2025 Chevy Equinox First Drive: Updated Where It Matters Most

• The 2025 Chevy Equinox gets a full redesign with a fresh appearance and enhanced tech.
• There’s a new off-road-ish Activ trim.
• The Equinox Activ comes with a specifically tuned suspension and all-terrain tires.

The best-looking Equinox to date

The old Equinox was fine, just in dire need of a refresh; its tech was outdated and its styling was soulless. For 2025, the Equinox sports a new look akin to other modern Chevrolet models. The truck-inspired styling undeniably gives the Equinox a bold appearance and makes it more noticeable on the road. You can immediately see Equinox's extra bulk — it's 2.5 inches wider overall, complemented by a larger grille and squared-off wheel wells. Overall, it's a good look.

This time around, Chevy will offer the Equinox in three trims — LT, RS and Activ — all of which have unique front fascias. Depending on grade, 17-inch or 19-inch wheels come standard, and 20-inch wheels are optional on the RS. All-season tires are standard, but if you get the Activ, its 17s come wrapped in legit General Grabber all-terrain rubber. The Activ also stands out with its black badges and no-cost-extra two-tone paint scheme.

A cabin full of refinements

The Equinox's cabin design largely mimics what you'll find in the Blazer EV and Equinox EV, with an 11-inch digital instrument cluster and 11.3-inch central infotainment screen — a huge improvement over the puny 7-inch screen in the old SUV. Don't fret, there are still physical climate controls below the center display. And thankfully, unlike Chevy's EVs, the gas-powered Equinox still includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its tech roster.

Chevrolet brings turbine-style vents to the Equinox's dashboard, giving the whole front setup more space and a modern feel. A pleasing alteration in the new Equinox is the placement of the gear selector — it's a column stalk. You will still find a knob on the center console of the RS and Activ trims, but this one is for the drive modes: Normal, Off-Road and Snow. This shift in placement — no pun intended — opens up more storage space in the center console, which is quite nice. Speaking of nice, I like the standard six-speaker audio system, as well as the updated materials throughout the interior.

The Equinox will now offer more standard safety and driver assistance technology than before. The standard Chevy Safety Assist suite includes automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert, front pedestrian and bicyclist braking, and lane keeping assistance with lane departure warning. Making this all standard gives the Equinox a great competitive advantage in the compact SUV class.

A smooth driving experience

I was able to sample all three of the Equinox's trim levels in and around Minneapolis, Minnesota. The turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine from before carries over, though the previous six-speed automatic transmission ceases to exist. Front-wheel-drive models now use a continuously variable transmission, while all-wheel-drive variants get a new eight-speed automatic.

Regardless of transmission, the 1.5T produces 175 horsepower, but while FWD variants offer 185 lb-ft of torque, opting for AWD gets you a slight boost to 203 lb-ft. Adding all-wheel drive doesn't drastically affect fuel economy either. Front-drive models are rated at 27 mpg combined (26 city/28 highway), and AWD only reduces those figures to 26 mpg combined (24 city/29 highway).

The CVT had some of that rubber-band feeling during my test drive, but it put down sufficient power to let the Equinox cruise comfortably. The eight-speed automatic, meanwhile, shifted seamlessly and really seemed to be better matched with the turbo engine. Suspension tuning for both LT and RS models is the same, and I didn't notice any differences during my drive. The Activ, the suspension is intentionally dialed back to be a bit softer, and the Equinox was much bouncier over road imperfections. The all-terrain tires also contributed to the spongy ride, not to mention higher noise levels inside the cabin. None of this is out of character for the Activ, just something to note if you're buying it based on looks alone.

The Activ is not intended for any extreme off-roading, but it'll get you farther off the beaten path than the standard LT or RS models will. On a gravel road, I switched the Equinox into its Off-Road mode and put my foot down. The change in performance was noticeable; the SUV really does loosen up. As soon I hit my first fast turn, the Equinox’s rear end kicked out. This little bit of off-road drifting was so satisfying. Every bump I encountered on the dirt road was absorbed gracefully and the Activ was perfectly poised on this rougher stretch of road. It's no off-roader, but the Equinox Activ proved to be quite a bit of fun.

Continued success

The 2025 Equinox will go on sale before the end of the year, priced from $29,995 for the front-wheel-drive LT trim, which includes the $1,395 destination charge. The top-dog all-wheel-drive Activ will set you back $36,395, with other trim levels falling between those high and low points.

Does the Chevy Equinox reinvent the wheel? No. But it doesn't need to. Instead, Chevy improved upon the Equinox's weak points to deliver a more refined, tech-packed SUV than before. The Equinox has always been a success story for Chevrolet, and the 2025 model doesn't look to change that streak.