As electric vehicles (EVs) slowly work their way toward the mainstream in some parts of the country, automakers are introducing more EVs in interesting automotive niches. These include high-performance cars, such as the Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air Sapphire, which boast exotic-car-beating acceleration times. They include expensive off-roaders with party tricks, like the Mercedes-Benz G-Class EV that spins in place and the GMC Hummer with its near sideways CrabWalk.
But Americans buy few of these niche cars. We buy an awful lot of practical compact SUVs — the best-selling type of vehicle in the United States last year.
If EVs will ever be truly practical for middle-American buyers, we’ll need inexpensive, pleasant, easy-to-drive, easy-to-own crossovers from brands with dealerships and repair bays in every town and little to no political baggage to start fights.
Enter the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV. With a starting price in the low $30,000 range and eligibility for the federal government’s EV tax credit, the Equinox is one of the most affordable new cars in America this year.
I spent a week test-driving a slightly upscale version – my tester came in the top-of-the-line RS trim and included the Active Safety Package 3, which adds Super Cruise hands-free highway driving technology. It retails for $51,245, including a $1,395 delivery fee. It is eligible for the EV tax credit, which would cut the purchase price to $43,745 for most buyers.
I found it a shockingly good car, mostly for how, well, normal it was. The Equinox EV is not without a few quirks (and one strange design flaw in serious need of rethinking). But it’s a pleasant, practical EV at an affordable price from an automaker with repair facilities just about everywhere. It would make an excellent choice for many shoppers.
Attractive, but Not Outlandish
Some automakers have used the rise of EVs as an excuse to build wild-looking cars (the Hyundai Ioniq 6 is, functionally, just a nice family sedan. But it looks like an alien’s family sedan). I’m a fan of that approach. Many shoppers aren’t. They want a car that looks like they expect it to look but with some subtle artistic touches that set it apart.
The Chevy Equinox EV is conventional enough in its approach to fit in next to other Chevrolet SUVs. But a sharp nose, a thin line of LED lighting across the front, and an available contrast-color roof make it look just a little special.
Stylish Cabin, Easy to Use Tech, but One Missing Feature
The Equinox EV’s cabin follows a similar line — stylish, not outlandish. The standout feature is a massive 17.7-inch central touchscreen — the same one Chevy uses in full-size trucks — but in this compact vehicle, it’s enormous.
Google built-in gives you access to navigation, streaming entertainment, and other modern tech essentials. However, Chevrolet doesn’t equip the Equinox EV with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. With nearly every other car on the market in 2025 providing those as standard equipment, it’s a strange omission.
If you buy the car, you’ll get used to interfacing with Chevrolet’s interface instead of a mirror of your phone’s. It’s not likely to be a day-to-day hindrance to your driving.
My RS included red and green backlit panels, which designers no doubt intended as a sporty element. The choice felt oddly Christmasy year-round. Again, you’d get used to it. But I found the color choice odd.
None of that was enough, however, to detract from a well-planned, comfortable cabin with plenty of space. Stepping up to the RS gets you heated leather seats, a heated steering wheel, and other luxury car niceties.
A Driving Experience So Good It Threatens More Expensive Cars
The standard Equinox EV comes in a front-wheel drive (FWD) setup with 213 horsepower and a range of 319 miles between charges. My RS model came in all-wheel drive (AWD), with 288 hp and 285 miles.
Nearly 300 hp in a mainstream compact SUV feels quick and sporty. Electric cars accelerate faster than gas-powered cars even when the two have equivalent power (gasoline engines build up torque over a few seconds while electric motors don’t need to). Put those two facts together, and you will find an exceptionally quick compact SUV.
Steering is light and responsive. The big 21-inch wheels of the RS made the ride a bit firmer than you might expect in a family SUV but never jarring. I suspect the smaller wheels and taller tires of the 1LT and 2LT models erase that feel if it worries you.
In fact, all-wheel-drive Equinox models offer the same level of power available in the larger and more expensive midsize Blazer EV. Oddly, the Equinox provides more cargo space than the slightly larger Blazer, too. It’s fair to ask why anyone would buy a Blazer EV when this is sitting on the same lot, with many of the same parts, nearly the same dimensions, and a lower price.
A Bizarre Design Flaw
The oddest thing about the Equinox EV is that you don’t turn it off. You simply get out and walk away. It will shut itself down as it detects the key fob leaving.
Should you insist on a way to turn it off, it can be done through a touchscreen menu.
But I mentioned a design flaw, and that deserves an explanation.
Like almost all 2025 cars, the Equinox EV starts with a push-button rather than the turn of a key. It detects the presence of the key fob to know whether or not to start.
But key fob batteries fail. Like most push-button cars, the Equinox EV has a fail-safe — a physical key hiding in the fob. But, unlike most push-button cars, you can’t use it to open the doors. There’s no keyhole in any door.
The only way to get into the car with a dead key fob battery is to squat down low by the tailgate and find a keyhole upside down near the license plate holder, horizontal to the ground. It’s covered by a rubber plug, which you must remove to find the key cylinder. Unlocking that will open the tailgate, letting you into the rear cargo area.
From there, you have to lower the rear seats, clamber over them, climb over the back of the front seats, and place the key fob in the cup holder. If there’s a trickle of battery juice left, the car should detect it enough to start. If the key fob battery is completely dead, you’ll need to replace the battery to start the car.
I verified this with a Chevrolet representative because I couldn’t believe it, either. Getting into an Equinox EV with a fading key fob battery requires joint mobility many Americans lack.
If you have any mobility restrictions at all, this car is the wrong choice for you. Even the young and flexible don’t always stay that way. With an injury, you might find this car inaccessible.
This is a silly problem Chevrolet has the know-how to fix, and we hope they address it for the 2026 edition. This company has built millions of cars over more than a century. Nearly all of them had a keyhole in the driver’s door. This one, bizarrely, does not.
The Mainstream EV From the Mainstream Company
That one bizarre flaw aside, the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV is a minor triumph. It’s a practical, easy-to-live-with, attractive EV in a class of vehicle Americans love from a brand they know well. Buy one, and you’ll never struggle to find dealers who can service it. You’ll likely never flinch at what the company CEO is doing in the newspaper.
You’ll just have a likable compact SUV, available in the mid-$20,000 range after the federal EV tax credit.
