Will you pay for the same three major items for cost-effectiveness? Test drive Chevrolet's new Equinox

At the beginning of the article, I would like to ask you a question: Do you mind the brand of the same three major items? Only pay for value for money? If you like, you might as well read on, maybe this is the car you want.

In the automotive industry, in order to save development and manufacturing costs. Audi can produce products on the same platform as Volkswagen. Although the Germans do not have many platforms, they have a lot of engines. Even for models on the same platform, there is a big gap in engines. When it comes to Americans, in order to create different brand models according to different users, General Motors has given three options: Cadillac, Buick, and Chevrolet. Cadillac focuses on luxury, Buick focuses on light luxury, and Chevrolet focuses on cost-effectiveness. Although there are some differences between the three brands in terms of interior materials and workmanship, the differences in chassis, gearboxes and engines are minimal. Take the new Equinox that we are test driving this time, which has just completed its mid-term facelift. It is almost the same model as the Buick Envision, but the price difference between the two models is as high as 40,000 yuan. . So is this car worth buying? We'll find out once we try it.

Hard-core appearance is more beautiful

What we tested this time was the 2021 Chevrolet Equinox 550T RS four-wheel drive intelligent defending version, which is the top version. car model. As a mid-term facelift model, some details have been adjusted in terms of appearance; among them, the center grille on the front face has been changed to a rectangular design with an active air intake grille function, making it appear more hard-core. The headlight set has also been replaced with a new split design, and the original fog light position on the lower side of the front face has been changed to black decoration to highlight the sporty feel of the vehicle.

There are not many changes in the body. The overall dimensions are 4646/1843/1684 (1688) mm in length, width and height respectively, and the wheelbase is 2725mm. This size also has certain advantages compared with competing products. The biggest attraction of the Explorer is its layered wavy waistline and hidden D-pillar design, which make it highly three-dimensional and recognizable. In addition, the test drive model is also equipped with black-painted multi-spoke wheels, which also adds a lot of sportiness, and the tires are the Yucheng series SUV-specific tires from Goodyear, the size is 235/55R19, this tire is the main Quiet, energy-saving and high grip.

The new Equinox has also not changed much in the shape of the rear of the car, mainly in the lower surround. Some changes have been made based on the new bilateral quadruple crater chrome-plated exhaust tailpipes at the rear of the car. . At the same time, a new design has been carried out on the internal shape of the taillights, using a wing-type LED taillight to increase the three-dimensionality of the tail.

Rich configurations focus on cost-effectiveness

Although the appearance has changed a lot, the Explorer did not give us too many surprises in the interior, which is basically consistent with the old model. The center console still uses Chevrolet's family-style flying-wing dual-cockpit design. In order to widen the gap with Envision, more hard plastic materials are used. But fortunately, the one we test drove was the RS version, so it was equipped with RS-specific designs such as red handmade double stitching, a black bowtie LOGO on the steering wheel, and an exclusive RS glowing red logo on the gear lever, making the atmosphere in the car more sporty and exciting.

In the choice of instrument panel, Explorer adheres to the traditional style of mechanical instruments + a large number of physical buttons. Some consumers may think that this lacks a sense of technology, but in my opinion, it is precisely the existence of these physical buttons and pointers that makes blind operations possible and makes operations more ritualistic.

No matter how cool the car system is, in my opinion, CarPlay is the most perfect. As an American car, the Equinox is of course standard on all series. All Equinox models are equipped with an 8-inch central touch screen as standard, providing Type-C and other USB interfaces, supporting CarPlay/CarLife, Bluetooth and other connection methods, and built-in navigation, entertainment music, news information, real-time weather, and traffic. Application functions such as life and information query support OTA remote online upgrades, personalized accounts, WeChat teaming and other functions. In addition, front seat heating/ventilation, dual-zone automatic air conditioning, PM2.5 air filtration system, ANC active noise reduction, BOSE sound system, etc. are also equipped.

Value for money has always been Chevrolet's main focus, so in terms of comfort configuration, except for the lowest model, all Equinox models are equipped with electric-adjustable leather seats as standard. The panoramic sunroof function that we Chinese consumers are more concerned about is on the Explorer. Except for the small-sized sunroof on the lowest model, it is also standard on other models. It is also worth mentioning that the Equinox not only has good rear space, but also has a good large space when the rear seats are folded down. Even if there is a need to tow cargo, it can also meet the need for practicality. Very high.

Driving in various road conditions with ease

In terms of power, the new Equinox, like the Envision, offers two sets of power options, 1.5T and 2.0T. The maximum power of the 1.5T model is 119kW (162PS). The 2.0T model we tested this time is equipped with a 9-speed automatic manual transmission, with a maximum power of 174kW (237PS) and a maximum torque of 350Nm. Such book data is indeed very advantageous among competing models.

This 2.0T engine has new technologies such as intelligent Tripower three-stage cylinder change technology, 35MPa gasoline direct injection, ATM thermal management system and variable displacement oil pump, which is more suitable for urban road fuel economy. According to official data, the acceleration performance of the new Explorer 2.0T model is 7.9S per 100 kilometers, while the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is 6.9L.

When we drive this car on the road and step on the accelerator deeply, we can find that the overall performance of this 9AT is relatively lazy, not so active in shifting gears, but ensuring high speed to give you more The opportunity for overtaking brings good acceleration results to this car. In fact, this gearbox is still very good in daily city driving. As long as you don't deliberately step on the accelerator, it can still give you a good continuous experience. After all, as an urban SUV model, it has more It still gives you lower fuel consumption performance.

Although the car looks larger and the sitting position is relatively high, the turning radius of 5.7 meters can still give people good precision and finesse in steering. There is still a big gap between this and the new Envision S. Obviously the Envision S has become softer and more blurred for comfort, but the Chevrolet Equinox is different. Precision and movement are still synonymous with it.

These also come from the excellent chassis tuning of the Chevrolet Equinox. The Equinox is equipped with a front MacPherson + rear multi-link independent suspension system, using a load-bearing body structure. The chassis of the new Chevrolet Equinox has a clear road feel and can clearly convey the road conditions to the inside of the car. The entire suspension system can still give people a sense of toughness, especially when cornering at high speeds. The lateral support is very good. Compared with higher-level double-wishbone suspensions, this kind of chassis tuning is not inferior. too much.

Because it is a top-of-the-line model, our test car is equipped with a timely intelligent four-wheel drive system. You only need to press the AWD button in front of the gear lever to activate the four-wheel drive system. When the front wheels slip, this The intelligent four-wheel drive system can respond quickly within 0.2 seconds, achieving a torque distribution of up to 50:50 between the front and rear wheels, improving the vehicle's ability to get out of trouble and driving stability on low-adhesion roads, which also allows you to face most low-intensity road conditions. In complex road conditions, you can gain better ability to get out of trouble.

Buy a better car for less money

In order to face different consumer markets, General Motors Group has created three brands. Although the shells are different, GM's kindness has given Chevrolet ultra-high configurations, which also makes the Equinox more cost-effective. In fact, for most ordinary consumers, luxury brands such as BBA have now become popular, and it is not a wise choice to choose a car based on brand premium and other people's eyes. Today's Chevrolet models are not only rich in configurations, but also have some of the same power as Cadillacs, and the price and discounts are far better than other competing models. This Explorer is enough to meet most of your needs. Why not buy a more practical model with less money?

This article is an original test drive article from a new car review. Please do not reprint it without permission. Search "New Car Reviews" on major platforms to get more original new car information. Thanks for reading, welcome to forward, like and comment.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.