The Best Budget-Friendly EV For Smart Shoppers – TopSpeed

Everything seems so expensive these days, from rent and health insurance to food and fuel. What doesn’t cost an arm and a leg anymore… and maybe your firstborn child? Of course, sky-high prices apply to new cars and trucks. For many motorists, walking the lot at their local dealership almost requires bringing some smelling salts, as you’re liable to faint after glancing at the window stickers, particularly if you’re shopping for a full-size truck. Over the last few decades, pickups have been transformed from humble, hard-working tools into full-blown luxury vehicles with more bells and whistles than Rolls-Royce.

Of course, EVs can be incredibly pricey, too, even models you’d think would be highly affordable. But if you don’t earn a Fortune 500 CEO’s salary, there is still some great value in the electric vehicle world – if you know where to look. Hyundai and Kia build a passel of excellent EVs, some of which are impressively affordable; the Volkswagen ID.4 is a steal these days; Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is still a solid choice; and it’s hard to argue with the excellent Volvo EX30. But there’s one other all-electric offering that rises above the rest, a budget-friendly utility vehicle with a lot of great features.

5:12

Driven

2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV Review

An affordable price point, competitive range and a familiar name should allow the Equinox EV to be a hit with the North-American middle class.

2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV: Affordable Electric Excellence

Without question, one of the best values in the electric vehicle world today is the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV. Few rival products offer all that this battery-powered SUV does, fewer still at such an affordable price point. This Chevy comes with loads of great features – both standard and optional – the vehicle has a comfortable interior, offers impressive range, and provides more than enough performance.

In addition to all those benefits, this SUV also looks nice. Unlike so many modern vehicles, the exterior styling doesn’t try too hard; overall, it’s quite conventional, something drivers who have never owned an EV before will likely appreciate. After all, not everyone wants a car that looks like a spaceship. This all-electric Equinox’s front end is attractive, complete with leering headlamps, the wheels are pushed out to the corners for a planted stance, and the mildly pumped-up fenders provide a reassuringly solid look.

A Stylish And Efficient Electric SUV That Won’t Break The Bank

The Chevy Equinox EV is offered in a few different trim levels and with two different drivetrain configurations. Currently, this Chevy is available in 2LT, 2RS, 3LT, and 3RS trim levels. Naturally, each step up the ladder increases the price, but this is still an eminently affordable electric SUV. Each model should also be available with either front- or all-wheel drive, the latter of which is a $3,300 upcharge.

When it comes to pricing, the entry-level 2LT model starts at $43,295, but if you want more features and AWD, you can always opt for the top-shelf 3RS model. This variant starts at around $51,090.

2025 Chevy Equinox EV Specifications

Note: All prices include $1,395 in destination fees.

Related

10 Things That Make The Chevy Equinox EV A True Gamechanger

Not only is the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV going to fill a big void in Chevy’s lineup, it could could change the game entirely.

Impressive Range And Efficient Performance

One of, if not the most, important attributes of any electric vehicle is the driving range it provides. Naturally, some models have significantly longer legs than others, but even different trim levels of the same vehicle can have wildly variable range estimates. Opting for larger, more stylish wheels can also greatly impact how far an EV can drive on a charge. In short, if you want long-range, there are numerous factors to consider.

As for the hero of our story here, the 2025 Chevy Equinox EV offers some of the best range you can get for the price. Front-wheel-drive versions of this economical and affordable all-electric SUV are estimated to deliver up to 319 miles on a charge, an incredibly impressive figure. Opting for an all-wheel drive does reduce that figure, but probably not as much as you might expect. Grabbing one of these Chevrolets with four-driven wheels only reduces the estimated range to 307 miles, a drop of just 12.

More-Than-Respectable Performance

When it comes to performance, front-wheel-drive versions of this vehicle are graced with 220 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. This delivers plenty of oomph for everyday use, but drivers who appreciate high-performance cars will probably be happier with an all-wheel-drive Equinox EV. With two motors instead of just one, these vehicles brandish a stout 300 horsepower and 355 pound-feet of twist for ample off-the-line scoot.

A Champion Of Efficiency

Moving on to energy consumption, the Equinox EV is supremely efficient. The front-wheel-drive model should sticker at 117 miles per gallon equivalent in the city, 100 on the highway, and 109 MPGe on the combined test cycle. Electric vehicles are so much more economical than gasoline- or even diesel-powered cars and trucks it’s almost unbelievable. As for models fitted with all-wheel drive, they should return up to 112 MPGe city, 95 highway, and 103 combined.

Related

10 Reasons Why The Chevrolet Equinox EV Is Special

The Equinox EV competes fiercely due to its impresive budget-friendly pricing and solid performance.

Modern Interior With Essential Features

Matching its exterior styling, the Equinox EV’s cabin is quite lovely. The interior is comfortable, spacious, and made of decently nice materials. Of course, this is a Chevy, not a luxury car, but the materials employed look good for the vehicle segment the Equinox EV competes in.

This Chevy comes with plenty of standard equipment, even the entry-level 2LT model. Features like an eight-way power driver’s seat, color-selectable ambient interior lighting, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, heated front chairs, a six-speaker sound system, and a 60/40 split rear backrest for added versatility are all standard fare. You even get a wrapped steering wheel, which feels so much nicer than a simple injection-molded steering wheel rim.

Comfort And Connectivity Without Unnecessary Frills

This SUV’s technology also impresses. A crisp and responsive 17.7-inch central touch screen with Google Built-In is standard equipment, as is an 11-inch digital instrument cluster. Adaptive cruise control, an ever-helpful feature on long drives, is standard, as are four USB type-C ports – two up front, and two at the back, so everyone’s phone can stay juiced up.

A Commitment To Safety

Protecting people from even the nastiest of crashes, the Equinox EV comes equipped with a wide range of standard safety features. The Chevy Safety Assist suite includes amenities like automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, forward collision alert, and automatic high beams, so you never have to worry about blinding oncoming drivers if you forget to dip your beams at night.

Aside from those no-extra-charge amenities, the Equinox EV is also offered with the Active Safety Package 3. This $2,700 options group includes two excellent amenities: enhanced automatic parking assist, and Super Cruise. The former can automatically parallel or perpendicular park the vehicle for you, while the latter is GM’s industry-leading hands-free driving system. Super Cruise works on limited-access divided highways and does the steering, braking, and accelerating automatically, though the driver must still pay attention and be ready to intervene at any moment.

Many of these amenities are designed to prevent crashes, which is always the best option. But if a wreck is unavoidable, this SUV protects its passengers well. The 2025 Equinox EV earned a five-star overall crash rating as well as five-star scores in the frontal, side impact, and rollover tests from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA for short. That’s the highest score awarded by the government agency. Not bad, eh?

Unfortunately, this all-electric utility vehicle does not appear to have been evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), at least not yet. This independent organization does even more crash testing than NHTSA, and much of it is significantly more rigorous. Since the Equinox EV performed so well in other evaluations, it will probably ace any IIHS tests.

The 2025 Chevy Equinox EV Is An Excellent Value

The Equinox EV is an excellent electric vehicle, one that is incredibly well-rounded. Thanks to this SUV’s superb range, good performance, generous equipment, and bargain pricing, this Chevy may be one of the best EVs available in the U.S. right now.

The entry-level 2LT model with front-wheel drive starts at around $43,295. That price includes $1,395 in destination fees but excludes any potential discounts or tax rebates. The top-shelf 3RS model with all-wheel drive checks out for roughly $51,090. If you just want four driven wheels on any trim level, it should cost an additional $3,300.