{"id":33278,"date":"2024-08-29T11:40:45","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T15:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33278"},"modified":"2024-08-29T11:40:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T15:40:45","slug":"payne-bold-chevy-equinox-ice-is-born-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/payne-bold-chevy-equinox-ice-is-born-again","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Bold Chevy Equinox ICE is born again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minneapolis<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Hell has frozen over. The Chevrolet Equinox is cool.<\/p>\n

The brand\u2019s compact-class SUV was a reliable flavor of vanilla its first three generations. For 2025, it\u2019s added Chunky Monkey Peanut Butter Rocky Road Chocolate Crunch to the recipe. I suppose this was predictable. After all, the entry-level Chevy Trax was my 2024 Detroit News Vehicle of the Year, transforming the brand\u2019s entry-level meh-mobile into an affordable, gotta-have-it entry-level ute.<\/p>\n

And Equinox\u2019s big brother Traverse has suddenly become one of the hottest SUVs on the planet after years as a three-row wallflower.<\/p>\n

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The 2025 Chevy Equinox ICE Activ comes standard with all-terrain tires.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

Credit Chevrolet\u2019s brainstorm to inject its SUV lineup with truck DNA. The coolest thing about Chevrolets after all are the pickups (well, after the Corvette, but modeling Equinox after a mid-engine, two-door supercar didn\u2019t make sense) \u2014 the big, bad Colorado and Silverado.<\/p>\n

So Equinox rummaged around the pickups\u2019 western, cowboy wardrobe, and \u2014\u00a0voila!<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 cool, dude.<\/p>\n

Chiseled bod. Wider, high-noon stance. Bold face. Squared-off wheel arches. Activ trim with off-road rubber. Dress it in Cacti Green. All that\u2019s missing is a scarf and cowboy hat.<\/p>\n

\u201cChevy couldn\u2019t mail it in anymore,\u201d said Paul Waatti, an auto analyst with Auto Pacifica. \u201cThe segment is just too strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The 2025 Chevy Equinox ICE Activ looks stylish in the city with its two-tone Cacti Green paint.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

True enough. The Toyota RAV4, the best-selling SUV in the USA, modeled its most recent generation after Toyota\u2019s best-selling Tacoma midsize pickup. Cue the Equinox\u2019s transformation.<\/p>\n

Jump into the saddle of my favorite Equinox Activ model and it keeps getting better.<\/p>\n

As a truck wannabe, Activ trim gets a fierce, Silverado-inspired front end, optional all-wheel drive for Michigan winters, shark-fin C-pillar and all-terrain tires wrapped around 17-inch rims. If you prefer the LT or RS trims, they loom over you with Colorado-inspired fascias. Dude, I told you this beast was cool.<\/p>\n

With Activ\u2019s rims protected by beefy, tall, all-terrain sidewalls, I galloped around Metro Minneapolis without fear of destroying them in random potholes. Minneapolis was littered with short-summer-season road construction but it\u2019s nothing compared to Metro Detroit, where roads are so bad we\u2019re basically off-roading through potholes, expansion joint cracks and asphalt washboards.<\/p>\n

With its white roof and staple wheels, the Activ preened. But enough about options. The\u00a0standard<\/em>\u00a0stuff is where Equinox really shines.<\/p>\n