2025 Chevrolet Equinox Road Test and Review

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

To General Motors, the exciting Chevrolet Equinox is an all-new fully electric model. The new Equinox EV is a futuristic-looking, relatively affordable compact crossover that travels up to 319 miles per charge. Chevy has been selling more than 3,000 electric Equinoxes every month, making it among the most popular non-Tesla EVs on the market. 

But most of GM’s customers still favor a gasoline engine. The gas-powered Equinox – which shares nothing with the EV except its name and approximate size – has four times the sales volume of the electric model. And this gas Equinox benefits from a new redesign to remain relevant in the huge market segment of gas-powered compact crossover SUVs. For this review, we just spent a week testing the redesigned 2025 Chevrolet Equinox, priced from $28,600, to learn more about its pros and cons. Keep reading to find out what the Equinox does well, learn where it comes up short, and decide if it sounds like the right small SUV for you. 

Chunky New Design

The new Chevrolet Equinox borrows its mechanical underpinnings from the previous-generation model, sold from 2018 to 2024. But you’d never know that from looking at it. The old Equinox was classy but understated. The new one adopts a chunkier style that adds personality without being so aggressive that many folks would find it off-putting. 

A more upright front end has slim lights astride a rectangular grille, with bigger headlamps set into the bumper below. Slightly squared-off wheel wells lend it a purposeful appearance, too. The Equinox’s design is confident, with simple lines and details that we think will age well. But it’s less likely than before to get lost in a crowd. 

The new 2025 Equinox is sold in three flavors: the base LT, the sport-themed RS like our test vehicle, and the off-road-themed Activ. The differences among them are subtle, but we like how Chevrolet lets you pick your flavor.  

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Higher-Tech Interior

Inside, the 2024 Equinox had a gently curved dashboard that included a tiny 7-inch touchscreen on its base models and a modest 8-inch unit as its only optional upgrade. The new 2025 model amps up the technology with a standard 11.3-inch touchscreen plus an 11-inch digital gauge cluster. Technophiles don’t need to worry, though, since most functions are also accessible through physical buttons and knobs. 

Like on other recent GM products, the headlight controls are exclusive to the screen – especially annoying if you need to switch them on or off when the Equinox isn’t running. We also found some of the buttons hard to read amid harsh sunlight, where their labels seemed to fade into a sea of black. But the infotainment system itself works well; the Equinox supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration; the gauge cluster is clear and customizable; and it’s easy to operate most controls most of the time. 

The Equinox’s interior is attractively styled and well finished. It uses shiny piano black trim for small accents more than huge swaths, and we appreciate this restraint. The RS includes red accents on the seat and dash. A few materials could be richer and we found a couple of imperfect panel fits. But overall, this cabin is appropriate for the price – especially if you appreciate a good digital experience. 

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Comfortable Seating for Five

The new Equinox is also an agreeable place to sit. There’s plenty of space on well-shaped cushions. And even the base model comes standard with heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. Cloth upholstery and manual seat adjustments are standard on the base LT, while leatherette upholstery and power adjustability are optional on the LT and standard on the RS and Activ. The latter also offer ventilated front seats, memory settings for the power driver’s seat, and heated rear seats. 

The backseat is comfortable and wide enough for three adults. A flat floor makes it easier for whoever’s squeezed into the center position. A few competitors like the Hyundai Tucson and Honda CR-V have even more knee clearance in the back, but anyone should fit fine in this Chevrolet. 

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Useful Cargo Capacity

The Equinox’s cargo hold is also usefully spacious for most folks’ needs. It provides 29.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the backseat, which folds easily to open up at 63.5-cubic-foot space. You’ll also find hidden storage under the cargo floor. Most rival compact crossovers have even more space, though. And there’s a small lip between the cargo floor and the folded rear seatbacks. 

If you need to tow, the 2025 Equinox is rated to handle up to 1,500 pounds. That’s comparable to many competitors and enough for a modest utility trailer, but a few compact crossovers can tow more. 

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Agreeable Ride and Handling

We enjoyed driving the 2025 Equinox. Even with our RS test vehicle’s big 19-inch wheels, it has a comfortable ride that’s not too stiff over bumps. Yet it isn’t too lazy around a corner, either. The suspension remains composed, and while the steering isn’t sports-car sharp, it feels natural. We’d rate the Equinox as one of the better-handling small crossover SUVs, which is all the more impressive given that it also rides well. Curiously, the Equinox’s driving modes don’t include a selectable Sport option; that would have been a low-effort way to inject a bit of extra zip into this car’s handling. Anyone can appreciate the 37-foot turning circle in confined spaces, at least. That's tighter than last year’s model. 

Don’t expect the Activ model to give you much off-road capability, though, even by crossover standards. New this year, the Equinox Activ provides the RS’s high-end equipment but with smaller 17-inch wheels, all-terrain tires, and a reshaped front bumper. It doesn’t add ground clearance, a retuned suspension, underbody skid plates, or additional driving modes (all Equinoxes do include settings for Off-Road and Snow/Ice).

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Nothing Exciting Under the Hood

Some folks won’t love how the Equinox drives if they’re in a hurry. It continues to offer just one engine: a 170-horsepower 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbo. That’s one of the smallest outputs in the compact crossover class. Torque is a more respectable 184 lb-ft with front-wheel drive and 203 lb-ft with all-wheel drive, but keep your expectations realistic. In our experience, the Equinox feels natural when driven gently, but it gets loud when you start to push it harder. And if you really dig in, you quickly reach the limits of its potential. Front-wheel drive Equinoxes use a continuously variable automatic transmission, known as a CVT, while AWD models like our test vehicle use a smooth-shifting eight-speed conventional automatic. 

Unlike most leading competitors, that’s as powerful as the Equinox gets. It continues to do without the optional 2.0-liter turbo or 1.6-liter diesel that were available for a few years on the previous generation. And there’s still no gas-electric hybrid version, either – rival hybrids are not only more economical than base engines, but they're more powerful as well. 

The 2025 Equinox gets an EPA-estimated 26 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway, and 27 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 24 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined with all-wheel drive. That’s on the low side for the class but not disastrously so. And we beat the EPA estimate to average 28 mpg in our AWD test vehicle. 

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Three Flavors of Value

As we mentioned, the Equinox comes in three trim levels: LT ($28,600), RS, and Activ (both $33,000). Front-wheel drive is standard with AWD costing an extra $2,000. That’s not the lowest price in the compact crossover segment, but it’s reasonable given all the standard equipment. In addition to the heated seats and steering wheel and the big infotainment screen we mentioned, the LT also includes 17-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, front and rear automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keeping steering assistance. 

The LT’s optional Convenience Package II, $2,050, adds leatherette, a power driver’s seat, rain-sensing windshield wipers, automatic climate controls, a wireless smartphone charger, and a power liftgate. Throw in $2,000 for AWD, $1,495 for a panoramic moonroof, and a $1,395 destination charge and that’s a nearly loaded SUV – with more features than last year’s Equinox – for $35,540. Other new options include a surround-view parking camera and a rearview camera mirror, part of the $1,085 Safety and Technology Package. (In addition to its new safety features, we also expect the new Equinox to beat its predecessor’s mixed crash-test scores.) 

The RS and Activ have a few exclusive options – bigger wheels, ventilated front seats, memory settings for the driver’s seat, and heated rear seats. Curiously, no 2025 Equinox offers a stereo with more than the standard six speakers. Overall, we’d stick with the LT, but you might pick the others for a bit more personality. And every Equinox is well priced for its class. 

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Equinox’s Top Competitors

The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox faces a host of excellent competitors. It stands up well for its ride, handling, interior comfort, technology, and value for the money. But most rivals beat out its speed, cargo room, and fuel economy. 

One close competitor we especially like is the Nissan Rogue. It excels in the areas where the Equinox struggles while also stacking up well against the Chevy’s best points. But it costs a little more, and some folks will mistrust its complex three-cylinder engine. The Honda CR-V is another well-rounded crossover that costs a bit more. On the value front, the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage offer more room for the money but – like the Equinox – don’t have great acceleration or fuel economy. And the oft-discounted Dodge Hornet delivers spicy performance but not much room or great mileage. 

Perhaps a bigger issue is that most of the competition has an available hybrid powertrain. That’s the CR-V, Tucson, Sportage, and Hornet plus the Ford Escape and Toyota RAV4. Chevy offers a rare all-electric entry in this class (the Equinox EV), but it’s missing these hybrids’ middle ground of low-effort efficiency. 

2024 Nissan Rogue Platinum ・ Photo by Brady Holt

A Worthy Upgrade

The redesigned 2025 Chevrolet Equinox makes the right upgrades to remain competitive in the compact crossover segment. Yet in avoiding costly engineering revisions to the SUV’s engine and other mechanical underpinnings, Chevy was able to keep prices down even as it added new safety, technology, and convenience features. 

As we outlined earlier, the Equinox has some notable downsides that might send you to a competitor – particularly if you could be interested in a fuel-sipping hybrid. But if you liked the old Equinox, or just about any other gas-only compact crossover, you’ll be glad that GM hasn’t forgotten to upgrade this model. 

2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS ・ Photo by Brady Holt