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GM has launched a handful of electric cars in the past two years: the GMC Hummer SUV and its other pickup truck, the Cadillac Lyriq and Silverado EV pickup truck. But so far, none of them have been lucky enough to be the cheapest and smallest. Chevrolet Bolt, the all-electric wedge-shaped sedan that debuted just 8 years ago.
To say the pressure is on for GM and the new Chevrolet Blazer EV — a vehicle designed to satiate Americans’ never-ending appetites for SUVs — is a bit of an understatement. The weight of GM’s EV success doesn’t rest entirely on the all-electric midsize SUV; the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV, GMC Sierra pickup and Cadillac Escalade IQ, all of which are expected in 2024, share that burden.
Still, the Chevrolet Blazer EV is a foundational piece to GM and CEO Mary Barra’s Ultium platform, the new electrical architecture and accompanying Ultifi software, first revealed in 2020, that form the basis of the automaker’s EV plans.
TechCrunch recently traveled to San Diego to see how the Chevrolet Blazer EV performs. The result? The Chevrolet Blazer EV gets a lot of smart stuff, from the external design and internal touches to its infotainment formula user interface and well-established driving. There are no glaring mistakes either, some could position the removal of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in that camp. And thankfully, Chevrolet has designed and produced an absolutely all-around SUV, a welcome relief from the series of new electric cars that have reached market position in recent years.
The big miss is the higher-than-expected price tag. While Chevrolet has said its cheapest version, the front-wheel drive LT trim, will be priced under $50,000, the other versions start at $56,715, $60,215 and $61,790, with the most expensive SS model not even announced yet.
This price diversity leaves me with this punchline: for all its wins, the Blazer EV, which is meant to be sold by volume, is overpriced for what it offers.
Image Credits: GM
First of all, the specifications. The Chevrolet Blazer EV will be presented in 3 trim levels: LT, RS and SS performance. The all-wheel drive Chevy Blazer EV RS edition is now in production at GM’s Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico. The LT and rear-drive RS editions are expected to go into production in the “coming weeks” and later this year, according to the company.
If that sounds like a lot of picks to you, you’re right. Chevrolet has a lot of options. Not only does the customer have 3 versions: Luxury (LT), Rally Sport (RS) and Super Sport (SS), but there are also two other 400-volt battery sizes and a choice between Front, Rear, and All-Wheel Drive. Driving options.
The big question that remains unanswered is: will this delight or overwhelm consumers?
Chevrolet has touted the dizzying number of configurations as a competitive merit that consumers will respond to, unlike Tesla, which has taken the lead in electric vehicle sales with a “less is more” business model. From the outside, one would think that Chevrolet gives it its all. of those options, because it is not clear what consumers want. If that’s the case, I would expect the possible options to become more limited in the long term as Chevrolet focuses on what consumers buy.
The press conference held in San Diego allowed journalists to get behind the wheel of the rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions of the Chevy Blazer EV RS version.
The RWD RS equipped with a 102 kWh battery pack has an EPA certified range of 324 miles and a powertrain that provides 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. That RWD version, which has a bit more pep in its step and longer range, starts at $61,790. The RS AWD starts at $60,215.
A quick word about the all-wheel drive powertrain, which is notably branded eAWD. In this powertrain, there is a 241-horsepower permanent-magnet synchronous motor that powers the front wheels and a 90-horsepower induction motor at the rear axle. That rear motor isn’t working all the time. Instead, customers should think of this as an assistant motor that steps in if the roads are slippery or as they hit the accelerator.
Image credits: Kirsten Korosec
Chevrolet, or rather its parent company GM, made a strategic decision with this midsize SUV by deciding to give it the Blazer badge. After all, the gas-powered Blazer line still exists and will have the same percentage of sales at the dealership. However, the call is where the similarities end, perhaps due to the fact that they are almost the same lengths.
Everything deviates from there. The Blazer EV has a longer wheelbase of 121. 8 inches (almost 10 inches longer than the ICE edition) and is also slightly wider. These features, combined with a lower roofline and athletic stance, give the Chevrolet Blazer EV a sleeker appearance than its gas-powered cousin.
There is a lot to like, and even love, about the Chevy Blazer EV. Loathe? Maybe one or two items made my list.
Opinions about the outdoors will most likely vary; here at TechCrunch, that’s to say that other people hated it, but it has to be said that GM has given the Chevrolet Blazer EV a personality with remarkable external characteristics that save it from hunting like any other homogeneous nugget in form. The vehicle is available in eight colors, with ‘Radiant Red Metallic’ and ‘Galaxy Grey Metallic’ being the features that best highlight the curves and edges of the Blazer EV.
Notably, the automaker does this without making the Blazer EV look like a novelty car. This bold, no-nonsense vibe continues in the cabin, a position where the vehicle shines, with a few exceptions.
Chevrolet makes the most of the Blazer EV’s ample space, a resolution that leaves plenty of room for the driver and passengers; adding 59. 8 cubic feet of rear cargo space. This feeling of spaciousness and spaciousness even extends to the seats themselves. Although the seats are the most comfortable I’ve ever experienced, they’re obviously designed to be compatible with a variety of sizes and shapes.
Image Credits: GM
Once inside the Blazer EV, consumers probably won’t be able to miss the giant 17. 7-inch center touchscreen and 11-inch tool cluster placed directly on the steering wheel. A vehicle with a giant touchscreen doesn’t mean there’s any software running or that it’s easy to use. Fortunately, the Blazer EV, the first Chevrolet vehicle with the Ultifi software platform, does the maximum work.
Let’s start with UX or user experience. The Chevrolet Blazer EV has a combination of physical buttons and buttons, as well as that giant touchscreen. Chevrolet moves the balance between those features and they overlap a lot for those who just need to use the touchscreen to run HVAC and other features.
My favorite features: a large physical button attached to the touchscreen (somewhat reminiscent of the Ford Mustang Mach-E’s button) and icons on the far left of the screen that act as shortcuts to one-pedal driving. There are some shortcut icons grouped together, but the one-pedal driving icon is by far the most useful.
Many, most recently Ford CEO Jim Farley, have criticized GM for abandoning Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which place the user’s phone on the center display. My delight behind the wheel and in the passenger seat has left me less suspicious than before.
The Chevy Blazer EV is equipped with Google Built-in, which is powered by its Android Automotive operating system and integrates Google services including Google Maps and Google Assistant directly into the vehicle. The Google Play Store, YouTube and third-party apps such as Spotify are also available. This translates to fairly smooth operations for the user and a far better experience than what many other wonky infotainment systems offer. Although it should be noted that in the beginning of my drive I had to switch out vehicles due to a software bug that didn’t allow access to any of those features. This should be fixed with a software update and hopefully won’t be a lingering issue.
As for those hiccups: the gearbox works to shift into neutral, driving and wrong-way is tricky and the “sport” mode is not, well, sporty. Despite the small additional impact, there doesn’t seem to be any difference from the general. Driving option called “lap”. The Chevy Blazer EV RS doesn’t have a controlled or active suspension, which means switching between modes doesn’t replace the ride feel. The comments on the guide were also uninspiring in the RS.
This may seem complicated considering all of the vehicle’s wins, but for any vehicle priced above $60,000, expectations deserve to be high.