2005 Chevrolet Equinox

With its soft ride, remarkable towing capacity and spacious interior, the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox is a compact truck with a full-size complex.

March 1, 2005

We live in a super-sized world right now. "Bigger is better" is the mantra, echoing in our ears almost from the moment of birth. Whether you're talking about a hamburger, an offensive tackle or an SUV, you can't escape the clich that "size matters." It's enough to give a compact truck a full-size complex, but the designers at Chevy didn't let that stand in their way when they developed the all-new, all-compact, all-SUV Equinox for 2005.

Whether the world's crying out for another compact SUV is a fair question to ask, but even if that isn't the case, Chevy's done a bang-up job of designing and building a compact SUV that delivers a remarkable amount of performance and versatility. The design team started with an automotive chassis instead of a truck frame, so that like a minivan, the Equinox's ride is much softer and car-like than you might expect from a compact SUV. Sure, there are trade-offs as a result of this architectural choice (the Equinox isn't a particularly great off-road vehicle, for example), but these are trades that most SUV drivers won't even realize they're making. All that most Equinox drivers will notice is that the vehicle rides quietly and smoothly on city streets and highways alike.

Drivers will also notice the peppy little 3.4L V6 under the hood. Some will find the engine somewhat lacking in power, especially if you have to deal with steep grades while towing. Others, however, will note that the decent torque rating of 210 pounds/feet gives the Equinox a little burst of acceleration out of the hole that belies its overall "modest" muscle. There's enough beef here to earn a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds, more than enough to handle a couple of PWCs or a small runabout. The fuel economy's not bad, either - 19 city and 25 highway, according to the EPA.

The passenger compartment is where the Equinox really stands apart from the crowd. Regardless of what the manufacturers claim, you don't expect an SUV of this size to be particularly spacious - much less comfortable - for more than two adults and two kids. But some clever design and engineering has given the Equinox a 60-40 second-row seat that can slide forward and aft as much as 8 inches, so you can give the grownups plenty of legroom when you're hauling passengers. If you're hauling gear, slide the seat forward or fold it flat, and you have ample cargo space.

There's a clever, removable shelf in the cargo area as well, back by the lift gate, that effectively adds a couple of cubic feet of usable storage when installed. The shelf even has a little leg so you can use it as a picnic or tailgate party table. Again, it's a very clever design that adds immensely to the Equinox's versatility.
Admittedly, the Equinox isn't a vehicle that would be a first choice for an extended road trip with three or four other adults in the car, but it does a fine job of ferrying that many grown-ups for a few miles, in and around the city. And the car-like architecture keeps a driver and passenger comfortable throughout a several-hour road trip (bonus points for the optional XM satellite radio, which makes that road trip even more enjoyable).

Fully loaded, the Equinox carries a not-too-hefty MSRP of less than $30,000. That's arguably on the high end of this class, but the impact of that sliding rear seat and better-than-expected fuel economy may tip the scales of that argument in favor of the Equinox in many minds.