The sounds of silence, sophistication and style have this all-electric Chevy punching well about its weight class
The Equinox EV on the Sea-to-Sky Highway
I’ve done this drive several times in an EV as part of my my occasional Power Trip series, and as I’ve stated in the past the 240-kilometre round trip does not require a charging stop since every mainstream EV on the market today has a full-charge range well north of that distance. That wasn’t always the case, but it certainly was the case with the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV 3RS, a five-door crossover built on GM’s BEV3 platform. Just on sale for six months, it has already become GM’s best-selling electric vehicle.
How does the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV drive?
Our tester was equipped with GM’s all-wheel drive system called E-AWD, and snow tires — which is the law on the Sea-to Sky during winter months. Sadly, we didn’t encounter any snowy or icy road conditions to test out the traction of the E-AWD, but it certainly provided exceptional drive through the twisty parts of the highway. There is little to no body roll, the thing feeling so well planted and the steering leaning more to heavy than to light. The driving dynamics of this EV are impressive, and with the brake regen set to one-pedal drive mode I rarely touched the brake pedal on the drive up and down the highway. As anyone who has driven an EV with the powerful brake regen engaged through the twists and turns knows, the sensation of slowing the vehicle by simply lifting off the accelerator is akin to the old-school downshift of a manual gearbox. Once you get into the flow of doing this, a crossover like the Equinox EV takes on the characteristics of a sports car.
How much power does the 2024 Equinox EV use?
As to power consumption during the weekend drive, the trip computer showed 119.4 kilometres travelled from our North Vancouver home to the Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside hotel in Whistler Village. According to Chevrolet, the full-charge range of the all-wheel-drive Equinox EV is 458 km, while the front-wheel drive model tops out at 513 km.
We started with 432 km of range — or 93% of the Ultium battery pack according to the readout— and handing the key fob to the valet showed 281 km of range remaining, represented as 62% of battery life. The kilometres per kWh — which is a measure of the distance the vehicle averages for every kWh of energy — showed as 4.0. That’s a little on the low side — a general average for EVs is in the 4.8-5.6 range — however the elevation change driving from near sea level into the mountains does skew the km/kWh number.
On the return trip from the mountains back to Metro Vancouver, we started out with 100% battery charge and arrived with 76% having covered 122.3 kilometres. (A note on that 100% battery charge: I had intended not to charge the battery during the trip to see how much we would be left with after the round trip, but the conscientious Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside valets, without asking, plugged the Equinox EV in on the Saturday night so that we would have a full charge.) The km/kWh number of 5.5 was better than a drive up, reflecting the descent of the drive home. In terms of the total round trips — 261.9 km according to the trip computer — we posted a respectable 4.6 km/kWh, considering this was winter driving and we had the heat and heated seats on for most of the drives.
A pro and a con of the 2024 Equinox EV
Getting back to that 17.7-inch display, the EV-related information screens are excellent. Too many EVs have data screens that are too busy with colours, bar graphs and interesting but needless animation that while nice looking, do not do a good job of plainly presenting the information. Not so in the Equinox EV. A quick glance at the charge information screen, for example, presents a simple-to-read dial gauge for setting the desired state of charge, along with a digital readout of how long it will take. Likewise, the navigation integration with searching for a nearby charging station is easy to use, and read, and flawlessly integrates. To test it we programmed in the Electrify Canada station in Squamish and was guided there with voice commands. Making these kinds of interactions as simple and intuitive as possible are so important in selling consumers on making the switch to an electric vehicle, and Chevrolet has nailed it.
All is not perfect with the Equinox EV, however. It’s a bit counter-intuitive to think an EV has less cargo capacity than its gas-powered stablemate, but that’s the case with the Equinox. Despite having the flat floor typical of an electric vehicle — one that seems to almost always lead to a cavernous cabin — the Equinox EV has nearly 200 litres less cargo space than the ICE Equinox. That’s due to the EV’s sleek design. The fact it doesn’t have a frunk also hurts that overall cargo storage.
EV charging – Everything you need to know
Final thoughts
It’s often said it’s the journey not the destination, but this Power Trip ticked both boxes. The destination of Whistler proved a very rejuvenating and a very tasty weekend getaway. The former thanks to a few hours spent at the exceptional Scandinave Spa, where we did the circuit of hot and cold pool plunges, interspersed with 15-minute session of relaxation. All with no technology and no talking allowed during the two-hour-plus experience. I reflected on this during the ride home, the whisper quiet powertrain of the Equinox EV reminding me of the power, and importance, of silence. The tasty part of our weekend was taking in a couple of nights of Whistler Cornucopia, the resort town’s annual celebration of food and drink. A Saturday night dinner hosted by Black Hills Estate Winery at the legendary Rimrock Café was the highlight.
However, the journey was also a highlight, as the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV really surprised me with its sophistication, style and electric drive system. I mean really surprised me. If you’re in the market for an all-electric crossover and have the usual suspects on your test drive list — the Kias, Hyundais and even Polestars of the world — make sure you visit your local Chevrolet dealership to take this vehicle for a spin.
How much is the Chevrolet Equinox EV?
The base price of the 2024 Equinox EV 3RS is $52,399, and our tester added on $6,740 in options ($3,500 for E-AWD and $3,2490 for the active safety package that includes Super Cruise and enhanced auto parking assist). For 2025, the Chevrolet Equinox EV starts at $44,999 before destination fees.
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