Plug In at Home, Skip the Station: Living With the Equinox EV in Torrington

It is an electric compact SUV equipped with an 85 kWh battery and available in three trims, namely LT 1, LT 2 and RS.

The front-wheel-drive models produce 220 horsepower and 243 lb-ft and have an EPA-estimated range of 319 miles. Add a second motor for all-wheel drive and the power rises to 300 horsepower and 355 lb-ft, while the range drops to 307 miles.

It's the range that makes this car so popular. Chevrolet has described it as the most affordable electric vehicle in America with a range of over 315 miles, although this is a marketing statement and not an unreasonable one.

Here are two things that will be different in 2027 and have relevance in this context.

The charging port was changed to the NACS connector, which is the same as the one used by Tesla. This now allows direct access to Tesla Superchargers without the need for an adapter, meaning that your charging options have been significantly affected during a road trip.

The RS has had its optional 19.2 kW on-board charger removed and for 2027 the 11.5 kW rate will be standard on all models. So if you had intended to pay extra in order to have faster home charging that option is no longer available.

The part your driveway decides

That is where I would like to be straightforward, since the expression "plug in at home" masks a genuine cost.

There are two types of home charging, and they are not similar.

Level 1 uses a standard 120-volt wall outlet and provides about three to four miles of range for each hour. If you plug it in at 6 p.m. and unplug it at 7 a.m., you'll have gained between 40 and 50 miles. This is acceptable for someone who drives only 15 miles each day, but for a commuter making a 60-mile round trip you will never be able to make up the difference.

Level 2 involves a 240-volt circuit, the type that is used by a clothes dryer; it is from this that the 34 miles per hour figure is derived. According to FuelEconomy.gov a full charge at 240 volts takes about 9.5 hours, which is precisely one overnight.

To carry out a Level 2 installation you need an electrician, a separate circuit and sufficient capacity in your electrical panel. The typical cost for such an installation ranges from a few hundred dollars to a couple of thousand dollars, the exact amount depending on how far your panel is from the car parking area and whether or not the panel has space. You must also add the cost of the charger itself. It's best to get a quote from a local electrician rather than rely on a national estimate.

Leave room in your budget for this. Many of the older homes in Torrington and Winsted have electrical panels that were designed for a different time, and finding out that yours needs to be upgraded after you've purchased the car is an unpleasant situation. Have an electrician examine your panel before you agree to anything.

What 34 miles an hour actually buys you

Run the numbers against your own week rather than the brochure.

At a charging rate of 34 miles per hour, four hours of charging provides power for about 136 miles. Most of the people in Litchfield County do not drive anything near to that amount in a day. The distance from Torrington to Hartford and back is about 60 miles, and that from Torrington to Waterbury and back is about 40 miles.

It means that in an ordinary week you don't charge the car to full and you don't give it any thought; you just plug it in, go to bed, and in the morning it's ready. The figure of 319 miles is something you have to keep in mind two or three times a year, whereas the daily overnight top-up is something that matters every day.

The money, honestly

The EPA gives the front-drive model a rating of 31 kWh per 100 miles.

To work this out, take your electric bill, determine your actual rate per kilowatt hour, and then multiply it. Connecticut customers should use their own rates rather than the national average since the state has some of the highest electricity prices in the country. 

Recent figures show the average residential rate to be between about 24 and 32 cents per kilowatt hour depending on which dataset you refer to and whether delivery is included, compared to a national average that is nearer to 18 cents.

At 25 cents it comes to around $7.75 per 100 miles, and at 32 cents it's about $9.92.

The actual cost savings compared to gasoline in this state do exist, but these savings are less than the figures cited at the national level, and anybody who says that an electric vehicle costs just a few pennies to run in Connecticut has not looked at a local bill.

See if the utility company you use has a time-of-use rate; by charging overnight when on an off-peak plan, you'll find that the figures work out more favorably, and there's no cost involved in asking.

Two honest limitations

You will lose range in winter. Since it is colder in winter the range of all electric vehicles is reduced, the effect being most noticeable on short journeys in which both the cabin and the battery never get fully warm. A journey during January in Torrington won't yield the same results as one in September. Allow for a significant loss rather than a minor one and make use of the preconditioning facility while the vehicle is still connected to the power supply.

DC fast charging isn't something this car does particularly well; the charging rate reaches a maximum of 150 kW and, under ideal conditions, provides about 70 to 77 miles in 10 minutes, although the rate slows down after the first few minutes. That's acceptable. It isn't at the top of the class, and there are several electric vehicles that charge faster when on a road trip. The NACS port introduced in 2027 helps out by giving access to the Supercharger network, which helps more with availability than with raw speed.

So long as most of your driving is around locally and you charge at home, you won't be much affected by either of these. But if you make two trips to North Carolina each year, then you should take them into account.

What it costs

In 2027, the prices for the front-wheel drive models are $36,795 for the LT 1, $43,595 for the LT 2 and $45,895 for the RS, all of which include destination charges. For the higher trims, all-wheel drive costs an extra $3,300. The LT 1 is the only exception since its all-wheel drive model starts at $42,095 due to the fact that it comes with $2,000 worth of options that are required, making the increase appear greater than it actually is.

The Super Cruise system, which is GM's hands-free highway system, is included in the Active Safety Package 3 instead of being offered as standard, and in 2027 it costs about $3,945 and is available on the LT 2 and RS.

It's best to inquire about the current federal and state incentives rather than making an assumption, since the situation has changed a lot and the answer available today might be different from the one you read about last year.

Where to look in Torrington

Northwest Hills Chevrolet on East Main Street in Torrington is the local Chevrolet store. When you call, ask two questions.

Ask whether they sell and service the Equinox EV, and who there actually knows the car. The level of expertise regarding EVs differs from store to store.

Ask them to honestly go through the process of home charging with you, mentioning the cost of a Level 2 installation at your address. If a dealer avoids answering that question, that is telling you something.

The Equinox EV does what the headline says it does: you cease visiting gas stations, and during a typical week in Litchfield County you never give any thought to the range.

The driveway should be dealt with first of all; the car is the simpler part.