The sea glistens to my right. The light cliffsides contrast beautifully with the ocean and the sky glows the kind of electric blue you never quite believe exists, especially in the middle of November. But this is Southern California and, here, life is good at this time of year. It’s the kind of environment that needs a certain vehicle to do it justice; something new, something fresh, something cool and, to fit the SoCal vibe, something electrified.
It's my good fortune Chevrolet has supplied me the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV.
I'm driving the vehicle in its most advanced form yet; there’s the battery-electric powertrain (motor), and the styling is as modern as you’ll see in the Chevrolet lineup. This starts with the optional two-colour paintjob with contrast-colour roof, and continues with a full-width light bar up front (the headlights themselves sit below it), a smooth front end, uninterrupted by a grille, because, being an EV, this Blazer doesn’t need one. Then you have the option of 21-inch, two-colour wheels. The rear end looks low and wide and purposeful, and the way those big wheels are pushed far to each corner provides a look of athletic compactness befitting the Blazer nameplate.
It all looks great, and, if the Silverado EV that Chevrolet brought along to the event is any indication, the Blazer’s styling bodes well for the rest of Chevrolet’s lineup.
Don’t think that this EV SUV’s compact looks suggest a cramped interior, however. It is, after all, being classified as a mid-size SUV, so passenger space both front and rear is good no matter which of the three — that’s right, three — powertrains you choose: a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive model (RWD); a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive model (eAWD); and, later next year, a single motor front-wheel-drive (FWD) model.
This makes the Blazer the only vehicle on the market that comes available in all three forms.
The single-motor, RWD powertrain does not come in the base LT model (MSRP $59,999). This gets the eAWD powertrain. That’s because the eAWD version comes with the smaller 85 kWh battery and 449 km of range, while the RWD RS (MSRP $69,999, also available with eAWD) gets the larger 102-kWh battery, providing 515 km range.
The RWD produces 340 horsepower and 325 pounds-feet of torque (motive force), while the AWD gets 288 hp and 333 lbs.-ft. Later on, an SS model will arrive with 557 hp and 658 lbs.-ft. of torque — that’s more power than the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and Tesla Model Y Performance, so it should be a banger.
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Inside, the Blazer EV is a feast for the eyes. No matter which trim you choose, you get a 17.7-inch horizontal central display, which is the largest on the market. There’s also an 11-inch digital driver display, heads-up display and digital rear-view mirror to provide a better, wider view rearwards than a conventional mirror would.
One item missing: support for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Instead, there’s Google Built-In, which includes Google Maps, the Google Play Store and other apps baked right into the vehicle. You can log in to your own Google account to make use of Google Assistant or load playlists and you don’t need a mobile device to make use of it. It sounds good in practice — say you have no phone service, but still want to use some online features, now you can — but, while the first three years are free, you will have to pay for a data plan after that and the CarPlay/Android apps are extremely popular amongst buyers today. There’s cursory support for Android and Apple phones, but it’s not of the plug-and-play variety.
Charging the Blazer EV can happen at up to 190 kilowatt-hour (kW), which will return 125 km in 10 minutes of charge. If you prefer to charge on the go, there are two levels of regeneration, or you can turn it all the way off. One-pedal driving will take you all the way to stop just by releasing the throttle, which is great for stop-and-go traffic.
Driving the Blazer EVis a bit of a "Tale of Two Cities"; the RWD version is, of course, lighter, and, as a result, forward progress on throttle tip-in is brisk. It really does come nicely off the line and proceeds to drive not necessarily as a performance crossover, but as a vehicle befitting of the Blazer’s styling.
The 21-inch wheels firm up the ride. I'd prefer a slightly less bouncy ride overall. Thanks to the low centre of gravity, body roll is kept to a minimum through turns. A little more feel through the steering wheel would be welcome, but the handling is good overall.
Switching to the AWD RS, you get a different picture; while it does have more torque, the dip in horsepower can be felt and you don’t get quite the zip you tend to in direct-drive EVs such as this one. The AWD SS will surely change things, but, for now, it feels down on power.
How much that matters, in a vehicle like this, to motorists is up for debate. More important is range and comfort. The Blazer EV, for the most part, delivers.
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