2010 Chevy Equinox Expected to Get 32 MPG

Today, Chevy announced that its redesigned Equinox crossover is expected to get 32 mpg on the highway. That’s better than the originally predicted 30 mpg, which was a class-leading number itself. City mileage is expected to move up 1 mpg from the previous estimate as well, to 22 mpg. These numbers are for the base, front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder model.

Comparable four-cylinders include the Honda CR-V (20/27 mpg city/highway), Toyota RAV4 (22/28 mpg), Ford Escape (20/28 mpg with an automatic transmission) and Dodge Journey (19/25 mpg).  

Final estimates from the EPA aren’t in yet, but manufacturers don’t usually announce such figures without being confident in their own testing.

The 2010 Chevy Equinox goes on sale this June. The base model will start at $22,440.

Comments

Wow 32 mpg for a car in this segment aint bad. Good to see the Suv/crossovers pulling up their fuel ecomomy. It makes owning these vehicles more appealing.

Please drop what ever you are putting in this thing, into the Malibu.

Sincerely,
Wanting my highway MPG

It doesn't mean anything. My Highlander has 20-27 and avg 22 on the sticker and the most I ever got is 23 mpg and my wife 50/50 driving brings 19.5 at most.
The real world numbers were off in many non-hybrid tests especially for domestics!

Tony:

All vehicles use the same criteria for mileage ratings, it has nothing to do with imports vs domestics. If a vehicle gets a better rating on the EPA cycle it should be more efficient in real life.

The Malibu wont be getting the DI engine for 2010, but maybe it will happen next year. I would think an increase of 2mpg would be reasonable to expect.

Tony,

the idiocy of your statement is solidified with your lack of grammatical control.

Tony, the fuel economy standards have been updated in recent years to give a more reliable number then the system in the past. There were all kinds of tricks that were done with engines/tires etc to give better then real world numbers. I remember Toyota being one of the bigger abusers of the old system based on their before and after numbers before you make any generalizations. I remember cars.com posting an article about it. They are all more on a level playing field. As Original said better EPA numbers will be better real life numbers.

I have said it before within a car range the driving style makes a huge difference. My Impala is rated 18/29 but I regularly get 26 to 27 commuting. A 25 mpg tank is bad for me. Highway trips I get 30 to 31. I am beating the numbers but I am sure it is from managing my acceleration. I move as fast if not faster then average on highways so I am confident keeping accelration under control is where good fuel economy comes from.

Sounds great on the new Equinox. Way to go. Competition like this is what the market needs to keeping giving us better numbers.

this looks like it's going to be a solid competitor in the segment. the direct injection engine should make its way into everything else that has the 2.4L engine right?

tony...you are citing real world fuel economy differences with your highlander...it's a japanese vehicle, not domestic. besides, it's not like the epa has a test it uses on the imports and a different test for domestics. a car's driver has a lot to do with the fuel economy returned, foreign or domestic....and please don't assert that hybrid epa numbers are highly accurate.

Great to see the General is on the way back to being a competitive firm again... for the first time in many, many decades! Might even replace my RAV4 with an Equinox way down the line if it is anywhere as reliable as the imports that I own.

A little rough on Tony, people???

Very nice, GM! Keep plodding and making good vehicles. The public image will turn around eventually.

not bad but think what it'd do with a diesel motor and a manual trans ..

if they can pull these fuel economy numbers with a two-ton suv, imagine what GM's small and mid-sized sedans are going to be getting with the DI engines. trouble is, they're coming out with this first. i'll be waiting for a compact that gets over 40mpg on the highway...hope they last that long.

Do you have to engage the 'ECO' mode via that button to get that mileage?
That is front wheel drive right? What kind of tire pressure does GM use, 45psi?

32 mpg for a crossover? thats great! I like what GM is doing with their direct ignition engines.
@steve i dont think diesels will ever succeed in the US. California doesn't want them on their roads.
@david in Houston : Hope they last long enough to change public perception through their products

Steve:

No one wants a manual in an SUV. Lets just commend GM for what they've done instead of going into hypotheticals about how mileage could be even better with powertrains that no one would buy.

Cody:

The Cruze is expected to get about 40mpg highway with the 1.4L turbo engine which would beat Corolla and Civic. This engine is debuting in the Equinox because its a new product and because it costs more than the Malibu. DI costs money and its easier to cover the cost in a $24k crossover than a $21k Malibu. This engine is supposed to find its way into the Lacrosse as well.

This crossover exceeeds the Matrix in fuel economy which is impressive considering the Matrix weighs 500-600lbs less and has less power.

Original Sheth,

No one wants manual in an SUV?
Wrangler, anyone?

C:

How many SUVS come with manuals? Lets be realistic here. Do the RAV4, CRV or CX7 come with manuals?

@car dude, @original sheth: If you want top end mileage, you'll need a diesel motor along w/ a manual trans. Look at Europe .. 40mpg CAFE compared to 24 mpg CAFE here in America.

I do understand the manual vs auto thing though. I'll back off on that. Manual shifting is only wanted by car enthuisiasts which is a dieing breed. For the record, a manual trans is one of the reasons I went w/ Dodge for my current truck (2005) and Ford for my current commuter (Focus - 2001).

diesel is better but it will never catch on here without tax and air quality changes. CA is one the leading forces keeping diesels from being adopted heavily in the US. CA embraces hybrids/electric cars and no other solutions to fuel consumption problems. If the US made it easier for diesels to be 50 state legal we would have more options.

steve,
MANY of the latest automatic transmissions get better mileage than the manual versions of the same car.
Not sure on diesels.

But automakers are having a tough time reintroducing diesels to the U.S. right now. The next Jetta Golf should be the big yardstick to measure against.

One reason there are so few diesels is because European automakers dont have many engines that would be 50 state legal. Thats why the Jetta and new MB diesels are such big deals.

OS,

Those 3 that you've mentioned are NOT SUV. They are all CUV.
Come on, I thought you are smart enough to distinguish them.

C:

Call them whatever you wish. Few CUVs come with manuals these days. Manuals are not popular in cars and never have been in SUVs or crossovers. If Chevy offered a manual Equinox no one would buy it.

SUV <> CUV
Basic knowledge.

I agree. Never said I wasn't aware that the vehicles I mentioned were CUVs. CUVs are unibody and typically FWD, SUVs are body on frame and RWD based. I know the difference. Most consumers aren't even familiar with the term "CUV" and call any vehicle with optional AWD that looks vaguely truck like an SUV.

32 MPG for a CUV is pretty impressive. Gradually GM has started many vehicles with 32 MPG while Toyota has lagged behind.

No wonder, Toyota has been pushed to #3 spot in Apr-2009 sales with Ford clinching #2.

We have to spread the message that GM & Ford are selling high mileage vehicles while Toyota is selling Gas-Guzzlers.

www.fuelecononmy.gov just released their 2010 ratings on their site, it's officially been rated at 22/26/32

Me and my wife bought a 2011 Equinox because we wanted a mid-sized SUV that got good gas mileage. I could not be more disappointed. We have taken it on 2 long trips. One to Alabama, about 8-9 hours of highway miles and to New York 14 hours. On both trips, we didn't get better than 23mpg. I am taking it to the dealer tomorrow, but I am sure they will try to make excuses as to the reason for this. I plan to file a lemon law suit against GM if they do not fix the problem or take the vehicle back. I have seen other complaints regarding this on earlier models. Haven't seen GM address the issue so I will have to wait and see. Steering also will stick and then react at times.