2024 Chevy Blazer EV: How Small Updates Can Make a Big Difference

• We've already driven the Blazer EV because, well, we bought one.
• But when Chevy asked us if we wanted another go, we said sure, why not.
• What we learned wasn't so much about the car as it is the software that defines it.

Our first impressions were all sorted and delivered, but then Chevrolet asked us if we wanted to come down to sunny San Diego for a few days to sample the Blazer EV on its official media launch. The Blazer EV we were to sample was the exact same car as the one we paid nearly $70,000 for just eight weeks before: a Blazer RS with all-wheel drive. Even though we already had one in our garage, we had a hunch that maybe, just maybe, the cars at the press launch would be different. We were right.

As software comes to define more and more of how we experience our cars, over-the-air updates mean we could go to sleep one night and wake up the next morning to a brand-new feature set. That or automakers can launch software that refines the way their customers interact with their cars, add new pages of information, and in some cases even boost efficiency and increase range. Tesla owners know this well, but the wider world who are only just now dipping their toes into the world of EVs may not realize just how much these updates can change the way you experience your car.

My drive down to San Diego was my first real experience with our Blazer EV (yes, I took our Blazer EV to the Blazer EV event). Right away, I noticed a few things about the UI — specifically the graphics in the infotainment and instrument cluster — that rubbed me the wrong way. While most of the controls were crisp, clear icons on the screen, the buttons for all of the HVAC controls, the regen setting, and the headlight settings were all pixelated and, frankly, ugly. On top of that, the Blazer EV's instrument panel gave two range readings spaced mere inches apart from each other but no indication of what percentage the battery is currently at.

These are small gripes, and if you're not looking for them you'd never notice. However, they do slightly diminish the quality of the Blazer EV experience. It seems Chevrolet thinks so too, because both of these quirks we remedied in the cars we drove on the media launch. The icons for the A/C, headlights and regenerative braking were all just as crystal-clear as the rest of the icons in the infotainment screen. Thankfully, there is a battery percentage readout in the gauge cluster now as well.

These changes are objectively tiny, but they help shape the way we experience our cars. It's these small touches and this attention to detail that end up making a big difference, and being able to see just how much these fixes lifted our appreciation for the Blazer EV brought into sharp relief just how important over-the-air updates are going to be now and in the future.

Edmunds says

Our second impression of the Blazer EV left us feeling confident that Chevrolet is going to put real effort into refining the formula of its EVs as time goes on, helping to mitigate teething pains and bring desirable features to its ever-growing list of Ultium-based products.