This Is Our 2024 Autoweek Vanguard Award, Vehicle

Performance, styling, and technology are important, of course, but EV development has reached a point that puts the sticker price at the forefront. The need to bring EV technology down market is imperative. Buy-in needs to come from all corners, not just from the 1% or those interested in electric hypercars.

The truly game-changing aspect of the Equinox EV is its 2025 LT trim base price: an eye-opening $34,995 with destination charges. It’s the key reason that the Chevrolet Equinox EV earns an Autoweek Vanguard Award, Vehicle, for 2024.

General Motors has finally brought its high-tech, modular electric platform (nee Ultium) to the near-entry-level, with a stout 319 miles on a charge. Factor in the available $7,500 federal tax credit (eligible based on assembly in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico), and the Equinox EV enters the rarified air of battery-electrics available in the US for under $30k.

The price for that bare-bones front-wheel-drive model, if you can find one, is $27,495.

That’s a space GM has not occupied since the recent departure of the Chevy Bolt compact hatch—a much smaller and less capable EV. The budget-friendly Equinox EV actually sets the stage for next year’s arrival of a redesigned Bolt that will be GM’s first model to use less expensive lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

Between the Equinox EV and the next-gen Bolt, GM has the potential to unlock the EV market for millions of consumers who would buy a new EV if only they could afford one.

The big question is whether GM can make any money on the Equinox EV, and that probably depends on how many customers opt for more expensive trim levels.

But kudos to GM for staying the course in an EV market that isn’t growing as quickly as it was two years ago. Automotive history is rich with examples of hard work that failed to make money—until it did. Surviving the treacherous waters of the modern EV market requires patience.

Still, the Equinox EV is poised to make inroads with a smart, user-friendly interior, loads of two-row practicality, and expressive styling to go along with that attractive sticker price and range that has crossed the crucial 300-mile threshold.

Yes, the Equinox EV entered the market earlier this year at a higher price point, and the loaded 2024 3RS trim level we recently tested stickered for a sobering $52,795.

But the blacked-out 21-inch rims look great, and the 17.7-inch high-resolution Google-based infotainment screen is easily navigated, as is the 11-inch fully digital driver information cluster. And there were enough redundant hard buttons for climate settings and volume to limit digging into the infotainment screen.

Plus, that seemingly high price included an electrified axle for AWD and GM’s excellent Super Cruise technology for hands-free long-haul highway driving—a feature limited strictly to Cadillac offerings not long ago.

There are no long-range EVs in the US that can compete with the ’25 Equinox EV based on price. It’s in line with the much smaller Hyundai Kona Electric SE, which starts at $34,270. But there’s an important consideration: There’s no $7,500 federal tax credit for the Kona Electric, which is built in the Czech Republic. And the Kona Electric only has 200 miles of estimated range.

It’s an even more favorable comparison to the Kia Niro EV, which starts at nearly $41k with 253 miles of range. Again, there’s no $7,500 tax credit for the Niro EV, which comes from a plant in South Korea.

The Nissan Leaf hatchback is much smaller—and ancient at this point—and starts at $29,280 if you can make do with 150 miles of range. But it’s assembled in Smyrna, Tennessee, making it eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit.

If you want the Leaf with a bigger battery and an estimated 212 miles of range, then you step up to the Leaf SV Plus, which starts at $37,285 with destination. This version of the Leaf, even after the federal tax credit, is priced well above the base Equinox EV.

How about the Tesla Model Y, VW ID.4, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Nissan Ariya, or Volvo EX30? They all would compete with the 220-hp FWD Equinox EV (or 300 hp with AWD) in terms of size, range, and performance, but the Chevy slays them all on price.

Fielding a competent, stylish, functional EV for under $30k is no small feat.

Have you driven a Chevy Equinox EV, or plan to do a test drive? Please comment below.