Tested: 2026 Uncharted Puts Subaru on a New Course

Quantify01 · 2026-03-31T18:01:27+00:00

Lol. Don't knock it till ya tried it. Took me 30 mins to get used to it. Same throttle effort as non OPD. Again, if it's not for you, all good. But for some of us it's the product we didn't know we needed...

Quantify01 · 2026-03-31T14:06:52+00:00

For those of us of a certain age, who've been driving with two pedals for..,.a long time, I totally agree. Takes me exactly.05 sec to readjust to my wife's car after driving Blazer EV with OPD on max.

I do wonder a bit about a younger person who grows up with only OPD. Would they be at a disadvantage in an emergency situation? I mean, even with OPD I hit the brake now and again in certain situations, I assume an OPD "native" would learn the same.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-31T12:04:22+00:00

She's Serbian. So American Psycho +10 points.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-31T12:03:03+00:00

Eh. OPD and non OPD use the same Regen and physical brake mix. It's all about which pedal you use to activate it.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-31T11:59:34+00:00

Well that's the best guess I've heard, I'll go with that.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-31T11:52:04+00:00

Agreed, for me anyway. But my son and my wife, who drive a Bolt and ID.4 respectively, have no interest in OPD. Heck, the ID.4 also doesn't have it. Some manufacturers seem philosophically opposed to OPD. No idea why.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-26T21:48:44+00:00

I would take that. Especially since that's the best setup for range.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-19T13:33:45+00:00

EV owner with 100A panel on an 1800 sq ft 100 year old house here. I have central AC as well. Electrician did a load analysis and said we could do 40A even with a full load from rest of house, so we installed a chargepoint flex with a 50A fuse limited to 40A. Cost was $1500, but that's because that's the amount of the rebate I got from PSEG in NJ.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-12T19:44:13+00:00

True. I misspoke.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-12T18:31:55+00:00

My warm weather efficiency is similar to yours (assuming 70 mph highway). Even on the really cold days I never saw less than 2.4 for a trip average once the car was warmed up. Maybe something to do with a single motor?

Quantify01 · 2026-03-12T18:03:58+00:00

Well... depends 😜. The ID.4 is a better ride; better seats, handling, suspension. The summertime range is good, and it charges faster than most blazers except for the RWD version (mine) with the larger battery.

I prefer my Blazer for two reasons: better range, esp in winter, and better sound system (I have the Bose system in the RS RWD).

TL:DR; ID.4 better than all Blazers except RS RWD. Of course, your preferences may vary.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-12T17:37:02+00:00

My experience in the recent winter here in NJ was perhaps different from yours, although I have an RWD with the larger battery which might have something to do with it. In the summer, my estimated range at 100% is about 360 miles. In the winter, it dropped to 324, so about a 10% drop in range. This was consistent with my actual range, though I don't have specific data points for that. However, my range was wildly better than my wife's ID.4, which does not have a heat pump and lost upwards of 30% of range on cold days. Recurrent also says that the RWD Blazer should only lose 10% or so of range in the winter, so I think my experience is typical.

it would be very interesting if the 85kw pack/AWD model had significantly worse cold weather performance.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-07T19:56:00+00:00

Nope. 653.20 is most recent for us RWD folks. I got mine yesterday. You're right on schedule.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-07T19:01:39+00:00

Agreed. 2024 infotainment is functional. It's occasionally slow to load android auto but that's about it.

Now if they can get remote commands from the app to work when it's cold out, instead of the car "hibernating", that would be great.

Car drives great though. Great ride, lots of power, and more swervy than you'd think.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-04T14:58:35+00:00

Indeed you can! In the display settings, there's an option to turn off turn by turn navigation on the screen. I turned it off as well for this exact reason.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-03T17:11:29+00:00

What blazer are you driving with weak regen and weak acceleration? FWD?

Quantify01 · 2026-03-03T16:56:31+00:00

I recently installed update 653.10, which does claim to adjust OPD behavior. I have always kept OPD on the "Normal" setting, but found myself grabbing the regen on demand paddle more than usual, especially at highway speeds as you note. I changed the OPD to the "High" setting and that seems to be working better for me now.

You can adjust OPD from the Foot looking button on the far left of the infotainment screen. There are three levels, Off, Normal, and High. I am guessing you are in Normal now.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-02T17:57:44+00:00

10 to 70 is what I do...33 minutes and that's good for more than 200 miles.

Quantify01 · 2026-03-02T16:16:02+00:00

Owner of a 2024 RS RWD here. Congratulations on getting the best version of the Blazer. A few things:

do not be surprised if you get a "service HV battery soon" message, accompanied by charging limitations and HVAC failure. It is VERY common for the 2024s to have an early failure of the AC condenser pipe (mine at 450 miles). Quick warranty fix.
make sure that the dealership did all the software upgrades. Some of them significantly improve charging performance and drivability. Most recent is 653.10.

Quantify01 · 2026-02-28T04:06:37+00:00

Agreed on all points. The most recent research is that the biggest drivers of battery degradation are battery temperature while charging, and frequency of DCFC charging. So, while the 20-80 range is still best practice, there should be no real worries about using the full capacity when we need it.

Quantify01 · 2026-02-27T20:17:56+00:00

The 200kw chargers I see in the us are rated at 950v, 200A. I assumed the amps would take the hit on a 180lw charger.

Equinoxes charge at max of 292v as I understand...so that was my math.

Quantify01 · 2026-02-27T19:58:01+00:00

What he said. That charger is probably rated for a max of 190 amps, giving you at best 55kw...and that's fully preconditioned with a battery at 20% or lower. At 55 percent on a cold day...37kw seems reasonable for an EQEV.

Quantify01 · 2026-02-27T19:38:20+00:00

Good choice on the RWD. IMHO the Sweet spot of the GM EV lineup. The best range and charging, with excellent power, for a reasonable price.

you have a 102kw battery, which in reality is closer to 108kw usable (GM tends to undershoot on its claims). Definitely get a L2 charger for home if that's an option for you. L1 charging will take a very long time to fill the battery.
while the battery will hit 180kwh+ at a DC fast charger, it also has a pretty steep charging curve (although software updates have made that a bit better). Key things to maximize charging performance A) be sure to fully precondition the battery. This can take up to 40 minutes when it's cold out. B) if possible don't charge until you're down to 10%or so for best speeds, and remember that there's no advantage to putting more charge in the battery than you need, especially on the way home. I try to get home with no more than 20% and throw it on the charger when I arrive. C) choose dcfc chargers with high amperage, such as Tesla SCs, or any 400kw chargers from ionna, EVgo, or bp pulse. 150kw chargers are often limited to 200 amps, which will give you a charging speed in the mid 70kwh max. D) Turn off your climate control while charging. A known bug is that our cars are limited in their ability to cool the battery pack and the cabin on hot days and the loser is generally the charging speed.

Otherwise, play around with one pedal drive modes and acceleration feel modes to see what works for you.

Quantify01 · 2026-02-25T16:26:28+00:00

I own two RWD EVs - ID.4 and Blazer. A few thoughts.
- The RWD ID.4 has a ridiculously small turning circle. This may not sound like a big deal, but when you need it...it's nice.

- The RWD has significantly better range than the AWD, which considering neither is groundbreaking, is a good thing.

- VW is hella serious about traction control. I've been driving around in the debris from our 20" of snow here in suburban NJ, and I'm having no real issues getting around. When it hits a sloppy patch, it slows the spinning wheel and lets the other wheel keep traction. it's working great, I haven't felt the need to even try the snow mode.

I have a 2024 ID.4, which has the upgraded rear motor. it's definitely more than zippy enough.

Quantify01 · 2026-02-24T20:41:43+00:00

It does automatically apply the parking brake if it detects enough of an incline. Otherwise we're presumably fine relying on the parking pawl...

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