Connectivity Issue: The 2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV

Let's give GM some credit right off the bat.

Five years ago, there were a lot of people laughing at that GM Super Bowl ad...not because Will Ferrell was funny, and not because we were still five years away from threatening to invade that big island 870 miles west of Norway, but because nobody thought GM of all companies was going to outperform in electric vehicles.

Today? Cadillac alone makes five (Optiq, Lyriq, Vistiq, Escalade IQ and Celestiq). GMC has the Sierra EV and has re-activated the Hummer brand for the Hummer EV SUV and Hummer EV pickup. And Chevrolet...Bolt, Blazer EV, Equinox EV and Silverado EV.

That's twelve.

Meantime, the traditional competition---what people used to call "the big three"---not so much.

Dodge took such blowback for introducing the new Charger as an EV that it couldn't start stuffing twin-turbo V6 engines underneath the hood quick enough, while still selling (when it can) the electric Dodge Charger and talking a lot about "choice".

Elsewhere at Stellantis (Dodge's parent company), the jury is still very much out on the Jeep Wagoneer S and the Jeep Recon, and the Fiat 500e appears to have sold about 1,000 copies total in all of 2025.

Ford announced in December that the F-150 Lightning is gone, making its sole battery-electric vehicle (BEV) the Mustang Mach-E, unless you count the E-Transit van, which isn't really intended as a passenger vehicle.

But GM? It went big, making a wide range of unique EVs that may have familiar names, but aren't just electrified versions of existing gasoline-powered vehciles. While others have struggled, they've been creating good-looking, feature-packed vehicles like the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV.

The Equinox EV comes in two flavors---front-wheel drive models with 220 horsepower and 319 miles of range per charge and all-wheel drive models with 300 horsepower and 307 miles of range.

The one I drove was FWD, and I found the acceleration acceptable. It's very much in the mainstream of gasoline-powered mid-size crossovers.

The 29.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats and 63.5 with them folded is adequate, but not much more than that.

That's because Chevy chose to put a priority on rear seat legroom. That's 38 inches and you'll find comments from other testers online as tall as six-foot-four who say they felt comfy back there.

Equinox EVs come in three trim levels: LT1, LT2 and RS. Our tester was a front-wheel drive LT2, base price $41,900---$43,295 with destination (see the window sticker at the end of the review for standard equipment).

Our tester also came with some extra-cost options: $3,355 for the Active Safety Package 3, including GM's excellent Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system and an upgrade to three years of OnStar One, as well as enhanced automatic parking assist, $3,100 for Convenience Package II (a six-way power front passenger seat with lumbar, ventilated front seats, memory presets for the driver's seat and exterior mirrors, a rear camera mirror with washer, head-up display, dual zone climate control, a univeral home remote, animated LED headlamps, uplevel LED taillamps, heated wiper storage and 21-inch aluminum wheels), $495 for the Summit White roof, and a $500 "California Emissions Requirements" fee, intended to offset California's warranty requirements, which are stronger than those of the federal government, requiring 10 years of warranty coverage rather than eight.

That all adds up to $50,745 for the total vehicle price.

Last fall, GM CEO Mary Barra announced that GM's decision not to put Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its EVs would be expanded to include all GM vehicles, regardless of propulsion.

Unfortunately, my experience in the Equinox EV made me less likely to trust GM's onboard tech. The system refused to allow me to delete a previous journalist's phone, and even though it allowed me to pair my phone and set it as the primary device, it would then forget that as soon as the car was shut off.

It happened like this every time all week long. And re-connecting wasn't as simple as hitting "connect". I had to go into my phone and "forget" the Equinox EV to start the process over. And it would only work until I left the car.Meantime, the other journo's phone remained in the system, as the preferred device.

So, even knowing I couldn't use CarPlay---just wanting to play by GM's rules---it was beyond frustrating. A survey from Edison Research last summer shows 40% of Americans 18 years and older have and use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. That's more than 100 million people.

If we lived in an era where connecting to our mobile devices weren't a thing, the Equinox would be a home run---an attractive, viable alternative to similar-sized EVs like the now domestically-built Hyundai IONIQ5. But we don't.

It's a major flaw in an otherwise very attractive, very desirable vehicle.

2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV at a Glance:

Price: $41,900 base/$50,745 as tested

Battery: 85 kWh

Horsepower: 220 FWD/300 AWD

Torque: 243 lb-ft FWD/355 lb-ft AWD

Curb Weight: N/A

0-60 Acceleration (manufacturer data): N/A

EPA Fuel Economy Estimate: 108 MPGe FWD/103 MPGe AWD

EPA Range Estimate: 319 miles FWD/307 miles AWD

Charging (manufacturer estimate): Up to 36 miles per hour (Level 2)/Up to 77 miles in 10 minutes (DC Fast Charging at 150kW)

Click in the upper right of the window sticker to expand to fullscreen.