2005 Chevrolet Equinox consumer reviews

My vehicle is a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox, LT, FWD. No question that it is a very attractive SUV, and very roomy. In comparison to the Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, Toyota RAV4, and Honda CRV, the Equinox looks huge. So I decided to purchase it for my wife. However, after owning it for six months, I began to regret my purchase. No one can argue that GM products are inferior to Toyota and Honda, so why didn?t I purchase a Honda or Toyota? Price was the main problem. When I saw what I could get with the Equinox, it was a bargain. Now, let?s start with the engine: The Equinox has a 3.4 V6, and produces a weak 185 horsepower. Part of this goes to the fact that this engine is a 2-valve per cylinder, overhead valve engine (OHV)?an old engine by today?s standards. A sophisticated engine has 4 valves per cylinder and is of Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC). The Equinox engine is NOT sophisticated in anyway, but overall, it performs fairly well, and the average driver will not be able to tell the difference between an OHV engine and a DOHC engine?but I can. The Equinox engine runs out of breath by about 5200 rpm, sometimes not enough to pass cars at 70 mph. Now, let?s talk about the suspension. The Equinox has a poorly controlled suspension, where I feel every bump and expansion joint come through. It also rocks side-to-side over minor road imperfections. And, make no mistake, the Equinox is not a nimble SUV, in fact, it is very cumbersome to drive in crowded urban areas and parking lots. It?s just too big?although I must add that this is the largest vehicle I have ever driven. You can see that I come from modern small cars with sophisticated engines, ala, Honda and Toyota. Perhaps Honda and Toyota have changed my mind as to what all cars should be like? Now, for the problems with the brakes I had. By about 25,000 miles, the brake pads began to make a horrible grinding noise when coming to a stop. So I simply replaced the pads and re-surfaced the rotors, and wala, the problem is fixed. I would suggest purchasing a good high quality set of brake pads to avoid this problem. Other than that, I have not had any problems YET, after all, GM?s are known for having reliability problems. We?ll wait and see. Overall, my my suggestion is to avoid the Equinox and get a Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4. The Equinox is okay for the average driver, but needs improvements.

Avoid this vehicle. Many problems requiring lengthy dealerhip down time. Just buy a Honda or Toyota small SUV and avoid the hassle.

I bought the Equinox to be able to pull my 1500 lb. boat, and hopefully get good enough MPG for a 100 mile round trip to work. It pulls the boat with ease. I like the V6 and 5 speed automatic combination. I like the Chevy truck look. Power is decent, and the smooth ride is car like. It has a huge back seat. I don't like the response from the steering, which seems to have a huge turning radius for a compact SUV, and wind the noise seems a bit excessive. The seat fabric also stains very easily and is hard to clean. I have been disappointed with the MPG, which even with mostly easy highway driving is consistently 20-22 MPG. Not bad, but not the 25 I expected. So far, the only problem was rear wheel bearings, which became noisy and were replaced under warranty at 25,000 miles. Overall, I like the vehicle and would recommend it.