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Equinox night and day apart from Tracker

Chevrolet found a simple way to offer the biggest compact sport-utility vehicle in the industry–by replacing its compact Tracker with a midsize ’05 Equinox and calling it a compact.

Those Chevy folks are no dummies.

Chevy general manager Brent Dewar feels increasing the size of the compact SUV will increase Chevrolet’s share of the segment.

Dewar envisions sales of 100,000 Equinox for calendar ’04, a considerable improvement over Tracker’s 35,000 sales for ’03. Tracker production was halted in January, though some still remain in dealer inventory.

Dewar is aiming for annual sales of 150,000-160,000 for Equinox because that’s what the Ford Escape and Jeep Liberty are each doing now and he wants Equinox to be the leader in a segment that accounts for 1.5 million sales each year.

“Equinox, along with our new Malibu and Malibu Maxx will put us on the road to reaching our target of 3 million sales,” Dewar said in an interview.

Chevy sold 2.6 million cars and trucks in ’03 and hasn’t reached the 3 million mark since 1979.

Equinox, which is now arriving in showrooms, is offered in front-drive or on-demand all-wheel-drive versions. On-demand means that it operates in front-drive until wheel slippage is detected and then all wheels engage automatically to ensure control.

Equinox also is offered in LS or top-of-the-line LT trim. We tested the ’05 Equinox LT with AWD.

Equinox is considerably larger than Tracker. It’s built on a 112-inch wheelbase and is 189 inches long. That’s a 15-inch longer wheelbase and 26-inch greater length than Tracker.

But Equinox’s wheelbase is only 1 inch less and overall length only 2 inches less than a midsize TrailBlazer.

The reason Equinox is so much larger is that it’s built off the same platform as the Saturn Vue sport-utility.

The large size is nice, but the attraction is price. The cheapest front-drive Equinox starts at $20,995 plus $565 freight. The lowest priced two-wheel-drive Chevy TrailBlazer LS starts at $27,420, plus $685 in freight.

So there’s about an $8,000 spread between the two, ample motivation to check out an Equinox.

Also good reason, one GM executive confided, to watch how TrailBlazer fares considering the new lower-priced alternative.

Pricing gets people into the showroom, but it takes noteworthy features to get them to reach for the checkbook.

The on-demand all-wheel-drive benefits those who live in the Snow Belt because it provides front-drive fuel economy on dry roads yet all-wheel-drive security on snowy pavement.

Only drawback is that there’s no low gear setting so it’s not meant for serious off-roading, unless your off-roading is pulling onto the shoulder to get to the mailbox.

Equinox is powered by a peppy, though at times loud at takeoff, 3.4-liter, 185-h.p. V- 6 teamed with a 5-speed automatic. No 4-cylinder like many of the rivals in the segment. The mileage rating is 19 m.p.g. city/25 m.p.g. highway, even better than the 18/20 rating on the Tracker that came with a 2.5-liter, 165-h.p. V-6.

Ride was sufficiently cushioned to keep road harshness to a minimum. And there wasn’t excessive body lean to force you to back off the throttle in corners.

Handling benefited from the all-wheel-drive along with the addition of optional ($295) 17-inch all-season radials with very good road grip.

Thanks to the larger dimensions, the cabin is roomy and comfortable and you have much more stretch room than you would in a Tracker or most any other compact SUV.

Chevy devoted attention to detail in the cabin. The second-row seat, as in the Malibu Maxx hatchback sedan, can be moved forward against the front seats to expand cargo capacity or moved back to give passengers unusually spacious legroom. The seat slides 8 inches. /p>

When you slide the second-row seat forward, a large plastic cover attached to the back of the seat covers the opening between the seat and the cargo hold so that nothing slips down out of sight or out of reach. Nice touch.

And the seat can hold three child safety seats.

The cargo hold is ample and if more space is needed the second-row seat backs fold as well as the front passenger seat back.

Or you can take advantage of the parcel shelf.

As in the Malibu Maxx, the solid shelf has a variety of settings so you can pile items on it at floor level or raise it and place items underneath as well as on top. It’s lipped so items don’t slide off.

Or you can slide the shelf out, pull out the leg attached underneath, slip the leg into the hatchlid locking mechanism, and you have a table for the roadside picnic or tailgate party.

While built off the same platform as the Saturn Vue, Equinox doesn’t come with a pair of gallon milk-jug holders in the cargo floor like Vue does. So when you picnic or tailgate, bring a cooler.

Other nice touches are storage bins under the center console armrest, including coin/tissue/cassette holders; netted holders along either side of the center console that can be used to secure purses, though the purses better be small; stowage trays built into each rear wheel well in the cargo hold with nets to keep contents secure; plastic grocery bag holders on the back of the parcel shelf/table top; and a light, easy-to-open/close hatchback lid.

The AWD LT starts at $24,335 and comes standard with dual-stage front air bags whose deployment speed is based on force of impact; power windows, door locks, mirrors, and rear window wiper/washer; four-wheel anti-lock brakes; air conditioning; AM/FM stereo with CD player; cruise control; carpeted mats; tinted glass; and body colored bumpers, luggage rails, and door handles.

The test vehicle came with a $550 package that included leather-wrapped steering wheel, auto-dimming inside mirror with outside temp/compass reading and a six-way power driver’s seat. Only item needed in this package is the power driver’s seat, which, unfortunately, is not a stand-alone option.

The sport-ute was finished in a “laser blue” metallic finish that looks cheap and ran $165.

Take the $715 saved by not adding these options and apply it instead to the $595 optional sunroof–and have money left.

For $135 you can upgrade the audio system to get AM/FM stereo with CD and MP3 player and for $395 you can get front/rear side-curtain air bags.

Be cautious with the options if you want to take advantage of the $8,000 spread between the TrailBlazer.

TEST DRIVE

2005 Chevrolet Equinox AWD LT

Wheelbase: 112 inches

Length: 189 inches

Engine: 3.4-liter, 185-h.p. V-6

Transmission: 5-speed automatic

Fuel economy: 19 m.p.g. city/25 m.p.g. highway

Base price: $24,335

Price as tested: $27,200. Includes $550 for option package SD with leather-wrapped steering wheel, auto-dimming inside mirror with temperature/compass and six-way power seat; $545 for light cashmere leather seating surfaces; $335 for XM satellite radio; $295 for 17-inch radials; $165 for laser blue metallic paint; $135 for AM/FM stereo with CD and MP3 player; and $820 for OnStar emergency communication system. Add $565 for freight.

Pluses: All-wheel-drive. Second-row seat moves forward or backward by 8 inches for extra cargo or leg room. Cargo-hold parcel shelf doubles as table. Three-across second-row seating for child safety seats. Peppy V-6. More affordable than TrailBlazer. A sensible replacement for Tracker with far better room, comfort, ride, handling and performance.

Minuses: Watch your option choices if you want to keep it priced under TrailBlazer. V-6 just a tad noisy at times.