2010 Chevrolet Equinox: SUV shines among rivals

High marks for fit and finish on Ontario-built Equinox

Jul 18, 2009

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Special to the Star

GRAND BEND–The compact SUV segment accounts for about 27 per cent of the truck market in Canada, and about 12 per cent overall.

It's one of the few niches that remains strong in the troubled car business, as consumers like the utility these vehicles offer, and the lower fuel consumption compared to their intermediate or full-size siblings.

The Ford Escape and Toyota RAV4 have been the biggest players to date, with Honda's CR-V normally taking third spot.

As usual, General Motors' multi-brand strategy works against it for bragging rights – combined sales of the Chevrolet Equinox and the similar Pontiac Torrent would put GM close to third place.

That problem partially goes away with the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, because the Torrent, like all Pontiacs, is dead meat after this year. But GMC will add the Terrain.

As before, the Equinox – which is in showrooms now – was largely engineered in Canada and built exclusively in the Ingersoll plant GM shares with Suzuki.

GM actually started surveying prospects for the new Equinox shortly after the original came out in 2004. The top reasons buyers purchased them: fuel economy, value, quality, style and safety, which also implies four-wheel drive.

The new Equinox should do well, if for no other reason than it really scores on fuel economy.

The basis for Equinox remains the platform also used for Saturn Vue and Suzuki XL7. The wheelbase remains 2,857 mm, although the handsome new body is a shade shorter and a tad wider.

A key feature in the bodywork is that the rocker panels are actually part of the doors, so when you get in or out, you're less likely to get your pants or dress dirty – especially critical in a taller vehicle like this.

Another highlight is fit and finish are excellent, and the detailing leaves a quality impression.

The base 2.4 L four-cylinder engine produces almost the same horsepower as (although substantially less torque than) the 3.4 L V6, which was the sole engine in the previous generation Equinox.

it offers best-in-segment highway fuel economy, its combined city/highway Transport Canada number is the best non-hybrid (i.e., Ford Escape Hybrid) in the segment, and is in fact better than any 2.4 L four anywhere, including those of the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord.

Two main contributors here are direct fuel injection, the first time GM has used this technology in a non-turbocharged four-cylinder, and the six-speed automatic transmission, which is standard across the board – more gear ratios mean the engine can stay at or near its sweet spot more of the time.

Other more subtle fuel economy-enhancing measures include the ECO button; push it and, among other things, the transmission shifts at lower r.p.m., the torque converter locks up earlier, and fuel is shut off in deceleration. Why aren't these things done all the time? Mainly because there are drawbacks in driveability, refinement and noise. The ECO button gives drivers the option to choose.

To help compensate for the noise, GM has introduced active noise cancellation, just like some stereo headphones. Microphones over the front and rear seats pick up unwanted and irritating booming noises, and cause the car's audio system to generate sound waves of similar frequency and amplitude, but in opposite phase – cancelling each other out.

The lineup continues to offer a V6, a new 3.0 L design, related to the direct-injection 3.6 L used in the bigger Chevy Traverse and its clones.

Tim Herrick, vehicle chief engineer for Equinox, said Chev was going to offer an ECO mode for this engine, too, but found that the smoother-running V6 did not exhibit the driveability issues when these techniques were employed, so they effectively made ECO standard – there is no button to push.

The value story starts with pricing. The base trim level front-drive four-cylinder Equinox starts at $25,995, but the expected volume seller 1LT trim is $27,725, which is within a few hundred dollars of the major competitors.

However, the four-wheel-drive upgrade is just $1,610 in the Equinox, versus two grand or more in the others.

Equinox also features standard stuff like directional stability control and traction control.

And the dreaded remote start is also standard. If your dealer can't rip this nonsense out by its roots, for the sake of your engine and the environment, please resolve never to use it.

Among optional features rare to unheard-of in this class are power tailgate, dual rear-seat DVD system, Bluetooth connectivity for cellphones, 40 gig hard drive and USB port for your audio entertainment, heated leather seats, SatNav and backup camera.

I split the drive from Toronto to this Lake Huron resort town between a brace of Equinoxes, both top-of-the-line LTZ trim level four-wheel drives, the first with the six, the second with the four.

Frankly, unless you're planning on doing some semi-serious towing, (the V6 is rated to haul 1,590 kg, the four only 680 kg), there's little point in spending the extra $1,795 the V6 costs.

Neither engine is exactly a ball of fire in full-on acceleration, and despite the efforts, they both can be a bit noisy at times. The V6 is faster against a stopwatch than the four, about a second quicker from rest to 100 km/h.

Ride is on the firm side, but the handling is fine for the intended purpose.

There was a fair whack of tire noise on certain stretches of pavement; I'd have to drive it over known roads to determine if this was down to the car or the road.

The brakes need a fair heft to scrub off the speed; I'm betting that those of smaller stature will want a lighter effort.

The autobox has a manual mode, which operates a bit oddly. Pull the lever back to M, and, depending on how fast you're going, the transmission automatically downshifts, in my case usually from sixth to fourth. Not sure why it does this.

Flicking a switch on the side of the gear shift lever puts you in any ratio the tranny can reach without grenading the engine.

Here's the odd part: if you're in sixth-gear manual mode, the instrument panel posts M6. If you mash the gas pedal, it will downshift one, two or even three gears – so much for it being a "manual" mode. But the dash display remains M6! In other words, it doesn't tell you what ratio the transmission is in, like virtually every other manumatic does, but rather the ratio you have selected.

The front seats are roomy, comfortable, and supportive. Rear seat legroom is enormous, especially when it is cranked full-back, and the flat floor means three abreast back there will not be too hard on the middle-man's feet.

The rear seatback split-folds – not completely flat, but close enough to be useful.

My two test vehicles were well built, although the four-cylinder had a buzz in the instrument panel, and a few plastic bits, notably, the storage cubby at the base of the centre stack, look a shade economical,

My co-driver also complained about reflections in the instrument panel see-through panel, which he found distracting.

General Motors provided a couple of examples of the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V for back-to-back comparison. Give them credit; they tried hard to equip the vehicles to a similar level – they were all four-cylinder versions.

I tried the RAV4 first. When I started it up, I wondered if it was a diesel because the engine is very noisy, especially at idle. This is where Equinox's sound-cancellation system shines.

The RAV4's interior was also very plain, and not as well-finished as that of the Equinox. Road noise was more pronounced, especially over a series of rumble strips during our test-drive route.

The Honda was nicer inside than the Toyota, although not to the luxury level of Equinox.

Neither of the Japanese-branded cars came close to Equinox in power output or fuel consumption, neither offers a six-speed transmission, nor – standard sunroofs apart – anywhere near the equipment level of Equinox.

The Escape starting price is a few hundred less than the cheapest Equinox, but offers less equipment, less power, and uses more fuel.

The challenge for Equinox will be getting on the shopping lists of CR-V and RAV4 intenders.

My own sister-in-law, a multi-time Honda owner, recently traded her old CR-V in on a RAV4, mainly because her big ol' yaller dog Tanner fits better in the Toy.

Would she have even considered a Chevrolet if it had been on sale when she made that purchase?

Probably not.

Now that Equinox is on sale and if she were making that purchase today, I would strongly recommend she take a close look.

Toronto Star