The American giant GM has come up with 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, an SUV which has excellent quality and a high economy. The Equinox also does not compromise with style or performance. These facts simply means that the Equinox is all set to give Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Volkswagen Tiguan a run for their money. The 2010 Equinox’s main highlight is its 22 mpg on the city and 32 mpg on highway. It has 25 percent improvement over its previous model, and an even better city / highway mileage than most of its rivals.
The Chevy Equinox’s base engine is 182-hp, 2.4-litre direct fuel-injected 4-cylinder. If you belong to a category that strive for power rather than economy then do not worry, there is another model as well. That has a 3.0-liter, direct injection V-6 engine which generates 264 horsepower. It also offers a decent city/highway mileage of 17/25 mpg. Both engines come with a six-speed automatic transmission and an optional AWD. The DI 2.4-liter with FWD also returns a workable 8.7 second, 0-60 MPH time.
The Equinox’s styling is largely influenced by the new Chevy Malibu sedan and the Traverse large crossover. It gets thoroughly updated on everything, especially the front end and the grille which GM calls the new face of the Chevrolet. The two-tier grille has Chevy’s golden-colour bowtie badge in the middle. The new features also include the wraparound headlights and the twin round taillights. The design has doors integrated with rocker panels that prevent pants from getting dirty by loam on the rocker panels. It also provides an easier entry and exit. The flush-fitting windshield and rear-glass help Equinox to reduce wind noise and speed through the highways. The Equinox has comfortable steering which provides better handling than one would expect from a SUV.The interior has seating for up to five. There is ample leg and knee room for the comfortable front bucket-seats and the rear-bench. Even more leg room can be given to the rear passengers by moving the rear seats backward or forward. It also increases cargo space by about eight inches. So a total cargo area of 31.4 cubic-feet can be achieved. The standard safety features includes automatic accident reporting, front seat-mounted side air-bags, roof mounted side-curtain air-bags in the rows, traction control, electronic stability and anti-lock disc brakes on all wheels. It also features a rear-view camera system aiding busy parking. Other features include USB audio support, Bluetooth phone connectivity, a DVD entertainment system in the rear and an XM satellite radio.
The new Equinox comes in 4 trim levels. They are the base LS, mid level 1LT & 2LT and the top of the line LTZ. Prices range from $22,440 for the LS model with front-wheel-drive, to $29,795 for the LTZ model with all-wheel-drive. The LS model for $24,150 must be a decent pick.
Source: www.nitrobahn.com
