Chevrolet has been busy lately with the re-imagination of its SUV lineup. Now, the 2025 Chevy Equinox rounds out the redesigns as this compact SUV enters a new generation. In addition to a sportier design, this popular SUV gets more tech. Here’s five things to know.
2025 Chevy Equinox gets an ACTIV trim
For 2024, the Equinox has four trims: LS, LT, RS and Premier. The 2025 Chevy Equinox drops the base LS and top-tier Premier in favor of adding the ACTIV trim. This means we’ll see more standard equipment, and a higher base price. Plus, rather than “luxury,” the ACTIV trim trends more toward the active (get it?) lifestyle. This will include a more rugged front fascia, blacked-out badging, 17-inch machined-face aluminum wheels, available microfiber seating surfaces, ACTIV badging, optional heated-and-ventilated front seats and available heated rear seats.
Bigger but still compact
The new Equinox gets the sporty streamlined good looks we’ve seen on the new Trax, Traverse, Trailblazer and Blazer, and that includes a bolder grille, squared wheel openings and fender flares and all-LED lighting. But the “bigger” news here is that it is 2.3 inches wider. This will translate into an extra half inch of shoulder room in the front and .3 inches more in the rear. Hip room increases by about an inch in both the front and rear.
Google-powered OS, still has CarPlay
General Motors is on a mission to Google all the things, and the 2025 Chevy Equinox is the next product in its lineup to get the Google-powered operating system, which includes voice operated commands and Google maps. Buyer beware, however, this system may be amazing, but after a free 8-year trial, it will be subject to subscription fees if you want to continue using all the real-time goodies.
Even though the press release doesn’t say it, this system will still be compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Along with the improved OS, you’ll get more screenage. The behind-the-wheel gauge cluster is an 11-inch display, and the infotainment system itself gets a 11.3-inch screen.
Standard and available safety
The 2025 Chevy Equinox will get standard Chevy Safety Assist, which includes automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, front pedestrian and cyclist braking, a follow-distance indicator, lane keep assist and automatic high beams. Available for an upcharge, you do have additional safety features, which include a rear camera mirror, side bicyclist alert, rear-seat reminder, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, enhanced automatic emergency braking, rear cross-traffic braking, rear park assist and enhanced lane keep assist.
Same engine, new transmissions
The next-gen Equinox will debut with the same 1.5-liter turbo seen in 2024 model, and it still delivers 175 horsepower and 203 pound-feet of torque in the all-wheel-drive models. Front-wheel-drive models deliver 184 pound-feet of torque. FWD models also get a continuously variable transmission, while AWD vehicles will get a new Hydra-Matic 8T45 eight-speed automatic. Outgoing models had a Hydra-Matic 6T40 six-speed in both FWD and AWD models.
The bottom line
This next-gen Equinox is still so new we don’t have any pricing information. But since the base LS is going away, we imagine the sub-$30k price tag is as well. The current LT starts at $31k, so a $32k starting price isn’t out of the realm of possibility. We know the 2025 Chevy Equinox will be available by the end of 2024, but we don’t have a more precise ETA, and we won’t see pricing until closer to launch.
So, stay tuned. We’ll share more details as we have them.
