2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS Review and Test Drive

Chevy's latest Blazer EV is its quickest SS yet, but it doesn't radically change the electric SUV's driving experience.

Tim Stevens | 

Apr 25, 2025 | 6 min read

Tim Stevens

The SS joins the existing LT and RS trim levels. The entire lineup's base prices range from the high $40,000s to the low $60,000s, including the destination charge to ship the EV to your local dealership from the Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, factory that builds it. All Blazer EVs are eligible for the $7,500 federal Clean Vehicle tax credit.

For this 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS review, I conducted a test drive in Charlotte, North Carolina. The SS comes fully loaded and even includes the hands-free Super Cruise driver-assistance system. The only options on my test vehicle were a panoramic power moonroof and a dual-level charging cord, upgrades that brought the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $63,785, including the $1,395 destination charge.

Chevrolet provided the vehicle for this Blazer EV SS review and paid for airfare, lodging, and meals during the evaluation period.

Tim Stevens

Is the 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS a Good SUV?

The new SS version of the 2025 Blazer EV doesn't radically change the driving experience, but it does offer crucial enhancements. With 615 horsepower, it's a much more eager machine, but the suspension updates also make it pleasant to drive. The result is a desirable package for a performance-oriented buyer and a compelling alternative to something such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT or Tesla Model Y Performance.

Tim Stevens

What's Different About the 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS?

With the introduction of the 2025 Blazer EV SS, Chevrolet decided it was time to bring some performance to bear in its EVs. The result is Chevy's quickest SS model ever, thanks to the Blazer EV SS's maximum of 615 horsepower delivered to all four wheels through a pair of front and rear permanent magnet electric motors.

To help keep the rubber on the road and the SUV pointed in the right direction, Chevrolet also provides mild suspension upgrades. They include stiffer springs, stronger anti-roll bars, and a switch to monotube shocks, a design that improves damper quality. A sharper, variable-ratio steering rack also helps the SS turn quicker.

A set of SS-specific 22-inch wheels and tires provides the grip, and buyers can choose either all-season or summer tires. The stickier rubber is part of the Performance Pack, which also replaces the brake rotors and pads with slightly more performance-oriented materials. All Blazer EV SS SUVs have standard six-piston Brembo front calipers.

Tim Stevens

The 2025 Blazer EV SS Is Ridiculously Quick

Battery-powered SUVs now come in an increasing variety of shapes and sizes, but there are few on the road quicker than the new Blazer EV SS. Officially, it sprints from zero to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. However, on just my second attempt at launching the EV at the new Ten Tenths Motor Club outside Charlotte, I did even better, achieving the feat in just 3.3 seconds.

Better yet, it doesn't require any special preparation or battery conditioning to do it. You just put your left foot firmly on the brake pedal, set the Blazer EV to Z mode (its sportiest setting), tap the Wide Open Watts (WOW) button to get maximum power, and then press the accelerator pedal to the floor. When you lift off the brake, the SUV shoots forward with serious acceleration, but otherwise, there's little fanfare.

You don't have to blast off from a standstill to experience the Blazer EV SS's quickness. Unlike other performance EVs that only offer maximum power when using launch control, the Blazer SS can give you the full 615 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque whenever you want it. You just have to tap that WOW button on the touchscreen, which works even in the Normal driving mode.

Tim Stevens

Without WOW enabled, the SS makes a slightly less extreme 515 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, which is still enough to rocket this midsize crossover into traffic gaps. It's an extremely quick vehicle in any mode, yet still offers 303 miles of range from its 102-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack.

In my testing, I netted an average efficiency of 2.9 miles per kWh, which translates to 34.5 kWh per 100 miles. Unexpectedly, that's an improvement on the official EPA rating of 40 kWh/100 mi, despite my multiple acceleration tests.

The maximum charging rate of the battery is 190 kilowatts (kW), and an optional NACS adapter makes the Blazer EV SS compatible with Tesla Superchargers nationwide. When using a DC fast charger that delivers 190 kW, Chevy says you can expect to get 79 miles of range in 10 minutes.

Tim Stevens

More Comfort and Compliance in the 2025 Blazer EV SS

More power needs better handling, and while the 2025 Blazer EV SS's suspension improvements are more subtle than the power upgrades, they create a better-driving SUV in every condition I tested. While the SS is firmer than other versions of the Blazer EV, its ride quality is still quite good, despite the larger 22-inch wheels and tires.

The optional summer tires, part of the Performance Pack, provide good grip and don't impact that 303-mile range rating, but based on my brief experience driving a version of the SUV with this option, they also result in extra noise on concrete and rough surfaces. Adding the Performance Pack, then, isn't entirely consequence free.

When driven hard, the Blazer EV SS is quite fun, and the revised steering rack makes it feel more responsive. But when the tires give up grip, they do so in a terminal way. Some performance cars with electric motors at the front axle can work magic to pull the nose through and out of understeer if you keep your foot on the accelerator. Sadly, the Blazer EV SS is not one of them, as I discovered while lapping a racetrack.

Still, few people will drive this EV to such extremes. On the road, it remains enjoyable and engaging, offering plenty of grip and staying nicely poised, even over broken asphalt.

Tim Stevens

While the Blazer EV isn't a perfect vehicle, it is an appealing electric SUV, and the new SS variant adds another option for anyone seeking more performance. Add in this model's comprehensive set of standard features, sharp looks, and price and range numbers that compare favorably with the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and Tesla Model Y Performance, and you have a winner.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Tim Stevens

Tim is a freelance automotive and technology journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He is a frequent contributor to major domestic and international online, print, and broadcast news outlets, sharing his insights and perspectives on everything from cybersecurity to supercars. Tim also serves as a juror for the World Car Awards and regularly acts as speaker and moderator at major industry events such as CES, Web Summit, SXSW, NAIAS, and AutoMobility LA. He formerly served as editor-at-large and vice president of content at CNET. Before that he was editor-in-chief of Engadget and editorial director at AOL Tech.