2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV: What's It Like to Live With?
We spent a year with Chevrolet's newest electric SUV.
| Miles Driven: | Average Electricity Consumption (kWh/100 miles): |
| 8,757 | 33.5 |
Final takeaways
- We paid MSRP for our Blazer EV RS AWD, avoiding dealer markups.
- It cost $60,215
- We encountered a whole slew of issues during our yearlong test.
- Read about what worked and what didn't below.
What do you want to know about?
What we bought and why
• Our test vehicle: 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV RS AWD
• Base MSRP: $60,215
• MSRP as tested: $60,215
• What we paid: $60,215
We hear the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV is a hot ticket. We've wanted to add one to our long-term fleet ever since Chevy announced the performance-oriented SUV, but a few events moved up our timetable. Most pressing was the threat that the ongoing (at the time) UAW strike could spill over to affect the GM facility that built the EVs. The other was GM's overall slow rollout of vehicles built on the company's Ultium platform, which included the Blazer EV. Moreover, the lack of inventory combined with pent-up demand meant that markups were being applied at the dealer level in full force. The hunt was on.
Thankfully, I had an ace up my sleeve: an old dealership contact at Sierra Chevrolet in Monrovia. With only the RS AWD available on the showroom floor, our decision was made for us. We reached out to Sierra, found the one you see here, and phoned our accountants to get the go-ahead.
What did we get?
Since the RS AWD trim is the only Blazer EV variant available at the moment, it’s the one we got. Thankfully, it's well equipped for the price. For $60,215, the RS AWD comes with adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assistance, plus features like blind-spot warning, heated and ventilated front seats, nice upholstery and a 360-degree bird's-eye view parking camera.
Why did we get it?
The biggest reason we purchased the Chevrolet Blazer EV is because it’s the first non-luxury Ultium vehicle to market (the more affordable Equinox EV is still months away). We'll have plenty of time behind the wheel to see if it is worth your attention. Will the native infotainment system be easy to use? Is the world better without Apple CarPlay or Android Auto? How does the Blazer EV stack up with the competition? Where will it end up on our EV range leaderboard? We have a lot of questions to answer over the next 12 months and 20,000 miles.
What did we learn?
Where to begin? The Blazer had more than its fair share of issues, sending us to the dealer multiple times during our year of ownership. And then there were the issues that didn't require a trip to the dealer: We were unhappy with many of the driver aids, the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto proved frustrating, and Chevy didn't include the Super Cruise hands-free driving system on what should be its flagship electric vehicle. In short, we wouldn't buy the Blazer EV again.
Edmunds purchased this vehicle for the purpose of evaluation.
Average lifetime consumption (kWh/100 miles): 33.5
EPA rating (kWh/100 miles): 35 combined ( 33 City / 39 Highway )
Best consumption (kWh/100): 20.5
Best range (miles): 342.9
Current odometer: 8,757
A saga of failure and redemption
"While the vast majority of our long-term vehicles have one or two routine services a year, our Blazer EV's maintenance history is a saga of hope, failure, tragedy, comedy, and corruption that goes straight to the top! Well, maybe not so much that last one, but our Blazer EV ownership experience is certainly on the extraordinary side.
"We purchased the Blazer EV at the very tail end of October 2023. In early December, with about 1,400 miles on the odometer, senior news editor Nick Yekikian experienced what we in the industry call "a big whoopsie." On a road trip to San Diego (for the press launch of the Blazer EV, no less), our Summit White SUV threw a number of error messages in its digital instrument panel. After taking it to our local Chevrolet dealer, the service department noted 23 different fault codes, ranging from the body control module losing communication with window switches to malfunctions with the drive motor control module. We published our story listing all the issues on December 20 and two days later, Chevrolet announced a stop-sale for all Blazer EVs, which lasted months.
"At the time of the story's publication, our Blazer EV had been at Culver City Chevrolet for a couple weeks awating repairs and programming. Everything was finally finished on January 9, roughly a month after we first dropped it off. The repair list included replacing the central touchscreen, instrument panel, window switches, and a sensor that monitors the external temperature. They also replaced a fuse and reprogrammed several modules to comply with Bulletin #N232428190, which addresses programming issues that caused the 12-volt battery to drain unexpectedly.
"Our local dealership contacted us again on January 30, informing us that a new update was available, and we'd have to drop off our car for a few hours while they installed the update. We drove it over on February 6 and picked it up the next day. In addition to updating the system, we also asked the techs to look into two further issues. We noted that the pedestrian warning chime would activate when walking up to the Blazer, even when the car was off and nobody was behind the wheel. And once, all icons suddenly disappeared from the touchscreen display, leaving only the background visible. The update was expected to solve both issues. The repair concluding on January 9 and the one concluding on February 7 are both recounted in detail in this article.
"On March 8, we received a message from Chevrolet stating that the Blazer EV stop-sale was lifted, and the firmware update that triggered the lift was now available at Chevrolet dealerships. I brought the Blazer EV to Chevrolet of Puente Hills on March 12 and was told the update was so comprehensive that it would be a day or two before the update was completed. I retrieved the Blazer EV on the 14th.
"Over the next few months, our editors noted sporadic issues. Once, the touchscreen stopped displaying the color green, so the screen was a mess of red and blue bleeding into each other. Another time, part of the touchscreen's UI flickered on and off while driving — not the entire screen, mind you (the background was still visible), but the 'Focus your attention on driving' disclaimer would flicker. While charging on a cool spring day, the automatic climate control system inexplicably kicked on and blew turbulent cold air. We later discovered this may have been due to the external temperature gauge mistakenly believing it was 20 degrees warmer than it actually was.
"All of these issues only manifested once, and the flickering issue was solved by turning the car off and on again. But the glitches were numerous enough that we raised them with Chevrolet. They told us they would forward our images and feedback to their engineers. Which brings us to the latest update ..." — Cameron Rogers, manager, news
The most recent update: 85751819
"On June 28, Chevrolet informed us of yet another system update available at our dealer. Included in this update were Google built-in updates, added stability fixes for the camera and air conditioning, and other feature improvements. As with the previous fixes and updates, this would require handing the keys to the dealer for a few hours while a tech performed the service. I freed up a bit of time in my schedule and brought the Blazer back to Chevrolet of Puente HIlls shortly after lunch on July 10.
"Here I encountered an unusual snag. My first adviser informed me that there were no active updates that our car didn't already have. After verifying that there were no open action items, I contacted Chevrolet, asked for clarification, and headed to a local Starbucks. Hey, the wheels on big machines move slowly, and I wasn't going to wait in a dealer lobby, uncaffeinated, while the situation was sorted out behind the scenes. I received a call back from our Chevy rep not long after, saying they'd contact the dealer to guide them through the process. After about an hour, I was told to return to the dealer, where they'd begin the update process. More on this later.
"I went back to Chevrolet of Puente Hills, and my new adviser told me they had to update, which would take about five hours to deploy. I decided to wait a couple hours in the lobby, just in case the update length was being padded. Turns out, it wasn't, and the dealer graciously offered me a loaner vehicle for the night. I told them I'd be back the next morning, about an hour after the service department opened, to pick up the Blazer. Everything was swell. (Side note: I was given a base Equinox as a loaner, and after driving the Blazer for a couple weeks at this point, boy was it nice to have Apple CarPlay again. Chevy, you should add it to the Blazer EV. It would make the driving and ownership experience so much more enjoyable!)
"I returned to the dealer the next morning to pick up the Blazer EV, but the update took longer than expected and the service technician had to pause the update the previous day. They restarted in the morning, but it would still be a few hours before the update was complete. I returned to the dealership that afternoon, and the Blazer was ready for pickup.
"So what happened? Did we get preferential treatment from Chevrolet, or some sort of secret software update that made our car absolutely perfect? Kind of yes, and not really. It's true that Chevy contacted us about the update and helped deploy it when they learned the dealership I went to didn't have it in their system. But after speaking to some of the employees at the dealership and our contacts at Chevrolet, it seems that the MO for updates like this is that they are a) applied to all new vehicles rolling off the factory lines and b) initially rolled out to a limited number of existing owners. The logic seems to be that it's better to test the performance of the update on a smaller group of customer cars to gather real-world stability data before widespread deployment. And due to our ongoing issues with assorted vehicle systems, Chevy probably thought it prudent to include us in the initial batch of customers to receive the new update. (The firmware update number is 85751819, for reference.)
"I've been driving the Blazer EV for weeks now, and none of the transient issues noted above have reappeared. However, I have experienced a couple new hiccups since the update. One morning, an 'AWD Temporarily Unavailable' warning flashed on the dash and the regenerative braking function was rendered inoperable. This occurred about two minutes after starting the car and driving at low speeds. I pulled into a parking lot, restarted the vehicle, and everything went back to working properly. This has only happened once. On more than one occasion, however, I've noted inexplicable warnings from the forward collision warning system, which also triggered vibrations from the Safety Alert Seat feature on our driver's seat. Thankfully, the automatic emergency braking system didn't activate, but it is enough to make me wary while driving the car, as the warnings flash without any other vehicles in the immediate vicinity." — Cameron Rogers, manager, news
How does the Chevrolet Blazer EV drive?
"As much as the Blazer has been a little bit of a disappointment from a value standpoint, Chevy tunes the brake regen and acceleration profiles well. It's easy to be smooth with this thing, which goes a long way if you have particularly motion-sensitive passengers (as I frequently do). Even my wife commented on how she liked the regen, which almost never happens." — Jonathan Elfalan, director of vehicle testing
Have we encountered any glitches in our Chevrolet Blazer EV?
"While the Fisker Ocean has made me appreciate the relatively few glitches in the Blazer EV, the Blazer still has its moments. Yesterday while driving the screen menus completely disappeared so I had no control over the nav or music. The screen eventually came back, but that was 30 minutes of frustration that shouldn't have happened with a new car." — Jonathan Elfalan, director of vehicle testing
How are the Chevrolet Blazer EV's advanced driver aids?
"It seems the forward collision warning doesn't recalibrate based on the different regenerative braking levels. When I have regen set to high, there are times where the Blazer is very much decelerating but I'm still applying some pressure to the throttle, so the collision warning thinks I'm going to hit something when I'm not even close. I end up driving in the normal regen setting just to avoid the head-up display flashing red all of the time." — Steven Ewing, director of editorial content
"I had to turn both the pedestrian and bicyclist cross-traffic alerts off since they would always sound an alert as I approached the car, even after the car had been parked overnight. I think it's dumb to have this alert active if no one is actually sitting in the driver's seat, and I know there are sensors that can determine that. I don't like that I had to turn it off because I think it's a good feature but it's hasn't been useful for its actual purpose to date." — Jonathan Elfalan, director of vehicle testing
Some general thoughts on the Blazer's tech
"I generally like the tech in this car (Google Assistant reliably understands my natural speaking voice for directions or simple questions like 'When does the sun set today?' and 'What's the score of the Celtics game?') but there are noteworthy issues.
"1) The system is a little slow to wake up. Within the first 30 seconds of operation, the system hasn't yet connected to the internet, and as a result, Google Assistant and Google Maps are useless. What's the first thing I usually do when I get into a car? Plug in directions. Also, the heated/cooled seat controls on the touchscreen don't respond in that time period, which was a pain when I got into the car after a hot beach day.
"2) The native Google Maps system is definitively better than the Google Maps you can use through Apple CarPlay (pinch to zoom, bigger display, voice assistant) but I still wish I had the choice. Case in point: On my phone, I had brought up trailhead coordinates from a hiking app. If I had Apple CarPlay, it would have been as easy as pressing start, but instead I had to look for a point of interest near the trailhead and plug that into the Chevy's map system. I also had no way to navigate my music or podcasts through the Chevy system, a problem that would be made easier with the native Spotify app but I'm an Apple Music/Apple Podcasts user.
"3) It's embarrassing that a loaded $60,000 example of Chevrolet's technological flagship and first electric SUV doesn't have standard Super Cruise. That's a great hands-free driving system and the Blazer EV would a markedly better car had it been equipped. As it sits, the adaptive cruise setup is fine but we don't even have lane centering, just barely competent lane keeping assistance. (In theory the Blazer EV is Super Cruise-capable, but it's not an option in the configurator.)" — Duncan Brady, script writer
The automatic reverse braking system is very sensitive
"The automatic reverse braking freaked out when I tried to back out of my driveway today. There were no obstacles anywhere near the back of my car, but the system stopped me three times just trying to back out! My driveway isn't even that steep. I've pulled a Corvette into it without using the nose lift." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
Buggy steering wheel buttons are a drag
"The voice control button on the steering wheel did nothing the entire time I had the Blazer. Single press, long press, and frustrated repeated tapping all yielded null results. So, that's cool." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
And we aren't impressed by the stereo
"We paid 60 grand for this thing, and at that price the stereo is just embarrassing. I honestly think my little portable Bluetooth speaker gives a richer, more balanced sound than anything I could get out of our Blazer." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
The Blazer EV's pedestrian warning sound is seemingly ever present
"All electric vehicles are required to make a noise at low speeds (up to 25 mph) to warn pedestrians of their presence. The government mandates this, and for the most part, it's not something we ever think about.
"However, in the Blazer EV, it is something you think about because the noise is so prominent. In Chevy vehicles the noise also continues to play when the car is stopped — something that not every manufacturer does — and in these moments especially it is quite annoying. And because it's a government-regulated necessity, there is no way to turn it off. Why Chevy decided to make the noise so loud is something I would really love to know the answer to." — Clint Simone, senior editor
The low-speed warning sound is a bit of a misnomer
"The Blazer's low-speed warning sound should be just that ... a sound that is played while moving at low speeds ONLY! Why the heck does it have to constantly emit an annoying loud cosmic tune when I'm sitting at a traffic light? I get that it needs to have sound when moving, but if you aren't sneaking up on pedestrians, they don't need to know that you're just hanging out at a stop. Hopefully there is an OTA that will address this, and while they're at it, the volume could be lower." — Jonathan Elfalan, director of vehicle testing
If the Blazer EV was a breakfast food, what would it be?
"The Blazer is a leftover pancake from yesterday's breakfast that you microwaved before you realized you didn't have any syrup at home and now you're just eating a lukewarm rubbery pancake with your hands over the sink." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
The Mach-E vs. the Blazer: One editor's take
"Edmunds' official ranking of electric SUVs places the Mustang Mach-E ahead of the Blazer EV, and by and large, our editors would rather have the Ford in their driveway. And that's with all things being equal — before, in other words, you take into account the myriad electronic gremlins that have plagued our Chevy ownership experience, or consider it lacks Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration.
"However, the Chevy wins when it comes to transporting my toddler. My little lady is roughly 18 months old, and her rear-facing car seat presents a challenge in the Ford. The car's wheelbase is more than 4 inches shorter than the Chevy's, and it's apparent when fitting a bulky rear-facing child seat. The top of the child seat butts up against the rear of the front seat, so you have to scoot it up a bit to give the child seat a bit of clearance. And if you have a long-legged front passenger, they will feel a bit squished.
"Child placement is also tough. The Mach-E's tapered roofline creates a narrow passageway into a rear-facing seat. I have to take great care not to smack her head on the upper door opening while placing her inside.
"The Blazer EV, on the other hand, is dead simple. There's a ton of room, so seat fitment is a cinch, and there's no negotiation for legroom with tall front passengers. And the gradual sweep of the roofline creates a larger opening, making it easy to place her into her car seat.
"I imagine once we switch to a forward-facing configuration, the Ford really won't be a problem. But at this stage, the Blazer EV wins for car seat fitment.
"On paper, the Blazer EV's cargo area is significantly smaller than the Mach-E's. I don't know if this is down to height or what (maybe Ford uses a different standard to measure cargo capacity), but it certainly feels like the Chevy's cargo area is bigger. My daughter's folding stroller only fits into the Ford's cargo area in a specific way. Angle the stroller wheels incorrectly, and the hatch won't close. The Chevy requires far less finesse; simply toss the stroller in. There's plenty of clearance, and voilà, your worries are over. Well, sort of. You're still traveling with a baby.
"There are other areas the Blazer EV fails in — the lack of Android Auto/Apple CarPlay is stunning, and the native infotainment isn't a poor substitute because it isn't a substitute at all — but for carrying my kid, it's the clear winner." — Cameron Rogers, manager, news
The Blazer is too slow ... well, for some discerning passengers
"My 4-year-old did not like the Blazer because 'it's slow.' But he did love the air vents! He thought those were very cool." — Will Kaufman, manager, video