DEL MAR, CA – From the moment you “start” the ’24 Chevrolet Blazer EV, merely by having the key fob present inside the cabin, sitting in the driver’s seat and stepping on the brake pedal, it’s evident this is a different kind of vehicle.
Yes, other automakers have used similar technology to bring their battery-electric vehicles to life. But in the Chevy it seems surprising, probably because it comes in a mainstream machine that looks and feels much more like its internal-combustion brethren than a BEV science project.
Click the Blazer EV into gear and it exhibits many of the same traits we’ve come to expect and enjoy in BEVs, but with some caveats, at least in the rear- and all-wheel-drive RS models we test here in southern California. Our drives include a short local tour in the rear-drive RS, followed by a four-hour loop in an RS fitted with e-AWD.
There’s good low-end torque, thanks to a permanent-magnet motor generating 340 hp and 325 lb.-ft. (441 Nm) of torque in the RWD setup, and 288 hp and 333 lb.-ft. (451 Nm) in the AWD variant. The AWD model is equipped with a smaller, 245-hp permanent-magnet front motor and a 43-hp magnet-free induction motor on the rear axle that typically engages only when the front wheels slip.
Note the word “good” to describe launch torque; it’s not the same kind of head-snapping start we’ve come to know – and respect – in most electrics. While there’s still plenty of punch, it’s a more linear application of power, similar to the feel of an ICE powertrain.
That’s by design, says Bret Dick, lead development engineer, who is riding shotgun with us on this media test program. The intent is to make the Blazer EV operate more in common with the ICE vehicles most buyers are moving from as they transition into BEVs.
Similarly, there’s very smooth regenerative braking in Normal mode, reducing vehicle speed without inducing unnecessary levels of head toss or body movement. A steering wheel-mounted “Regen on Demand” paddle provides extra regenerative braking to induce one-pedal stops under most conditions. Regen can be turned off completely through the center screen; conversely, a much more aggressive High regen mode can be accessed, but we found it too hyper for smooth driving.
The vehicle also offers an array of driving modes: Tour, Sport, Snow/Ice and My Mode allowing for personalization of the responsiveness of the steering and powertrain. Sport mode cranks up throttle and regen response and engages a noticeably tauter steering feel via the rack-mounted electric power-steering motor. It also amps up the electric motor “sound.” Here again, the Blazer EV doesn’t create ICE-like engine or exhaust tones, but simply raises the profile of the existing electric motor, Dick notes. A pulsating pedestrian-warning tone sounds outside the vehicle to 24 mph (37 km/h).
Both for comfort in the drive experience but also to consistently measure propulsion system performance, we drive in Tour mode for most of our 152-mile (245-km) route from seaside to the 5,700-ft. (1,737-m) summit of the nearby Laguna Mountains.
We start out with an observed 98% charge in our 10-module, 85-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, with a maximum range of 277 miles (446 km), just short of the vehicle’s designed limit of 279 miles (449 km). Ambient temperature is in the mid-70s and we run moderate air conditioning throughout the drive.
During the drive, the vehicle’s efficiency gauge hovers around 2.8 mi./kWh, with that number dipping below 2.0 mi./kWh on the uphill trek but skyrocketing to a high of 5.8 mi./kWh on the regen-heavy coast back down. Final numbers as we return to the staging area: 4.8 mi./kWh, having used 151 miles (243 km) of range to complete the 152-mile route. Battery charge sits at 48%, with 126 miles (203 km) of range still available.
Note that the RS RWD, on sale by the end of the year, is equipped with a 12-module, 102-kWh battery giving the Blazer EV an EPA-estimated 324-mile (521-km) range. Coming versions include an AWD LT (with the same powertrain as our RS AWD tester) by the end of this year, a range-topping, 557-hp AWD SS due next spring and finally, a front-drive LT due later in 2024 (as a ’25 model) that’s expected to be the top seller. A front-drive LT version with a smaller, 8-module battery pack was scrapped since the vehicle’s reveal in July 2022.
Some charging times: the RS AWD picks up about 69 miles (111 km) in 10 minutes on a 150-kW DC fast charger; the RS AWD gains 78 miles (126 km) on a 190-kW charger.
Inside, the Blazer RS offers plenty of cabin and cargo room, with nicely bolstered, red-trimmed seats, a fat, leather-trimmed steering wheel (also standard on the coming SS model) and cool, red-accented radial A/C vents that include a choice of nighttime illumination colors. Back-seat legroom and headroom is ample, with slight gains over the ICE-equipped Blazer.
Electronic equipment includes a 17.7-in. (45-cm) horizontal center touchscreen that melds into an 11-in. (28-cm) instrument cluster. Two USB-C outlets are available for each row, along with heated and ventilated seats in both rows. A unique, energy-saving feature activates seat heating or ventilation depending on seat usage, based on whether the seat belt at that position is buckled.
The Blazer EV, in keeping with plans for all of Chevy’s BEVs, rides on a longer wheelbase and sits lower, with a sportier, more aerodynamic appearance compared with its more truck-like ICE sibling, says Scott Bell, Chevrolet global vice president.
While he’s here to promote the BEV version of the Blazer, Bell notes the brand will offer ICEs and BEVs in the highest-volume market segments: light trucks, midsize CUVs and compact CUVs (when the Equinox EV arrives early next year). He says Chevy’s portfolio will continue to include ICEs and EVs “for years to come” and that the brand is prepared to pivot to plug-in hybrids if market demand is there.
Back at the staging area, we learn that to turn the Blazer EV off, we can either tap the power icon on the center touchscreen (and confirm we want to shut down) or simply hop out of the vehicle with the key fob in hand. Simple, but again, surprising in a Chevy.
That bit of tech wizardry aside, Chevy’s goal is to take BEVs into the mainstream market, says chief engineer Marisa Cullens. At $60,215 at tested, our Blazer EV RS AWD might be priced a little rich for that, but the coming Equinox EV, and the planned return of an all-new Bolt EV in 2025, give the bowtie brand a better chance than most at finding a place in America’s newly electrified driveways.
