Chevrolet Equinox review

There are Chevrolets past and present which we could drive for five minutes and tell you a hundred different things about how they handle, the way they deliver power and all the quirky characteristics that constitute the driving dynamics unique to the vehicle. Then there’s the Equinox, a car we’ve driven for a week and can barely remember a thing about it.

On one hand, it’s as… unfavorable as that sounds: it’s not particularly sporty or engaging when it comes to handling or laying down what power it has, particularly with all of its cargo/passenger space being fully utilized.

On the other hand, it doesn’t do anything ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ either: when it has to go, it goes – not fast, but it goes – and when it needs to stop, it stops without much fuss or drama. On the highway, you’ll do fine in the middle lane.

A literal ‘middle of the road car’ it seems.

Indeed. At the end of the day, a buyer for a car like this has other priorities than thrills behind the wheel. We’ll still take points off for it, though. Not all cars have to be fast, but they should raise a smile in some way or another.

Anyway, here are the numbers: 1.5-liter turbo 4cyl whirring up 175hp and 184lb ft of torque in the FWD/CVT config and 203lb ft in the AWD setup with the eight-speed gearbox. 0-60mph off the line? Chevy doesn’t say. We reckon somewhere under 10 seconds. Long enough to be distracted by something else mid-test, at least.

If you’re towing, you're limited to 800lbs in the FWD and 1,500lbs with the AWD. Look, if you wanted small, cheap and tow-capable, you’d be eyeing the Ford Maverick.

Surely there are some handling differences between the trims?

What the RS and Activ bring to the table in terms of different dynamics are selectable drive modes. In FWD, drivers can select Normal and Snow, while AWD models add an Off-road mode.

… was there more to that?

Nope, that’s it. We’re done here.