No, you’re not seeing double. InsideEVs’ First Drive test of the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV is live for your reading pleasure. But Editor-In-Chief Patrick George, who drove the car last week, brought up a good point in his piece: “…the few hours we had with these Blazer EVs in sunny San Diego didn’t provide what I’d call actionable data yet.” There’s no way anyone could know everything there is about the Blazer EV over a three-hour drive around Southern California.
So this is me getting the so-called actionable data. For the next seven days, I’ve got the new Blazer EV in a place that’s a lot less forgiving: the Midwest, in December.
We’re right in the throes of winter here. That means regular freezing temperatures and higher heat use than journalists would have experienced during the drives of the crossover in balmy Southern California. Also, in the name of science and the innate desire of every Ohioan to get out of town every four to six weeks, I’ll be driving the Blazer on a substantial road trip to essentially the middle of nowhere.
Okay, Raleigh, N.C. for a family dinner probably isn’t the fairest classification of a state capital that has two of the most prestigious universities in the U.S., but you get my drift. Even in an ICE car, I’m staring down a 470-mile, seven-hour drive, not including charging stops.
Now we’re gonna see what the Blazer is really made of.
Chevrolet sent me a 288-horsepower AWD RS trimmed Blazer EV, good for 278 miles of range. In theory, this means the Blazer should in theory be able to do the drive with only one charging stop.
I have my reservations, though. The route to Raleigh cuts through the heart of Appalachia – that means rolling hills and fast freeways with minimal traffic. Along with the reduced temperature, the terrain, and increased speed are factors that will affect range. At a not exactly class-leading rating of 278 miles, we’ll need all of the range we can get, especially considering there are so few EV charging stations through the portions of Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina that the route will take me.
I’ve done a similar, but shorter route before in a Lucid Air Grand Touring; it’s not an easy route. We are getting that actionable data, y’all.
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This week with the Blazer EV is all about learning what this thing can do, and what it’s like to live with. On some level, we’ll all be learning together. I’ve driven plenty of EVs, even Chinese cars not sold in the US.
But this is the first GM Ultium platform-based car I’ve driven. GM CEO Mary Barra has bet a lot on this platform. It looks like it’ll underpin basically every future GM vehicle as the conglomerate enacts its plans to transition to a fully electric future. This car has to be good, but at the same time, the handful of first-drive reviews have shown that not everyone is convinced of the Ultium platform, Barra, or GM’s insistence on removing beloved features, like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
So, what would you like to know about the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV? Ask away.
