Definitions matter:
- Equinox – the two times each year when the sun crosses the equator, making day and night just about the same length all over the world.
- Chevrolet Equinox – a small-to-medium crossover introduced in 2005, its fourth and current generation (this one) revealed for 2025.
We tested an Equinox about a year ago – the ACTIV AWD model. I said it was “a sweeping redesign,” with a “well done and well-designed interior” and lots of room. I hoped for a hybrid version, and wished I could test the Ultium-platformed Equinox EV. This fourth-gen redesign is apparently liked by buyers – Chevrolet saw a 32% increase in sales last year as it sold over 274,000 Equinoxes. And through September of this year, add over 190,000 more. So now we can check out the sportier version.
Chevrolet Equinox RS Gets Some Camaro-Like Touches
Chevrolet crossovers – there’s eight of them, including two EVs – all have a family face now. It’s almost like the recently-gone Camaro’s. And it’s pretty slick. The central grille gets sculpted black vanes – RS badge inset – flanked by stacked headlight/turn signal clusters in intake-like side pods.
Slit LED DRLs above join an upper grill over a body-colored bar with big Chevy bowtie emblem. Below the black plastic bumper accent is a wide lower intake with subtle air dams.
Like most CUVs that try to look SUV-ish, that black bumper bar flows around and over gently-flared black-clad fenders, framing 19-inch Continental CrossContact rubber on 10-spoke black and silver alloys. There are more black flares out at the lower door sills.
The roof and pillars go gloss black. The windows’ lower sill line rises aft of the rear doors, flowing into body-colored wings that meet the black roof to give it that floating look. LED taillights wrap around the rear corners over a black lower fascia, while the rear window gets a long black shade.
It’s a balanced, sporty shape with a good stance and a family face that looks just different enough (from other CUVs).
The Rallye Sport gets a padded, textured stitched dash top and bottom, split by an accent bar that shades from sporty red to – yup – black.
The outboard jet intake-like a/c vents are shot through with red and chrome under clear, while red stitching and piping accent the very comfortable-if-flat cloth and supple leatherette power bucket seats up front. They are heated and cooled, the driver’s getting dual memory presets.
A sweeping set of digital displays starts with an 11-inch configurable gauge panel. It can show a central tachometer with digital mph, flanked by information like tire pressure, audio and more. You can access a navigation map with inset digital speed readout, or dial up just the speed and some basic stuff.
Center dash is an 11.3-inch touchscreen for navigation, or split to add audio or other info, over slim air vents. That said, some functions, like headlight control and trip meter, require a tap or two into menus to display.
There are real buttons for climate control, heated and cooled seats and more, joined by knobs for the dual-zone climate control with inset temperature displays. Google maps with live traffic info is now integrated into the Equinox – plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
To clear up center console space, the driver has a classic column shifter behind a grippable and sporty stitched leather steering wheel with small paddle shifters integrated with audio and radio preset buttons behind.
The center console gets dual USB ports and an inductive phone charger, plus decent storage above and below its floating design. There are also usable cupholders along with center armrest storage.
The back bench seat gets more red accents and decent adult-size head and legroom for two with a center armrest and rear vents, plus dual USB-C ports allow for device charging in back, plus dual vents. Overhead, some of the long moonroof with fabric shade and opening front section.
The flat, 29.8-cu-ft cargo area behind the rear seats has storage space underneath. Those seatbacks split 60/40 to expand to just over 65-cu.ft. of space with a decent liftover – a power rear hatch opens high enough to clear my head.
The Equinox RS Doesn’t Doesn’t Get Any Extra Power
It may be badged RS – but all Equinoxes get the same turbocharged/intercooled 16-valve inline-4 with 175 hp and 203 lb-ft of torque. There’s no CVT in the range now, replaces on all models with eight-speed automatic transmission. And the only drive modes this blue CUV offered via that big center console knob is: Normal, Snow/Ice; Off-Road (adjusts traction and stability settings and engages AWD for moderate speeds over dirt); and all-wheel-drive. There’s no Sport drive mode.
Our Equinox was brand new with just under 600 miles on the clock when we tested it. The drivetrain always starts in Normal mode, so we tapped in front wheel drive first. It launched moderately, building momentum to hit 60 mph in 9.4 seconds. In all-wheel-drive, it took 10 seconds to hit 60 mph, the 8-speed upshifting cleanly. Passing power was solid, downshifts and a touch of engine/exhaust snarl as we moved out.
There’s an engine start/stop system to save fuel as it shuts the engine off at a stop, then refires with a bit of driveline surge the millisecond you back off the brake pedal. It netted us almost 28 mpg after a week of commuting. Those paddle shifters work only when you tap a steering wheel “Low Gear” button to enable it. They are handy to tap and hold a gear going up or down a hill, or towing (up to 1,500 lbs.).
Our brand new Equinox was quiet and rattle-free at speed, with a hint of tire noise. In front-wheel-drive mode, we sometimes got a squeak of wheelspin on launch, and the inside front tire would sometimes spin under power in a turn.
To compare, the more off-road Equinox we tested a year ago with knobby rubber and a bit more miles on it hit 60 mph in 8.8 seconds in FWD, and 9.4 seconds in AWD. It averaged 27 mpg. And a 2022 Equinox RS I tested then got to 60 mph in 9.3 seconds in front-wheel-drive, and 9.5 seconds when switched to all-wheel-drive.
Under the skin, there’s MacPherson struts with coil springs and a stabilizer bar in front, and a four-link independent rear suspension in back. Suspension tuning gives this 3,428-lb. soft-roader a very comfortable ride on the highway, absorbing bumps easily and nicely, although there’s some after-bounce off speed bumps.
This is a crossover, but street corners and expressway ramps saw the Equinox track true with minimal body roll. We got some understeer in more aggressive cornering in FWD mode. It hissed a bit, but was easy to rein in. Call it nimble enough and easy to place, with a gently planted feel in common cornering. It’s much more neutral in cornering in AWD, with minimal understeer when pushed. There was an occasional downshift hesitation powering out of corners.
The dual pinion rack electric power steering offered a direct feel with precise feedback that loaded up nicely in turns. The 11.8-inch front/11.3-inch rear disc brakes offered good pedal bite high up, decent stops with minimal nose dive. There was no fade after some repeated hard use, controllable enough so there was no ABS chatter in hard stops.
There’s a video rearview mirror with a crisp, wide-screen view. The seat bottom vibrates left, right or in back when lane-keep assist/lane departure warning sensors react to lane lines or a curb near you, even when people walk behind or next to you in a parking lot.
A base Chevrolet Equinox LT FWD starts at $31,295; our RS AWD based at $31,600, with rear park assist and, 19-inch carbon flash metallic machined-face aluminum wheels standard. Options include the $1,495 moonroof, and $1,195 tech package with inductive charger, surround-view camera and more – final price $35,685.
Bottom line: The recent redesign still holds up with a bit more edge in RS mode. The well-designed interior has lots of room. It’s a pleasant family commuter. A hint more power would be nice.
2027 Chevrolet Equinox RS AWD Specifications
Vehicle type – 5-passenger compact crossover SUV
Base price – $31,600 ($35,685 as tested)
Engine type – Turbocharged DOHC 16-valve cast aluminum block inline-4
Displacement – 1.5 liter
Horsepower (net) – 175 @ 5,600 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 203 @ 2,000 – 4,000 rpm
Transmission – 8-speed automatic with manual shifting
Wheelbase – 107.5 inches
Overall length – 183.2 inches
Overall width – 74.9 inches
Height – 65.4 inches
Front headroom – 38.2 inches
Front/rear legroom – n/a
Second row headroom – 37.8 inches
Cargo capacity – 29.8 cu. ft./63.5 w/2nd row folded
Towing – up to 1,500 lbs.
Curb weight – 3,428 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 15.6 gallons
Mileage rating – 25 mpg city/29 mpg highway
Towing – up to 1,500 lbs.
Curb weight – 3,428 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 15.6 gallons
Mileage rating – 25 mpg city/29 mpg highway