2010 Chevrolet Equinox

• Overall
• Prices
• Performance
• Exterior
• Interior
• Safety
• Reliability
• Photos & Videos

Interior - What the Auto Press Says

In addition to its extremely quiet cabin and interior style and comfort, the Equinox earns favorable feedback because of its useful organizational and cargo features. However, regardless of the improvements, some reviewers still find the quality of materials a bit disappointing.

• "The Equinox is shockingly calm and vibration-free inside, the result of a rigid structure, soft bushings, and compliant suspenders. Feel free to think of the new Equinox as the Buick of compact SUVs-we do." -- Car and Driver
• "The interior is greatly improved. And GM has crammed in features while leaving room for innovative options." -- Popular Mechanics
• "The new look is a huge improvement over the old model, both aesthetically and functionally. Like several other recent GM vehicles, the dashboard flows into the door panels with a look that provides some continuity." -- Autoblog
• "While the Equinox delivers in spades when it comes to interior style -- and at all trim levels we might add -- it still, in our mind, falls a bit short of where we wish it would be. We have to keep price point in mind when we're talking about this segment, and while we'd have loved soft-touch plastics, you get solidly constructed rubberized plastic -- like all the competition." -- Jalopnik
• "With its interior of amusingly grained hard plastic, the original Equinox was a real boom box inside. Playing for segment leadership rather than mere participation made silencing the 2010 Equinox a gilt-edge priority. GM employed Active Noise Cancellation for the first time on any of its production vehicles." -- Motor Trend

Seating

Reviewers heap praise upon the Equinox's new seats. They especially love the rear seat's ability to slide back to give occupants more legroom. Another plus for families is that the rear seat is equipped to fit three child safety seats. Many reviewers also note the ease of entry and exit to the rear seat.

• "Remedying one of the previous model's chief shortcomings are the seats: the front buckets are far more comfortable and supportive than the chair-shaped balloons that came with the last Equinox, and the wide rear seat (which slides up to eight inches fore and aft) is no longer as flat as a diving board." -- Car and Driver
• "Whichever subclass of crossover you choose to put the Equinox in, it's fair to say that its backseat accommodations are generously sized. There's plenty of room for 6-footers." -- Edmunds
• "The Equinox rear-seat legroom simply dwarfs that of similarly priced competitors like the Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V. The Equinox's long-wheelbase, larger overall size (while retaining good fuel economy) will make it a compelling choice for the practical-minded small families who buy small crossover vehicles." -- Popular Mechanics
• "In the back, GM has retained the sliding rear seat that can move fore-aft a total of eight inches. When pushed back, the 112-inch wheelbase allows for positively luxurious legroom." -- Autoblog
• "Where the interior excels is with the seats. Here's the weird thing, the cloth option is way better than the leather. It's a sporty, airy neoprene-like material that's grippy and comfortable. Stretched over dual density foam, we sat in complete comfort for hours of driving." -- Jalopnik
• "With the seats pushed back as far as possible, legroom is bountiful and there is still ample room in the rear for a weekend's worth of luggage for four people." -- Automobile Magazine

Interior Features

Most test drivers agree the updated interior styling of the Equinox is a highlight, though materials quality continues to suffer somewhat. On the plus side, the gauges and dashboard layout are straightforward.

• "For our drive opportunity, Chevy brought along a couple of base model competitors, a Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V ... for side-by-side comparison. With almost no options, both were predictably spartan next to the comfortably equipped Equinoxes we had been driving all day. However, we were surprised just how dated their designs appeared and how comparatively cheap the materials were. While we've complained about lackluster materials in recent Toyotas, the fact that the Equinox outshined the Honda was unexpected." -- Car and Driver
• "Our only real complaint about the interior is that once it's been optioned with the navigation system, the center console is littered with all manner of buttons, including, oddly, the button to reset the trip odometer." -- Edmunds
• "Yes, there are still some large hard-plastic components, but they've been moved out of the driver's primary touch zones or have been covered with soft (or soft-touch) trim. Compare interiors side by side with the chief competition, Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe, and Toyota RAV4, and the Chevy eats 'em up and spits 'em out." -- Motor Trend
• "The 2010 Chevy Equinox offers a rear-seat DVD entertainment system and a power liftgate, both of which are uncommon in the category." -- Kelley Blue Book
• "Ergonomically, everything works fairly well, though the driver's reach for some radio adjustments and the far corners of the touch screen nav system are excessively long. The centralized switch panel works nicely and consolidates everything for easy control." -- Jalopnik

Cargo

Most reviewers see cargo space as a major plus for the Equinox. In addition to good cargo volume, it offers useful small storage spaces and a useful sliding rear seat.

• "A plethora of storage options include a large glove box, a center bin large enough to conceal a laptop, and enough cup holders for the family." -- Automobile Magazine
• "Cargo volume behind the second row totals 31.4 cubic feet -- slightly more than the Escape but a few cubic feet short of the CR-V or RAV4. With the seats folded, maximum volume is 63.7 cubic feet, slightly less than the Escape but nearly 10 cubic feet short of the other two." -- Cars.com
• "The controls are well-placed and easy to use, with plenty of storage compartments. Models that don't have the optional navigation system get a storage bin above the radio like the one in the Malibu and all models get a bin ahead of the shifter as well as the deep compartment in the center console. "That bin is large enough to accommodate a 15-inch laptop computer. It also has auxiliary audio and USB ports that support MP3 players or just thumb-drives with songs on them." -- Autoblog