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The plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt is fascinating. But it isn’t the product that will revive General Motors.

That task will fall to substantially more affordable and accessible models, such as this week’s subject vehicle, the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox LT.

The Equinox, a compact crossover utility vehicle, is in a brutally competitive segment occupied by the likes of the Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4 and the increasingly popular Nissan Rogue. It is the money zone of today’s U.S. automobile market — the place that families and empty nesters are turning to for mobile utility, comfort, reliability, safety, infotainment and fuel economy.

Put another way, the segment for compact crossover utility models — today’s station wagons — is the middle class on wheels. Where it goes largely will determine the direction of the automobile industry . . . and the success or failure of the new General Motors.

In that regard, on a personal note, it is no secret that I’ve long been a strong GM supporter. I make no apologies for that stand.

I’ve backed GM because I’ve spent 25 years studying the company. I know its many and well-reported flaws. I also know its many and largely underreported strengths.

Chief among GM’s strengths is the creativity of its people. GM’s biggest error was squandering that asset in pursuit of market share via cost cutting in vehicle design and production, and then dumping the resulting dross on the market with sales incentives.

GM nearly 15 years ago chose to end that foolishness and rededicate itself to designing and producing quality vehicles. But that decision had a hellacious time, including a quick trip through bankruptcy, becoming rubber-on-road reality. Despite the recent introduction of top-notch competitive products — cars such as the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu — the new GM struggled to emerge from the punishing, negative perceptions of the old.

But it’s time for those old perceptions to be put aside. Anyone doubting that should take a drive in the new Chevrolet Equinox. Then journey to your Honda, Toyota and Nissan dealers and take comparison drives in the Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4 and Nissan Rogue.

I’ve driven all four models. My assessment:

— The new Equinox looks better than its three rivals inside and out. Overall interior layout is the best, especially in the presentation of climate, sound and hazard-warning controls on the center-mounted instrument console.

— Honda has the best cabin materials in reference to the texture of vinyl and other materials on items such as instrument panels.

— The new Equinox has more standard equipment for the money, including the OnStar emergency telecommunications system, which could be a lifesaver in a crash. In my book, that also means the new Equinox has the best overall safety in the compact crossover utility segment.

— All four rivals driven for this column were equipped with four-cylinder engines, although both GM and Toyota offer optional V-6 power plants in their compact crossovers. But among the four-cylinder jobs, the Equinox offers the best combined city-highway fuel economy at 26 miles per gallon.

— The Honda CR-V arguably has the best vehicle handling, the way it tracks around curves and precision displayed in changing lanes at high speeds. But the Equinox is pretty close behind the CR-V, topping the Toyota Rav4 and acing the Nissan Rogue.

— Utility, or the ability to handle and carry loads, for all four models is comparable. You can load them and go. But their compact size allows you to park them with relative ease in the city, too.

Comparing the Equinox with its Japanese rivals is something I would not have dreamed of doing years ago. Back then, the Equinox was so far behind the CR-V and Rav4, it was laughable.

That was then. This is now. If you are shopping for a compact crossover utility model and you fail to give the new Equinox an open-minded review, you are cheating yourself.