The Chevy Blazer has been around for longer than most of the people reading this article. It first came out as the "K5 Blazer" in 1969, back when manufacturers were experimenting with sport utility vehicles by building them atop pickup truck platforms. The K5 sold well, well enough that it spawned the S-10 Blazer. In 1995, the full-size Blazer was rebranded as the Chevy Tahoe. Then there was The Gap, a 13-year period where no Blazers were for sale, remedied in 2019 with the introduction of the crossover unit. Four years later, Chevy launched the Blazer EV, starting with a 2024 model year unit. Today, it's one of the best crossover electric vehicle SUVs on the market and enjoys good sales in a hot segment.
When Chevrolet offered me a 2025 Blazer EV SS AWD in Radiant Red Tint Coat, I was happy to have it show up in my driveway. And boy does that Radiant Red exterior color work well, not to mention the spectacular Adrenaline Red interior!
This car generated a lot of attention as I drove around, including people randomly telling me "love the color!" as they drove past, and a group of tweens checking it out with one pronouncing "that front reminds me of a Lamborghini!". Not sure I see the parallels, but it does have a lot of curb appeal. Where the color scheme really popped was the interior, as you'll see in the interior shots. Before we get there, a few EV specs: the Blazer EV has a fully-charged range of 303 miles and has an 8-year/100,000-mile propulsion battery warranty, a 5-year/60,000-mile roadside services warranty, and a 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.
In practice, I drove quite a bit, charging just once for a few hours on a public level-2 charger, which gave me a quick 100mi range boost at a pleasant, subsidized, $1.00/hr cost. I've also just installed a 240V charger in my garage so that when I do drive future EVs, I can charge them as needed at standard residential electricity rates. The drive experience itself is splendid, with an adjustable one-pedal drive mode and more acceleration than any vehicle needs off a track: 0-60 in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 130mph, generating 615 horsepower. Full out, the Blazer SS EV clocks in at 11.8 seconds for a quarter-mile, crossing that line at 115mph. I did not test that myself, but it definitely produced some G-force with aggressive acceleration. It is the fastest "SS" supersport vehicle Chevy's ever sold, and it's an SUV, not a supercar.
The interior color really pops, and it's the first thing everyone mentioned when looking at the interior. It's very red. The Blazer EV also features a lot of classic Chevrolet touches for a completely new vehicle, notably including the turbine A/C vents. They work great, particularly in comparison with the many vehicles that have overly small vents that are sleek, but don't push out enough air when you really need them. Did I mention I drove this through a 103ยบ heatwave in our region? That A/C was doing some extra work. Since EVs use electric compressors, I never had to worry about overheating as might have occurred with an internal combustion engine.
While some car manufacturers try to create EV versions of their popular brands, changing as little as possible of the driver experience, other companies take advantage of the changes to really lean into creating something that's new and different. Think Nissan and the terrific Ariya design, or VW and the ID.4. Chevrolet's done the same thing with the Blazer EV, and some of its decisions are quite startling and intriguing. For example, there's no "Go" or "Start" button; climb into the driver's seat with the key present, and once you touch the brake, it's ready to go. Chevy unsurprisingly calls this Pedal-to-Start Activation.
Where the design changes become far more controversial is with the company's decision to go all-in with Android Automotive OS. That's not Android Auto, it's an operating system that utilizes the big infotainment system, but helps manage much more of the vehicle than just the radio and telephone interface. While Android Automotive OS can support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Chevy's implementation disables both connection options. (Volvo, by comparison, has Android Automotive OS and supports both CarPlay and Android Auto too).
After a few days, I found that the infotainment system worked just fine for entertainment. Modern Bluetooth connections allow for a lot of communication, including text message notifications and lightning-fast resumption of music upon starting the vehicle. To my surprise, I didn't miss Apple CarPlay much at all.
Until I tried to use the Google-powered navigational system. I couldn't share a destination without logging the vehicle into my Google account (at which point I could theoretically "send directions to" the vehicle's nav system). The voice interface drove me bonkers, barely functional and offering minimal help. I tried repeating the voice prompts its help system offered, just to get "sorry, I don't understand," even though the voice-to-text display showed my request perfectly interpreted. "Set destination", "destination", "route", "take me to", I never did figure out how to enter a street address. As a result, I found myself driving a $65K vehicle and using my iPhone handheld for directions, a significant fail. Even online searches that suggested specific phrasing yielded the endless "Sorry, I don't understand" from the system. Very frustrating.
Okay, enough ranting. Back to the good stuff, which was literally everything to do with the vehicle other than the nav system. Here's the center console:
Perfectly located cup holders (hey, it's important!) and a simple Qi wireless charging pad that offers a subtle bit of feedback on the infotainment display too: The phone icon is empty when it's not charging, has a tiny green lightning bolt if it is, and a tiny orange symbol if it's detected, but not charging. The forward well with the dual USB-C ports is surprisingly deep, with space for quite a bit of gear. Tip: If your phone drops into that well, you'll probably need to pull over to safely retrieve it.
The main gauge display has quite a few layout variants; this is the one I settled on after experimentation. Note that mi/kWh is a measure of how far it can travel with a given amount of power and higher numbers are better. This is a performance EV so 2.7mi/kWh is decent, but a more efficient EV can get into the high 3's or even 4.0mi/kWh or better. The price of having an "SS" supersport model.
Did you notice the lack of a gearshift in the picture of the center console? It's a gear stick, or, to use Chevrolet nomenclature, a column-mounted electronic precision shift gear selector:
It worked great as a convenient control system for something you do rarely while driving: changing gears.
Atypical for most of the vehicles I drive, the 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS AWD had an entirely respectable amount of leg room. In fact, the photo above is with the front seat moved all the way back, still offering plenty of room for adult legs. And oh! That red interior!
There's plenty of rear cargo space, and it's not overwhelmingly red. The back seat's also a typical 60/40 split, and there's a secret under the cargo panel:
The zippered bag is the charging cable (including both 110V and 240V plug compatibility) and the storage well is plenty deep enough to allow you to stash your laptop computer away from curious eyes. Always a plus when manufacturers allow owners to utilize space, rather than hiding it, and notice also that there's no cheap styrofoam visible either.
Finally, another exterior photo. There really is so much to like about the Blazer EV, from its exceptional performance and drive experience to the sleek design and lively interior - complete with ambient lighting - and, yes, the Android Automotive OS system too. Other than the one terrible hiccup of the navigational system, something that I admit might be overcome with more experimentation or by properly connecting the Google system with my account, and thereby Google Maps on my mobile. This should be on your SUV shortlist if you're in the market for a no-compromise SUV with everything great about EVs.
2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS AWD. BASE PRICE: $60,600.00. Options included: Panoramic Power Sunroof, Performance Package, Dual level charge cord, premium paint. AS DRIVEN: $64,675.00.
Disclosure: Chevy loaned me the Blazer EV for a week in return for this candid writeup. This article was originally published at PlanetDave.com with the title 2025 Chevy Blazer EV SS AWD: A Great Electric SUV and is republished with permission.
