2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Is A Top Contender

The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV started out strong with reservations for this two-row electric crossover filling up so quickly that Chevy stopped taking orders for a time. Once it finally arrived, reviews were largely positive, but a software issue that impacted charging and the infotainment screen forced a brief stop-sale order.

Not exactly the way any automaker wants a product rollout to work, but that rough start is now in the past and the Blazer EV is once again on the market with significant software updates solving those early issues. It also got a price drop, making it a more affordable option. With the growing number of EVs available today, is it worth your hard-earned cash?

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We think it is; despite those early issues, the Chevrolet Blazer EV is a solid choice when it comes to electric vehicles. It’s hard to overcome initial bad press, but realistically, recalls and updates happen all the time, whether it’s an affordable starter car or a luxury model. Things come up and they get fixed. Here’s why you shouldn’t let that scare you away.

Exterior: Sporty And Aggressive

The Blazer EV is an attractive vehicle with an appealing exterior design. It’s wide and low, with a sharper design than the Equinox EV. Especially from the back, its sloped roof makes it look downright aggressive and the wide rear takes its cues from sports car design.

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There was some real thought put into how the Blazer EV looks, not just into how it drives. Since EVs don’t need grilles that allow airflow to cool an engine, they often have boring slabs of flat metal up front. Chevy did a great job here with the Blazer EV coming off like a gas car at first glance.

Enjoy The Light Show

Exterior lighting on the Blazer EV deserves special mention, but you won’t really see just how nifty it is until you plug in to charge. It starts with a lightbar that runs across the front at the edge of the hood and includes an illuminated Chevy bowtie badge. This provides added definition to avoid that whole ugly slab of metal up front problem.

Plug in and light pulses across the lightbar to let you know that it’s successfully charging. In the back, the tail lights also get in on the action with a slow, steady pulse as your EV charges up. It looks fantastic, although be warned that passersby might just think you left your lights on and feel the need to knock on your door in an effort to be helpful neighbors.

Interior: Basic Black Or Red Everywhere

Chevy isn’t known for building outstanding interiors. They’re generally fine, but not remarkable. That changes with the Blazer EV. Interior colors are either Black or a mix of Black and aptly named Adrenaline Red. It’s not just a touch of red here and there, but red everywhere so that it dominates the interior.

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If you don’t like red, well, then you have to settle for black, but why would you do that? The brilliant red interior gives this car instant personality. It matches the sporty exterior and adds a touch of high-end appeal. Materials are a combination of perforated suede and Evotex, which is imitation leather that looks and feels great.

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Attention To Detail

In addition to the quality and vibrant color, details throughout continue to enhance the overall appeal of the Blazer EV. Three big circular vents sit beneath the infotainment screen with two more at the sides. They have a great textured design and are a focal point of the dashboard.

There’s contrast stitching along with textured surfaces to keep things from ever looking bland. Soft touch surfaces abound from the doors to the center console for a more premium look and added comfort. There’s also a wireless charging pad tucked up against the center console storage, so your phone is in easy reach, yet won’t slide around in the corners or if you’re forced to stop short.

Seating: Get Comfortable

There’s seating for five in the Blazer EV with nicely sculpted and bolstered front seats. They deliver a good balance between comfort and support. The RS trim we drove included standard heated and ventilated front seats, with an 8-way power driver’s seat and 6-way power passenger seat.

There was also plenty of room in back with more legroom than the Ford Mustang Mach-E and VW ID.4. With the front seats adjusted for a six-foot passenger, there was still room in the back for those of a more average height to get comfortable. Rear air vents add to the comfort as does the option for heated rear seats on select trims.

Cargo: Load It Up

This is a midsize SUV, so it’s not the right choice for you if you have a huge family with ridiculous cargo needs. Check the competition if cargo is a priority, however, it is still surprisingly roomy. The wide liftgate opening, which makes stowing bulky cargo easy, reveals a large cargo area.

There’s 25.5 cubic feet behind the rear seats with 59.8 cubic feet behind the front seats (slightly less on models without a sunroof). It’s easy to carry the whole family and still stow luggage in the back. We managed to fit five people in the Blazer EV along with carry-on bags and a backpack for everyone, and there was still room for more stuff.

Performance: Enjoy The Drive

All-wheel drive trims of the Blazer EV get an 85 kWh battery with dual motors for 288 horsepower and 333 lb-ft of torque. Choose rear-wheel drive and you get a single motor with a larger 102 kWh battery pack with 340 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. This isn’t a performance vehicle, but it still delivers slightly more horsepower than the base Ford Mustang Mach-E and much more than the Volkswagen ID.4, two of its close competitors. It’s also more expensive, so you pay for that extra performance.

• 

  
  2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV
  

  Chevy

  Base MSRP

  $48,800

  Engine

  Electric

  Horsepower

  288 hp (AWD) | 340 hp (RWD)

  Torque

  333 lb-ft (AWD) | 325 lb-ft (RWD)

  Drivetrain

  RWD | AWD

  0-60 MPH

  5.7-6.1 seconds

  Top Speed

  118 mph

  Towing Capacity

  1,500 lbs (AWD) | 3,500 lbs (RWD)

  Electric Range

  279 miles (AWD) | 324 miles (RWD)

• 

  
  2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E
  

  Ford

  Base MSRP

  $39,995

  Engine

  Electric

  Horsepower

  264 hp | 290 hp | 325 hp | 365 hp | 480 hp

  Torque

  387 lb-ft | 500 lb-ft | 600 lb-ft

  Drivetrain

  RWD | AWD

  0-60 MPH

  5.5 – 4.5 seconds estimated

  Top Speed

  114 mph

  Towing Capacity

  TBC

  Electric Range

  Standard Range: 230 – 250 miles | Extended Range: 280 – 320 miles

• 

  
  2024 Volkswagen ID.4
  

  VW

  Base MSRP

  $39,735

  Engine

  Electric

  Horsepower

  201 hp (RWD Base) | 282 hp (RWD 82 kWh) | 335 hp (AWD)

  Torque

  229 lb-ft (RWD Base) | 402 lb-ft (RWD 82 kWh)

  Drivetrain

  RWD | AWD

  0-60 MPH

  7.3 seconds (base) | 4.9 seconds (AWD)

  Top Speed

  112 mph

  Towing Capacity

  2,200 lbs

  Electric Range

  206 miles (RWD Base) | 291 miles (RWD 82 kWH) | 263 miles (AWD)

Range for all-wheel drive trims is 279 miles while rear-wheel drive gets a nice boost to 324 miles per charge. While that’s a big difference, the key here is realistically looking at how much you drive in an average day. Sure, the trip to Grandma’s house at the holidays might require stops to charge, but the trip to the office or school or soccer practice? That can easily be managed by just plugging-in when you get home at the end of the day.

Charge-Up And Go

When you do plug-in, charging time varies depending on the source. The slowest 120V charger will add all of four miles every hour, so don’t make that part of your plan. If you’re getting an EV, then you should also look at installing a 240V charger at home. That’ll give you up to 31 miles of range per hour.

The fastest charging comes from finding a DC fast charger. Plug-in to one of these on the way to Grandma’s house, and you get 80 miles in 10 minutes with rear-wheel drive or 68 miles with all-wheel drive. Again, think about how you drive; most of the time, charging overnight at home will do the trick.

Infotainment: Something Is Missing

There’s a 17.7-inch infotainment touchscreen that sits front and center on the dashboard. It looks great with those three large air vents sitting just below to create a cohesive look. The system features Google built-in with fantastic voice recognition. It heard us correctly on the first try every time. The touchscreen is responsive and has all the apps you could want, mostly.

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Neither Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto are available and it’s downright frustrating. This was a choice on GM’s part, and it’s one we dislike. Overall, the system was easy to use, but we did discover our vehicle never received the software updates released to fix the problems we mentioned earlier. As a result, our screen turned off and on for no reason, and we even had a couple of fun battery fault codes. A quick call to Chevy and an inspection of the vehicle confirmed the update was missed on our tester, so we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that updated versions work just fine.

Driving Impressions: Easy Going EV Living

The Blazer EV is not a sports car, although the upcoming SS trim might defy that statement. Instead, it’s an attractive, comfortable, and easy-going EV. There’s nothing complicated or fussy to manage, and it makes the work of getting used to driving an EV less daunting. There is an adjustment period when you go EV. Wondering whether it’s on or off because you can’t hear an engine, getting used to the idea of plugging in when you’re on the road, and watching the ever-present range meter takes some adjustment. That’s the case with any EV.

Where the Blazer EV makes it easy is in its clean presentation of all that information. You can deep dive into the tech and refine the drive, but you don’t need to get bogged down in the details – simply sit down and drive. There’s no “On” button, another adjustment, with the vehicle turning on when you hop in with the key. There’s no off button either, most of the time, which was the one bit of confusion we experienced.

If you put the car in park and hop right out, it turns off automatically. If you sit for a second or two, it assumes you don’t want it to turn off. In those cases, there’s a button on the touchscreen that lets you manually turn things off. Make sure you tell anyone who valets your car, otherwise they’ll be utterly confused.

Acceleration is strong with no trouble getting up to speed or passing slowpokes. The Blazer EV handles well, too, with light steering that doesn’t demand too much of the driver. The ride is smooth overall, but rough pavement does cause a bit of vibration in the cabin. It also has a surprisingly loud EV sound. It’s that little hum all EVs make to ensure pedestrians aren’t startled. It’s melodic, but it’s loud – enough so that our local Starbucks barista asked about the melody.

Pricing And Verdict: Stylish and Affordable

The Blazer EV is technically available in three trims, but you can currently buy only two. The base LT, which is all-wheel drive only, starts at $48,800, excluding the $1,395 destination charge. The mid-range RS is $53,200 with all-wheel drive or $54,200 with rear-wheel drive. There’s also the SS, which promises 557 horsepower and 648 lb-ft of torque. This performance trim has yet to make its debut with pricing still to come. We like the RS trim for its added features, but performance-wise, you will be just fine with the base LT.

Both the LT and RS are eligible for the $7,500 tax credit to help make them even more affordable. And if you looked at those prices months ago and the Blazer EV suddenly seems cheaper, you’re not wrong. Chevy dropped the initial price by around $5K depending on the configuration, and offered rebates for those who bought at the higher price. Even with those cuts, it does come in higher than much of its competition, including the VW ID.4 and Ioniq 5.

There’s a lot to like about the Chevrolet Blazer EV, from its style to its features to its more affordable price. It handles nicely with plenty of power and it’s fun to drive. It’s truly a standout in the Chevy lineup for its interior, but what makes it such a strong offering is that is does a few things really well – it feels like a complete package. Our main quibble is the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but if you can get past that hurdle, the Blazer EV is a fantastic option.