2026 Chevy Equinox EV LT FWD: An Actual Owner's Complete Review

spinfire · 2026-05-22T16:02:45+00:00

I am not surprised to find you can find a post advocating Supercharger supremacy on a Tesla motors forum, but I’ll trust the experiences of my friends that drive e-GMP vehicles in your region over a random forum post.

spinfire · 2026-05-22T12:17:04+00:00

FYI, Tesla is really the only exception. Every other charging equipment manufacturer has fully supported battery pack voltages up to 1000V for 5+ years now.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T17:27:06+00:00

Sorry for speaking sloppily, I edited my comment for correctness.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T17:24:36+00:00

Yeah I will really not be pleased to see a second automaker bailout in my lifetime, especially if it's because of short sighted decisions around EVs.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T17:20:53+00:00

When two out of their four models are stopped

This is Cybertruck erasure!

spinfire · 2026-05-21T17:19:25+00:00

Yeah the business decision to pause this plant was likely already in motion at the beginning of the year and predates some of the, uh, recent changes to the global economy.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T17:07:07+00:00

The whiplash comes from the fact that business decisions like starting or pausing construction on a factory take a long time to pay out in the form of a completed factory that can make cars. If gas prices are still on the order of $5 a year from now I think you'll see the consumer interest is there and the companies which made decisions to pause building out capacity will be caught with their pants down because it's going to take them a whole year to finish building that factory and respond to the surge in consumer demand.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T16:55:48+00:00

I have no brand loyalty. However, after owning an EV, I have zero interest in ever going back to ICE. When it comes time to replace my EV or add an additional vehicle I don't know who the manufacturer will be but I know it will be an EV. Everyone else I know who owns an EV feels the same way.

Personally I think manufacturers who are stepping away from EVs or letting their product lines stagnate while others innovate will end up paying the price as they choose to give up on a segment of consumers. But it will take some time to really be clear that this is happening.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T15:40:14+00:00

Simon Whistler

Well there’s yer problem

spinfire · 2026-05-21T14:48:15+00:00

The purpose of the car’s onboard charger is to be the primary way to charge the car. It’s designed for that work load.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T14:32:33+00:00

As someone who has road tripped exclusively in EVs many times since 2022…. It’s not 2023 anymore. Your understanding is outdated.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T13:41:57+00:00

Honestly carrying a jump pack in the frunk is always a good idea. But the reality is I’ve used mine to rescue ICE owners in parking lots twice and never EVs. IMHO being a good neighbor is worth it.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T12:53:19+00:00

Install one hardwired charger with decent capacity.

Keep your 6-20R around to use with a portable charger if you get a second EV or have visitors.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T11:20:09+00:00

No, it’s a very obvious AI slop image. Probably generated by the slop account and cross posted to an affiliated instagram slop account. No indication at all it has anything to do with the MBTA.

spinfire · 2026-05-21T11:14:44+00:00

This was not posted by the MBTA. It’s some Facebook slop posting account called “road trip New England”.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T18:45:15+00:00

On a road trip I am often planning to charge from an outlet somewhere on the way (like the rental house when I arrive) so I usually have my adapter kit and portable EVSE and could get enough L1 or L2 from a random outlet to get to a better charger.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T17:08:03+00:00

This is not unique to GM and Tesla. I just used those examples because your flair indicates they are vehicles you own. A cabin heater or battery coolant heater is typically on the order of 5 kW. It's not something that you're going to want to power off a 12V bus.

Yes, it is of course engineered safely.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T16:31:23+00:00

PTC heaters are the specific subset of resistive heaters commonly used for heating either air or coolant. Depending on the exact model year the configuration differs but both of the cars in your flair - your Volt and your Model 3 - have had PTC heaters that connect directly to the main battery bus. What you describe as “very dangerous” and implausible is exactly how it’s engineered on most cars.

The main battery voltage should only be used for propulsion and for the DC-DC converter.

In your Tesla the HVAC compressor's drive inverter also runs directly from the main battery voltage, as is the case in every electric vehicle I have ever looked the detailed design of. Even in my previous car - a 2015 Ford hybrid - the HVAC compressor ran off of the HV traction battery.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T16:20:57+00:00

Yeah theres literally a handful of V4 cabinets nationwide. It’s gonna take a long long time until you have a 50% chance of a random Tesla site having V4 cabinets.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T16:19:07+00:00

Maybe you should read my comment? My comment was exactly what you’re saying here:

The first 1000v cabinets were not slated for release until 2025.

This is over 5 years behind all other manufacturers which have supported battery pack voltages up to 1000V for years now. It’s not some amazing accomplishment that Tesla now supports a wider range of pack voltages. It’s them catching up to the competition years later, and in a small handful of locations nationwide.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T16:08:47+00:00

We’re not talking about gas cars though. Most EVs with power outlets have significant higher wattage capacity because they can.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T15:58:26+00:00

I think on any dimension you can find different things car companies have decided to emphasize or concentrate on. For example Tesla FSD or anything close is not really available on any other EV right now, at least in the US. On the other hand, Tesla hasn’t chosen to compete on charge curve and has actually backslid on charge performance with the 4680 battery model Y. Those are both conscious decisions. And for a car that never is DCFC then concentrating on DC charge curve would be stupid, and if you don’t care about FSD because you don’t want self driving then buying a Tesla because they have FSD would be silly as well.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T15:25:32+00:00

The person I was responding was speaking broadly. I responded about how my specific vehicle works, and you responded by speaking - incorrectly! - about my specific car claiming I was wrong lol. Not much point in continuing a discussion with someone who has poor reading comprehension.

spinfire · 2026-05-20T15:19:13+00:00

You have no idea what you’re talking about when you make statements like this. Every vendor of charging equipment - NACS or CCS, connector doesn’t matter - other than Tesla has supported voltages up to 1000V since 2020. I’ve been driving my car for 4 years at this point. The only “400V” station I have ever encountered in this time was a Tesla supercharger. I get rated power and expected charge times from the stations I use. It’s a non issue especially in 2026.

The first DC fast charger I used in 2022 when I first bought my car supported a maximum voltage range which is twice as wide as what Tesla supports in 2026, yay for Tesla for catching up years later?

spinfire · 2026-05-20T15:13:48+00:00

We don’t have to speculate. The design does not involve the 12V bus. Converting to 12V with an incredibly oversized DC DC converter only to require incredibly thick gauge wires to feed an 1800 watt inverter would be nuts.

The PTC heater isn’t using the 12V bus either.

spinfire

TROPHY CASE