2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV RS AWD Review: Personal Growth

To call the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV a big deal is like calling Jeff Bezos simply rich: technically correct, but lacking appropriate context.

The Blazer EV has had to wear more hats than Nelly and the Madden twins combined. It ushers in a new era of EVs at the Bow Tie brand as the first semi-affordable take on the Ultium platform; it targets the toughest electric segment out there; it earned plaudits almost immediately—and then Chevy removed it from sale for a little over two months.

Springing back with refreshed software and a reduced price, the Blazer EV checks a whole lot of boxes on paper. Living with a Blazer EV RS AWD for a week presented some hang-ups, though again: context matters.

The whole kit and kaboodle. Depending on who you ask, this is either Chevrolet’s first or second all-electric SUV; we’re on team Number One, because the Bolt EUV was just the limo-fied version of the hatchback. The first mainstream application of the Ultium platform, it targets the heart of the electrified high-rider segment: the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Volkswagen ID.4, amongst others. Despite the name, it shares nothing with the gas-powered Blazer, other than broadly similar measurements.

Chevrolet will eventually offer the Blazer EV in many forms, including front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive variants—something very rare in the automotive world. There will even be a high-performance, 557-horsepower SS model. For now however, just two trim and powertrain options exist: the LT and RS with dual-motor AWD, and a rear-drive RS.

Eschewing the industry norms, the AWD models don’t just have less range (279 miles / 449 kilometers) than the RWD offering (324 mi / 521 km): they have less power, too. The RS has a dual-motor setup for a mid-pack 288 horsepower and 333 pound-feet of torque, pulling charge from an 85.0-kilowatt-hour battery pack. Stick to the single motor and you’ll find a lower curb weight, larger battery pack (102 kWh), 340 hp and 325 lb-ft.

The Blazer EV takes Chevy’s current design language down a more three-dimensional path. Yes it has squinty headlights, but now each side terminates in a thin, horizontal “T.” A strong character line flows like waves just below the windows. The EV has less than an inch in length on the ICE, but it’s 1.3 in (33 millimeters) wider and 2.0 inches (51 mm) squatter. A huge stretch in wheelbase—8.8 in (224 mm) to now 121.8 in (3,094 mm)—gives the Blazer EV a very different stance.

In RS trim, this electric SUV picks up glossy black bits across its exterior, including the faux-grille up front. It also gains 21-inch alloys, up from the LT’s 19s, which manage to not impact the official EPA-quoted range a single bit.

Those average power figures? As you’d expect, they translate to an average driving experience, too. The two-motor setup is adequate and predictable, with a smooth build up to highway speed. It lacks the urgency of the Koreans or the Ford, but the Blazer EV is level with the rest of the field. That’s fine, though the styling does suggest a spritelier experience; best left for the SS, I suppose.

Proper one-pedal driving is on the menu, with two settings. The more aggressive option can be tough to modulate in the city, but the other is an excellent sweet spot, easy to predict and natural in its responses.

Official efficiency figures for the Blazer EV AWD are 35.0 kWh per 100 miles (EPA) and 21.9 kWh per 100 kilometers (NRCAN). Even including a good chunk of highway driving, this tester comfortably beat those figures, suggesting a range closer to 300 miles (483 km). Public chargers were not kind to the Blazer, mind you: plugged into 50 kW chargers it never got better than 35 kW through its CCS port. (The quoted peak is 150 kW, or 190 kW for the RWD model.)

Chevrolet says bi-directional charging will arrive later, though an exact date is unknown.

Weighing in at around 5,500 pounds (2,495 kilograms), the Blazer EV is one chunky SUV. Like practically all of its competitors however, it generally masks the weight quite well, carrying its pouch-style battery pack low in the chassis. At low speeds it feels solidly planted and even eager, only feeling its heft in high-speed direction changes. Despite the large rolling stock, the Blazer EV handles bumps and uneven surfaces quite well. The steering is whisper-light, because of course it is.

There’s a fun balance hidden here, one that suggests the RS RWD might be a genuine foil for the Mach-E.

EVs are meant to be quiet. The Blazer sure isn’t.

It starts pretty early in the week. While the suspension keeps body motions in control, it relays a lot of audible thumps and bonks into the cabin. There are creaks from headliner right around the rear seats, and a constant, rattly buzz from the head-up display enclosure. Pile on the speed and then the wind noise joins the jam session, coming up from those chunky A-pillars.

It’s too bad, as the Blazer’s passenger comfort is pretty darned good. It has nearly identical measurements to the ICE Blazer, so it’s roomy. Bizarrely, the EV does have less rear legroom despite that huge wheelbase advantage. It doesn’t translate into more cargo space, either: the EV has 25.5 cubic feet (722 liters) compared to 30.5 cu ft (864 L). It’s not like there’s a frunk to expand on that, either.

Big points to Chevy for giving the Blazer EV a cabin that doesn’t try to be unusual or too pared back. The stylish dashboard design incorporates soft-touch materials, two-tone stitching, appears to peel back to reveal those cool, semi-translucent, oversized air-con vents. Speaking of, while climate controls exist on the lower portion of the touchscreen, Chevy has wisely kept a few physical controls just below.

The multi-material seats are a little flat in the lower cushion but otherwise quite comfortable for longer trips. The same goes for the second-row accommodations, though the surroundings are noticeably lower-quality.

Many words, both digital and printed, have been spilled about Chevy’s decision to skip Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration. I won’t add much to it, other than repeating that this is a short-sighted move that will probably (hopefully) be reversed.

Is the native setup good? Oh yeah: Chevy’s had a handle on good user experience for a while now, and the newer setup on that pretty, 17.7-inch main touchscreen is largely great. Menus are easy to navigate, responses are speedy, you get the idea. The native navigation is especially clever, accounting for current state of charge and even pre-conditioning the battery should your route be taking you to a charger. Clever stuff.

My complaints focus in on the peripherals. The driver display is a mixed bag: there are different layouts available but precious few options in terms of real customization—and what is there requires a protracted fiddle with the central screen to display it. Why are multiple steering wheel controls dedicated to audio instead? A lack of a physical on-off button is a miss for me as well.

There’s a pretty robust driver assistance suite as standard, including a useful 360-degree camera (in Canada; optional in the US). If anything, the system is too eager: the cross-traffic alert would regularly vibrate the seat on right-hand turns if the car behind happened to inch forward. The rear automatic emergency braking halted the car no less than three times during parallel parking. My personal rule with testers is to keep all these systems on for most of the week to, well, test them. The Blazer EV pushed me to reconsider that.

While Chevy has said Super Cruise will arrive at some nebulous future time, it’s low-key shocking that it isn’t currently available on the Blazer EV despite debuting seven years ago. It is an excellent system, and that is an opportunity missed.

When the Blazer EV came back on sale, it did so with a substantial price reduction. As tested, this RS AWD model would ring in at $57,710 in America including $1,395 in destination charges; the only options being the Convenience and Driver Confidence Package ($2,620) and premium paint ($495). In Canada, the as-tested price is $67,294 CAD including $2,500 in delivery fees.

That puts the Blazer right in the thick of the segment, hovering right around the Mach-E and Ioniq 5—the latter of which it comfortably undercuts in the US. The Tesla Model Y Dual-Motor Long Range is substantially more affordable in America—around $8,000—but is only about a grand below the Chevy in Canada.

Chevy is currently offering a $7,500 “Ultium Promise” rebate in the US (not applicable on leases). Canada does it different, where a federal government incentive can cover $4,425 CAD at the time of writing.

There are kernels of greatness within the Blazer EV experience. The cabin is excellent, the infotainment is smart, and the ride is mature. It’s quite efficient and, thanks to that price cut, reasonably affordable now.

It was also glitchy and noisy, in some cases feeling more akin to a pre-production model on a first drive event than a model that’s ostensibly been in production for half a year now. Excusing the cabin creaks as signs of hard treatment from journalists, most of the other issues can be fixed or at the very least massaged. Should GM do that, the Blazer EV could be a real winner.

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