2025 Chevrolet Equinox Offers Lots of Style but Just One Engine Option

• The fourth-generation Equinox has potential to grow its market share with an attractive and user-friendly interior to go along with muscular sheetmetal, squared-off wheel wells, and a truck-like front end.

• The monotone dark gray upholstery will appeal to many buyers, but the Maple Sugar and black color scheme in the Activ trim model we tested is the best looking.

• Is the 175-hp 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine enough to compete with rivals Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue? They all make more horsepower, but they also achieve better EPA-rated fuel economy.

Because of its reasonably low price point and mainstream appeal, the Chevrolet Equinox might not be perceived as a gotta-have vehicle. And yet, it is a solid competitor among midsize crossovers, which by themselves move more metal in American showrooms than any other vehicle segment—including all pickups.

Through the first half of this year, automakers have sold more than 1.7 million midsize crossovers, representing 11% growth over the same period in 2023. Can we recall a time when this segment, which has taken the place of midsize sedans as the two-row family vehicle of choice, wasn’t growing? There are nearly 40 vehicles to choose from.

This sets the stage for the all-new fourth-generation Equinox, which has potential to grow its market share with an attractive and user-friendly interior to go along with muscular sheetmetal, squared-off wheel wells, and a truck-like front end.

The new Equinox has roughly the same wheelbase and overall length (107.5 inches and 183.2 inches) as the previous model, and it’s a little bit taller at 65.6 inches. But it’s a significant 2.3 inches wider (74.9 inches).

While front passengers gain an inch of extra hip room, rear occupants lose 0.9 inches of hip room, oddly enough. Second-row passengers also gain about an inch more head room. What it gains in additional passenger volume it loses in cargo volume.

Truck-Like Design

A large, upright grille gives the new Equinox a purposeful stance, while the previous model with rounded wheel wells relied on a beltline and hood that sloped down to the waterfall grille. Overall, the new look is more rugged.

Likewise, the interior makes the new Equinox more contemporary. While the previous dashboard used a series of flowing lines and prominent vertical wing-shipped air vents, the new instrument panel is more horizontal with vents more neatly integrated. The stylized, round vents at the base of the A-pillars provide a design flourish.

There are still hard buttons but fewer of them and they are neatly arrayed below the large 11.3-inch center infotainment screen that is connected to an 11-inch digital cluster in front of the driver. Both screens are standard on all models.

The conventional shifter is gone from the roomy center console, replaced with a stalk on the right side of the steering column.

The monotone dark gray upholstery will appeal to many buyers, but the Maple Sugar and black color scheme with accent stitching and piping in the Activ trim model we tested is the best looking.

Just One Engine Offered

But if anything holds back the fully redesigned Equinox, it will likely be its diminutive 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 175 hp. The Equinox’s three chief rivals (Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue) make more horsepower, but they also achieve better EPA-rated fuel economy.

The 2025 Equinox with front-wheel drive gets an estimated 27 mpg in combined city/highway driving, while the optional all-wheel drive knocks that down to 26 mpg combined.

The three main rivals achieve at least 28 mpg combined, and the CR-V hybrid even cracks the 40-mpg threshold. The US Department of Energy in its Fuel Economy Guide names the Kia Niro Hybrid, rated at 53/45 mpg in city/highway driving, as the most fuel-efficient small SUV—significantly better than the Equinox.

If mileage is a key factor for shoppers in this segment, then Chevy is likely to lose some customers to these other crossovers, as well as the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sorento, which are available with higher-efficiency full hybrid powertrains (which adds to the sticker price, btw).

Also, the 2025 Equinox represents a step down in performance: In addition to the 1.5-liter four-cylinder, the previous Equinox offered a 2.0-liter turbo-4 with an engaging 252 hp.

There is no full hybrid Equinox offered for 2025, but it might come along in a few years, based on recent comments by General Motors CEO Mary Barra. How long will Equinox shoppers who might like the new sheetmetal be willing to wait for a hybrid?

True, the new Equinox comes with a standard mild-hybrid stop/start system to boost efficiency, but there’s a button to the left of the steering wheel to shut off that functionality.

In its current state of tune, the new Equinox’s 1.5-liter four-cylinder will do the job for many mainstream buyers—especially parents who don’t want their newly licensed teenagers driving too fast anyway.

But few of its rivals in the segment offer only a single powertrain. Some, like the RAV4, have one engine available in hybrid or non-hybrid trim, while others, like the CR-V, offer two engines and a hybrid configuration. Isn’t variety the spice of life—and a way to sell more cars?

CVT Offered for the First Time

Are we seeing the impact of General Motors banking so heavily on the fortunes of its battery-electric vehicle portfolio that there were inadequate resources left to push for greater efficiency or performance on the internal-combustion front for the Equinox?

While there’s only one available engine, there are two transmissions: a CVT for the first time for all FWD models and an eight-speed automatic mated to AWD variants. Chevy marketers expect about half of Equinox customers to choose AWD, which adds $2,000 to the sticker price in each of the three available trims.

During recent test drives near Minneapolis, the automatic was, as expected, smoother and well matched for the 1.5-liter DOHC I4, helping boost torque output to 203 lb-ft with AWD.

The CVT does a decent job propelling the 3,428-pound FWD Equinox (in base LT trim) from point A to B, but it musters only 185 lb-ft of torque and is less refined than the 8AT when pushing on the freeway entrance ramp.

On the handling front, the new Equinox feels a lot like its competitors, with the same MacPherson struts, coil springs, and direct-acting stabilizer bar as was in the previous front suspension. The four-link independent rear geometry also carries over. It’s fine for suburban driving but not well suited for aggressive maneuvering.

What’s with the Paddle Shifters?

There’s a redesigned steering wheel with more robust switchgear connected to a competent electric power steering system that cuts a slightly tighter turning circle of 37.1 feet.

Behind the steering wheel are three pull switches on each side. The right side has a small transmission upshift paddle above volume up and down switches, while the left side has a downshift paddle above audio selection switches up and down.

The paddle shifters are so small (and out of sight, of course) that drivers are sure to change audio settings when they instead want to downshift to pass. Or those paddles will never be used. Engineers put them there for holding lower gears longer when towing (up to 1,500 pounds).

For the first time, the 2025 Equinox is reaching out for the weekend adventure crowd, which has probably gravitated toward the Ford Bronco Sport, Subaru Outback Wilderness, RAV4 TRD Off-Road, and Jeep Compass Trailhawk.

These are not vehicles with skid plates for serious off-roading, but the all-terrain tires and perhaps more ground clearance make for good companions on dirt roads and in campgrounds, perhaps with mountain bikes or kayaks in tow.

Activ Trim for the Adventurous

This is why Chevy has a new Activ trim level for the Equinox, with a unique front fascia, specially tuned suspension, those AT tires, and an available white roof. Downside is, those knobby tires are a bit louder on the highway, and there’s no additional ground clearance.

With one engine, it’s a pretty simple trim walk for the new Equinox, which starts at LT FWD for $29,995 (including destination) and LT AWD for $31,995. There’s only one step upward, to RS and Activ trim levels, both starting at $34,395 with FWD or $36,396 for AWD.

The marketing team expects the LT to account for about half of all sales, with RS and Activ each taking about 25%. While Activ is the rugged trim, RS is the sporty option, with available 20-inch rims. Five new tires were developed for the Equinox (from Michelin, Continental, and Bridgestone), which also offers 17- and 19-inch rims.

AWD models with RS and Activ trim come with a mode knob in the center console for selecting between Normal, Snow/Ice, and Off-Road to allow for more yaw and wheel spin to sustain forward momentum.

Equinox pricing lines up closely with the RAV4, while the CR-V is a bit more expensive and the $28,695 Rogue undercuts them all.

All Equinoxes come with a raft of driver-assistance technologies, such as adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, forward collision alert, lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic braking, and side bicyclist alert, all supported by a standard camera/radar array.

The 2025 Equinox is currently on sale and available on dealer lots.

Do the limited powertrain offerings make the new Chevrolet Equinox less attractive to you, or are other attributes more important? Please comment below.