4K Review: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Quick Drive | Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports:
The new 2018 Chevrolet
Equinox is out,
and it looks to turn up the heat
in the small SUV competition.
The previous and
bigger Equinox seemed
lost when compared to larger
models such as the Toyota
Highlander and Hyundai Santa Fe.
And it also couldn't
compete with smaller SUVs
like the Toyota RAV-4, Honda
CR-V, and Subaru Forester.
The last Equinox had
underperforming engines,
so so visibility,
and not as much
equipment as competing SUVs.
So this new model couldn't
have come at a better time.
The new Equinox has
finally found its identity,
and goes smaller.
In fact, it's now five inches
shorter and about 400 pounds
lighter than the last model.
There's also no more
six-cylinder engine.
Instead, you can choose among
three four-cylinders, a 1.5
liter turbo, a two liter turbo,
and a fuel thrifty 1.6 liter
turbo diesel.
We bought a mid-level,
all wheel drive LT model,
which has the 170
horsepower, 1.5 liter
turbo, and six-speed automatic.
We had some popular options,
including a power rear lift
gate, a huge sunroof,
heated seats, and dual zone
automatic climate control.
We also got ours with
important safety features,
such as blind spot monitoring
and rear cross traffic alert.
Bottom line, we spent $33,730.
Looking at this price
compared to a Honda CR-V EX,
however, we're not sure you're
getting as much for your money.
So negotiate hard at
your Chevy dealer.
And we're also a little dismayed
that forward collision warning
and automatic emergency
braking are only
available in the
top trim premier.
We think this should be
standard in every model.
Spending some time
behind the wheel,
the Equinox reminds us of
GM's fine mainstream sedans,
the Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu.
That is, the Equinox
shares qualities
that we admire in these cars,
such as a quiet interior,
mostly absorbant ride, and
reasonably responsive handling.
The 1.5 liter turbo
gets the job done.
Not overly powerful,
but adequate.
The transmission
isn't the slickest.
You do feel some shifts, but
it's not too objectionable.
The stop start feature is
also fairly unobtrusive.
The front seats have
8-way power adjustments,
including 2-way power lumbar.
They're reasonably comfortable
over a long commute.
Front visibility isn't
bad, but the rear 3/4 view
is compromised by thick pillars.
A rear view camera is standard.
The rear seat is
especially roomy,
with both flat to offer
a large cargo space.
Even though there are some
soft touch materials, and a bit
of chrome scattered about, the
overall feel of the interior
is a bit on the cheap
side, reminding us
of a cut rate rental car.
We like this version of GM's
MyLink Infotainment System.
It's easy to use and comes with
Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto
compatibility.
There's also a good
number of USB reports.
Like a prizefighter, whether
or not the new Equinox
can succeed at a lower weight
class is yet to be seen.
So far, we're impressed
with what we see.
Especially, since it embraces
many of the attributes
that we really like in a
few of GM's better sedans.
We'll know more as we
accumulate the miles
and do our formal testing.
For more on SUVs, check
out consumerreports.org.
Consumer Reports 2018 Least Reliable Cars
Consumer Reports:
When you buy a new car, the last
thing you want to think about
are future repairs, but an
unscheduled trip to the shop
may come sooner than
you might expect.
In our annual
reliability survey,
CR subscribers tell us what
went wrong on their cars.
This year, our survey
included reports
on more than 640,000 vehicles.
These are the five new vehicles
that have the lowest predicted
reliability for 2018.
The Ford Fiesta makes
our list for problems
that owners reported
with the climate
system and transmission.
One Fiesta owner said that the
automatic climate system would
stop blowing cold
air and that it
had become a recurring problem.
Early clutch
replacement for the dual
clutch automatic transmissions
were common repairs.
Some owners even had to have
their transmissions completely
rebuilt.
Ford Focus owners know
transmission troubles
all too well.
This compact car
lands on our list
for the second year in a row.
A number of drivers
said that their Focus
would buck and stutter,
especially when starting out.
Rough, erratic shifts
were also common, even
at normal driving speeds.
Many owners also had to
replace the clutch prematurely.
Next up is the Volvo
XC90, one of three luxury
SUVs on our list.
The problem-- Volvo's
complicated touch screen
infotainment system.
Drivers tell us that the
system is slow to load
and constantly
requires rebooting.
There were also cases where
the entire screen went blank
during reboot.
This would block owners
from climate controls,
audio and phone functions, and
accessing safety feature menus.
Once again, the Cadillac
Escalade makes our list.
The luxury SUV had tech
issues both under the hood
and in the cabin.
Owners told us Cadillac's
CUE infotainment system
had more than a few faults.
They said the system
would freeze or crash,
and the climate system would
turn on to the highest setting
without any user input.
Power train problems
range from irregular
idling rough shifts and even
total transmission failure.
The least reliable
car in our survey
is the Tesla Model X.
The all electric SUV has
many cutting edge features,
but owners we surveyed
had trouble with the
most basic functions,
like opening and closing
the falcon wing doors.
Drivers reported that a
sensor malfunction wouldn't
allow the doors to fully open.
One owner claimed to have had
the sensors checked eight times
before it was properly fixed.
Fit and finish also
caused concern.
Loose exterior moldings
and body misalignment
were common, along with latch
failures on multiple doors.
For more on reliability and
a full list of rankings,
check out consumerreports.org.
Here's Why Chevys are Crap
Scotty Kilmer:
rev up your engines, Christian Pete says
I got a 06 Chevy HHR heard some GM vehicles
won't work right with aftermarket radios
yeah you know it's true it's insane for
some reason a lot of the vehicles GM
made it that the radio is part of the
anti-theft system part of the starting
system of the car and I have had people
but aftermarket radios and the car once
thought they told it to me and I
explained to them you know it's got the
stupid interface for the starting system
I've also seen ones that they didn't
even touch of it's a factory radio but
something broke inside it in the car
wouldn't start
I don't know what this GM engineers have
in their minds or snuck up their rear
ends but they're certainly not doing it
right when they design stuff like that
that's just plain stupidity and they've
done it, v6 rice burner says Scotty I heard
that if the ground straps to your engine is
broken your wheel bearings can burn up
you know that sounds crazy but it's true
you gotta have a good strap from your
negative terminal your battery to both
the body of the car and the engine you
don't then ground its gonna seat you all
kinds of sources and since the tires are
on the ground it can even go through the
wheel bearings make them run hotter make
them burn out, so what
you want to do is everyone so how did
you check your ground straps it's very simple
they'll corrode it the battery clean
them or if they get loose tighten them
up and then the other end they just bolt
on you can unbolt them see if they're
rusted or corroded make them all shinny again
and then put them back on again it's an
easy thing to do and it's often to
collect it on older cars people don't
even think about it, James Royal the
first and he says I recently replaced the
catalytic converter on my Chrysler and my
mechanic
tells me the catalytic converter is
tripping a code that it's bad what could be
wrong all right well the first thing is
it's a Chrysler
unfortunately what people need to
understand about catalytic converters is
they burn unburned hydrocarbons so you don't
pollute if
a catalytic converter goes bad unless
you hear it rattling and it's physically
broken into pieces of rattling around
inside there's something that made it go
bad the engine is burning oil the engine is
running rich the engines running lean
fuel injectors are dripping too much
fuel and that runs the catalytic
converter or somebody was dumb enough to
spray silicone spray cleaner or using
something like seafoam and pouring it
right in the gas tank and then it can
mess with the catalytic converters they
go bad cuz there's a reason it hides out
with yours you got a serious problem
master mechanic who said you need a
catalytic converter again why is this
going on they don't generally go bad on
their own unless I say they break and you
hear them rattling, there's a reason they
go bad
and if you just replace the cat you'll just
keep replacing and replacing, williams GMC
say if
antifreeze gets into my engine and i
catch it in time do i have to replace
all angeles if you catch up in time and
it did damage you thing you won't have
to but here's what you have to worry
about your combustion chambers the
piston goes up it's compressing air and
fuel spray so that compress is pretty
good if you got a whole bunch of coolant
that leaked inside there when it goes up
and it's tell us to go further if it's
pushing against coolant the valves are closed
it still can push because the engines
got to spin it will bend the piston rods
goodbye it'll run bad, so if you
find that it still runs good now and you
change the oil and filter you're not
getting any foamy or a water mix yeah
you could continue in a job you want to
pray that not too much got inside there,
I'm at 9903 says my 07 hybrid
camry with 187 thousand miles is not
getting as good gas mileage as it used
to okay it's a hybrid often that's the
big giant battery the really expensive
one as they get older they lose
percentage of the power and as they do
your gas mileage will go down I see that
all the time in the hybrids now it is a
hybrid it's not a full electric car so
you want to check the spark plugs on
your regular engine that's a gasoline
four-stroke engine they are filled
there's stuff like that but if they're
all ok and it runs perfectly fine odds
are your hybrid battery starting to wear
out and then when you find the price of
that hybrid battery you might just live
with a little bit worse gas mileage
Wilhemina j says, Ford f-150 I was
going down the road and the speedometer
just stopped working and all kinds of
lights came on all right you want to
pray that it's just the speed sensor
there's an electronic speed sensor on a transmission
measures how it spins around sends an
impulse to the dash and makes the
speedometer work now even though your
speedometer looks like the old-fashioned
kind they have a speedometer cable it
doesn't work that way the signal on a
transmission is digital and it goes to
the dash and the dash changes the digital
one
to a stepper motor and a motor turns it
so it's actually turning but it's not
directly with the cable you want to pray
it's just that because if it isn't it
could be something's broken in the
transmission and then you won't get a
signal from the sensor praise the sensor
simple you can unbolt it by one and put
on yourself too, very easy fix, Easy Rider
says Scotty why does the low oil light comes
on
in a 2007 Express but it's full on the
dipstick, knowing those things just change
the
oil pressure sending unit they don't
cost much both off full time that could
fix all your problems if that isn't the problem
then you basically want to go to a
mechanic like me we put our actual oil
pressure gauge on that's a physical and
it gives the actual pressure and if you
do have low oil pressure that can get
super expensive it can be a bad oil
pump it could be bad bearings worn in
the engine they'd have a bigger space so
oil takes up a bigger space that makes
the pressure go down you want to pray
it's just the oil pressure sending unit from
my experience on those it often is,
so if you never want to miss another one
of my new car repair videos, remember to
ring that Bell
5 Used SUVs You Should Never Buy
Scotty Kilmer:
Rev up your engines,
today I'm going to talk about 5 suvs that
you should never buy used, because many of
them were bad enough when they were brand
new, now suvs are getting more and more popular
because you can hold stuff in them and their
very handy and they ride pretty good these
days, the early ones were kind of bumpy but
they make them a lot better now,
well some of them are made a lot better, here
are 5 suvs that you should never buy used,
now the first suv never to buy used is the
bmw x5, you mind as well say bmw money pit,
that's all those things turn into, they've
have problems with engine oil leaks, water
leaking into the vehicle, big transmission
problems, and problems with their stability
control system that keep them from flipping
over because their so boxy, yeah their high
tech there's no arguing that, but I've had
customers with them that they got this gyro
sensor that goes bad and it's a small thing
but it costs like $1,500-1,800 for the thing,
their just high priced and it's not like their
high quality, there's so much plastic used
in those things their always getting leaks,
I had one customer with an x5, I told her,
you shouldn't have bought this thing used
their money pits, well after a year of driving
the thing and finally I put on my bmw computer
for her latest problem at it was the transmission
was going out, I did a little research and
found out that it was going to cost her 4-5
thousand to fix it so she finally got rid
of the thing, she traded it in on a used lexus
suv and boy she is happy with that lexus,
that was years ago and she's still driving
the lexus and I hardly ever she her because
the things don't break, just normal oil changes
and brake job stuff on those,
and of course bmw is so snobby they didn't
even call the x5 a suv they called it a sports
activity vehicle, well yeah because your going
to spend a lot of activity going to the bmw
dealer getting the thing fixed,
now the next suv not to buy is the cadillac
escalade, now if you want to impress your
friends and neighbors that your driving a
cadillac suv and you don't care that you get
11 mpg in actual driving, the cadillac escalade
might be for you, it's a show boat and a lot
of that show boating stuff is made out of
plastic, and guess what it cracks early and
breaks down, their known for heating and ac
problems, you might think oh that's not that
big of a deal, it's all computerized and believe
me I've seen people spend $1,500-2,500 taking
the dashs apart fixing those plastic things,
they have problems with the dash and display
system on them, just cheaply made and they'll
just come on and off at will, their poorly
made theirs no doubting that, the have early
transmission failures and awd versions they
have differential problems that cost a fortune
to fix, it's a big heavy vehicle but the internals
are not heavy duty enough, they just break
down too much from carrying all that weight
around, cadillac has been using that cadillac
top of the line image for decades, well it's
been a long time since that was even close
to the truth,
now the next suv not to buy the jeep renegade,
the renegade was created after chrysler and
fiat merged, fiat bought chrysler, the renegade
is small, it's under powered and if you tried
to take that jeep renegade off road like one
of those big jeeps good luck,
these jeep renegade, their made in Italy,
their made is Brasil, and their made in China,
they have nothing to do with the legendary
jeep, especially stay away from the 2015 renegade
that was the worst one they ever built, they
have engine failures, they have transmission
failures, they have electronic failures, the
list goes on and on and on, it's like the
combination of Italian manufacturing problems,
not surprisingly the renegades have a lot
of electronic problems, many Italian cars
have electronic weak systems that's just the
way they go, it also has a problem with blowing
head gaskets in the engine, a typical problem
that Italian cars have, you know if you want
to get a jeep I'm not that big of a fan of
the newer ones, the old ones were great, but
if you are get a regular one, don't get this
small one,
now the fourth suv not to buy used is the
Chevy traverse, I've seen engines stop on
ones that had 40,000 miles on them, the awd
system has problems and costs thousands of
dollars to fix, I mean if a vehicle has engine
and transmission problems, that says stay
away, stay far away from this vehicle, I mean
I had a customer with a traverse, it kept
flashing up service awd, then it said super
cruise system, well this car didn't have a
super cruise system yet is was saying there
was a problem in a system that it didn't even
have on the vehicle, and the gm dealer couldn't
figure out what was wrong he just lived with
that until he got rid of it, he said it was
the biggest pile of junk he ever had and he's
never going to buy another one, the last suv
never to buy used is the pontiac aztek, it
was made famous in Breaking Bad where Brian
drove one around and eventually he took it
to a garage, they fixed it all up he came
to pick it up and he looked at it and took
his hat out of the back seat, put it on his
head and walked away and gave the car to the
mechanic, I had a customer that did a similar
thing with an aztek, the thing had like 55,000
miles on it and the head gasket blew and the
engine stopped, so he had to put another engine
in, so he said to heck with that, he had a
used engine put in and then he just sold the
thing and got rid of it and said, that's it
for gm I'm never buying another one of their
products, basically the azteks were gm's version
of trying to copy a toyota matrix and man
did they fail big, the azteks actually had
a lot of different problems, but the biggest
ones were, the head gaskets of the engines
going, the transmission going out, and having
intake manifolds that would go bad and leak
oil and water into the engine, and if you
didn't watch that closely that would lead
to a blown engine too, and even if you caught
it right in the beginning you had to take
the whole engine apart and spend like $1,500
to fix something that should have never happened
in the first place, cuz I'm not talking about
cars that are 20 or 30 years old, some of
these cars were less than a year old and some
of them were 3,4,5 years old, but regardless,
they were poorly made vehicles, they don't
make them anymore obviously, now if you want
to get a pontiac suv, get a pontiac vibe,
it's the same thing as this matrix, the were
made in the same plant, the have the same
engine, transmission, wheels and everything,
the only thing different is this sheet metal
on the vehicles, so that one you can get because
it's actually a toyota product really,
showing that the expression, what's in a name
can mean a lot you want to research what's
behind that name, now sure there's plenty
of good used suvs out there but stay away
from these 5 suvs if you don't want to catch
a sports utility virus, so if you never want
to miss another one of my new car repair videos,
remember to ring that bell!
2018 GMC Terrain Quick Drive | Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports:
[CLICK]
The seemingly upscale
GMC brand sort of
has an identity crisis
within General Motors.
Are they about trucks?
SUVs?
And why no cars?
Which brings us to the
GMC Terrain, also marketed
as an upscale alternative to its
corporate cousin, the Chevrolet
Equinox.
We don't think it's
worth the extra cost.
The proof is in how it drives.
And the train feels
dull when negotiating
turns because of its big
steering and noticeable body
lead.
The optional 2-liter,
turbo-charged,
four cylinder engine produces
significantly quicker
acceleration than the standard
1.5-liter, turbo-charged,
four cylinder.
All-wheel drive models
come with a dial,
which lets you select from
front- or all-wheel drive.
Inside, the cabin feels
decidedly low rent,
with lots of drab,
black, and hard plastic.
I mean, there's nothing
like some tacky 1980s-esque
plastic wood trim that
came with our SLE version.
Most of the other controls are
fairly simple and easy to use.
Our Terrain has GM's
new infotainment system,
which comes with Android
Auto and Apple CarPlay
compatibility.
Most drivers will
find plenty of room,
with good head and
shoulder space.
The Terrain has the slightly
elevated driving position
of most SUVs.
And the optional power
seat cushion tilt
is helpful for
adjusting thigh support.
The seats themselves
may look basic,
but they do a decent job
providing comfort and support.
The rear seats are
even more basic
and are a bit hard and flat.
There is plenty of room
all around, however.
Overall visibility isn't bad.
But the rising belt line and
the basement-like third side
windows make for
abysmal rear 3/4 views,
complicating backing
up and merging.
We found the
Terrain loud inside,
with abundant wind noise and
an unrefined, groaning engine
noise.
Competing models, such as the
Ford Escape and Honda CRV,
along with--
you guessed it-- the Chevrolet
Equinox, are all quieter.
The rear seats fold easily
to expand the cargo room.
A shallow well rests
beneath the cargo floor,
which comes in handy to
store items out of sight.
We're disappointed that Forward
Collision Warning and Automatic
Emergency Braking
are just optional.
We think these important
safety features should
be standard on every vehicle.
Taken together, the Terrain is
not only a mediocre vehicle,
it's also overpriced.
Ours rang in at $36,950.
Other high-end versions in this
class have much nicer cabins
and deliver a more rewarding
driving experience.
There's also the
top-shelf Denali version,
which lots of customers love.
In fact, more than
20% of GMC buyers
opt for this expensive line.
For more on SUVs, check
out ConsumerReports.org.
[CLICK]
Why GM Doesn't Make Good Cars Anymore, What Went Wrong
Scotty Kilmer:
rev up your engines, zack says
Scotty my old family are GM fans, do you
know when GM car started to make them
poorly, my guess would be when they went
bankrupt around 2009, well they started
to make them poorly long before that, even
in the early 2000s they started to make
a lot cheaper stuff, I don't know how
true it is, but I talked to an engineer
and an engineer told me one time that GM
and Ford were going neck to neck and
people thought, Oh GM's are made better
than the Fords and then they did a
little research and GM found out that
they were spending 20% more building
their vehicles and that's why they were
better vehicles back decades ago, well
according to the engineer that I was
talking to, GM looked at and said gee
were spending 20% money more than Ford
building our cars, let's make them
cheaper, so they did and then the quality
went down, I know if it's true or not but
an engineer told me that, but they
have been going but down since the
early 2000s, it's just the nature of the
beast with corporations these days, they
want to make a profit and they want to
make things as cheap as they can and pay
people that make them as little as
possible, so they make more profit for
the corporation that's the way that
things go and sometimes it takes the
wrong turn like GM did and make products
that you don't hold up like they used to,
I learned to drive on a Chevrolet
Biscayne the thing was like a tank it had
a
302 v8 in it and that thing just ran
forever but not the new ones their not made
that wa,y no Oberto says Scotty
I am seriously considering buying the
2019 Land Cruisers, do you consider it to
be
the best quality built SUV I'm aware of
the gas mileage, yes they are for that
kind of a vehicle if you're willing to
spend that kind of money and get that
kind of low gas mileage, they are well build
vehicles my customers with them are all
pretty well happy with them, other than
the horrible gas mileage and if you're
willing to spend that kind of money, they
can last a long time, I got customers
with those thing that have three hundred and
fifty thousand miles on them and they're
still running strong, yeah if you don't
mind spending that kind of money go
right ahead, me I'm too cheap I'd never
spend that kind of money, Rambo ask
Scotty what do you think about me buying
a 2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
all wheel drive with 140,000 miles straight
6 for six grand
from my uncle as a first car,
well first of all some uncle he should
give you the car, now I'm not a Jeep fan
by any stretch of the imagination but
back in 2004 they were building much
better ones than they are today now that
Fiat owns them, that straight six-cylinder
engine can last forever I've seen those
things go 400,000 miles, good engines the
transmission that's an OK transmission
it's not great but it's not totally
horrible, it's a 15 year old Jeep try to
get it for a little bit less than $6,000
see if you can barter it, they can be fun
vehicles to drive around, realize they're
somewhat gas hogs because jeeps are
trucks their high up in the air, their not
aerodynamic or anything but it can be a
fun thing to drive, just try to get it a
little bit of lower, Scotty my SUV keeps
going out of alignment I had new shocks
replaced and no one seems to get the
alignment right, any ideas what as to what
it can be,
here's the thing, front end alignment
work we're talking about thousands of an
inches here thousands of an inches there
it's gotta be a pro who knows what he's
doing, so your best to find a
front-end shop that's all they do, here
in Houston I use cotton brothers front
end, they know what they're doing they
can fix any alignment problem, now the
second thing is, modern vehicles
especially the SUVs they're not like
vehicles when I was young, when I was
young they had all kinds of adjustments
there were like six different
adjustments you could do, today a lot of
times the only adjustment you can do is
the caster and the camber that's it
you can't do anything else, so it might
be that the alignment is off because the
struts bent or an a frame is bent, that's
why you have to start with a really good
front end guy, who knows what he's doing
and does good work you have to start
there, because otherwise all bets are off,
Devon says Scotty and I got a 93
3 liter 4runner, it does 16-17 mile per gallon
on the highway but does five to six in the
city any reason why, I live in Fresno
with hardly any traffic on the streets
Thanks, okay first of all, when you're
driving it in town does it get into top
gear, if you drive it really slow and the
transmission doesn't shift into top
gear, you're gonna get crappy gas mileage
like that, 16 to 17 is what those things
get on a highway, so it's working
normally at highway speed, so I'm
assuming it's not shifting into the top
gear when you're driving in town, go 35
miles an hour count the shifts as it shifts
and it should be into the top gear
if it isn't, you got a problem with your
transmission not shifting into gear
that's about the only thing that would
make sense cuz if you have any other
problem with the vehicle, it's gonna get
horrible gas mileage on the highway too,
the only difference is, it's shifting
into the higher gear on the highway maybe
it's not doing it in town, you should
still get at least 12 or something in
the city not 5 or 6, so if you never want
to miss another one of my new car repair
videos, remember to ring that Bell!
2020 Chevy Equinox: FULL REVIEW | 2020 Updates Put Safety at the Forefront!
Car Confections:
What's going on YouTube?
Now everyone knows that the Silverado is the best-selling chevy model
but what a lot of people forget about is this equinox is also a great selling vehicle as
A matter of fact this year sales increase has it nipping at the heels of the rogue and CRV
That's why today we're taking a look at the latest 2020 version at Sutherland Chevrolet in Nicholasville, Kentucky
Of course if you're in the market for any new Chevy be sure to stop by their showroom or visit them via their website
which we provided a link to in the video description, so
With that all said, let's see if Chevy has made any changes in this year
So kicking things off with the exterior styling
There is one update right off the bat and that's this new midnight blue metallic paint color
Which as you can see is a very dark shade of blue
Other than that the front design does carry over unchanged this year
So for the premiere you have this fully chrome finished grille and on the other trims you have black bars with just the crumbs around
The other important premiere difference are these full LED headlights as
Opposed to the HIDs on the LT and the halogens on all the rest
In a separate housing down below you have the turn signal and for the premiere only the halogen fog lights
as
Far as the rest of the styling it continues with the same look for 2020 with the signature elements like the wraparound rear window
These tail lights also have the same design across all of the trims except for the LED elements that are premiered exclusive
and
Then finally at the bottom you have a single hidden exhaust outlet unless you go for the more powerful 2-liter turbo model
So all in all the equinox has a conservative design that looks handsome and will continue to age very gracefully
Now while the main part of the design has not changed there are some wheel updates for 2020
the biggest change is the fact that these
18-inch wheels on the premier now do without the black contrast inserts from last year, which does now give them a more subdued look
There are also some optional 19-inch wheels on this 1.5 liter model or standard on the 2-liter model
But otherwise you're going to be looking at 17 inch alloys as standard across the other three trips
Moving on up to the mirrors they come in three different finishes
Black body colored or chrome reserved for the premiere along with auto dimming abilities and standard blind spot monitoring
All models however, do get heating
And now that brings us to probably the most important change for
2020 and that's that most of the advanced safety systems are now standard across the entire
Equinox line up instead of just being optional on the premier
That means that even the base LS comes with forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection
Lane Keeping Assist and Auto high beam headlights and
Then the premiere also has the option of adding adaptive cruise control
This is definitely a great addition to the lineup especially since the base price has not changed
Well it pretty much finishes up everything to look at on the exterior, so now let's go ahead and check out the cabin
So unlike a lot of the rivals the equinox does actually give you Chevy's smart entry system standard across the board
And if you ought for the premiere you go get remote start on the file, or as an option on the LT
Now to get inside the vehicle itself there is not a sensor behind the handle so you just press the little button
All right
So checking out the cabin of the 2020 equinox
As you can probably tell there have not been any significant changes to the interior this year
That doesn't mean you'll continue to be presented with these same color options and materials as last year
So for your L and LS that's gonna be a cloth seat in medium
Ash gray only there if you go for the LT it does come shared with the same cloth
But you can option on leather and you can also get the additional color. Um jet black
Now when you go for this premiere
This is where you have standard real leather and jet black this ash gray combination or a special brandy color
Now turning over here to your door trim, it is very nicely finished
So you have this nice piece of leather that goes all through here and up to the top
Your driver's window is OneTouch auto up and down all the others are just Auto down
Towards your memory seats these two-person memory seats do come standard on the premier only
Now heading down to the see here the LT and the premiere do come standard with this 10-way power adjusting seat
And then the other models come with a six-way manual seat instead
And like I was saying here on the premiere we have the real leather seats
They feel very nice and they also look very good. I like the color contrast
So you basically have the jet black accents around the side and then the gray in the middle
So as far as the materials of the cabin they do carry over this year
So across the upper dash this will always be hard touch plastic across all the trim levels
but when you go for a higher-end model like this premiere we have this really nice piece of leather at
Two different types, so you've got the plain and then also the perforated and the real stitching to connect them
Your lower areas are hard touch, but everything does fit together very nicely
Standard across every Equinox is push button start
When you press it, you'll see one of two different displays fire up
On this premiere. We have the 8 inch display and on all the other trims. You will come standard with a 7 inch display instead
I'm checking out the gauges here. This is the premium arrangement with the larger multifunction display now starting last year
Chevy did bring this down to the LT. So it's on both the LT and the premier
And basically it just has the larger 4.2 inch multi-function display and you can scroll through all the different types of information
Including through different things like safety systems if you do have them equipped
Now coming back to the steering wheel
It is electric power assisted and the steering wheel is wrapped in leather if you go for the premiere
Or as an option on the LT
Now you do have your buttons for your cruise controls where some of your safety systems
And we also have the optional heating here on this premiere on this side
You get your phone voice and then your buttons for your multi-function display
As far as the steering wheel itself, it does manually tilt and telescope
Now moving on to interior storage this is one area where the equinox really thrives compared to the rivals
So starting out here with your center console
This is honestly bigger than just about anything in the class
I don't know if the camera can fully see this but this goes down like a foot and a half
Time does have a nice little pad down at the bottom. But this is like I said definitely bigger than most of the competition
You've also got two USB ports in there
Then we close that off. We got another storage cubby right here our two cupholders and
Then a really large console up here. You can stick your phone
This pad here does serve as a wireless phone charger if you go for the premier
And then back there you can see a regular USB port a USB type-c and aux track and a 12-volt outlet
Now Chevy has been able to give you that much space without going to the electronic shifter like its sibling the GMC Terrain has
So this just has a regular shifter you just pull back for drive. You can't shift manually with these little toggles here
But you will not find paddle shifters on any of the bottles
Now when we head into reverse, you'll see one of the other standout features of the equinox and that's this
360-degree camera system that's optional in the premiere through the convenience package -
This is one of the best systems in the industry, it's General Motors latest high-resolution camera system
Like in the Silverado. So basically you've got default in your 360 view and your traditional back view
But you have tons and tons of other views
So as you can see, we can cycle through all these different things including a trailer view this kind of three-dimensional look side. We use
And you can turn on and off your lines as well
Basically, like I said overall it's one of the best
360-degree camera systems in the industry right now and it is available here on equinox
And then back behind the shifter you do have an electronic parking brake
I'm moving on up to the climate controls. This is the dual zone automatic setup that comes standard on the premier only
However, you can option that this onto the LT through the confidence and convenience package
but of course as you can see
This is very simple to use you. Just have these two easy knobs to adjust the temperature
And then all your other buttons are laid out physically here for you to press though
They do pop-out redundantly up here on the display to you know, show you what you've selected
As far as the seat climate controls
three-stage heated seats come standard on the premier and
then the three stage ventilation ventilated seats that we have they come in the convenience and confidence package -
That's a premier only option
All right
And now that brings us up here to our audio system
Now every single model does come standard with a six speaker system throughout the entire lineup
However on the premiere you can option on the bow system when you choose navigation, and that's what we have
So let's go ahead and take a sample
Style quality of this system is excellent. Definitely one of the best systems I've heard in this class
All right, so now that brings us up here to our Chevy infotainment 3 system this was updated last year to the latest software
So we'll just go ahead and take a real quick look through the system. So what you're looking at here is the home screen you
Have these little tiles that you can click on that can take you as a shortcut button there
you also have the little shortcut buttons along the bottom that you can real quickly toggle between
Now I just hit the highlights here. One of them is going to be our models navigation system. This is optional on the premier
And like I already mentioned it does come with the Bose audio system as well. So
This is General Motors newest map display as you can see it is a very nice graphics
it's also very responsive to pinch-to-zoom and other types of motions and you can even do
Interesting things like change the tilt with three fingers kind of like Google Maps
now the other main thing I want to mention is that
Even if you choose the base models that come with the lower-end system and the smaller display
Those also come with apple carplay and android auto just like this one
So rest assured even if you do not get integrated navigation, which the majority of models will not have integrated navigation
You will still be able to access Google Maps or Apple maps through apple carplay or Android auto
But anyways, that's a real quick discussion of some of the main features of this system
However, we do have a dedicated tech tech help video available
For those of you who want to learn more a link to that video is in the description
I'm moving on up
We do have an auto-dimming mirror on the premier or option on the LT and that comes with three Universal home link remotes as well
And one thing you'll notice missing from this model is a moonroof
It's because Chevy does not offer a standard size moonroof
You have to choose the panoramic one, which is available as an option on both the LT and premiere
But obviously we don't have that option checked off
But overall the cabin of the Chevy Equinox continues to be a very pleasant place to spend time
The redesign that they did in 2018, really
Amplified and made this cabin a lot more pleasant of a place a lot more luxurious
And you definitely have all the features to make it a very class competitive environment
But anyways now go ahead and hand it off to my brother Mason who would check out all the back areas
Already so heading around to the 2020 equinoxes mercy
You are going to find a really large amount of space even for its class
You'll find 40 inches of rear legroom and 39 inches of rear headroom
Which does place it above the main rivals like the Toyota rav4 and on par with the Honda CRV
Now turning over here to the door trim. We do have a really nice one
so it is leather wrapped all the way through here and
It does have a nice color contrast stitching going through here
And you do have a power window now down below that we do some bottle storage
And as far as the seats themselves, they are that beautiful color contrast design. So you do a black on the outside
Grey on the inside and they do also recline
Now here in the center area Chevy has given us some very nice features as standard equipment
So you do have these rear air vents and standard equipment across all of the trim levels and down below that you will also
notice our heated rear seats
which are optional in the premier trim and
Down below that you will also find two smart charging USB ports and on this high-end model
We do also have a household style outlet down below that
Now here in the center we do have a fold up armrest with covers inside
and
Off to the left here. We have LED lighting and an assist grip and
like I mentioned
Before this is one of the largest offerings in the class and that definitely shows behind drew seating position
I have about I would say at least a foot of space
Between my knees in the seat back, which is very impressive and my feet can easily slide up on the seat
So hitting around to the tailgate of the equinox
It is standard hands-free power on the premier trim or it's optionally just regular power on the LT
So to open it just wave your foot under the bumper
Now once inside the equinoxes trunk
You are gonna find a little bit smaller space than you would in most of the rivals
You'll find 30 cubic feet of space behind the second row seats
And if you fold them it expands to 64 cubic feet now
Like I said, that is a little bit smaller than a lot of the main offerings like the Honda CRV and Toyota rav4
However, Chevy does finish it very nicely back here
So you do have a carpeted floor board and underneath of the floor. We do have a little bit more storage space
It actually goes all the way to the very back and it's probably eight inches deep
Now off to the side you will find the controls do fold the seats
So if you just grab these little low lovers and pull and they do fold nice and flat
Now over here on the passenger seat it is optionally eight-way power in the premier trim
while the other trims do have a four-way manually adjusting
Now in front of the passenger you do have nice materials and down below that you will find a good sized glovebox
it is nicely dampened and
Up top, we have a Sun Visor with integrated lights and a mirror and it does also detach and exit
Well guys that sums up all the rear areas of this Equinox
So now let's go ahead and get on the road and see how that 1.5 liter turbo performs
All right, so let's go ahead and talk about the powertrain options
Now this vehicle unlike a lot of the competition actually has three different engine options
so what we have is the base option, that's the most common configuration is a 1.5 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder making
170 horsepower and 203 pala feet of torque and it is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission
now Chevy also offers a more powerful 2 liter four-cylinder engine and that makes 252 horsepower and
260 to pound-feet of torque and is paired with a 9 speed automatic transmission
And finally, there is also a diesel model now. I've heard some rumors. It's a little unclear
What trims are going to be offered with the diesel this coming up here
they're going to be eliminating some different configurations of it and it's not been EPA rated or anything yet for 2020, but
as a that what we've probably at 1.6 liter turbo diesel making
136 horsepower and 236 pounds of torque and that's routed through a 6-speed automatic transmission as well as
Far as your fuel economy the 1.5 liter with front-wheel drive gets 26 City 31 highway 28 combined
the 2-liter front-wheel drive is 22 city 29 highway 25 combined and
Then like I already mentioned that diesel does not have ratings at this time
But anyways that is it for the powertrain information so let's go ahead and see how it works on the road
so upon initial acceleration there
The equinox feels pretty good. This is a you know, small displacement engine, even for the class you usually the engines are
naturally aspirated or
a larger turbo
But it certainly doesn't feel too weak or anything
Yeah, I think it feels kinda competitive it's you know, it's not the most powerful one in the class or anything like that
But you know, it feels pretty class competitive here in the space form
And if you don't find that acceptable then it is worth noting that Chevy does have the 2-liter option if you want that
And it even even though it does cost a little bit more, you know
You have that option and that will put it at the top of its class in terms of comfort
That's right. Chevy is pretty unique in that
That's certainly not been
So we're cruising down the highway here at 55 MPH
Very smooth and very quiet
This is a really loud road I know from personal experience no matter what you drive on this road, usually it
a lot more Road roar than
Typical roads give you but this is handling it well, it's still hushed in here
I feel like I have a conversation at a
normal speaking voice
and
Then I also don't hear any wind noise whatsoever
Yeah, and her rides really really comfortably too you know it almost felt like we were sitting still, you know, I'm driving 55
I've been around in that corner there
You could definitely tell the equinox is a more luxury minded option compared to some of the rivals
and
The steering is very light
but of course that is typical
And you have a little bit of body roll. Nothing too bad. I'm going to like make your passenger's for sick or anything
But just enough to keep things real nice and comfortable like we already said it does ride very well. I mean we're up to
55 again I mean, I'm really really comfortable the seats are nice, you know, and it's quiet
Just very smooth we're about to hit the bridge here. Just very little makes it into the cabin it's almost pretty
uncharacteristic for the class to be that smooth
It really it kind of feels like a bigger car
I guess a big way to put it if it rides like it's a bigger and heavier
Vehicle what a lot
So overall, this is definitely a pleasant driving vehicle
You know the I don't really know exactly what to say about it. And I think that is actually a compliment in this class
because
It's not an exciting vehicle to drive. Sure
but
In this class of vehicle what you're looking for is that comfort that everyday you
Know driving abilities so you can just get in it Drive be comfortable
Have a nice experience each time, you know, and I think it really does that. Well, there's no characteristic of this that
Like there's no fatal flaw I guess is what I'm trying to say. It does everything well with
The driving experience and should be very satisfactory
All righty, and now let's go ahead and discuss the pricing for the 2020 Chevy Equinox
so for your very base L model that's going to start at twenty three thousand eight hundred dollars and
All of these prices are for the one point five liter turbo engine and front-wheel drive configuration
Then you have the LS one rung above that and that's going to come in at twenty six thousand three hundred dollars
Which is up four hundred over last year?
then one more rung up on that is the LT for twenty seven thousand five hundred which is up three hundred dollars and
Then you have the premier which is the fully loaded model
Which is what we have and that's gonna start at thirty one thousand four hundred dollars
Was which is also up three hundred dollars over last year
now if you want to opt for that 2-liter engine
That's going to be around twenty five hundred dollars extra and all wheel drive is an extra charge on top of that as well
now as far as how this particular
Equinox is equipped
We do have the premier trim with the 1.5 liter engine and optional all-wheel drive, and we do also have several options
packages checked off. So we have the confidence and convenience to package for
1650 as well as the
infotainment package for eleven twenty five and
Then we have the destination charge which has been raised this year from nine. Ninety five to eleven ninety five
So the price for this one as equipped comes in at thirty six thousand nine hundred and seventy dollars
Which is pretty class competitive
but it is worth noting that if you want to get it fully loaded it is going to be quite a bit more expensive than
a lot of the rivals
As you can tell we don't have a moonroof or anything like that and that is going to be additional charges
And it can you know go well over forty thousand in the upper trams with the higher end engine
Well guys we've enjoyed watching this first in-depth look at the
2020 Chevy Equinox
premiere
Pleased at those items and scribe buttons if you haven't already and we'll catch you next time as a sample more of the latest automotive
delicacies!
The Worst SUVs to Buy
Scotty Kilmer:
rev up your engines, today I'm gonna talk
about five SUVs that won't go a hundred
thousand miles reasonably trouble-free,
now SUVs are getting more and more
popular, look at ford they cut all their
car lines except the Mustang and they're
making only SUVs and trucks, so SUVs are
very popular, but you don't want to get
one that doesn't hold up, because let's
face it they're not giving the things
away, they cost a lot of money even if
you buy a used one, you're still gonna
pay a lot of money for it, cuz I tell my
customers they said, I want a good use
SUV, and I'll say why don't you just get
a Camry sedan you get a good price on one
and they
last forever, no I gotta have an SUV,
you're gonna pay more because people
want them, it's just supply and demand,
an suv that probably won't make it
trouble-free to a hundred thousand miles
is the Chevy Equinox, it's a lower price
SUV, it has lower build quality, I had a
customer with one, the fuel pump went out
at 37,000 miles, my celica here
has two hundred and thirty seven
thousand miles and still on the original
fuel pump, so shame on you GM for making
such cheap parts, and I had another
customer than Equinox the engine went
out at 70,000 miles, you know that's
uncalled for, and it wasn't like they
weren't taking care of it, I changed a lot
regularly it was clean, it was just built
poorly and the engines just let loose at
70,000 miles, there are so many better
made SUVs than the Chevy
Equinox, their just laced with problems
yeah just like the rogue they cost less
they're cheaper SUV, but in this case you
don't get what you don't pay for, now
another SUV is the Nissan Rogue yeah
it's a cheaper SUV and it certainly is
cheaper made, so the old saying you get
what you pay for it kind of fits here,
although it would be you don't get what
you don't pay for, because it's a cheaper
SUV, typical of Nissan in general since
Renault took over, CVT transmission
problems up the wazoo, the CVT
transmissions in these are so bad that
Nissan doubled its warranty from five
years to 10 years, maybe they'll fix it
for free when it goes out but I'm saying
it's not going to last 100,000 miles and
they're pretty much telling you it
probably won't, but I gotta give it to
Nissan because since they doubled
warrant
for five years to ten and sixty thousand
to a hundred and twenty thousand milesm
at least if you are stuck with one and
the transmission breaks at 110,000 milesm
hey they gotta fix it for free at least
and they have a recall on them for a
fire hazard that the anti-lock brake pump
can leak fluid on a circuit board and
start a firem hey who wants a vehicle
like thatm maybe they shouldn't call it a
rogue cuz it is kind of a rogue it
doesn't get along with youm it's
rough-and-tumble and it's not something
that's that safem so listen to the name
rogue and stay away from the Roguesm next
comes one of my favorite poorly made
SUVsm and that's the Jeep renegadem here
I'm using the word Jeep very liberallym
because when fiat took over Chrysler of
course they wanted the Jeep brand that's
a big seller, they decided to have a
cheaper one called the Jeep renegade,
you've heard the ads with them singing
about renegades and all that stuff,
they're taking the image about as far as
you can possibly take it, and it's so out
of
context to a Jeep, and believe me those
things are horrid, I've seen automatic
transmissions go out on those when they had
forty thousand miles, they just have no
quality and there are no relationship to
actual Jeep at all, they're Italian cars,
and let's face it the original Jeep made
by willys-overland, hey they helped
win World War two, and we all know what
happens to the Italians in World War two,
when the heat got on
they just surrendered, don't buy Jeep Renegade
again if you want something that's gonna
be tough and get you through hard times,
I had a customer one, you add modern high
level technology to Italian manufacturing,
his car he's driving on a road and it
just stopped while he's going down
highway, the computer thought the car was
out of gas, he still had three bars on his
fuel gauge, but it just shut the car right
off while he was driving it, let the
renegade go the way of the rogue
hey they're even related by names you know,
stick to something that's gonna last
longer, isn't gonna fall apart and isn't
gonna put your life at risk while you're
driving it down the road, now one that I
feel certainly won't make it a hundred
thousand miles trouble-free, is the
Lamborghini uris
yes believe it or not Lamborghini now
makes an SUV, even they've jumped into
the fray, granted they
started $200,000, so there aren't too
many people out there that are gonna
spend that kind of money on an SUV, why a
company known for their exotic v12
sports cars decides to make an SUV is
beyond me, those things cost a fortune to
repair, I have never seen a Lamborghini
that had more than maybe 80,000 miles and
a
fortune had been spent on it to even get
it that far, it doesn't use their v12
engine like in their sports car, it's a
v8 and it's basically an Audi engine
that they've souped up, they added
modifications to it but it's basically a
German engine, but still it's an Italian
exotic car maker, I would stay away from
their SUV, now the last SUV that
probably won't make it trouble-free to a
hundred thousand miles, is the Chrysler
Aspen, now yes they don't make them
anymore
and for many good reasons, they were
horrible SUVs, they were based on a Dodge
Durango really, and not only do they not
make the Dodge Aspen
they even shut down the factory that
made them, that said something you know
it's bad enough when they stopped making a
model, but when
they shut the entire factory down, that tells
you there's problems going on here, I had
customers with Aspen's every time it
rained it seemed the car wouldn't start
they had electric problems and rain would
get inside the electronics and they
wouldn't run, they're supposed to be
sealed for rain, my Toyotas start in the rain
and never have any problems with that and
all kinds of problems, some of them you'd
fill them up and the evap system would
be messed up so it would shoot raw vapor
and the engine would stall out or jerky
after you fill up and drive around, I
mean that's just the tip of the iceberg
basically they were poorly made vehicles,
that just did not hold up over time and
no big surprise there that had to on my
list of five SUVs that won't go a hundred
thousand miles are sold by Fiat Chrysler,
and
that two of them are basically Italian
cars, the Lamborghini and the Jeep
renegade a Fiat in disguise, but at least
now you know five SUVs that you should stay
far
away from if you value your money
because certainly SUV seemed to be the
future of cars in the world, don't have a
nightmarish future and buy one of these five
SUVs, so if you never want to miss
another one of my new car repair videos
remember to ring that Bell
2018 Chevrolet Equinox vs. 2017 Honda CR-V Comparison Review | Edmunds
Edmunds:
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JOSH SADLIER: Over here
we have the 2017 Honda
CRV, fully redesigned
for the 2017 model year.
We consider it to be the
top of the small SUV class.
MARK TAKAHASHI: That's
the 2018 Chevy Equinox.
It's all new for 2018, and
it's a huge improvement.
Is it good enough
to unseat the CRV?
We're going to find
that out right now.
This is your first ish
time driving the Equinox.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
It's also I think my
first time inadvertently
wearing the same shirt as you.
The power of this engine
and the responsiveness
of the transmission--
nine speed automatic.
Some people might
be wondering, has
too many gears for one gearbox.
My experience so
far, it's seamless.
MARK TAKAHASHI: It doesn't
seem to hunt much when
you're climbing a hill.
JOSH SADLIER: No.
MARK TAKAHASHI: You got plenty
of punch right off the line.
JOSH SADLIER: Yep.
MARK TAKAHASHI:
And at the top end,
the really tall gears give you
the best fuel economy you can.
JOSH SADLIER: The other
thing I noticed on the way
over was when I wanted to
hit an opening in traffic,
get a quick downshift,
it was on point.
MARK TAKAHASHI: We are
now in the 2017 Honda CRV.
JOSH SADLIER: It's
190 horsepower.
190 strong horses.
MARK TAKAHASHI: And
there really wasn't
that much of a power difference
between the base engine
in this and this engine.
But there is fuel economy wise.
JOSH SADLIER: Well,
that's the thing.
The turbo gives you
good fuel economy.
Plus it gives you
the torque down low.
It's the kind of
driving experience
that you would ordinarily have
to pay a little extra for.
But Honda gives it to
you standard on EX on up.
Performance.
Whack it.
Just punch it right now.
See what happens.
Just do it.
MARK TAKAHASHI: That's adequate.
JOSH SADLIER: Ah.
Maybe it's better.
MARK TAKAHASHI:
It's not inspiring.
It's--
JOSH SADLIER: It's that
waiting. (REVVING SOUND)
MARK TAKAHASHI: Yeah.
JOSH SADLIER: It's
just this, eh.
MARK TAKAHASHI: And there was
absolutely nothing initially.
JOSH SADLIER:
That's what makes me
think I can't own a CVT myself.
On my drive over to the
studio this morning I
had checked over
my right shoulder,
and I was kind of expecting
poor visibility because
of that upward kink in
the styling back there.
Right around the seat
pillar it kind of swoops up.
But I wasn't offended
by the visibility.
I looked back.
I saw what I needed to see.
I saw a lot of glass.
MARK TAKAHASHI: I am pretty
good with the visibility
in this car.
This A pillar isn't too thick.
And it's kind of
placed far enough away
so I don't have to look
around it at left turns.
These mirrors are pretty wide.
I get a really good
view of three lanes.
Rear visibility is also about
the same as the Equinox.
JOSH SADLIER: This is kind
of the elephant in the room
with this particular vehicle.
As tested price, correct
me if I'm wrong mark,
is about $40,000.
MARK TAKAHASHI:
It's right below.
Like it's brushing $40,000.
That's a deal breaker
in this class.
At $40,000 you can get a
base BMW X3 or Audi Q5.
(GROANING)
JOSH SADLIER: This CRV
we're riding in cost us
$31,700 I think, $31,800.
For the price this is a
pleasantly nice interior.
Whereas the Equinox, at an as
tested price of about $40,000,
not pleasantly nice.
MARK TAKAHASHI: This
is the premiere trim.
This is the top of the line.
And we've got this really
kind of cheapo hard plastic.
And it doesn't match any
graining anywhere else.
And it kind of has the look
of a child's dinosaur toy.
We're nitpicking here.
But I'm not nitpicking when it
comes to the quality of that.
JOSH SADLIER: And
also I think the price
invites us to nitpick.
MARK TAKAHASHI: If
we're paying $9,000.
JOSH SADLIER: If the price
were more like the CRV
then, more or less.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Right.
This kind of bright chrome
work around the vents.
Right now I'm getting five
hot spots in my vision.
JOSH SADLIER: This is why
I'm wearing sunglasses, Mark.
I have to apologize to our
producer, who prefers that we
don't wear sunglasses on video.
But I had to put them on because
this chrome is like attacking
me with reflections.
This is the facepalm moment
for me with GM products.
I keep hoping with each
new generation they're just
going to tone down the
chrome on the interior,
because whenever
the sun hits it,
it goes right into
people's eyes.
Like why do you want that?
MARK TAKAHASHI: Hear that?
#Tonedownthecrhome.
JOSH SADLIER: Otherwise yeah.
I will say the interior design
came as a bit of a letdown
for me.
MARK TAKAHASHI: I'm actually
OK with these seats.
And they're ventilated.
I'm not getting a
whole lot of support
on the edge of my
thighs up here.
JOSH SADLIER: The bottom
cushion seems a little short.
MARK TAKAHASHI:
It's well shaped.
It's adequately padded.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
I would say overall I'm
pleasantly surprised
by the seat comfort.
There's some firm support here.
I feel some shape in
the seat, like it's
trying to accommodate me.
I appreciate that.
I would give the CRV the edge.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Now we do
not have ventilated seats.
These are heated only.
Comfort wise I think
they're pretty comparable.
I'm feeling a little bit of
a push on my shoulder blades
from the seat, but also
not a deal breaker.
Overall usability in a
CRV is really thoughtful.
And that's Honda's thing anyway.
I mean, you have the
conversation mirror here
to keep tabs on the kids.
You have these nice cubbies
that are well shaped
and hold everything in place.
JOSH SADLIER: The
storage is really
impressive I think, the way they
do this whole center console.
There's all these
different levels.
And there's this
tray that slides.
MARK TAKAHASHI: And removes.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
I really like this.
I am amazed right now, I have
to say, because I'm 6'1".
My driving position is usually
close to the back extreme
of the seat travel.
This is as far back as
the driver's seat goes,
and I've got, what?
Two inches?
MARK TAKAHASHI: And you've
got some space with your feet
too that you can scoot
forward a little too.
JOSH SADLIER: Tons of space.
I don't know why I would
need a mid-size crossover.
This is a compact crossover.
But two six footers
can sit here.
MARK TAKAHASHI:
One thing that I do
notice about the CRV
front versus backseats
is the materials quality is
quite a bit less impressive
back here.
But I think that's
actually a smart idea
because you don't want your
kids messing up the interior.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
Fair enough.
MARK TAKAHASHI: And that
makes perfect sense to me.
That's easier to clean.
It's going to be more durable.
Otherwise the
amenities are good.
We've got two USB
ports down there.
You're covered.
Armrests, pretty decent.
About the same size cup
holders as the front.
JOSH SADLIER: Yep.
MARK TAKAHASHI:
It's totally fine.
JOSH SADLIER: As with the CRV,
I put the driver's seat where it
would be for my
6'1" driving self.
And my knees are a little
closer to the seat back.
MARK TAKAHASHI:
But you still fit.
JOSH SADLIER: Than
they were in the CRV.
I still fit.
But it's interesting.
I was expecting--
you know, the Equinox
has a reputation for having
an unusually roomy interior.
I was expecting it to win
this particular category.
MARK TAKAHASHI: OK.
JOSH SADLIER: And the CRV
for me wins by an inch.
MARK TAKAHASHI: I'm getting
a lot better thigh support.
I don't feel like they're
just kind of raised above
slightly as they taper off.
I still have plenty of
leg room for myself.
And right now because of
the panoramic sun roof,
my hair is brushing
the headliner.
JOSH SADLIER: Yep.
My hair too.
That's a higher bench below you.
And that's also cutting
a little bit of headroom.
MARK TAKAHASHI: So
it's a give and take.
JOSH SADLIER: Yep.
MARK TAKAHASHI: We do have
heated seats back here.
JOSH SADLIER: Yep.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Eh,
it's a little shorter.
JOSH SADLIER: A
little less armrest
here than there was in the CRV.
MARK TAKAHASHI: A little bit.
[DING DING DING]
Oh.
So that beep.
That was the rear
seat reminder, which
is a new feature for
GM vehicles to help
you remember that if
you had a kid back
here to check the back seats.
JOSH SADLIER: Could be useful.
I just think if I'm the
kind of parent who's
not going to forget that
my kids in the back,
I might want to turn that off.
You know what I mean?
MARK TAKAHASHI: One
of the big concerns
with any compact
crossover is cargo space.
And the CRV has a lot.
JOSH SADLIER: Yes.
MARK TAKAHASHI: 75.8 cubic feet.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
Over 75.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Which is
midsize SUV territory.
JOSH SADLIER:
Knocking on the door.
Yep.
MARK TAKAHASHI: We have this
kind of deployable floor, which
I don't know if it really
serves that much of a purpose.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
I'm not sure what to do with it.
But it looks cool, right?
MARK TAKAHASHI: It also
has these remote releases
where you don't even have to
reach in and push down or go
to the back seat.
JOSH SADLIER: That's
very convenient.
Yep.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Very
convenient, right?
And these big scooped out
areas by the wheel wells.
How many golf bags do you
think we can get in there?
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
I think you get about nine.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Equinox.
Load floor is flat.
It doesn't deploy.
But you do have a space for
your laptop bag and stuff.
JOSH SADLIER: Space underneath.
So you can't drop it
down like in a CRV,
but you can put
stuff underneath it.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Right.
Now, there's not
nearly as much space.
This wheel well's eating
up a lot of real estate.
Just like the CRV
though, these fold flat.
But they fold flat
really violently.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
Let's check it out.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Whoa.
JOSH SADLIER: Whoa.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Right.
The whole car kind of bounces.
Hopefully junior's
not in the backseat.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
Hopefully not.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Cause
you just squished him.
That's still really
a huge space.
But what's the capacity?
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
This is about 63, and then
the CRV is 75 cubic feet.
And that's a 20%
difference, which
is kind of hard to believe it.
But still, 20% difference
in the same segment?
That's almost unheard of.
MARK TAKAHASHI: One thing that's
kind of unique that the Equinox
has is six USB ports.
Two there.
Two here.
Two in the back.
JOSH SADLIER: Wow.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Everyone's
going to stay charged.
JOSH SADLIER: Yeah.
everyone and then some.
MARK TAKAHASHI: This also
has a wireless charging pad.
JOSH SADLIER: That's a
nice little bin there too.
Obviously if you're not
charging your phone,
it's the perfect
place to put it.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Right.
Apple CarPlay, Android
Auto are standard.
JOSH SADLIER: Oh wow.
MARK TAKAHASHI: And
as a GM vehicle,
this comes with a WiFi hotspot.
JOSH SADLIER: This
touchscreen interface
strikes me as significantly
more aesthetically appealing.
It's a little bigger.
It looks better.
It responds well.
I would definitely
give the Chevy
the edge in terms of the
infotainment interface.
MARK TAKAHASHI: This
is an improvement
because they have a volume knob.
That screen's a little small.
It's got the buttons taking up--
there's a lot of missing
real estate here.
It's not a good use of space.
JOSH SADLIER: It looks huge.
It looks almost like a BMW
kind of widescreen display.
But then there's 2 and
1/2 inches over here
that are not being
used for the display.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Right.
There's about a third
of that space that's
not being used for anything.
It does come with Apple
CarPlay and Android Auto.
I do love my Apple CarPlay.
The steering wheel
controls are fine.
I don't like this
volume slider here.
Inadvertently
sometimes I'll brush it
and the volume goes up.
JOSH SADLIER: Yes.
MARK TAKAHASHI: Now, one thing
I do think it has an edge
over is the way they
tuned the safety features.
JOSH SADLIER: Yes.
MARK TAKAHASHI: This
isn't sending up
all sorts of false alarms
and making you crazy.
JOSH SADLIER: The Honda
system is not great.
MARK TAKAHASHI: And
this, I know it's
one of your favorite
features, the butt vibrator
thingy, the safety alert seat.
If you're kind of
backing into a spot
and there's an object on the
right that's in the blind spot,
it will buzz you
on the right side.
JOSH SADLIER: It's great.
No.
It warns you visually.
But then you get
a little warning
in the seat of your pants too.
And I got to tell you,
Mark, it's not unpleasant.
[LAUGHTER]
Someone coming
from an old CRV is
going to feel right
at home in this one.
MARK TAKAHASHI: So we
heard a few beeps there
from the blind spot.
Honda has a recent reputation
for their safety features
being a little too
overprotective, firing
off false alarms.
This wasn't a situation.
But the frontal collision
warning in particular
seems to be, hrmph, way too
vocal about what's going on.
Eventually you just
want to turn them off,
which defeats the purpose of
having them in the first place.
JOSH SADLIER: Frankly,
that's what I do.
MARK TAKAHASHI: So we
just spent a lot of time
driving both cars.
And at least personally
for me, it wasn't as close
a battle as I thought.
I am firmly in CRV camp.
Josh, where are you?
JOSH SADLIER: I think it's
a little closer battle
than Mark's letting on.
I think the Equinox
in particular
has an edge on the
power train front,
2.0 liter turbo,
250 plus horsepower.
Plus the nine speed automatic
has a conventional field.
CVT on the CRV side
might take a little
getting used to if you
haven't had a CVT before.
I'm with the
Equinox on that one.
MARK TAKAHASHI: How important is
performance in the compact SUV
class?
JOSH SADLIER: I think
it depends on the buyer.
But ultimately this comparison
comes down to price.
The Equinox came
in about $40,000.
That's pushing it.
CRV, great value at $32,000.
I think if the Equinox
cost $32,000 like the CRV,
different conversation.
But as tested, hard to go
with the Chevy fundamentally.
MARK TAKAHASHI: I'm totally
with you on that one.
Let us know what you think.
Leave a comment below and
head over to Edmunds.com
to check out the rest
of the competition.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
2015 Chevrolet Equinox | CarGurus Test Drive Review
CarGurus:
What do T-bills, compact crossovers, and the
Cowboys choking the playoffs all have in
common
in america they're all safe bets the
2015
Chevrolet Equinox is about a safe as
digging a hole in your backyard for your
money
or learning shipbuilding if you live
near the coast
redesign in 2010 the 2015 model features
an
updated facia and some redesigning on
how they market the thing
but we'll talk about that later right
now let's just celebrate the Chevrolet
Equinox's
copious amounts of ordinary
Ok so ordinary isn't maybe the barest
assessment despite looking like the same
Equinox that we had for two years
the interiors pretty tech'd out like a lotta
Chevrolets
the Equinox comes equipped with WiFi
capabilities which
if you have an OnStar subscription means
that you can use your car as a hotspot
for about 25 bucks a month and that's
the bare minimum
you can get about 200 megs data a month
which
if you ask anybody with a cell phone is
or isn't a whole lot of data
realistically families that are going to
use a lotta data
those subscription plans are to be about
50 bucks a month which
is worth it if you want to keep your
kids quiet the back with iPad's
the interior scheme is fairly
well thought out even if the buttons and
controls
seem a little cramped in there storage
all around the Equinox is equal parts
copious
and accessible an interior space makes a
hell of a lot of sense for families
there's thirty one and a half cubic feet
of space in the back with the seats up
63.7 cubic feet when the seats down
a friend that actually moved all of his
life cross-country in one of these things
throw in the family dog too the Equinox
comfortably fits five adults with when
you get here
in the v6 is rated to tow 3500 pounds
which is a small boat or trailer full of ATV's
outside the Equinox is a little bit of
a snooze fest but that's okay
because the car really has no pretension
other than being a family hauler
which it is the good news is is when
2016 models hit show rooms later this
year they'll have a different front
facia and that's in preparation for the
Equinox moving to a smaller more
progressive platform
that underscores the idea that the
current Equinox
is on older aging platform that may not
matter to a lot of buyers considering
Chevrolet sold 250,000
Equinox the last year which doesn't
mean that it's the best crossover on the
planet
it just means it's the right size for a
lot of families but it's not
one-size-fits-all
the Equinox comes in either front or
all-wheel-drive versions
with a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder or 3.6 liter 6 cylinder
married to a six-speed automatic
neither version cracks the thirty mile
per gallon barrier
in this car the v6 ranges in the low 20s
when it comes to mileage
the engine isn't completely refined but
it's not super rough
it'll shuffled on the road with plenty of gusto
so but when you press to pass
you know that you're asking a lot from
the busy motor
driving the Equinox isn't aw inspiring
either the boxy frame
leans and pitches rolls and rocks under
hurried driving conditions
and as a reminder of how old the chassis
is but it's also a reminder of how much
its competitors like the CX 5
really have the compact crossover market
dialed in but the news is not all bad
a 22,120 to start and 36,000 here when
equipped like our tester
you can get a lot of car for your money
now it's inescapable that the Equinox
is an older crossover on an aging
chassis but
for the right amount of money you can
get you guessed it
a safe bet for family car
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