2010 Chevy Equinox Loaded With Family-Friendly Features
Sep 22 2009 by Sherrice Gilsbach
The redesigned 2010 Chevrolet Equinox is a versatile five-seat crossover that could wear the title of mom-mobile proudly. With a stylish exterior and a comfy family-friendly interior, the Equinox gave me one “wow” moment after another during my day with it.
The exterior is sharp-looking, but the interior really caught my eye. It’s comfortable and stylish, and it has tons of available features to ease your fears of family travel (who doesn’t occasionally dread a family road trip). My favorite feature is the dual-screen entertainment system in the second row. Each monitor pops up from the front seats’ seatbacks, which is an improvement over ceiling-mounted varieties that cause my kids to hold their heads at awkward angles when watching a movie on a ceiling-mounted screen.
The rear entertainment system also has separate jacks for video games. One kid could be playing a video game while the other watches a movie. Two wireless headsets come with the system, which means the other passengers don’t have to listen to “Cars” over and over. Of course, if the kids want to compete against each other in a video game, you can always plug the gaming system into the center console, which allows the video to be seen and used on both screens simultaneously. I love the flexibility and affordability — $1,295 — of the optional entertainment system.
The Equinox also has a power liftgate with height adjustment. You can decide how high you want the liftgate to go, so short people won’t have to jump to press the auto-close button on the liftgate. Where has this feature been for all of my life? The Equinox has a backup camera, and its display can be seen in the rearview mirror or on the navigation display, if you opt for the available navigation system.
The four-cylinder Equinox — there’s also a V-6 model — gets an EPA-estimated 32 mpg on the highway. That’s a 33 percent reduction in fuel consumption over the previous-generation Equinox, according to Chevy. Wow! It gets 22 mpg in the city. The four-cylinder model with all-wheel drive gets 22/29 mpg city/highway.
This crossover has a lot of cubbies. If you decide to skip the navigation system, you’ll get an especially handy storage cubby that pops up on the dashboard.
One of my biggest wows came from the Equinox’s affordable starting price of $22,440. I’m looking forward to putting the Equinox through its paces during a MotherProof.com test drive with the kids in tow.
User Comments
The 2010 Chevy Equinox is the best small suv out there now. It blows away the Honda CR-V, and Toyota Rav-4. Go check it out yourself. Best rear leg room in the segment, best fit and finish in the segment, and 20% better mileage—32MPG Hwy! Its a beautiful, well made vehicle, that is selling at over twice the rate of the model that it replaced. Highly recommended!!
I have a Chevy Equinox and I have had soooo many problems with it since day one. Problems with the entire electrical system, brakes, ignition, air conditioning, and the list goes on. I have spent thousands of dollars and many hours fighting with GM. In the end GM refused to stand behind their product and I was left with the bills. Just one of those repairs was $2,000!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder they are sinking. Please don’t make the same mistake I did.