2022 Chevrolet Equinox

The 2022 Chevy Equinox is a five-seat compact crossover with plain styling, a clean and roomy cabin, well-sorted ride and handling, available all-wheel drive, and excellent safety features.

There are a number of changes for 2022, most notably the disappearance of the 252-horsepower turbo-4 engine, leaving only the 1.5-liter 170-horsepower turbo-4. The base L model has also been dropped, and the styling freshened.

The Equinox’s acceleration’s middling at best, and the 6-speed automatic transmission is a speed or two behind the times. It’s EPA rated at 26 mpg city, 31 highway, 28 combined, though—and with all-wheel drive, the numbers drop by just 1 mpg.

Both the NHTSA and the IIHS give it strong safety scores, with five stars overall from the former and a Top Safety Pick designation from the latter.

Standard on every Equinox are automatic emergency braking, active lane control, and automatic high-beam headlights. Upper models have blind-spot monitors, parking sensors, and a surround-view camera system.

Model Lineup

Made in Canada, the Equinox comes as LS, LT, RS, and Premier.

The $26,995 front-wheel-drive Equinox LS comes with power features, cloth upholstery, manual front seats, and a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All-wheel drive is available for $1,600.

The $29,695 Equinox LT adds a power driver seat and keyless start.

The $33,795 Equinox Premier AWD has leather upholstery, a power front passenger seat, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen. Options include Bose audio, navigation, a panoramic sunroof, and 19-inch wheels. A fully loaded Equinox can carry a sticker price of well over $40,000.
The Equinox carries a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty.

Exterior

For 2022 the face of the Equinox gets reworked, with slimmer headlights separated from the grille by thin strips of trim. The styling carries gentle curves and gradual slopes’ there’s not a daring line among them. From the plain door panels to the blended taillights, it’s an plain, straightforward design.

Interior

The symmetric instrument panel places the touchscreen up high for ease of use, with big round knobs for climate controls. It feels like a workplace cubicle, lacking the polish of the GMC Terrain, but the Premier model gets stitched leather on the dash panels to dress things up. There’s ample small-item storage.

The cloth front seats in the LS have manual adjustment with a limited range. Upper models have leather, with power adjustment for the driver, lumbar padding, and heating.

In the rear, two large adults fit comfortably, but the third will be squeezed. A very roomy 39.9 inches of leg room helps a lot, with head room to match. The seatback folds down to expand the 29.9-cubic-foot cargo hold into a big and useful 63.9 cubic feet.

Driving Impressions

The Equinox performs like a pleasant economy SUV. It now comes with a 170-hp 1.5-liter turbo-4 that makes 203 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 6-speed automatic. The drivetrain is smooth and unobtrusive, and modestly satisfying, but not very fast.

It’s front-wheel drive, with an available simple all-wheel-drive system that sends up to half of the power to the rear wheels when front traction slips. It’s not meant for off-road driving, but the Equinox is rated to tow 1,500 lb.

The ride is composed and handling tame. The steering is light, and there isn’t much feedback, but it is steady. The Equinox handles better on the smaller wheel-and-tire combinations, where the ride is also good, managing bumpy roads with aplomb. The optional 19-inch wheels are expensive ($1,995), and can ride more roughly.

Final Word

The 2022 Chevy Equinox makes its name on the basics. It’s spacious, rides well, and its infotainment covers all the latest bases, too. That makes it a good value, especially in less expensive versions.

—by Sam Moses with driving impressions by The Car Connection