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV feels more like a well-worn pair of jeans, comfortable, familiar, and a surprisingly good fit. It’s not trying to dazzle with gimmicks or out-cyber the Cyber Truck. It’s built to be your next daily driver, and it’s kind of killing it.
We spent a week behind the wheel of the Chevrolet Equinox EV LT, rolling through city streets, suburban sprawl, and even racking up some road trip miles. We found a crossover that doesn’t beg for attention but earns respect quietly, by doing everything well, and a few things exceptionally. This might be the perfect city EV you have been looking for.
Chevrolet Equinox EV: A Workhorse with Modern Muscles
The Chevrolet Equinox EV comes in two main flavors: front-wheel drive with a respectable 210-ish horsepower, or all-wheel drive with a solid 300 and a torque bump to 348 lb-ft. The AWD will hit 60 mph in just under eight seconds, not record-shattering, but punchy enough for a crossover in this class.
What it lacks in neck-snapping speed, it makes up for with a smooth, responsive ride. Steering feels well-weighted, regenerative braking is assertive without being jarring, and road manners are polished. It’s an easy vehicle to trust, and one that’s clearly built with real drivers in mind, not just software engineers.
Range Without the Anxiety
Chevy aimed for the practical sweet spot here, and they landed it. The front-wheel-drive Equinox EV offers up to 319 miles of range, while all-wheel-drive models come in around 285. Real-world driving confirms those numbers feel right. Even with mixed-use, city gridlock, long commutes, and a weekend hardware store run, we never flirted with range anxiety.
Fast charging is respectable: 150 kW DC capability nets about 77 miles in ten minutes. Plug into a Level 2 at home, and the 11.5 kW onboard charger takes care of overnight replenishing. It’s not Tesla-fast, but it’s fast enough.
Chevy Comfort with a New-School Twist
Open the door, and a modern Chevy cabin greets you. The standout is the sweeping 17.7-inch infotainment display, big, responsive, and easy to navigate. Android Automotive OS runs the show, giving you native Google Maps, Assistant, and more without needing to sync your phone. It’s functional without feeling sterile.
The materials aren’t exactly German-luxury grade, but the layout is clean, visibility is excellent, and the space is generous. Rear passengers get proper legroom, and there’s over 57 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats down, plenty of room for a Costco run or weekend getaway gear.
Add-ons like heated and ventilated seats, a panoramic roof, Super Cruise hands-free driving, and a 360-degree camera system are available if you enter the RS trim or check the right boxes. But even base models feel decently equipped.
The Price is on Point
Here’s where the Chevrolet Equinox EV really punches above its weight. A well-optioned LT starts around $33,600 before destination fees, and crucially, it qualifies for the full $7,500 federal tax credit. AWD adds about $3,300, and if you load it up with everything, you’ll still stay just north of $50,000. That’s a rare feat in today’s bloated EV market, where plenty of competitors start higher and deliver less.
This isn’t a car for people looking to flex. It’s for people looking to replace their gas-powered SUV with something cleaner, more innovative, and frankly, better. And Chevy’s pricing strategy makes that transition not just possible, but appealing.
For 2025, Chevy keeps things simple with just two trims: LT and RS. Both now benefit from the higher-capacity battery and increased power from the get-go, a nice adjustment from the 2024 rollout. The RS brings a bit more visual swagger, blacked-out accents, and sportier interior trim, but functionally, both trims get the job done with grace.
Should you buy it?
The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV isn’t revolutionary, but that’s exactly why it matters. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. It just builds a better one, quietly, affordably, and with real-world use in mind.
For families tired of watching EV reviews that seem more like sci-fi trailers, the Equinox EV delivers something radical: normalcy. It’s familiar in all the right ways, and futuristic where it counts.
And in a world oversold on hype and underdelivering on substance, that might be the most revolutionary thing of all.
Photos courtesy of Chevrolet
