With a 7-inch touchscreen interface and an inspiring fuel economy, the little Chevy brings a lot of promises. For those, wishing for more power from their SUV, a V6 engine is an option in the higher trims. Equinox, when equipped with V6, is known for its smooth and quiet ride.

Overview

There are several midsize crossovers available in the market today and the Chevrolet Equinox is a solid bet with a spacious and comfortable rear seat, decent cargo space, and an option of a powerful V6 engine. The Equinox had started showing its age recently, and for 2016, Chevy has refreshed it to keep it relevant in the segment.

The 2016 model gets a revised front and rear fascia with modern projector beam headlights, LED daytime running lights, and a new tail lamp design as well. Chevy has added and played around with the existing feature list and yet managed to keep a competitive starting price of $23,495 which undercuts many crowd favorites like the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, and the Subaru Forester.

Pricing and Features
9.0/10

Chevrolet offers the Equinox in four trims with an option for an FWD or AWD drivetrain, and an option for a V6 engine as well. The base L trim is pretty functional to keep the costs low, while the next two trims add a certain amount of features and for a more premium and upmarket experience, one has to opt for the top-end LTZ trim.

Trims	L	LS	LT	LTZ
MSRP (FWD)	$23,495	$26,305	$27,545	$30,835
MSRP (AWD)	-	$28,055	$29,295	$32,585
Key Features	2.4L 182 hp four-cylinder engine	L trim plus	LS trim plus;	LT trims plus;
	Dusk Sensing Headlamps	Daytime Running Lights	Passenger Airbag Occupant Sensing Deactivation	Front Fog/Driving Lights
	6-speaker audio system	3 Months Of Paid Satellite Radio Service	Powered Driver Seat	Leather And Simulated Alloy Steering Wheel
	Tilt And Telescopic Steering Wheel	Driver Seat With Power Adjustable Lumbar Support		Multi-Level Heating Front Seats
	Premium Cloth Upholstery			Leather Upholstery
	Reclining Rear Seats			18-inch Alloy Wheels

We Recommend

The LS trim is the one that strikes the best balance between value and creature comfort and opting for the AWD setup would add practicality to the Equinox.

Engine and Performance
6.0/10

The Equinox is powered by a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine as standard and is rated to produce 182 hp and 172 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission while the power is sent to the front wheels as standard, and one also has an option to opt for an AWD configuration.

The performance is decent at best as it takes 8.7 seconds to reach 60 mph from standstill while the 16.8 seconds quarter-mile timing is nothing too great either.

Model	Chevrolet Equinox L	Honda CR-V LX	Hyundai Tucson SE	Subaru Forester 2.5i
MSRP	$23,495	$24,785	$23,595	$24,245
Engine	2.4L, Naturally Aspirated Inline-4	2.4L, Naturally Aspirated Inline-4	2.0L, Naturally Aspirated Inline-4	2.5L, Naturally Aspirated Flat-4
Drivetrain	FWD	FWD	FWD	AWD
Transmission	6-speed automatic	CVT	6-speed automatic	CVT
Power	182 hp @ 6,700 rpm	185 hp @ 6,400 rpm	164 hp @ 6,200 rpm	170 hp @ 5,800 rpm
Torque	172 lb-ft @ 4,900 rpm	181 lb-ft @ 3,900 rpm	151 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm	174 lb-ft @ 4,100 rpm
0-60 mph (sec)	8.7	8.8	9.4	8.7
Quarter-mile (sec)	16.8	17.0	17.0	16.8
Top Speed (mph)	123	122	119	122
Towing Capacity (lbs)	1,500	1,500	1,000	1,500

The Subaru Forester and the Chevy Equinox offer similar performance in all aspects while the Hyundai Tucson though is similarly priced as the Chevy, is the slowest in the acceleration test and also lacks the power to tow. The Honda CR-V is marginally pricier than the Equinox and yet is slower in the tests. The Forester is also the only SUV here to offer AWD as standard in this comparison.

Fuel Economy
7.0/10

The Equinox is rated for 22 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway, while the combined fuel economy is rated 26 mpg as per the EPA. That being said, the real-world fuel efficiency figures are way lower than the ratings and hence would burn a hole through your wallet with the fuel prices rising these days and the AWD setup would do no favors as well. Though the large 18.8-gallon fuel tank does offer a respite of not having to visit the gas station as frequently, allowing you more time to forget about the bills.

Model	Chevrolet Equinox	Honda CR-V	Hyundai Tucson	Subaru Forester 2.5i
MPG (City)	22	26	23	24
MPG (Highway)	32	33	31	32
MPG (Combined)	26	29	26	27
Fuel Capacity (gal)	18.8	15.3	16.4	15.9
Range (City / Highway / Combined) (miles)	414 / 602 / 489	398 / 505 / 444	377 / 508 / 426	382 / 509 / 429

The Hyundai Tucson has a similar fuel efficiency rating as that of the Equinox, but it provides a much higher real-world efficiency. The CR-V has the highest fuel efficiency figures but the small gas tank does compromise on the driving range of the car. The Subaru Forester’s standard AWD does not compromise much on fuel efficiency and is more frugal than the Tucson and the Equinox.

Interior
7.3/10

The Chevrolet Equinox offers a sleek and stylish cabin with smooth flowing contours on the dashboard that blends into the door panels, which thereby provides a wraparound feel.

The quality of materials is decent while the cabin is roomy throughput with the special mention going to the super comfortable rear seat which gets a reclining function as well. There is a decent amount of luggage space as well on offer which can be extended further by folding down the rear seat.

Model	Chevrolet Equinox	Honda CR-V	Hyundai Tucson	Subaru Forester 2.5i
Seating Capacity	5	5	5	5
Front Row (Head / Shoulder / Leg) (in)	40.9 / 55.8 / 41.2	38.0 / 58.6 / 41.3	39.6 / 57.1 / 41.5	41.4 / 57.0 / 43.0
Rear Row (Head / Shoulder / Leg) (in)	39.2 / 55.3 / 39.9	38.6 / 56.4 / 38.3	39.2 / 55.5 / 38.2	39.8 / 56.5 / 38.0
Cargo Capacity with the rear seat upright (cu-ft)	31.5	37.2	31.0	34.4
Cargo Capacity with rear seat folded (cu-ft)	63.7	70.9	61.9	74.7

The rear seat of the Equinox does not have any competition in terms of both space and comfort while the rear seat is also on par with the segment. The Honda CR-V has the largest trunk capacity in this comparison while with the rear seat folded, the Subaru grabs the honors for carrying the most amount of cargo.

8-way power heated front seats with power lumbar
2-way fore/aft adjust 60/40 split seatback and 3-way recline rear seat
Perforated leather-appointed seating
Memory settings for the driver seat and exterior mirrors
Leather-wrapped Steering wheel tilt and telescopic steering column
Remote Keyless Entry w/Remote vehicle starter system
automatic climate control
ambient lighting

How is the 2016 Chevrolet Equinox SUV’s infotainment system?

The touchscreen which is nicely tucked in on the dashboard offers good visibility even in harsh sunlight while the MyLink system has pretty good graphics and although is pretty intuitive to use as well, suffers from slow response times and missed responses which spoils the otherwise good experience.

7.0-inch Chevrolet MyLink infotainment system
8-speaker Pioneer premium sound system
SiriusXM Satellite Radio w/3-month All Access trial subscription
Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming
OnStar 4G LTE and built-in Wi-Fi hotspot
Voice Recognition
OnStar Guidance Turn-by-Turn Navigation

Exterior
8.5/10

The Equinox has a soft-roader look with the front fascia being more cute than tough. The high ground clearance, large bumpers, flared wheel arches, black lower body cladding, offer an SUV-ish look but the overall shape and design aren’t imposing which may suit many family buyers.

Model	Chevrolet Equinox	Honda CR-V	Hyundai Tucson	Subaru Forester 2.5i
Curb Weight (lbs)	3,764	3,437	3,325	3,296
Length (in)	187.8	179.4	176.2	180.9
Width (in)	72.5	71.6	72.8	70.7
Height (in)	66.3	64.7	64.8	66.4
Ground Clearance (in)	6.9	6.7	6.4	8.7
Wheelbase (in)	112.5	103.1	105.1	103.9

The Hyundai Tucson is the most compact crossover in the segment with the Honda CR-V being slightly larger than that. The Equinox is the longest, widest, and thus the heaviest of the lot. There is also a decent amount of ground clearance on offer, but the Forester has the best ground clearance while the Tucson is the closest to the ground.

Halogen projector-style headlamps
Outside heated power-adjustable, bright chrome mirrors
Roof-mounted Luggage rack side rails
Black grille with chrome surround
Chrome Door handles
18-inch aluminum wheels

Safety
9.3/10

The Chevrolet Equinox might not be the newest product in the segment, there is no compromise in terms of safety. The 2016 Chevy Equinox gets an overall 4-star rating out of a possible 5-stars from the NHTSA while the IIHS has awarded it with their ‘Top Safety Pick’ accolade appreciating the safety standards implemented by Chevrolet in the Equinox. The available safety features and driver aids list is pretty long too, a highlight of which is listed below.

Brake Assist and Hill Start-Assist
StabiliTrak electronic stability control system
Tire Pressure Monitor System
Dual-stage frontal, Thorax side-impact, seat-mounted driver and front passenger airbags w/passenger sensing system
Front and rear side head curtain airbags
OnStar Guidance Plan for 6 months w/Automatic Crash Response, Stolen Vehicle Assistance, and Roadside Assistance
Rear Vision Camera
Cruise Control

Final Verdict

The Chevrolet Equinox with its refreshed design and shuffled features list for the 2016 model year makes it more appealing and a better contender against the rivals and crowd favorite, the Honda CR-V. The lower price tag, spacious interior, and an optional V6 engine which stands out in the segment do it put it in the priority lists of many prospective buyers.

2015 Chevrolet Equinox L

2015 Chevrolet Equinox L

2016 Chevrolet Equinox Review

Pros

Cons

Overview

Pricing and Features9.0/10

Engine and Performance6.0/10

Fuel Economy7.0/10

Interior7.3/10