When I sat down with Chevrolet's Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Majoro, at the vehicle's launch over the summer, he told me the Equinox EV was designed to pass the test of the "kitchen table conversation."
"You have to be able to look at your partner and say, 'This car meets our family's fundamental needs,'" he said.
So, when I got the chance to drive the $46,595 Equinox EV for a week, I wanted to test the practicality of Chevy's newest electric car with my partner and our two-year-old son.
Over seven days with the car, I racked up hundreds of miles. I ran lots of errands, drove into Detroit almost every day, and even commuted to Ann Arbor a couple of times.
I'll admit that I was skeptical going in. Over the years, I have experienced my fair share of range anxiety and learning curves with new electric cars. But the Equinox EV slotted pretty seamlessly into our busy life.
The Equinox EV backseat just barely fits our toddler's rear-facing car seatThe car seat was a tight squeeze, but it still fit in the back of the Equinox.
Nora Naughton, Business Insider
Installing the car seat was the first test for the Equinox EV, and it barely passed.
Luckily my partner and I are both under 5'5", which allowed enough space for the car seat behind the driver's seat where we normally install.
For a taller driver, you'd probably have to put the car seat on the passenger side. A taller passenger might lose some precious leg room.
The Equinox handled our monthly Costco haul surprisingly well. We didn't have to lower the second row to fit our monthly Costco haul in the trunk.
Nora Naughton, Business Insider
Despite the cramped second row, the Equinox EV boasts an impressive 57.2 cubic feet of cargo space.
Our monthly Costco haul for a family of three (plus two dogs and two cats) fit perfectly in the trunk. Surprisingly, we didn't need to lower the second row. I can't say the same for our Subaru Crosstrek when we take it on the same monthly errand.
I loved Super Cruise, but my partner wasn't sold. I let Super Cruise get me to and from Detroit and Ann Arbor a few times.
Nora Naughton, Business Insider
I had a lot of commuting during my week with the Equinox EV, and Super Cruise made that a lot easier.
GM's hands-free driver assist feature made highway driving a breeze, particularly during rush hour when I could rely on automatic lane-changing. Hitting the blinker activates the feature, and the car changes lanes on its own when it finds a safe opening.
My partner could only handle it for a few miles on the way to the movie theater before she asked me to put my hands back on the wheel.
This wasn't my first time using Super Cruise, so I knew I could trust the technology. But first-timers there is clearly a bit more hesitation.
Access to Tesla Superchargers gave us enough juice to get from sleepovers to soccer games. For most of the week, I was the only non-Tesla vehicle at the Supercharger locations I visited
Nora Naughton/Business Insider
We had a busy weekend with the Equinox EV. We racked up about 200 miles between Saturday and Sunday, commuting for a sleepover, a soccer game, and a movie night for my partner and me.
I only had to charge twice, once on Saturday after dropping off my son in Ann Arbor for a sleepover and once on Sunday night before heading to Detroit for dinner.
Both trips to the Tesla Supercharger, a new amenity for GM's electric cars, only lasted about 30 minutes each, and I charged up to 80% both times.
By the last day with the Equinox EV, my partner and I were discussing buying our own EV.The Chevrolet Equinox EV
Nora Naughton, Business Insider
On our last drive with the Equinox EV, my partner and I reflected on how little the car disrupted our lives in the seven days it sat in our driveway. We started to picture a life with our own electric car.
As we pulled into our driveway, my partner was already scrolling away on her phone, shopping for EV leasing deals.
I've driven lots of EVs over the years, and my partner has watched me struggle to maintain a charge, sift through owner's manuals, and count my miles obsessively.
With the Equinox EV, however, the mix of charging options, from Superchargers to GM's fast-charging network, took most of the stress out of the equation. Add in the impressive cargo space and familiar Chevrolet features, and the Equinox EV becomes a practical choice — just as GM intended.
