• 2025 Chevy Equinox EV LT has an 85-kwh battery pack, 319-mile range, and costs $34,995, including destination
• Equinox EV RS AWD costs $49,090, 307-mile range
• Dual-motor AWD adds $3,300 to RS grades and $5,300 to LT grades

There’s been so much talk and so many promises about an affordable electric vehicle, but the only affordable EVs have been lease specials that find a loophole in the federal EV tax credit—or the 15-year-old Nissan Leaf hatchback. With EV shoppers paying about $56,000 on average we’re not really sure what anyone means by affordable anymore.

Until now. GM now sells an affordable electric vehicle with excellent range, at a starting price of less than $35,000. Sharing only a name with the gas-powered Chevy Equinox compact crossover redesigned for 2025, the Chevy Equinox EV went on sale in May 2024. It is the cheapest of our five Best Car To Buy finalists. 

Its merits start with not feeling cheap. The crossover looks like a muscular wagon with a ducktail rear. Subtle light bars bookend the small crossover in the EV way. Inside, large tubular vents channel the Camaro, but a simple and clean dash interface embraces some of the Chevy Trax that last year won our Best Economy Car To Buy 2024 award. The base LT comes with an 11.0-inch digital instrument cluster, a 17.7-inch touchscreen, active lane control, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking front and rear. We’d kick in another $1,455 for a power driver seat, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and rear pedestrian braking.

Both the base LT and the top RS models have a 85.0-kwh battery pack available in single-motor front-wheel drive or dual-motor all-wheel drive. The single-motor model generates 220 hp and 243 lb-ft of torque and toddles on to 60 mph in about eight seconds, while the dual-motor model churns out 300 hp and 355 lb-ft and hits the benchmark in 6.0 seconds. The LT isn’t quick, but both models are responsive, quiet, and comfy, neither trying too hard to perform like something it isn’t but also avoiding being dull. It has regenerative braking with one-pedal driving that helps max out 319 miles in single-motor models or 307 miles in dual-motor versions. 

Note that Chevy has an odd pricing structure when adding the second motor. On RS models, it costs only $3,300 more. On LTs, it’s $5,300. 

Seating four adults in relative comfort comes naturally on the Equinox EV, with about 40 inches of rear legroom and large rear door openings. The flat load floor with no drive tunnel means you could fit a third adult in back in the middle seat, if necessary. The 60:40-split rear seats fold down to expand the spacious cargo area from 26.4 to 57.2 cubic feet of storage, which is above average for the small crossover class. 

Despite its value, there are a couple of oversights or missteps. GM wants you to rely on Google built-in, instead of offering Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. There’s been plenty of backlash so maybe GM will change their tune next year. Also, like most GM electric vehicles, the flat dash between the controls and the windshield has a sweep of wavy plastic like a George Foreman grille, and it can cause glare during sunnier drives. There’s no front trunk to easily stow the charge cord. It can ride with a little more road noise than other EVs, but it doesn’t sound cheap. 

Charging time via the 11.5-kw onboard charger adds about 36 miles per hour at home on a Level 2 charger, while DC fast charging at up to 150 kw can add up to 77 miles in 10 minutes in perfect conditions, or from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes. A NACS adapter is available to access Tesla’s Supercharger network. 

For now, while supplies and political headwinds last, it still qualifies for the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit. That makes the Equinox EV a relative steal in the EV space.

Does it make it the Best Car To Buy? We’ll decide and announce it on Jan. 6, 2025.