Ten of the 25 vehicle models chosen as semifinalist “Best of 2024” picks in the 30th annual North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards (NACTOY) are in the Utility Vehicle category, and include the Chevy Equinox EV plus one other model from The General.
The Chevy Equinox EV is one of the six GM vehicles out of the original 10 that moved forward to the next stage of the NACTOY awards, while the pool of overall models from all automakers shrank by more than half from its original 52 vehicles.
The 2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year now has ten contestants from which the NACTOY jury will select three finalists. The Chevy Equinox EV is one of these, as is the Chevy Blazer EV. Category rivals from other automakers include the Dodge Hornet, Genesis Electrified GV70, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Kona, Kia EV9, Mazda CX90, Toyota Grand Highlander, and Volvo EX30.
The jury narrowing the field of competing vehicles at each stage consists of 50 automotive journalists from America and Canada. NACTOY seeks a wide variety of opinions and input on which vehicle models are the best for a given year in order to reduce the effects of personal or professional bias, giving a fairer picture of the best vehicles for consumers, media, and the auto industry.
A Michigan driving event is planned for October to give the NACTOY jurors a chance to test the road manners of the “Best of 2024” vehicles. NACTOY president Jeff Gilbert remarked that “we look forward to spending more time driving them, learning more about them and comparing them with the competition.”
From here, the jury will choose three vehicles from each of the Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle categories as finalists. These nine choices will be announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16th. After that, a single winner will be picked for each category and announced on January 4th, 2024.
The video below gives an overview of the car of the year contestants:
As a reminder, the Chevy Equinox EV is slated for its US release in late 2023. The battery will supply an estimated 250 miles to 300 miles of range on a single charge, depending on the trim level. FWD is standard, while an eAWD configuration is optional. The EV is motivated by Ultium battery and Ultium Drive motor technologies. Equinox EV units with FWD will develop 210 horsepower and 242 pound-feet of torque, while those with eAWD are rated at 290 horsepower and 346 pound-feet of torque.
The 2024 Equinox EV uses a variant of the GM BEV3 platform for structure, a platform it shares with the 2024 Chevy Blazer EV and the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq. MSRP is expected to start at approximately $30,000 for the base 1LT trim.
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Comments
As a 2009 Equinox owner, I expect this version to be the final winner.
I suspect it will go to the EX30. Even though it doesn’t seem like it ought to be in the “utility” category.
With the AWD package boosting it from 0-60 in under 4 seconds. That’s gonna be a sweet little car.
Unveiled over 13 months ago. Still not available for sale. It feels like old new before it even hits the showroom in good know what timeframe. GM’s Ultium launches have been a complete disaster.
This will be, a great vehicle, for the wife . We are 36th, on 2 lists. Should be early spring but I would like April or May.