The Blazer EV is the first Chevrolet vehicle on General Motors’ new Ultium platform, which is the automaker’s name for the batteries and electric motors that power its latest group of EVs. The Cadillac Lyriq and Honda Prologue share the same platform.
And, on paper at least, the Blazer EV seems like it should be a slam-dunk: A sleek-looking midsized all-electric SUV with a roughly 280-mile driving range and relatively quick home charging, potentially igniting a new-era pony-car war with the Ford Mustang Mach-E. The Blazer EV certainly delivers its 288 horsepower (from front and rear electric motors on the version we tested, which give it all-wheel drive) in a smooth and linear way. Horsepower is increased to 300 for 2025. It also benefits from a well-tuned “one-pedal driving” system that makes it pretty easy to utilize its aggressive regenerative-braking settings.
But the Blazer EV suffers from a stiff ride, lackluster steering, long braking distances, and flat, unsupportive seats. Plus, it’s the first GM vehicle to ditch Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility for custom software designed in partnership with Google—that move alone could be a deal-breaker for some buyers. All these negatives add up, and its road-test score suffers compared to better designed EV SUVs on the market.
To its credit, the Blazer EV qualifies for the $7,500 federal tax credit, which brings the price of a well-equipped all-wheel-drive example to below $45,000.
We bought a Chevrolet Blazer EV RS AWD—anonymously from an area dealer, as we do with every vehicle we test—for the purpose of this road test review.
The Blazer EV’s powertrain is a bright spot. The power stemming from its front and rear electric motors is put to the road in an extremely smooth and measured way. It isn’t overly-snappy off the line like in some EVs; instead, the power feels perfectly proportional to the driver’s inputs. It’s also easy to creep along at slow speeds, such as when maneuvering around a parking lot or in stop-and-go traffic.
But although the Blazer EV has decent zip if you punch the accelerator pedal at lower speeds, it has to move 5,240-pounds-worth of midsized SUV (for comparison, that’s about 1,000-pounds heavier than the last V6-powered Blazer we tested, which is about the same size). As such, there just isn’t much verve left in reserve at speeds above 60 mph. This was borne out by its 6.3-second sprint from 0 to 60 mph; while that’s quicker than most vehicles on the road, it’s about a second (or more) slower than most of its EV competitors. We also don’t like that the Blazer EV defaults to a setting that brings simulated electric-motor sounds, which most of us found too loud and annoying. It takes a bit of fiddling to figure out how to turn them off, but once off they stay that way.
The RS AWD we tested has an EPA-rated driving range of 279 miles, which is a commendable distance. For 2025, this increases to 283 miles. It backed that up with a respectable 275 miles during our 70 mph highway-range test. The Blazer EV comes with an 11.5-kilowatt onboard charger, which facilitates relatively quick home charging, provided the charger in your garage is on a 50-amp circuit breaker. It takes about 10 hours to charge the 85-kilowatt-hour battery from empty. At public DC fast-charging places, the Blazer can accept a maximum of 150 kW, which is merely average these days. Plus, the Blazer EV won’t benefit from the newer, quicker 350-kW chargers.
We found the “one-pedal driving” mode (in which you control the car’s acceleration and braking with just the accelerator pedal) easy to operate, both in terms of its smoothness when stepping off the accelerator pedal to slow the vehicle down, and in judging your stopping points without having to press on the physical brake pedal to come to a complete halt. We appreciate that the button to turn the one-pedal system on or off is fairly prominent on the infotainment touchscreen. You can also apply strong regenerative braking force on-demand, without needing to have the “one-pedal” mode engaged, by squeezing a paddle on the left side of the steering wheel. Unlike many EVs, we found the Blazer EV’s brake pedal quite normal-feeling and easy to modulate for those times when you do need to use it. But panic-brake stopping distances at our track were longer than most of the Blazer EV’s competitors.
Any hopes for sporty handling were dashed by the Blazer EV’s vague and rather slow steering, which telegraphs little to the driver about tire grip—the lack of handling zest is particularly glaring compared to the much more fun-to-drive Mustang Mach-E. On the bright side, the Blazer EV’s suspension does a great job controlling body roll through corners when you push the pace on a twisty road. But the ride is too stiff, partly due to the large, low-profile 21-inch tires that come on the RS trim we tested. There’s also a lot of suspension noise over bumps. Hit a pothole and you’ll hear a “clunk,” which makes the Blazer EV seem unrefined.
We also rented a 2024 rear-wheel-drive RS from Chevrolet. Although this version still exhibited many of the negatives our testers found with our all-wheel-drive model, such as an overly stiff ride and lack of steering feel, the silver lining of the rear-wheel-drive RS is it’s EPA-estimated 324-mile driving range—an additional 45 miles over the all-wheel-drive versions. For 2025 this additional range increases to 51 miles as the rear-wheel-drive RS is rated for 334 miles by the EPA, while the all-wheel-drive RS is rated for 283 miles.
The front seats look attractive and sporty, with suede center sections and red stitching, but there’s scant lateral support from the side bolsters (especially the bottom cushion) to help hold you in place through corners. The driving position offers lots of headroom and well-placed armrests, but the padding for the latter is on the firm side. Although the wide center console hems in the driver’s right knee, we appreciated that it’s slightly padded there. More than anything, though, it takes a while to get used to how deep the dashboard is—you feel like you’re sitting quite far away from the base of the windshield and the hood, which is an odd sensation. Outward visibility is compromised by the Blazer EV’s extremely thick windshield pillars and rather chopped windows most of the way around the vehicle, which form some significant blind spots.
There’s a lot of room in the rear seat, with enough head- and knee room for most adults, along with good foot space beneath the front seats and decent under-leg support. But, as with up front, it lacks contouring—passengers feel like they are sitting on the seat, rather than in it. Some passengers also noted that comfort was compromised by the protruding child-seat anchors that can dig into your lower back, depending on how you sit.
Almost all controls are handled through the large, 17.7-inch infotainment touchscreen, including media, headlights, and even turning the Blazer EV off. It features Chevrolet's latest software, which integrates Google products such as maps and voice assistant. In spite of its massive size, the screen is crowded with icons and tiny buttons, which are difficult to select while driving and make the whole screen seem visually overwhelming. Numerous shortcuts line the outer edges of the screen, which add to the clutter. Many climate functions can be easily adjusted with physical buttons and dials, though some common features—such as the seat heaters—must still be done through the touchscreen. Glaringly, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are not available.
The column-mounted electronic gear selector and left-hand side windshield wiper stalk controls take some getting used to. We also noticed that the low center dash vents tend to supply air to the driver’s elbows and knees, at the expense of sending it to your upper body and face. At least the circular vents are easy to adjust. Fortunately, and unlike some other EVs of this ilk, the Blazer has conventional door handles and a rear wiper.
Standard active safety and driver assistance features include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, and automatic high beams. Automatic emergency braking that operates at highway speeds, reverse automatic emergency braking, lane centering assistance, and adaptive cruise control are all available. General Motors’ excellent Super Cruise active driving assistance system, which combines adaptive cruise control and lane centering assistance, is also available, and allows for hands-free driving on pre-mapped highways.