The large side mirrors are an absolute necessity, because looking over your shoulder when merging shows little more than interior trim surrounding a tiny window opening. It took us a while to get used to the aggressive automatic dimming on the rear-view mirror, but it was nice to have.Īnd Chevrolet warranties the powertrain for 5 years or 100,000 miles, which should comfort long-distance travelers.įor us, the biggest flaw in the 2010 Equinox was its truly appalling rear three-quarter vision. The driver's seat had eight-way power adjustment, and even the 60-40 split rear seat slid and reclined. It's a little startling at first, but the effect grew on us, mostly.įor a $29,000 crossover, the Equinox LT was nicely-if not lavishly-equipped, with 17-inch aluminum wheels, remote keyless entry and remote starting, an anti-theft system, and one year of Onstar service free. The "premium cloth" seating was a mix of grey and black nylon blend, with a grey mesh weave almost like a basketball shirt over the black upholstery, with red stitching. One nice feature: note only a clock, but a date and an exterior temperature gauge on the display. The dash has a very nice two-tone treatment, the needles of the blue-and-chrome instruments sweep all the way over on startup, and even the Chevrolet logo on the navigation screen is a carefully rendered graphic that looks almost three-dimensional. We appreciated that not only did the steering wheel tilt, but it also telescoped. GM has greatly improved the interiors of all its vehicles in recent years, and it shows best in mid-range vehicles like the 2010 Equinox. That's close to the EPA blended mileage rating of 26 mpg (without ECO engaged, as far as we know), so we think fuel efficiency might be more like 24 or 25 mpg in the real world, when using regular mode. Overall, we registered 25.8 miles per gallon in 180 miles of mostly freeway driving, with a bit of suburban stop-and-go as well. Which is probably about what the revised software settings were meant to simulate. The Equinox in ECO mode felt, essentially, like it was heavily loaded, so it accelerated a little slower than it would normally have. The performance was adequate, though kickdown on hard acceleration produced a noticeable lag. Indeed, the driver can push the ECO button located just ahead of the transmission lever to select a more conservative set of engine control software for better gas mileage.įor fun, we decided to leave the ECO button engaged for our entire trip. When we picked up the 2010 Equinox, a little green light in the instrument cluster said "ECO". But aside from crashing through the occasional truly cavernous pothole, the suspension is tight, the noise is low, and the 2010 Equinox handles in a remarkably car-like manner. The four-cylinder comes with electronic noise canceling, which makes the car quiet enough that tire roar on bad surfaces is more apparent than it might otherwise be. The handling was tight, and there was less body roll than we had expected from a vehicle in which passengers sit relatively high. The Equinox rode well on the sometimes badly broken roads around Detroit. With a thicker rear pillar and shorter rear windows, the entire vehicle looks shorter, perhaps to distinguish it better from the larger, seven-seat 2010 Chevrolet Traverse that's the next step up in Chevy's crossovers. The new 2010 Equinox is definitely crisper and sportier than its somewhat slab-sided predecessor. With just a few more options, you're over $30,000, which starts to put you close to some fancier brands altogether. Total price at the bottom of the sticker was $29,075, including a mandatory $775 destination charge. It also came with a $495 power liftgate (which can be set to different opening heights) and a $245 "Cargo Management Package" that comprised the crossbars for the roof rack, a grocery net, and the rear cargo cover-which, honestly, we think ought to be standard on every crossover and station wagon. The four-cylinder 2010 Chevrolet Equinox LT carries a reasonable base price of $25,445, though ours added an AM/FM/XM Stereo and CD package combined with a navigation system, including voice recognition and a 40-GB hard drive for a stiff $2,145. Costs more than $30,000 with fun options.Four-cylinder engine upshifts too quickly.In our full review of the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox on, where we rated it at 7.8 out of 10 points, we lauded it for:īut weren't as fond of these characteristics: Add all-wheel-drive and the mileage falls to 20 mpg city / 29 mpg highway. That's the most economical Equinox, rated by the EPA in front-wheel-drive form at 22 mpg city / 32 mpg highway. We were especially interested in the model fitted with a 2.4-liter, 182-horsepower four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission.
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