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Caraganza Review 2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV: Welcome to the Compromise Zone

There was a time when my day didn’t begin with just coffee.

It also began with a thud.

That dull, reassuring smack of a rolled-up newspaper hitting the driveway before sunrise meant the world was still in order. The news had arrived. Civilization, it seemed, was intact.

And on the rare occasion it didn’t show up? Absolute chaos. How was I supposed to know who won the game? What was on television that night? Had the world ended overnight, and I’d simply missed the memo? Had there been a second coming of Jesus? How would I know if we were getting raptured that afternoon?

Of course, the world moved on. The “information superhighway” arrived, widened, and then swallowed everything whole. News stopped being something you waited for and became something that chased you down like an over-caffeinated Labrador.

The newspapers, convinced they were untouchable, didn’t see it coming.

And for a while, I thought the same thing was about to happen to the internal combustion engine.

Because not too long ago, you couldn’t go five minutes without hearing that the end was near. Governments pushed. Automakers promised. “All-electric future” became the corporate equivalent of “this time I really will go to the gym.”

Then politics got involved—as it always does.

One administration leaned hard into electrification. Subsidies, mandates, big speeches about saving the planet. Automakers followed along, tripping over themselves to be the first to declare gasoline dead and buried.

Then the pendulum swung back to the right.

Suddenly the urgency cooled. The language softened. The all-electric future didn’t disappear, but it did stop sounding quite so… immediate.

And here’s the interesting bit: somewhere in all that noise, the cars themselves quietly got better.

Which brings me to the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV.

Chevrolet handed me one for a recent week, at a time that’s right in the middle of this ongoing tug-of-war between policy, politics, and reality. And I’ll be honest—I approached it with the enthusiasm of a man being told his favorite steakhouse had gone vegan.

This was the full EV. No hybrid backup. No safety net. Plug it in or start making excuses while walking.

And here’s the part that’s going to annoy both sides of the argument.

I liked it.

Quite a lot, actually.

Mine was the LT2—the middle of the lineup. Below it sits the LT1, which is perfectly functional but about as exciting as a municipal building. Above it, the LT3 piles on the bells, whistles, and monthly payments.

The LT2 then is the sweet spot.

Inside, it ditches the rental-car austerity for something approaching comfort. Synthetic leather seats replace cloth. There’s wireless charging, a hands-free liftgate, ambient lighting, and enough driver tech to make you feel like the car is quietly judging your decisions.

More importantly, it feels complete. Not like something you bought and immediately wished you’d optioned up.

But the real surprise comes when you put your foot down.

Because the old gasoline Equinox—pleasant though it was—had all the urgency of a jogger with a head cold;175 horsepower meant merging onto a highway required planning, commitment, and possibly a written will.

This one?

Three hundred horsepower in all-wheel drive form.

Three hundred.

It doesn’t ask if you’re sure. It just goes. Instantly. Smoothly. Without the wheezing protest of a turbocharger trying to organize itself.

And then there’s the range. Over 300 miles on a full charge. This, in the real world, means you stop thinking about it. You plug it in at home, go about your life, and the car simply… exists when you need it.

No planning. No drama. No policy debate required. Which is perhaps the biggest compliment I can give it.

Because now seems to be the moment in time when electric cars stop being a statement… and start being normal.

It isn’t perfect. The white-and-blue paint on mine looked suspiciously like it should be pulling people over on the interstate. And yes, $50,000 is still a chunk of change, but still below other EVs in the same class.

In a world where EVs often feel like expensive experiments, this one feels grounded. Sensible. Usable.

And unexpectedly… enjoyable.

It just feels like a good car.

For all the shouting—from politicians, pundits, and people on both sides of the aisle—the reality is far less dramatic.

We’re not in an all-electric world.

We’re not going back to a purely gasoline one either.

We’re here. In the middle. In the compromise zone.

And cars like this are the reason why.

Do we need to be more mindful about the future? Of course.

Do we need to pretend the past never worked? Not a chance.

And somewhere between the politics—cars like the Equinox EV are quietly getting on with the job.

And doing it rather well.

The newspaper may be gone from the driveway, replaced by a glowing screen and a thousand opinions a minute. But the need it served never disappeared—it just adapted.

If this is what the middle ground looks like, it’s not a bad place to be. I wish our politicians could someday learn this for themselves.

The 2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV LT 2
MSRP: $50,350
MSRP (as tested): $51,745
Engine: Permanent magnet, bar wound (front); induction motor with no magnet (rear).
Power: FWD: 220 hp, AWD: 300 hp
Torque: FWD: 243 lb-ft, AWD: 355 lb-ft
Transmission: 1 speed direct drive
Drivetrain: All-wheel drive (AWD)
EPA city/highway MPGe:117/100 MPGe
EPA combined MPGe: 108 MPGe
EPA electricity range: 319 mi.
EPA kWh/100 mi: 31
EPA time to charge battery (at 240V): 9.5 hr.
Curb Weight: 5,070 lbs

Exterior Dimensions
Length: 190.6 inches
Width: 84.9 inches
Height: 64.8 inches
Wheelbase: 116.3 inches

Interior Dimensions
Passenger Volume: 104.3 cubic feet
Cargo Volume (rear seats up): 29.8 cubic feet
Cargo Volume (rear seats down): 63.5 cubic feet
Front/Rear Headroom: 39.2 / 38.5 inches
Front/Rear Legroom: 41.7 / 38.0 inches

Warranty
Basic: 3 years / 36,000 miles
Powertrain: 5 years / 60,000 miles
EV Battery: 8 years/100,000 miles
Rust Protection: 6 years / 100,000 miles
Roadside Assistance: 5 years / 60,000 miles

Greg Engle
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