r/EquinoxEv

I’m looking into buying my first EV and I am between 2 right now. The Equinox RS AWD and the Blazer RS AWD. I know the Blazer is a bit roomier, but is there anything that justifies the almost 10k price difference? I’m coming from a Camaro and would like to go to something with a similar drive. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone — my wife is finally considering an EV because of gas prices, and we’ve narrowed it down to the 2026 Chevy Equinox EV (FWD long range) or the 2026 Toyota bZ (FWD long range).

For context, I currently drive a 2017 Chevy Bolt with 170,000 miles and honestly love it. The biggest downsides are the limited range and slow DC fast charging (50kW max). In Wisconsin winters, my practical range can drop to around 130 miles, so moving to a newer EV would be a huge upgrade.

We also own a 2011 Corolla, and we feel like keeping one gas vehicle is still the smart move for us — so I may end up selling the Bolt.

My biggest priorities are:

- Real-world range (especially winter)

- Efficiency

- Long-term financial savings

Our electric rate is only $0.065/kWh, so efficiency matters a lot to me.

Pricing near me:

- Equinox EV FWD long range: about $27k

- Toyota bZ FWD long range: about $35k

From what I’ve read:

- Equinox range: ~319 miles

- bZ range: ~314 miles

- bZ seems noticeably more efficient

For people who’ve driven both:

- Which one feels better in real-world highway driving?

- How much winter range loss are you seeing?

- Does the Equinox’s larger battery offset its lower efficiency?

- Any charging curve or road trip experiences worth mentioning?

Range is my #1 concern, even more than charging speed.

Would love to hear thoughts from owners or anyone who has tested both.

Bought this car a year ago last week and been driving around with a completely fucked telematics since February. Took 1.5 months for my dealership to even get me in (even though I told them over the phone IT IS THE TELEMATICS I AM NOT AN IDIOT) and then they go "yeah you need telematics replaced it's backordered" and it's been 2 months. I called again today, no eta. Anything else I can do? I really wanted to love this car but god damn this is annoying.

From what I understand GM leased many many equinoxes in maybe 2024 or 2025. I’m guessing many of those are two or three years. Since most seemed to have a high residual on them, nobody is going to buy them and they’ll just turn them in.

So when do we think this large number of lease returns is going to happen pushing the price down even further for used off lease?

2026 Equinox EV LT1

So far, I love everything about my purchase. The car runs so smooth, and is quite the upgrade from my Malibu. I live a block away from free chargers at a state park, so that definitely factored into my decision.

Pros: Free charging/money Im saving on gas. I drove the vehicle 1400 miles since purchasing. To compare, my Malibu got around 400 miles on a tank of gas. That tank of gas would run me roughly $65-70 with current gas prices in my area. So right there alone, I’m saving $250 or so a month on gas, depending on my driving habits. I understand that 95% of EV owners may not have access to free charging, but I hear the cost to charge at home is still significantly cheaper than gas.

No oil changes/less maintenance. This is also going to factor into the amount I’m saving, as I was getting the oil changed on my last vehicle 3-4 times a year, at $100 a pop. On top of all the routine maintenance I was putting under the hood/on the axles.

Cons: The annoying whistle sound at 25mps or below. Unless you’re blasting the radio full sound, it’s hard to ignore.

Winter weather battery life. Although I haven’t experienced this yet, Im fully aware of the reduced battery life in the winter months. More frequent charging will get a bit annoying.

Road trips/fast charging price. If you plan on going anywhere that’s 2+ hours or longer, there and back, expect to add a half hour to your trip per fast charging stop, along with the average price of $30-40 to bring the vehicle back up to full charge. At this point, you’re not really saving much vs the cost of gas. Consider your driving habits before deciding on the purchase of an EV.

That’s about it after a month. Maybe I’ll revisit in a year, after enduring a full winter with the vehicle. Price-wise I can’t beat it. $30,000 vehicle with a $400 a month car payment that is more than half covered on what I’m saving with gas and maintenance. (Again, access to free charging is huge). It’s not for everyone, but if you’re considering it, it’s worth a look.

I charge at work and my trip home takes about 22% of my range by the time I get home, i understand that keeping the battery charged to 100% will lower its total lifespan but will it make a diffrence if I arive home with less than 80%? I don't want to leave myself with 58% for my weekend and would only be doing this once a week.

Thanks in advance for your advise!

I am reading conflicting reports from you guys. I just picked up my EV and they said they will call me when they get this mysterious out of stock computer piece for the communications of our car. We can not connect to OnStar and we do not get the maps and we CAN NOT use the mobile app....here is AZ we really would like to have the A/C start up as we are about to head out to the car...Anyway....waiting for them to call will drive me batshit crazy. It is just not something I am capable of handling....I know I am not the only one with communication problems (no jokes please) but this really sucks. We just got this car a few weeks ago and were just starting to figure out what went where.

Hi everyone. My girlfriend and I are going to Vegas this weekend in her 2wd EquinoxEv. Leaving Saturday morning returning Sunday evening.

The listed range of the car 319 miles and the driver is just under 300 miles so the car can, in theory, make it all the way there on a full charge, but I don't want to risk running out of range right before making it there, or not being able to charge while there and not being able to make it to a quick charging station to get home and being stuck waiting to charge enough at a level 2 charger. We've never done a road trip in this car and still haven't used a fast charger on it.

So my plan would be to, of course, start out with 100% charge, stop at a quick charger somewhere around halfway or more to Vegas, spend 20 minutes (I'm guessing) charging back to 80% and then driving the rest of the way.

Once we arrive if we can charge at the casino we are staying at great, if not either use a quick charger near Vegas to charge up to 80% and stop about halfway on the way back and quick charge again back up 80% to get home.

Or if we have enough range left when leaving Vegas to make it to another fast charging station on the way back just head for that.

I know this is doable in theory, but how realistic or inconvenient will it be? What charging stations along the way are both fast and reliably in service? What charging services should we make sure we are signed up with ahead of time, or can we just swipe a credit car like at a gas pump?

Our route to Vegas and back would be along the 10 and the 15.

Thanks.

EDIT: I should add that we do to have the adaptor for Tesla superchargers.