Still, thanks to the immediate torque delivery of that electric motor, it never feels outright slow. There's enough grunt to make a confident overtake with ease, at least at speeds below flat-out highway velocity. Once the performance-addled beast in my soul fell asleep, the Equinox EV's performance felt quite reasonable.

Not that the beast was particularly stirred by any other part of the drive. The Equinox EV handles with a bit more aplomb and a bit less roll than the average internal-combustion SUV of its size and price, thanks to the extra-low-mounted mass of its Ultium battery pack. But there is still little sense of driver involvement. A hint of torque steer on full acceleration is as close as this crossover got to real excitement.

Brake-pedal effort changes with the transition from regeneration to friction-based deceleration, something that gives a good indication of how hard the Equinox can be braked without using the discs. One-pedal driving is available, but unless you really hate moving your foot, I'd turn it off as there is also a paddle on the steering wheel to trigger maximum regeneration.

GM had to make some choices under the hood to keep this crossover affordable, the most apparent being charging speed. While the biggest Ultium battery beasts can charge at up to 350 kW and even the closely sized and priced Chevy Blazer EV can juice up at nearly 200 kW, the Equinox EV can only take on power at up to 150 kW on a fast-charger. During testing, C/D found it took 51 minutes to add 80 percent to the battery, enough for a little over 200 miles at 75 mph. Add in the time required to find a charger, and you're likely looking at an hour stopped for every 2 hours and 45 minutes on the open road.

What's It Like to Live With?

Much of the Equinox EV's appeal lies in its conventionality. Apart from the lack of a start button (climbing inside and pressing the brake pedal does the job), it doesn't scream "electric vehicle," the most futuristic part of its appearance is its small, low-mounted headlights. If the average driver rented one with a full charge and drove it less than 300 miles, they might plausibly not realize it is powered by electrons rather than dinosaur juice.

The interior impresses, both for its ample space and its above-average usability. Even at six-foot-four, I could sit comfortably in both rows, and Chevy's designers made the most of the EV platform's flat floor and lack of gear tunnel to fill the inside with more pockets and storage spaces than a pair of cargo pants. The trunk space is impacted by the aerodynamic rake of the roofline, but the bay is long. You could fit a long weekend's luggage for four if you played a little loadspace Tetris.

The cabin comes with the typical General Motors use of hard plastic but with anything above the most basic version getting bright-blue trim to lift this. I was surprised how much I liked this, a welcome change from the usual cheap-car mix of black and gray.

The focal point of the interior is the screens. Every Equinox EV boasts the same 17.7-inch LCD touchscreen display, paired with an all-digital 11-inch instrument panel. Temperature, volume and defroster control is still handled by physical knobs and buttons, but fan speed, seat heaters, and airflow are managed through the screen.

Driving controls are similarly scattered, the lane-departure warning and parking brake getting real switches, but regen and traction control are managed by the digital menus. The system can be annoying—certain features require too many steps to pull up—but as with most infotainment systems, it becomes more intuitive with time, especially once presets are configured, something smartphone mirroring can't presently offer.

But this is replacing a system that people like—a third of buyers say they wouldn't consider a car without CarPlay or Android Auto—for one that adds complexity and requires ongoing subscriptions. Google Assistant and Maps are free for eight years, but the rest of the app suite requires a monthly fee after three.

Should I Buy One?

The Equinox EV is in a tough part of the market, but it has value on its side. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 are superior in charging speed, technology, and fun-to-drive qualities, even if their bold design might alienate some buyers; the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen ID.4 are closer to the mainstream-crossover look and a little sharper to drive—but all start out more expensive than the Chevrolet's base price.

Then there's Tesla, the elephant in the room in terms of sales in this part of the market. The Model Y offers similar size, range, and power, plus easy access to the peerless supercharger network. Tesla's volatile pricing can be hard to pin down, but as of publication, the long-range, rear-wheel-drive Model Y is $44,990, right in line with my well-equipped '24 2LT Equinox.

If your bottom-line concern is finding a good new electric vehicle for the lowest possible price, this Chevy is a solid bet. If your budget takes you to the higher echelons of the Equinox's options ladder, it starts to make more sense to shop around.

Highlights and Lowlights

We love:

• Over 300 miles of range.

• Usable interior with ample room.
  

• Excellent price for the base model.
  

We don't:

• Lacks the super-fast charging of pricier Ultium products.

• Typical GM use of hard plastic trim inside.

• Please, give us back Apple CarPlay.
  

Favorite Detail:

Super Cruise. General Motors' highway driving assistant was the first of its kind to offer true, safe hands-free driving on the highway (sorry, Tesla; call me when FSD is out of beta), and it remains the gold standard. The glowing bar atop the steering wheel makes it easy to know when Super Cruise is on, and the dashboard makes it obvious when you're on a road where the system is available, and activation takes just a single tap of a dedicated button on the wheel. Once it's working, it drives with the equivalent of common-sense in a human—holding its position in the lane, keeping a prudent yet reasonable distance from other vehicles. It's even smart enough not just to pass on its own but to automatically get out of the passing lane too.

The system was a $2700 option on my 2024 Equinox EV 2LT tester, but speccing it on the 2025 model requires choosing additional options that push the overall cost of the car up to $49,750—nearly four grand over my tester's $45,995 price. Still, if your commute requires a lot of highway driving, it's worth the money in my book.

You Might Also Like

• You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox

• Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners

• The Man Who Signs Every Car