Topic: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox; Day 1

[wing]

Sorry 6 hours of flying and a 3 hour time zone change is rather killer.  I'll have to poke my editor a little eh?  He's suppose to be my second eyes .

I am driving the Equinox about the same way I drove the Terrain it will be interesting to see the differences in FE between FWD and AWD.

Oh and to be honest if you nitpick I may just ignore any relevant questions in the future. 

[Thinking Out Loud]

IMO, the Equinox looks far, far better than its GMC-branded brethren--the only reason I can come up with for the existence of the Terrain is that some insecure souls need to be reassured by having their CUV dressed up like a rough 'n tough SUV.

...there just may be enough of these people that badge-engineering the Terrain can be justified.

Kinda like the Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot....same underwear, different suits   

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I don't necessarily get the pricing on this vehicle.  It seems very similar in function/size to the JEEP Patriot.  I have a friend with a Patriot North Edition, have driven it a few times, and though I'm definately not the biggest fan of Chrysler vehicles, I can't really find anything to complain about in the Patriot. 

So why is the Patriot $6000 less than the Equinox?!?!

I noticed that the Equinox is priced in line with CR-V, ford Escape, Rav-4, etc.  Is it the JEEP that is priced insanely low?

[Mitlov]

I don't necessarily get the pricing on this vehicle.  It seems very similar in function/size to the JEEP Patriot.  I have a friend with a Patriot North Edition, have driven it a few times, and though I'm definately not the biggest fan of Chrysler vehicles, I can't really find anything to complain about in the Patriot. 

So why is the Patriot $6000 less than the Equinox?!?!

I noticed that the Equinox is priced in line with CR-V, ford Escape, Rav-4, etc.  Is it the JEEP that is priced insanely low?

I'm pretty sure that the Equinox is far, far larger than the Patriot.

And yes, the Jeep is remarkably cheap.  Sometimes you get what you pay for?

[Blueprint]

Patriot is based on the Caliber, while the Equiterrain uses a midsize platform.

And James, enough complaining about driving a minivan.  Drive the benchmark (Odyssey) and do an objective review instead of just putting down the whole segment for being family-oriented.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I'm pretty sure that the Equinox is far, far larger than the Patriot.

And yes, the Jeep is remarkably cheap.  Sometimes you get what you pay for?

And yet the Equinox is classed as a compact CUV.  And this makes sense how?  Why doesn't GM man up and actually make a vehicle that fits within the pre-defined dimensions of its class, instead of supersizing everything?

[Mitlov]

I'm pretty sure that the Equinox is far, far larger than the Patriot.

And yes, the Jeep is remarkably cheap.  Sometimes you get what you pay for?

And yet the Equinox is classed as a compact CUV.  And this makes sense how?  Why doesn't GM man up and actually make a vehicle that fits within the pre-defined dimensions of its class, instead of supersizing everything?

Not all cars within a class are exactly the same size.  The G37 is seriously larger than the IS350, yet they're in the same class, and nobody whines about Infiniti "supersizing" the G37.

Besides, the Patriot is unusually small for its class, not typical for the class.  Other competitors, particularly the RAV4 and the Equinox, are at the large end of "compact crossover."  The Rogue and CRV are somewhere in between.  I don't see a problem with this situation.  Nobody complains that the current RAV4 is too big to be a "compact crossover"; why level the same criticism at the Equinox? 

[Jman99]

GM Equinox AWD 2LT with current GM finance rates - $709.64 per month / 60 month term
Honda CRV EX AWD with current Honda finance rates - $639.85 per month / 60 month term

Difference = almost $4200!! I know the financing rates play a big part since Honda has 0.9% and GM is 3.9% but if i were in the shopping game right now, the Equinox wouldn't even be considered unless GM is offering some cash incentives on the Equinox now?

Even said, i am quite certain the Honda would be slightly more reliable and have a higher resale value after 5 years vice the Equinox.

[bridgecity]

I'm pretty sure that the Equinox is far, far larger than the Patriot.

And yes, the Jeep is remarkably cheap.  Sometimes you get what you pay for?

And yet the Equinox is classed as a compact CUV.  And this makes sense how?  Why doesn't GM man up and actually make a vehicle that fits within the pre-defined dimensions of its class, instead of supersizing everything?

Not all cars within a class are exactly the same size.  The G37 is seriously larger than the IS350, yet they're in the same class, and nobody whines about Infiniti "supersizing" the G37.

Besides, the Patriot is unusually small for its class, not typical for the class.  Other competitors, particularly the RAV4 and the Equinox, are at the large end of "compact crossover."  The Rogue and CRV are somewhere in between.  I don't see a problem with this situation.  Nobody complains that the current RAV4 is too big to be a "compact crossover"; why level the same criticism at the Equinox? 

The RAV and CRV are actually closer in cargo volume than CRV and Rogue.   Both the RAV and CRV have a listed interior cargo volume of 36 cubic feet, the Rogue at 29, and the Equinox, get this, at 31.  Is there something wrong with the Canadian Chevrolet website specs, or am did I misread?  I thought the cargo volume of the Equinox was around 40 cubic feet. 

[Canada Stig]

Cargo volume is one thing, but usable cargo volume is another.  Does this Equinox have the same rear-wheel covers that the old one did, that narrow the trunk by nearly a foot?  That is a huge issue for people with small kids, as I know people who had an old Equinox and couldn't lay their stroller flat in the boot as a result of this.

The Car and Driver Beer Case test is one of my favourites - it measures usable cargo space.  For example, a Ford Escape, officially, has about 15% less cargo room (litres) than a CRV (somewhere around 875L vs 1000L I believe) . 

Both have lots of cargo area, of course and are more than suited for any family of 4 I can think of (ditto the Equinox, RAV4, Rogue, etc).  However, given the CRV's sloped rear window and tapered lines to the roof, it may be possible that the Escape actually holds more stuff since it is basically just a giant box.

[Dante]

I consider/compare the usable cargo space under the cargo cover or up to the top of the rear seats backrests.

[Mitlov]

Cargo volume is one thing, but usable cargo volume is another.  Does this Equinox have the same rear-wheel covers that the old one did, that narrow the trunk by nearly a foot?  That is a huge issue for people with small kids, as I know people who had an old Equinox and couldn't lay their stroller flat in the boot as a result of this.

New Equinox:



Old Equinox:

[bridgecity]

I consider/compare the usable cargo space under the cargo cover or up to the top of the rear seats backrests.

We are a family of four, with a large dog, and yes, I consider floor area a lot more important than the height.  I had an Escape rental for a few days, and the cargo floor area was 90% covered once a stroller was stowed in the rear, leaving little room for groceries, etc., b/c the cargo floor area is so small.

Factory cargo nets are very useful when provided as an accessory.  We have one for our Pilot.  It is very robust for a net, and when packing a lot of items, its great as a divider wall between the second row and the cargo area, for light items.  It increases useable cargo volume substantially.

[Dante]

The floor area is very important too, but what I meant is that I consider the cargo space under the cargo cover versus ceiling. The space above the cargo cover level to the ceiling is seldom used. If you have a dog, he/she might appreciate that space though on a daily basis.

[Factger]

If I had a dog and the 2 kids I would not have a problem getting an edge. Has a big back seat that can fit 2 car seats and an adult on occasion. My brother just got one and I am quite impressed with it. ( he has two kids and an obama dog) With incentives and the financing deals he paid the same amount of money for the edge as the escape (which he had before).  fairly loaded escape = sel edge with leather

This is just an option right now compared to these smaller SUV'S because of incentives from ford.

And it has this title LoL
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2010/04/01/471732.html

[Roy]

Usable cargo areas is one of my favorite topics!

At this year's AutoShow I noticed that about 90% of crossovers from luxury to "mid-compact" have very high floor areas that take away a lot of usable space, especially if there is a sloping rear hatch.  The Infiniti EX and FX series were the worst.  I'm not sure if 2 full size suitcases would fit in either with the 2nd row seats up.  The high floors were usually to allow for 3rd row seating - the MDX is a good example of a bad example. 

My initial impression of the Equinox cargo area was disappointing compared to what I had seen so far and the Chevy/GM area was near the end of the tour.  The wheel humps IMO really narrow the cargo area, especially with a baby stroller that folds long & thin (as opposed to other models that fold short and wide).  One would then put such a stroller in lengthwise but there wasn't a lot of length to the area either.  The floor height was not as low as some others either further reducing volume capability.  I then checked the cargo area volume on the specs card and it was around 850 L give or take?  I think that is below-avg to avg in this segment with a design that does not make the most out of those numbers. 

Volume-wise Equinox and Edge are fairly close by the numbers but as you can see by the posted pictures the design/usability of the Edge is better. 

[Dante]

The Edge cargo space looks very good to me from all angles... Does it have sliding/reclining rear seats too? I find this a very useful feature on the SUVs (assuming that the utility/versatility is a key point for buyers). I have them on mine and it made a difference at times.

[Shnak]

I'm also very impressed by the amount of cargo shown in the photo of the Edge, much bigger than I would have anticipated by simply seeing them around on the streets!

[conwelpic]

When I was at the Toronto Auto Show I checked over the Terrain and found it had some good features, like the rear sliding seat, but was dissapointed when I lifted up the cargo floor cover to find just the spare sitting there, nothing finished off for efficient underfloor storage (my Rondo has various size compartments), I also noticed the same thing in the all new Tucson too.  Is the Equinox like this too?

[Dante]

If the spare tire is under the cargo floor, I don't think they would finish the area. Sure, a plastic cover on top of the spare would provide some small storage compartments, but nothing more. The old Mazda3 is like that; I have an umbrela, a small flashlight, and few more small items there, but that's it.