Michael Frank
Common Motors seems to have solved the issue that was holding again the manufacturing of its Ultium-based electrical autos. These are actually rolling out of factories—you may anticipate to learn in regards to the new Silverado EV tomorrow and the (allegedly inexpensive) Equinox EV subsequent week, to call however two. We obtained a first-blush drive of the Blazer this previous winter earlier than GM needed to put a cease on gross sales because of some… glitches. Now, with the car again on sale and the software program debugged, it is time to see if the fixes helped.
In reintroducing the Blazer EV and returning it to market, Chevy has additionally lowered the value fairly considerably, by a mean of about $6,000 per mannequin. The LT AWD now begins at $48,800, and there is a $7,500 incentive for patrons who aren’t eligible for the IRS clear car tax credit score. The RS AWD, which we examined, has an MSRP of $53,200, however with the supply cost and GM’s money on the hood, it got here in at $47,095. Each have an 85 kWh battery good for 279 miles (449 km) max vary per cost. The longer-range, bigger-battery 102 kWh RS RWD boasts a extra spectacular 324 miles ( 521 km) per cost and works out to $48,670.
These are fairly aggressive costs when you think about the mid-sized EV SUV phase. An apparent comparability: The Ioniq 5 SE AWD prices $49,350 and can’t qualify for the federal tax credit score (until leased), and its vary runs shy of the Chevy Blazer RS AWD, too, at 260 miles (418 km) versus the Chevy’s 279.
The Ioniq 5 is a fairly good comparability, too, by way of being a wagon-ish trip, which is about the place the Blazer lands. The Hyundai is just too low to consider as an SUV, and ditto the Chevy. Each are very shut by way of inside dimensions, with virtually the identical hip, shoulder, and legroom entrance and rear—though in case you get the sunroof package deal on the Blazer, rear seat headroom will get pinched fairly considerably. Our tester did not have a sunroof, and six-footers may sit again there with out scraping their scalps.
Michael Frank
The seats within the Blazer EV are surprisingly good. Actually, it was only a darn high quality car by way of driving consolation, in marked distinction to the fashions we examined in December. These vehicles could have suffered from preproduction glitches, however the Blazer EV RS we simply spent per week with is snug for each fore and aft passengers over lengthy distances, with about the one demerit that the 21-inch wheels really feel as huge as they’re, so there is a deadness to the steering. Additionally, in case you’re nonetheless cross-shopping that Hyundai, the Ioniq 5 is a considerably lighter automobile, weighing 4,519 lbs (2,050 kg) vs. 5,337 lbs (2,421 kg) for the Blazer RS, and the driving force will really feel that weight within the type of sluggish transitions by means of tight corners. The RS stands for “Rally Sport,” by way of vehicles just like the Camaro, however this is not a rig you need to “rally.”
However that is high quality. The Blazer EV is a household automobile, and as such, it is fairly nice, with 25.5 cubic ft (722 L) of cargo capability with the rear seatbacks upright, and 59.1 cubic ft (1,673 L) with them flipped ahead. The Ioniq 5 affords a few cubic ft extra cargo quantity than the Blazer EV with the rear seats in use, and with the Ioniq 5’s seats folded, it is principally a wash.
The Chevy Blazer RS AWD EV delivers 288 hp (212 kW) and 333 lb-ft (451 Nm). This feels lots muscular, if not “blazing,” with 0–60 mph occasions reported within the six-second vary. Nevertheless, the Ioniq 5 SE’s 320 hp (239 kW) and 446 lb-ft (605 Nm) make that automobile fairly fast certainly, and proper on the heels of the opposite elephant within the family-car throwdown, the Tesla Mannequin Y.
Driving isn’t the difficulty—the tech is
Michael Frank
It is vital to say the Tesla Mannequin Y as a result of that is one other EV that does not bake in Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Tesla followers have a tendency to not gripe about this, partly as a result of the software program in Teslas may be very streamlined and pared again. It isn’t lovable, however it’s not onerous to pair a telephone and play what’s on there. Against this, one motive GM needed to yank the wire on gross sales of the Blazer was that the automobile’s software program was exceedingly glitchy; this wasn’t about GM switching to its proprietary Ultifi UI however that it wasn’t working. For our take a look at drive week, it labored as promised—simply not in a approach that argues properly for eliminating Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.
When GM went to its Ultifi system and ditched Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the argument was supposedly partly about driver management and utilizing the car’s native UI vs. Apple’s. But when the native UI is worse than Apple’s, you will have an issue. And each Android Auto and CarPlay—that are simply constrained variations of their telephone UIs—have been refined by means of testing with billions of customers over tons of of hundreds of thousands of mixed hours of use. No carmaker could make something like that declare about their in-house UI. Megacorp tech giants are not at all the reply to our prayers, however there’s a motive these platforms have gained a lot floor as infotainment constructions in our vehicles and houses.
And you may get an “exhibit A” for why that issues if you attempt to tee up an audio supply when driving the Blazer EV.
