If you’re in the market for a compact sport utility vehicle, the Chevy Equinox has what you want. We probably have a good idea why a compact SUV appeals to you. The hallmark characteristics of the class are upscale interiors, great fuel economy, versatile cabin, affordability, and fun. The Equinox is the complete package. This preview guide will show you around the Equinox and get you up to speed about what’s new for 2020.
What Is New This Year?
What Is New This Year?
The base 2020 Equinox is safer this year with standard automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, and automatic high-beam headlamps. In too-cool-for-school news, there’s a Midnight Edition package for Equinox LT models that blacks out, well, everything, including the Chevy bow-tie emblems. The diesel engine goes away this year, sadly, but we still have two other engine options to choose from: the base 170-horsepower 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and an available 252-horsepower 2-liter turbo-four.
Interior
Quality materials, great fit and finish, the Equinox isn’t a luxury SUV, but has the look and feel to content just about everyone. We appreciated the abundance of cupholders, the comfort of the seats, and plastics throughout the cabin are soft-touch and high quality.
The Equinox does better than many in its class in terms of gas mileage. Official estimates read 26 city miles and 31 highway miles per gallon with the base engine, or just a bit less with the engine upgrade. That’s a very strong showing for the Equinox, and one bound to save you a lot at the pump year after year.
Like almost any two-row SUV, the Chevy Equinox seats five people. It’s wide enough to feel spacious, and you have great visibility while driving. The suspension and seating together make for comfortable long rides, which really helps with commutes and weekend trips. Look behind the rear row and you’ll find 29.9 cubic feet of space, which more than covers grocery trips and sports equipment. For longer trips, fold the rear seats down, and you get 63.9 cubic feet of space.
Affordability
The 2020 Chevy Equinox comes standard with the active safety features we mentioned earlier, along with push-button start, Chevy’s Teen Driver system, rear-seat reminder, and Infotainment 3 system with 7-inch touch screen, six-speaker audio system, two USB ports, Bluetooth, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and Wi-Fi hotspot. Get all that for only $23,800, which is almost first-car territory. We think Equinox is a great, well-rounded vehicle that hits all the right buttons.