![]() Like its forebear, the Equinox isn’t a standout looker – a fact proven by the failure of a car-crazed teenager to pick it out in a sea of other dark-hued crossovers in a crowded school pick-up line. The changes are enough to notice in the same way as if your staid math teacher suddenly started parting his hair on the left instead of the right. Chevy stylists rejuvenated the Equinox’s front end, bringing more distinctive headlights and a new grille design. Styling: 7/10Ī refresh was originally planned for the 2021 Equinox, but it was pushed to 2022 due to pandemic-related supply chain challenges. A healthy 847 L is available with all seats in place. Handy remote releases for folding the second-row seatbacks live in the cargo area of this LT, making opening up the 1,810 L of storage space behind the front seats a simple task. Head- and legroom up front is abundant for tall users, and there is ample space in the aft quarters for a pair of ankle-biters. The Equinox’s cabin is attractively designed if economically trimmed, with an infotainment screen well integrated into the dashboard and redundant controls for the likes of audio and ventilation. Cloth seats in the LT are comfortable and seem durable enough to outlast the apocalypse – or at least the typical suburban family of small children. Unlike some of its competitors, GM does not penalize its customers shopping the lower rungs of the trim walk by stripping its wares of conveniences like push-button start and multiple USB outlets. For right around $30,000, the LT trim is laden with natty LED fog lights, a power chair for the driver, heated front seats, and a plethora of advanced safety equipment. The level of amenity in the Equinox is impressive for its price point, including a great infotainment system. With gas prices as high as they are these days, it’s worth noting that the Equinox runs just fine on regular-grade stuff. It took 45.3L of fuel to brim the Equinox tank after travelling 538 km some napkin math shows that is equal to 8.4 L/100 km – a couple tenths worse than my records with comparable machines like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, which is also built in Canada, but close enough to be competitive. Fuel economy was good during our week’s test, handily beating its estimate of 8.8 L/100 km in combined city and country driving. So, let’s shine a bright light on this instead. The six-speed automatic transmission jumps into its highest gear very quickly for efficiency purposes and is reluctant to downshift for the same reason, but one must wonder if GM programmers chose to give it those lazy shift points so the average driver never explores the upper reaches of an Equinox tachometer, thus shielding them from the powertrain’s abrasive personality. This is not a happy engine when pressed.ĭeploying anywhere close to half-throttle and spinning the engine north of 3,000 rpm produces an unpleasant racket and vibrations through the vehicle. Let’s get this out of the way before diving into the strengths of the 2022 Chevrolet Equinox: accelerating with any amount of urgency – such as merging onto the highway or zipping away from a traffic light – causes the little 1.5L to complain and make noises like roofing nails in a food processor. Rumours abound that a different 2.0L turbo – one found in corporate cousins from Buick and Cadillac – was set for inclusion this year, but they never materialized. ![]() ![]() This 1.5L turbocharged four-cylinder is the sole offered, with Chevy dropping the 2.0L turbo option a couple years ago. At 170 hp, the Chevy is down 20 hp compared to the Honda, but outdoes it by 24 lb-ft in terms of torque. They also make peak output (both horsepower and torque) at precisely the same engine speed. It’s clear the team at General Motors (GM) benchmarked the Canadian-made Honda CR-V when developing this powertrain, since the Equinox that’s built about 200 km away has identical displacement and turbocharger count. Despite competing in a hotly contested segment, and being saddled with a few shortcomings, the updated Equinox offers good value – if you can cut through the engine noise to find it. It also makes do with a single engine, meaning every copy sold will have precisely the same amount of power. The 2022 Chevrolet Equinox has received a nip here and a tuck there, with fresh front-end styling and a slight rearranging of trims.
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