2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV | MotorWeek First Drive

MotorWeek is made possible by AutoValue and Bumper2Bumper and TireRack.com Chevrolet is no stranger to EVs and even helped make mass production of them mainstream First with the beloved Volt, and then with the Bolt EV But a new day is here, and so is the all-new 2024 Blazer EV We took a quick trip to San Diego to get some time behind the wheel for a first drive While it shares the same name as its internal combustion counterpart it doesn't share much else The Blazer EV is built on the Altium platform same as every other all-electric vehicle from General Motors except for the current Bolt, of course which will make the switch in the near future The Blazer EV is lower, longer, wider, and sleeker than the mid-size 5-seater we're familiar with and has exterior design cues that remind us of its Lyric cousin Well-equipped Blazer EVs see a cool light bar that spans between the headlights along with an illuminated bowtie Three trim levels will be available LT, RS, and SS Base LT models have the option of front-wheel drive or e-all-wheel drive No real details on the front-wheel drive version yet but e-all-wheel drive sees 288 horsepower and a decent 333 pound-feet of torque The 85 kWh battery should see up to 279 miles of range and 150 kW DC fast charging The RS e-all-wheel drive specs remain unchanged from the dual-motor LT but the RS rear-wheel drive bumps power up to 340 horses and 325 pound-feet of torque It also gets a larger 102 kWh battery pack and 190 kW DC fast charging And a 557-horsepower SS model with Brembo brakes a sport-tuned suspension and a sub 4-second 0-to-60 will arrive next year But our Southern California drive time was in both RS models The way that the all-wheel drive version is set up is that we have one large motor in the front and a smaller motor in the rear So the rear motor, its job is really to just assist when you need a little bit of extra traction But for the most part, it feels like you're driving a front-wheel drive car But that also at the same time means that it does drive a little bit differently than the rear-wheel drive version I drove yesterday Now there is actually less power in this all-wheel drive version of the Blazer EV compared to the rear-wheel drive version that I drove previously And for most EVs that we drive, it's actually the opposite The single motor has less power, and the dual motor has more power Now it is noticeable, there is more power in that rear-wheel drive version But for both Blazer EVs, there's still plenty of power for your daily driving And the instant torque, while it's not going to throw you back into your seat it's still going to let you zip in and out of maybe a bad situation and is just really gradual and smooth A large display screen highlights the interior Standard is 11 inches for the driver information display and 17.7 inches for the central infotainment No Apple CarPlay here, as GM is using a built-in Google system for their EVs But it's intuitive and easy to use Plus, we welcome the buttons and knobs for the climate controls Although changing things like drive modes, headlights, and even the three regen braking settings are done via the screen But there's a handy tool on the steering wheel that makes regen braking a little easier One thing you'll notice in the Blazer EV is this regen on-demand paddle And it's actually a carryover from the Volt and the Bolt So Chevy thought, hey, we have to put it in our next mass-produced EV And so the way that it works is essentially, right now I am in the low regen setting So I'm not really getting a lot of regen braking if I take my foot off the throttle But if I want to recoup a little bit more energy from the brakes I can press this regen on-demand pedal and it really slows me down And then I take my hand off the paddle and I am back to driving with little regen braking So it's kind of cool that you have the option to brake without actually touching the brake Rear passenger and cargo space is ample And should be more than comfortable for any long trips you may want to take And hands-free supercruise driving will be available to help make those trips a little easier Prices for the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV start around $50,000 2LT and RS models are available in dealers now, with SS models arriving next year We'll have more on the Blazer EV and of GM's next-gen electrics coming soon on MotorWeek