Author: EVAI
Column: Tesla Model Y and BYD Seagull provide template for lower EV costs
Ford is right to ask for suppliers’ help to rein in costs. But what is Ford doing in product development and manufacturing to cut costs?
GMC Sierra 1500 vs. Chevrolet Silverado 1500: Compare Trucks
The difference between the related Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 full-size pickup trucks can be as stark or as familiar as members of the same family: it depends on how you look at them. They share four engine options, three cab sizes, three bed lengths, a platform, and many of the same features. Brothers from the same mother. Their…
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The full-size SUV accomplishes a singular feat unmatched by any other automotive segment. It can transport a hockey team’s starting line and their gear in relative comfort, as long as you’re wearing nose plugs. The large truck-based SUVs that seat up to nine passengers are known for their roomy utility as much as their poor fuel…
Chevrolet Equinox vs. GMC Terrain: Compare Crossover SUVs
Although the 2024 Chevy Equinox and 2024 GMC Terrain are assembled in the same plant, share similar powertrains, and may even share the same floor space at the dealership, these two compact crossovers from General Motors have more than just daylight separating them. The two compact crossovers have mass appeal. They’re both tall-riding…
Review: 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST arrives for civilians
The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV full-size electric pickup truck was first delivered in Work Truck specification to fleet buyers nearly a year ago; but only now can civilians take one home.
The first retail version to arrive is the top-of-the-line 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST First Edition. We had a chance to spend several hours driving through the largely flat precincts around Detroit, putting almost 100 miles on a black example that stickered just south of $100,000.
Chevrolet reps declined to discuss the specifications of the trims that will be lower in the lineup than the RST. The RST adds numerous features not offered on the basic Work Truck, including an air suspension that raises or lowers the truck a couple inches, rear-wheel steering, a full-length glass cabin roof, 24-inch alloy wheels, optional Super Cruise hands-free cruise control, and multiple drive modes.
Silverado EV range, efficiency: Average
A major selling point of the Silverado EV lineup is an EPA-rated combined range of up to 450 miles from its roughly 205-kwh capacity (the RST First Edition is estimated at 440 miles). That’s more than any other electric truck on the market, and it should reassure shoppers who can afford one that they won’t run out of range unexpectedly.
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
Our drive route mixed rural Michigan roads and fast Interstate traffic up to 80 mph. Over 100 miles of mixed traffic, we saw efficiencies of 2.0 to 2.2 miles per kilowatt-hour. That’s roughly the same as Green Car Reports got in a week-long test for a Ford F-150 Lightning. It suggests that the Silverado EV, with longer rated range and weighing more than four tons, may be slightly more efficient than its cross-town rival.
Bidirectional charging for home backup duty is on the way as well.
Chevy quotes the payload at 1,500 pounds. Rated towing capability of the Silverado EV we tested is 10,000 pounds, and Chevy provided both an EV powerboat on a trailer and an enclosed car trailer for test towing.
No figures on the efficiency hit from towing were given, but the onboard navigation from Google takes into account any towing and adjusts range and charging stops accordingly. Super Cruise also works with towing,
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
Chevy Avalanche redux, made electric
The first electric Silverado pickup truck shares little beyond a name with its gasoline- and diesel-powered namesakes. It’s lower and sleeker than those ICE models and a clean-sheet-of-paper design, if you don’t count the level of sharing with the GMC Hummer EV, upcoming Cadillac Escalade IQ, and other models. The front end is scaled down, with slim LED headlights and a blanking panel that signals “grille,” a four-door cabin, and a pickup bed integrated into the cab body.
The Silverado EV, in fact, is the electric reincarnation of the 2002-2013 Chevrolet Avalanche, an early four-door sport truck with that same integrated pickup bed. Even the sail panels connecting the roof to the bed sides are similar—as is the midgate that opens up and folds down to extend the bed floor and allow cargo to be carried behind the front seats right up to the tailgate. (Chevy execs, however, consistently give the side eye to any suggestions their new electric truck could have been named “EValanche”…oh well.)
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
The drawback of the neo-Avalanche design is that Silverado EV Work Trucks can’t use the same specialized “upfit” accessories—tool chests, industry-specific bed caps, etc.—that the gas versions do. That distinguishes the Silverado EV from the Ford F-150 Lightning, for which it’s a selling point.
Inside, the cabin mixes soft-touch materials where you’re likely to feel them with fine-dot-patterned hard plastic on dash surfaces and other expanses. The top-end models we drove had contrast stitching and seat upholstery that indicated they were the “First Edition” versions.
Silverado EV performance: Fast, heavy
On the road, the Silverado EV’s performance is adequate to keep up with traffic in its normal drive mode. Flooring the accelerator provides acceleration that will let this large and heavy truck slip into gaps, overtake at will, and generally move through traffic as fast as you want it to.
On the 24-inch wheels of the RST First Edition version, it corners well, with the air suspension keeping it flat. That and a low battery pack under the cabin floor help ensure it leans less on any given corner than a similar full-size pickup with a combustion engine. But drivers who pay attention will be aware there’s a great deal of weight being restrained by those 24-inch tires. The rear-wheel steering makes the truck feel much more agile than expected, with a 42-foot turning circle that all but allows a U-turn on a two-lane road with wide shoulders.
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
Chevrolet refused to quote power or torque ratings for normal use. The sole stats provided were up to 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque when the driver deliberately calls up Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode. It’s analogous to the “Watts To Freedom” (WTF) mode on the GMC Hummer EV with which the electric Silverado shares much of its underpinnings.
We tested WOW mode on a couple of standing-start acceleration runs, and the quoted 0-to-60-mph acceleration time of 4.5 seconds seems entirely reasonable. Equally impressive was its full-force emergency stop; the anti-lock brakes brought the 8,500-pound truck to a full stop in a slightly shorter distance than we expected. We found the Silverado EV RST First Edition model smooth and quiet on most road surfaces, though like most EVs, road and wind noise are magnified by the absence of powertrain noise or vibrations.
Silverado EV is smooth, quiet, capacious
Using the fixed running boards to climb up into the cabin, our first impressions included the wide console between the seats—now required for full-size pickups—and the large horizontal instrument cluster and central touchscreen. Front seats are comfortable and widely adjustable, and large door mirrors provide a wide field of rear vision. The rearview mirror includes conventional and video rear views, and the head-rest of the rear center seat folds down to open up that rear view for the mirror view.
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
The rear cabin floor is flat, making this one of few vehicles where three U.S.-sized adults can comfortably occupy the rear seat. Outward vision is good to the rear and rear sides, though elevating the driver’s seat as high as it will go is the best way to see over the relatively high, bluff hood. Build quality on our RST First Edition test truck appeared excellent.
A front trunk offers 10.7 cubic feet of lockable storage. A static display compared the cargo length (up to 10 feet 10 inches) offered in the bed of the Silverado EV (with midgate open and Multi-Flex tailgate down, load restraint up) versus its electric-pickup competitors: Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Rivian R1T. No surprise, the Chevy won.
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
GM and Google take control of Silverado EV dash
Like Chevrolet’s last few new electric vehicles, including the Chevy Blazer EV and Chevy Equinox EV, the Silverado EV foregoes the expected Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring.
GM staff pointed out another prominent EV maker—without ever saying the word Tesla—has never offered those features in its vehicles.
As it is, Google Assistant provides Google Maps navigation that integrates with the truck’s battery state of charge, routing it via fast-charging stations where destinations exceed its substantial range, and telling drivers how long to stay there and what battery charge will remain at their next stop. In other words, just as Tesla has done for 10+ years.
Buyers will need to check carefully whether their favorite apps have been approved by Google and GM for download through the vehicle’s Play Store. The one other routing app we saw was Waze, which isn’t integrated with the battery. For EV charging locations, Plugshare (ditto) was included—but not A Better Routeplanner or Chargeway.
Users must sign into those in-dash apps through the vehicle to use them. GM reps were notably unable to say who owns the data on drivers’ app usage, routing, destinations, song choices, and all the rest. GM has said it expects to earn significant revenue from digital services provided by the car, but the navigation in the Silverado EV will be free for 8 years—perhaps more. GM reps were unable to say whether free access would last beyond that point, or what it might cost once the free trial ends.
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Chevrolet provided airfare, lodging, and meals to enable Green Car Reports to bring you this first-person drive report.
Kia EV3 revealed, Jeep Wagoneer S teased, curbside fast-charging: Today’s Car News
Jeep teases its Wagoneer S with a Model Y Performance faceoff. Kia reveals its stylish compact EV3. And could streetside fast-charging work across U.S. urban areas? This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
Kia has revealed the production-bound EV3 electric SUV, and it closely follows both the EV3 concept and the much larger EV9 that’s already on sale. Although not yet confirmed for the U.S., this model is already set for Korea and Europe and with its larger battery pack will go well beyond 300 miles on a charge. And it could make a lot of sense in America at a starting price near the $35,000 originally teased.
The upcoming 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S EV could out-accelerate the Tesla Model Y Performance and be the quickest model from the off-road-focused brand ever, it revealed Wednesday in a teaser. The Wagoneer S is set for a May 30 reveal.
The charging network Gravity has revealed distributed access points in the form of “trees” for urban streetside EV fast-charging. Set to provide up to 500 kw with no utility upgrades, these stations built onto streets could form a network “more expansive than Tesla’s current Supercharger network,” according to the company.
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2024 Jeep Wagoneer S EV: Tesla Model Y rival set for May 30 reveal
Stellantis on Wednesday released a new teaser video for the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S showing that the electric SUV has the Tesla Model Y in its sights.
A voiceover declares that Jeep is “taking on America’s bestselling EV brand,” setting up a race between a Wagoneer S (albeit a pre-production one) and a Model Y Performance. In the video, Jeep quotes a 3.4-second 0-60 mph time for the Wagoneer S (with rollout subtracted), while Tesla’s website currently lists a 3.5-second 0-60 mph time for the Model Y Performance.
2024 Jeep Wagoneer S
This also gives the Wagoneer S the quickest 0-60 mph time of any production Jeep to date, beating the old gasoline Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, the automaker notes. Like the Model Y Performance, the Trackhawk is 0.1 second slower than the Wagoneer S.
The Trackhawk still has bragging rights when it comes to power, though. While impressive, the Wagoneer S’s 600 hp and 617 lb-ft of torque falls short of the 707 hp and 645 lb-ft generated by the Trackhawk’s supercharged V-8 engine. Granted, those specs only apply to the pre-production Wagoneer S, as does a range estimate of more than 300 miles.
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Jeep first showed the Wagoneer S in concept form in September 2022 alongside the more rugged Recon off-roader, described as “brother” to the Wrangler. The production version is scheduled for a full reveal May 30, with sales starting this fall.
Jeep otherwise seems quite focused on plug-in hybrids at the moment. It recently confirmed a Gladiator 4xe plug-in hybrid pickup is U.S.-bound, while Europe will get a 4xe version of the Avenger crossover that was just detailed Wednesday. Jeep also sidestepped EVs with this year’s batch of off-road concepts for the annual Easter Jeep Safari; all had engines on board.
Gravity’s urban fast-charging “trees” could rival Tesla Supercharging
The Gravity charging company on Wednesday unveiled a new design for EV charging stations that it believes will be the foundation of a massive urban fast-charging network.
Styled as Distributed Access Energy Points (DEAPs), the chargers take the form of what Gravity calls “trees,” taller structures in which the charge cable dangles from an extended arm (or would that be branch?) that seems as much like the swivel arms at self-service car washes as anything from nature.
The cable pivots down from a hinged swing arm, which then raises back up when charging is completed, according to a Gravity press release. This should mean that there’s no concern about tripping over cables lying on the sidewalk.
Gravity curbside EV charger
Gravity also claims that no utility upgrades are needed to plant these trees, yet they’re still capable of 200-kw or 500-kw power levels, which can add 200 miles of range in 13 minutes or five minutes, respectively. If Gravity—which claims existing garage-based charging sites are the fastest in America—can follow through on its plans, so they’ll soon be a common sight in urban areas.
“Gravity is striving to develop a network of on-street DEAP charging more expansive than Tesla’s current Supercharger network.” And based on the company’s claims, the DEAP chargers will be more powerful than Tesla’s urban Superchargers, which tend to have lower power than those on road-trip routes.
Curbside chargers like these have been relatively rare in the U.S. up until now. EVgo added some to its network starting in 2019, and now other companies like Voltpost aim to build out Level 2 chargers where apartment-dwellers might charge overnight or for a few hours.
Gravity curbside EV charger
Curbside chargers could help make EVs practical for people who don’t have a driveway, garage, or other place to install a home charger. But relying on public street parking could bring challenges, like internal-combustion cars blocking chargers, cars sitting idle without charging for long periods, and the need to work with municipalities to coordinate installations with parking rules.
If some states are having trouble distinguishing the differences between the required infrastructure for gas stations versus EV charging stations, as appears to be the case in Kentucky, it might be a tough road ahead for companies like Gravity.
Kia EV3 small electric SUV follows EV9, tops 300 miles of range
Kia on Thursday revealed the production-bound version of its EV3 compact electric crossover that might, if Kia keeps to original hints, start around $35,000.
The EV3 emerges on the way to production in much the same form as the EV3 concept that was first shown in October 2023, albeit with a little more round to its profile and the rear end especially, and with a completely different interior that borrows some ideas from the larger Kia EV9 electric SUV.
This served as a global reveal for the model and, as of yet, Kia is short on U.S. specs, details, or differences—or whether, to be sure, the model is headed to America. If it were to arrive in the U.S. at the $35,000 starting price Kia suggested for the concept, it might be a strong rival for the Volvo EX30, along with others including the Hyundai Kona Electric and next-generation Chevrolet Bolt EV—and leave Kia’s own Niro EV on uncertain ground.
The EV3 set for success from the start thanks to several key decisions. It’s built on Hyundai’s flexible E-GMP architecture, which has resulted in a hit parade of rewarding-to-drive, fast-charging EVs from Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, and it has a coefficient of drag of just 0.263—great for efficiency in such an upright vehicle.
Hyundai Motor Group E-GMP platform
Kia EV3 isn’t a hot hatch, but it looks sharp
Kia has managed to carry over many of the same technical and geometric details from the concept, and splice in Kia’s latest Star Map lighting theme, which just also made its debut in the 2025 Kia EV6. The EV3 will be offered in nine different exterior body colors.
Two different battery packs will be featured in the EV3, fitted to EV3 Standard models and EV3 Long Range versions, and amounting to 58.3 kwh and 81.4 kwh, respectively. Kia notes that charging times will be in the vicinity of 31 minutes from 10-80%. Regardless of the battery pack, a single 150-kw (201-hp) electric motor at the front wheels provides 209 lb-ft of torque and accelerates the EV3 to 62 mph in 7.5 seconds.
Kia EV3
Kia EV3 range shaping up for 300+ miles
Kia boasts of a WLTP driving range of up to 373 miles. EPA ratings are based on different driving cycles, and it isn’t a direct translation, but given how other Kia EVs like the EV6 and EV9 have fared, that might mean an EPA range rating of well over 300 miles for some versions.
The EV3 gets a more advanced version of its regenerative braking system, including one-pedal driving and adjustable modes for various levels of regen. The EV3 will be one of the few vehicles in its compact class to provide so-called Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) power output, which is good for powering small appliances and tools—and a gateway for other bidirectional charging features, perhaps.
The dedicated EV platform accommodates what looks like a roomy passenger space considering this model’s decidedly compact exterior. While cargo capability are rather ordinary for this size of vehicle, at 17.0 cubic feet of rear cargo space with the back seats up and less than a cubic foot of frunk space, the interior layout allows a sliding table, fully reclining seats for a fold-back relaxation mode, and a center console with a sliding table and storage area. An adjustable two-tier luggage floor allows 5.5 inches in load-floor flexibility.
New Kia EV3
Little EV3 goes big with interface, streaming, AI
The focal point of the EV3 dash is its big widescreen display, spanning nearly 30 inches and incorporating two 12.3-inch displays plus a five-inch climate control panel—essentially a version of what’s made its debut in the EV9. The one at the center of the dash is a touchscreen good for entertainment and navigation.
A smartphone- or smartwatch-based digital key system allows entry without a physical keyfob. Kia plans to provide downloadable display themes to customize the EV3 dash and infotainment system, and streamable content will be available through a Premium Streaming service powered by webOS and via LG’s content platform. Kia says that with the top Harman Kardon audio system the experience will be akin to home cinema.
The Kia EV3 uses integrated generative AI for its voice assistant, extending natural language commands to span vehicle functions, entertainment, and info searches.
Just as in the EV3 concept, there’s good use of recycled materials in the production-bound EV3—including recycled fabric for the dash and door trim plus PET used throughout the interior.
New Kia EV3
US arrival date for Kia EV3?
Kia says that the EV3 will be introduced in Korea in July 2024, followed by Europe in the second half of the year. It says it “has plans to expand the sale of EV3 into other regions, with subsequent launches to be expected after the European market entry.” So America might well be part of the plan in 2025.