MINNEAPOLIS — Hell has frozen over. The Chevrolet Equinox is cool.

The brand’s compact-class SUV was a reliable flavor of vanilla its first three generations. For 2025, it’s 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’s entry-level meh-mobile into an affordable, gotta-have-it entry-level ute.

And Equinox’s big brother Traverse has suddenly become one of the hottest SUVs on the planet after years as a three-row wallflower.

Credit Chevrolet’s 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’t make sense) — the big, bad Colorado and Silverado.

So Equinox rummaged around the pickups’ western, cowboy wardrobe, and — voila!— cool, dude.

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’s missing is a scarf and cowboy hat.

“Chevy couldn’t mail it in anymore,” said Paul Waatti, an auto analyst with Auto Pacifica. “The segment is just too strong.”

True enough. The Toyota RAV4, the best-selling SUV in the USA, modeled its most recent generation after Toyota’s best-selling Tacoma midsize pickup. Cue the Equinox’s transformation.

Jump into the saddle of my favorite Equinox Activ model and it keeps getting better.

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.

With Activ’s 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’s nothing compared to Metro Detroit, where roads are so bad we’re basically off-roading through potholes, expansion joint cracks and asphalt washboards.

With its white roof and staple wheels, the Activ preened. But enough about options. The standard stuff is where Equinox really shines.

True enough. The Toyota RAV4, the best-selling SUV in the USA, modeled its most recent generation after Toyota’s best-selling Tacoma midsize pickup. Cue the Equinox’s transformation.

Jump into the saddle of my favorite Equinox Activ model and it keeps getting better.

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.

With Activ’s 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’s nothing compared to Metro Detroit, where roads are so bad we’re basically off-roading through potholes, expansion joint cracks and asphalt washboards.

With its white roof and staple wheels, the Activ preened. But enough about options. The standard stuff is where Equinox really shines.

I controlled ACC — without distracting my eyes from the road — with raised buttons on the steering spoke. Toggle to advance speed 1 MPH, loooong hold to advance 5 MPH. Want Google Maps navigation screen in front of you? Cycle through different screen views. Want to switch radio stations? Toggle the UP and DOWN buttons on the back left of the steering wheel. Adjust volume? Toggle the twin buttons on the right side. Want to store your bag of McDonald’s fries for later? Slip it into the cargo bay under the cubby-loaded console, thanks to the electronic shifter located — Mercedes-style — on the steering column.

But wait, there’s more: Automatic emergency braking, pedestrian/bicyclist braking, lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic braking and auto front ejection seats (kidding about that last one).

This treasure chest of standard equipment costs just $29,995 in the base LT model, which lagged my Activ tester only in AWD, panoramic roof and convenience package with goodies like a wireless phone charger.

Useful appliance — wrapped in state-of-the-art design.

I already mentioned the Mercedes shifter, and Equinox has bracketed the cockpit with Merc-like aviator-style, oval vents (also inspired by the now deceased Camaro). Turn the oval left-and-right to adjust air flow. Rotate the orb up or down for air direction. Give that designer an A+.

Between the awesome orbs is a continuous pane of glass occupied by an 11-inch digital instrument display, and 11.3-inch infotainment screen for the center console. The Google Built-in operating system is as intuitive as your phone, and you can even move your favorite icons around the “home page.” The screen sits above a keyboard of climate buttons.

In a class choked with talent like the Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-50 and Dodge Hornet, Equinox obsesses on detail. Check out the soft-wrapped door rests for my sharp elbows. Or adjacent storage cubby. Or the storage space for wet shoes between cargo floor and the spare tire. And, of course, Chevy’s stellar JD Power quality rating helps when you’re shopping versus bone-reliable Toyotas.

Detail attention extends to the drivetrain.

LT, Activ and RS are all powered by a competent, 175-horse 1.5-liter turbo-4. AWD optioned on all. A continuously variable transmission flogs FWD, an eight-speed lashes AWD. Both are smooth and unobtrusive thanks to a cabin insulated from road noise. Even those knobby all-terrains didn’t interrupt the cabin’s solace.

Curiously, Chevy’s trucklet doesn’t come with a SPORT mode and accompanying exhaust growl. You know how we cowboys love a bull ride. Instead, AWD models offer paddle shifters behind the steering wheel (don’t confuse them with the radio controls) that are activated by an L (for LOW) button on the steering wheel. Chevy thinks it will come in handy when, say, hauling a 1,500-pound small boat ‘n’ trailer out of the water.

Oh well, Chevy prefers peace — perhaps as a peek at the silent electric future promised by the Equinox EV on the other side of the showroom.

But Equinox ICE won’t make the EV transition any easier. Both cars share the superb Google Built-in operating system and digital screens (the bigger EV has a wider center screen), and my AWD Activ tester dusts the comparable AWD EV in range — 406 miles to 285, not to mention quicker fill-up times.

Equinox get an assist from its Trax sibling — a screaming bargain at $21K — which sports its own Cacti Green Activ model, and is pulling new customers into the brand like a giant ACME magnet. Equinox ICE (or the three-row Traverse) awaits when those buyers need more room.

It’s a handsome stable.

Dismounting after a days’ drive in the Equinox ICE, I looked over my equine’s comfortable saddle and thick, leather-wrapped reins. Were they heated for when the weather turns cold in Minnesota and Michigan?

Seems both features are standard. Of course.

2025 Chevrolet Equinox ICE

Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV

Price:$29,995, including $1,395 destination charge ($29,995 LT FWD, $36,395 RS and Activ as tested)

Powerplant: 1.5-liter four-cylinder

Power: 175 horsepower, 184 pound-feet of torque (FWD), 203 pound-feet of torque (AWD)

Transmission: CVT (FWD); eight-speed automatic (AWD)

Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.0 sec. (Car and Driver est.); towing capacity, 1,500 pounds

Weight: 3,428 pounds (FWD LT)

Fuel economy: EPA 26 city/28 highway/27 combined (FWD); EPA 24 city/29 highway/26 combined (AWD); 452-mile range (AWD)

REPORT CARD

Highs: Bold styling inside and out; bucket-full of standard features

Lows: Steering paddles can be confusing; throatier engine growl on the Activ, please

Overall: 4 stars

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