2005 Chevrolet Equinox

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$21,320

starting MSRP

2005 Chevrolet Equinox

Key specs

Base trim shown

Overview

The good:

  • Interior space and versatility
  • Ride comfort
  • Automatic-transmission response
  • Availability of AWD

The bad:

  • Mediocre handling
  • Engine noise
  • Unappealing cockpit layout
  • Visibility
  • Uncertain construction quality

3 trims

Starting msrp listed lowest to highest price

  • Base

  • LS

    $21,320

  • LT

    $23,035

Wondering which trim is right for you?

Our 2005 Chevrolet Equinox trim comparison will help you decide.

Notable features

  • Largest vehicle in its class
  • FWD or AWD
  • Five-speed automatic
  • Passenger and cargo-area versatility
  • Variety of option choices

2005 Chevrolet Equinox review: Our expert's take

By

A Station Wagon in Disguise

The auto industry could save itself marketing headaches and money by firmly embracing station wagons.

Consider the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. Although it is sold as a small SUV, it actually is nothing of the sort. That also can be said of Equinox rivals such as the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Saturn VUE, Ford Escape and Jeep Liberty — all of which have abandoned body-on-frame, truck-based architecture in pursuit of ride and handling more akin to family wagons and sedans.

Like the Equinox, this week’s test vehicle, all have lighter, unitized construction in which the vehicle’s body, floor pan and chassis form a single rigid structure. Such design most often is used in cars. It is seldom used in full-size pickup trucks or SUVs.

Also, there is the matter of all-wheel drive, which the auto industry, for marketing purposes, deliberately confuses with four-wheel drive. The two are not one and the same.

In all-wheel drive, power is shifted from one wheel to another, most often through electronically controlled transfers, on the basis of algorithmic need — repetitively shifting power from slipping to gripping wheels, for example.

All-wheel drive is good for running through moderate snow, traversing rain-slick highways or rolling over gravel. But no one knowledgeable about driving off-road would dare take an all-wheel-drive vehicle, such as the Equinox or one of its rivals, on a trek over rocks and fallen logs, or across streams or through deep mud.

For that kind of travel, true four-wheel-drive transmissions are needed. Those transmissions have four-wheel low gears to help pull you through the mud and ease your ascents and descents on steep grades. They have locking differentials, thus guaranteeing that power flows to all four wheels simultaneously. They are dedicated, hard-knock, in-the-wild beasts of burden.

Equinox-type vehicles, by comparison, are city-suburban dwellers wearing cowboy and cowgirl outfits at a masquerade ball. Many look like rough, tough trucks. Indeed, Chevrolet seems to have gone out of its way to give the Equinox that persona. But that is just marketing imagery. It is based on the notion that you would smoke a Marlboro cigarette if you thought it manly enough, even though you could die just as quickly from smoking the Virginia Slims cigarettes marketed to women.

It is fundamentally silly stuff. The money and effort invested in selling what isn’t could be better used selling what is.

The Equinox — in base LS or upscale LT trim, in available front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive — is a station wagon; and it is a good, affordably priced, high-utility station wagon at that.

Despite its ruggedly styled exterior, the Equinox is no more aggressive than the mild-mannered Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, another good wagon/hatchback from General Motors Corp. The sedan-derived Malibu Maxx, for that matter, has a more powerful engine than the one installed in the Equinox — a 3.5-liter, 200-horsepower V-6 in the Malibu Maxx versus a standard-for-all-trim-levels 3.4-liter, 185-horsepower V-6 in the Equinox.

That is not to suggest that the Equinox has substandard performance on the highway, or in hauling duties. It is commendably capable in both areas. It accelerates with competence and handles well within the context of its tall body structure and high ground clearance (eight inches above ground for the front-wheel-drive models). It can be equipped to tow up to 3,500 pounds — at the expense of acceleration and handling. The Malibu Maxx, given its lower stance and different architecture, can be equipped to tow up to 1,000 pounds.

Purists would argue that a more sensible comparison would be between the Equinox and its designated market rivals — the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Saturn VUE, Ford Escape and Jeep Liberty. But that would be missing the point: All of hose ersatz compact SUVs are nothing more than station wagons. They should be compared with bona fide wagons such as the Audi A4 Avant, BMW 325i wagon, Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler PT Cruiser and Ford Focus.

It’s a matter of marketing simplicity. The car-based, “compact SUV” and “crossover” and “sport wagon” and “touring” labeling — all nomenclature ruses designed to fool buyers into thinking they are getting something more exotic than a station wagon — is needlessly confusing.

It is past time to start calling these vehicles what they are — wagons. Buyers won’t care as long as they are attractive, affordable, useful wagons, of which the Equinox is one.

Consumer reviews

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 3.9
  • Interior design 3.6
  • Performance 3.7
  • Value for the money 3.7
  • Exterior styling 4.0
  • Reliability 3.6

Most recent consumer reviews

4.6

Still have my '05...

Right now, I still have one! Purchased in '07, as I needed a quick replacement. Dealer said it was a lease trade-in and it only had 19k miles on it. Did some suspension work, and recently had to redo the underside rocker panels; but otherwise the car is original! General Motors outdid themselves in quality with this particular vehicle.

5.0

GREAT EXPERIENCE

Great clean location, Andrew Fitzpatrick was very helpful and positive employee. Got in and out fast and would recommend to EVERYONE looking to buy a new or pre-owned vehicle. I was shocked I got such a great reliable car with NO ACCIDENTS and only one owner, please check them out! Car meets all my needs! No rust, dents or even a scratch!

4.6

A good vehicle.

Body still looks great on outside. Rides good. Seat are good and intacke. Motor sounds awesome. Had to put muffler on , it had rusted out. Has the most miles of any of our cars. Praying it keep on going.

See all 100 consumer reviews

Warranty

New car and Certified Pre-Owned programs by Chevrolet
New car program benefits
Bumper-to-bumper
36 months/36,000 miles
Corrosion
72 months/100,000 miles
Powertrain
36 months/36,000 miles
Roadside assistance
36 months/36,000 miles
Certified Pre-Owned program benefits
Maximum age/mileage
5 model years or newer/up to 75,000 miles
Basic warranty terms
12 months/12,000 miles bumper-to-bumper original warranty, then may continue to 6 years/100,000 miles limited (depending on variables)
Powertrain
6 years/100,000 miles
Dealer certification required
172-point inspection
Roadside assistance
Yes
View all cpo program details

Have questions about warranties or CPO programs?

Compare the competitors

See all 2005 Chevrolet Equinox articles