2023 Chevy Equinox | Review & Road Test

For the latest Chevrolet Equinox pricing and information:

The Equinox from Chevrolet gets a few tweaks to its compact five-passengerness. Not quite a refresh, so no graphics. Sorry.

First and foremost, the nice peeps at Chevy decide to give Equinox buyers a bit more power. That’s nice, but it’s not much, five more horses.

Listen I’ll take whatever I can get in the horsepower department, right? The 1.5-liter turbo now gets 175 ponies while torque remains the same at 203 lb-ft. Do I feel like it makes a difference? If this were a vote I’d likely abstain. I don’t feel as though this gains that much pep, but again, more is more when it come to power. It takes a beat to get up to power on the highway and if you’re heavier with that optional AWD system it’s only going to make things tougher.

When it comes to the rest of driving, truthfully, the Equinox doesn’t feel like a couch potato. It’s comfortable and when you put it around turns well behaved. Not as sedate as you might think.

Steering is direct and the six-speed automatic transmission knows its job and does it adequately.

The brakes are new, too, with Chevy going from a vacuum-boosted system to an electronically assisted braking set up they call E-boost.

Gas mileage estimates aren’t hand wringingly poor with the FWD only Equinox getting 26 miles in the city and 31 on the highway. Reduce those by a mile or two with power at four corners.

Other than that, there are some new paint colors, hey, this feels like it would make a great segue.

To this – the exterior. In the looks department, the Equinox isn’t ground breaking but not offensive or gives me a reason to scratch my head. It does lack a bit of individuality. Not sure I’d be able to tell what it is without the badging. What about you? I really think we should do a video like that sometime. Hey, subscribe to the KBB YouTube channel and we might!

Cargo space looks generous – it does land mid-pack with almost 20 cu-ft behind the second row and 64 cu-ft behind the first.

But get into it and you’ll feel the comfort in both the rear and front seats.

A 7-inch touchscreen comes standard, but you can upgrade to this 8-inch version. I really like Chevy’s MyLink system, it’s quick and easy to use. But if you want to just use your phone CarPlay and Auto are standard as is Bluetooth connectivity, with on board WiFi and 4G LTE optional.

The Equinox also comes with Chevy Safety Assist. That includes stuff like automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assist with lane departure warnings, hey all, Chevy’s system is a smooooth operator.

The Equinox can be had in four trim levels starting with the LS ($29,595), which come standard with 17-inch wheels, LED headlights and active noise cancelling. The LT ($30,695) gets you more standard features, like a power adjustable driver’s seat, body colored mirror caps and a larger drivers info screen.

The sportier looking RS ($33,695) might be the sweet spot with front and rear parking alert, power programmable liftgate, remote start, 19-inch wheels, gloss black details on the exterior and LED taillights. Still fairly reasonable but with lots of good features – though we’d get the larger screen which is optional but standard on the Premier ($34,795) and a hands-free foot gesture lift gate. You. An get other packages on those different trims that add extras like upscale seats and a massive moonroof.

More of a zhuzz than a refresh the Chevy Equinox gets a tad more power, some better breaks to go with its roomy interior and solid standard tech offerings. It’s in dealerships now if all that sounds interesting.

00:00 2023 Chevrolet Equinox
0:26 Engine
1:12 Driving Impressions
2:29 Gas Mileage
3:20 Exterior
4:00 Competitors
4:18 Interior
7:31 Price

[rwbwatercolor]

People talk a lot of shit about this generation of Equinox and I’ve never been even slightly interested in them BUT my mother in law has a 2022 LT AWD. It has the remote start, power lift gate, 8 inch screen, tinted windows, heated seats, dual zone climate control, frontal warning/emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind zone monitoring, rear cross traffic alert… all of that is great but when I heard that it had a 1.5T ecotec engine, before I had ever driven or ridden in it, I literally laughed thinking about my first car, a 2006 cobalt with a 2.4 ecotec. I imagined an suv that had no power, and the engine working hard constantly. I was so wrong. The first time I drove it, I couldn’t believe how responsive the engine was. It has ample torque for climbing hills at speed without downshifting, passing on the highway and on 2 lane roads is done without even having to completely floor it. Merging onto the highway is thinkless. On top of all of that, the ride is comfortable and quiet and it handles extremely well for an suv. And with her mostly highway driving she averages 41mpg. I’m extremely impressed with this vehicle, to the point of considering a purchase.

[dannyhurley]

Recently purchased a new 2023 Chevy Equinox, we we’re driving when suddenly the windshield cracked, we figured an object fell from the sky and broke it. Called insurance paid deductible, man came to replace it, he had a lot of trouble getting it out, finally learned it was not broken by a rock or similar object, when it was made there was too much glue on one side creating pressure which caused the break, after learning this I called General Motors they said because I went to a 3rd party “Safelite Autoglass” instead of going back to the dealer there was nothing they could do. Please if your warrantied car, SUV or truck developes a broken windshield, call your dealer before you call your insurance company.

[nickharris]

Let’s be honest, this is all most people need. A comfy, roomy run-about that’s good on gas. There’s a reason why Toyotas and “boring” cars sell so well. 99% of people just need an appliance to get around in. This Chevy fits the bill perfectly. Want a Porsche? Go buy one then! Meanwhile stop complaining about this type of perfectly adequate car.

[michaellydon]

i WAS WALKING BY THE EQUINOX FROM THE BACK TO FRONT AND THOUGHT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

[wolflarson]

This model desperately needs a refresh.

[craig]

I would love to see a group of badgeless vehicles on comparison.

[Stinger]

Only Lyn could make a boring vehicle sound interesting and upbeat...lol. Great video.

[ak]

Wow, still a traditional 6 speed auto. Refreshing.

[thugbuster]

Good to know what I'll be driving our our next family vacation 👍

[TYAC_red]

The words and energy brightens my day.

[LYNDONGOLDEN]

The exterior design looks good to my eye, even though this model is now 6 years old, with very few visual updates. With the 2024 Equinox EV coming, I reckon this gas-powered version will be rebadged Equinox Classic (or Equinox Limited) and be produced for fleet/rental sales only.

[KrissKross]

This depressing thing just screams rental and fleet car

[tyegable]

i just bought a 2023 equinox ls and out the door at a 25000 dollars, not a bad car, but rides stiffer than my 2014 malibu, which i traded in, all and all very economical sporty SUV, mine is FWD and last fill up was impressive 31MPG, nice, will own for years, only 700 miles at time of posting, i recommend it

[pasta-eomt]

Coming soon to an Enterprise/Hertz/Avis fleet near you.

[ThePudgie]

Nice job! ....I'm always interested in how mfg's treat the sun visor mirror lighting. Did I see a manual mirror dimmer?

[oidf]

5:21 The rear doors are so wide for nothing since there is at least 5'' lost above the wheel arch

[rickautry]

The Stop Start on my 2024 is 100% better than the Start Stop feature on any Subaru I have ever driven

[tylercovey]

As a gear head and the son of a late great mechanic (rip dad) I got one of these. Comfy, roomy, just enough power to get around, great gas mileage, just awesome to live with. The only thing I hate and it's on every new car, auto stop. Turn it off your starter and wallet will thank you.

[caliboyrob]

Surprised they still even make this. It’s the suv version of the impala for rental fleets.

[dmascorro]

no way would i ever buy another chevrolet. They've been making cars for more than 100 years and they still cant get it right.