I drove a $40,000 Chevrolet Equinox. It’s a well-designed SUV — but a weak engine holds it back.

I was impressed by the new Equinox’s handsome styling, good tech content, and well-designed passenger cabin.

I was disappointed by the Equinox’s lackluster powertrain and limited cargo capacity.

The base front-wheel-drive Equinox LT starts at $28,600, while the range-topping all-wheel-drive Activ and RS trims start at $35,000.

Fees and nearly $4,000 worth of optional luxury and technology features pushed the Mexico-made SUV’s as-tested price to $40,370.

Like other recent additions to the Chevy’s SUV lineup, the Equinox’s exterior design was heavily inspired by the brand’s pickup trucks.

The most striking element of Equinox’s new look is its front facia, which is dominated by a large, wide grille flanked on both sides by LED headlights with thin horizontal running lights up top.

At 183.2 inches long, the Equinox is roughly the same length as the Nissan Rogue but about 1.5 inches shorter than the Honda CR-V and three inches shorter than the Mazda CX-50.

The Chevrolet Equinox’s only engine option is a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that carries over from the previous generation.

The motor, which produces 175 horsepower and 203 lb-ft of torque, is mated to a new eight-speed automatic transmission on all-wheel-drive equipped models. Front-wheel-drive Equinox’s get a continuously variable transmission.

The EPA rated my Equinox RS AWD test car at 24 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined. Front-wheel drive variants get one extra MPG in combined driving.

These figures fall short of the all-wheel-drive Honda CR-V and Nissan Rogue’s fuel economy ratings of 28 mpg and 31 mpg, respectively.

How was the Equinox to drive?

Let’s start with the good part. It rode exceptionally well, successfully cushioning rough roads without feeling floaty. It also handled corners with relative ease.

But all of that good work was undone by the truly lackluster performance of its drive train.

Even with fairly smooth shifts from GM’s Hydra-Matic eight-speed automatic, stepping on the gas pedal usually results in some intrusive engine noise but not much else. You can feel the little four-cylinder’s 175 ponies trying their hardest to drag along the 3,600-lb SUV, but the Equinox is just woefully underpowered.

This was particularly evident when merging onto the highway or tackling mountain roads in the foothills of the Appalachians.

According to Motor Trend, the 2025 Equinox can make the run from 0 to 60 mph in a leisurely 9.2 seconds. This was the slowest of the nearly three dozen vehicles I tested this year.

Chevrolet did a good job with the Equinox’s interior. Cabin ergonomics are excellent, with intuitively placed controls, a good balance between physical and digital controls, and oodles of useful storage.

There’s also a good mix of different materials and textures, with red accents to add a pop of color to the cabin.

The red turbine-design air vents that felt out of place in the Blazer EV add an interesting visual element.

The Google-based infotainment system is highly responsive, smartly designed, and a piece of cake to navigate. Built-in Google Maps gives Chevy one of the best integrated navigation systems around.

The Equinox also comes standard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

My test car also came with the optional 360-degree surround-vision camera.

Also in front of the driver is a configurable 11-inch digital instrument display that comes standard on all trims. The display looks great and can be tailored to show traditional gauges, active driver’s assistance features, and Google Maps.

It was a $1,495 optional extra.

The black seats, upholstered in an imitation leather called Evotex, feature attractive red accents and RS-branded headrests.

With 39.9 inches of legroom, the Equinox’s rear cabin is larger than the Mazda CX-50 and Toyota RAV4’s but trails the Nissan Rogue and Honda CR-V.

The rear seat passenger in my test car had heated outboard seats, dedicated AC vents, and USB sockets.

The Equinox’s cargo compartment is half a cubic foot larger than the Mazda CX-50 but roughly five cubic feet smaller than the Honda CR-V and a whopping 9 cubic feet smaller than the Hyundai Tucson.

When the rear seat is folded flat, cargo capacity expands to 63.5 cubic feet. Under the rear cargo floor, there’s also a small storage area and a spare tire.

Additional features like traffic sign recognition and rear pedestrian alert are available as optional extras.

Chevrolet came so close to excellence with the 2025 Equinox. They nailed the styling, the interior, and the tech. But alas, the engine. No modern compact SUV can make do with just 175 horsepower. Even the similarly sized 1999 Chevy Blazer from a quarter century ago had 190 ponies. I recognize the importance of fuel economy standards in the decision-making process, but Equinox cries out for more power.

Fix the engine and you truly unleash the potential of the Equinox.