2010 CHEVROLET EQUINOX Review

Overview

The all-new 2010 Chevrolet Equinox is a compact four-door, front-engine, front- or all-wheel drive crossover that comfortably accommodates five passengers and reflects Chevrolet's outstanding quality in design, precision and utility capability. It is available in LS, LT and LTZ trim, with available all-wheel-drive.

Powertrain And Performance

Two new engines are offered, each with fuel-saving direct injection and variable valve timing technology. A new 2.4L Ecotec direct injected I-4 engine estimated at 182 horsepower (135 kW) mated to a hydramatic 6T45 six-speed automatic electronically controlled delivers an estimated 30 mpg highway, 21 mpg city (FWD) and the new 3.0L DOHC direct injected V-6 engine estimated at 255 horsepower (190 kW) mated to a hydramatic 6T70 six-speed automatic electronically controlled with manual shift mode delivers an estimated 25 mpg highway, 18 mpg city (FWD). The AWD models deliver 20/27 and 17/24 mpg city/highway respectively.

Build And Styling

The Equinox's exterior design is inspired from the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and Traverse crossover; and like those vehicles, the new Equinox complements its styling with attention to detail and features. Inside, the Equinox has a number of storage bins, such as an oversized glove box; a closed storage bin in the instrument panel above the center stack; and closed storage under the center armrest large enough for a laptop computer. The front and rear seats include cloth and uplevel, perforated leather-trimmed offerings that deliver best-in-class comfort. It retains its MultiFlex rear seat capability, which allows the seat to be moved fore or aft nearly eight inches (203 mm), for the best rear legroom in its class. With the 60/40-split-back rear seat moved all the way forward, the cargo area offers 31.4 cubic feet (889 liters) of storage. A variety of technologies have been integrated into the Equinox, such as an available seven-inch touch-screen navigation system. The additional features include Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity, USB audio connectivity, DVD-based rear-seat entertainment system with two independent screens to enable DVD viewing on one and gaming on the other, internal memory/hard drive on uplevel radios for storing audio selections, power, programmable rear liftgate, rear-vision camera system, with display in the rearview mirror or in the navigation screen, and a range of premium-feature audio systems with up to eight speakers and 250 watts of output.

Safety Features

The Equinox features six standard air bags: dual frontal air bags; head curtain side air bags and pelvic/thorax seat-mounted side air bags, standard four-wheel disc brakes with StabiliTrak electronic stability control, OnStar and traction control.