The Chevrolet Equinox gets a redesign from the ground up for the 2025 model year with a chunky, rugged look, a more spacious cabin, and an off-road-themed trim. The engine carries over from the 2024 model currently on dealer lots. But, Chevy says, that’s all they have in common.
The next Equinox will have nothing in common with the other 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. Last year, Chevy debuted a fully electric model, the Equinox EV. Many observers thought the next gas-powered Equinox would borrow its sleek, Camaro-inspired look. But the gas-powered and electric models look similar — like a pair of cousins where one runs cross country and the other plays linebacker.
The Equinox is one of the 15 best-selling vehicles in America. But critics have long found its design a little stale and uninspiring inside and out.
That may change for 2025.
Rugged New Look
Chevrolet is leaning into a chunky, hiking boot aesthetic for most of its recent SUV redesigns. The look comes to the compact class with the 2025 Equinox. An oversized grille with thin LED daytime running lights over larger headlights leaves little room for body color on the front fascia. It’s a look that would have seemed unusual five years ago but has grown typical now.
Further back, the bodywork is busy with creases, but they’re far more straight than curved, adding to the bulky aesthetic. A D-pillar that almost reaches the roof — an element borrowed from the recent redesign of its big brother Traverse — gives it a floating roof look.
The RS trim level will get a gloss black roof and black mesh grille, lending it a bit of sporty flair. But, thematically, this one borrows from trucks rather than sports cars.
Especially in the new Activ trim level. Chevy says it is “inspired by customers whose passions start where the pavement ends.” The changes are mostly cosmetic — blacked-out badges, a separate grille insert, and a “maple sugar and black interior theme.” But it does ride on all-terrain tires for better grip in slippery conditions.
Chevrolet has not released pricing information. The current Equinox starts at $26,600, plus a mandatory $1,395 destination fee.
Airier Feel Inside
Inside, designers have done their best to give the Equinox’s cabin a more open feel despite this SUV’s compact dimensions. Car design has leaned into open spaces ever since designers began working with EVs, which have no central transmission tunnel. That gives them a more airy feel everyone seems to be trying to replicate in gas-powered cars now.
In the 2025 Equinox, that means the return of the column shifter. It’s smaller and electronic instead of mechanical. But placing it on the steering column lets designers eliminate a bulky shifter between driver and passenger.
The Equinox also embraces the other recent interior design trend — pairs of screens mounted together to appear almost as one large screen. An 11-inch driver’s display and an 11.3-inch central infotainment display butt up against one another.
Chevrolet says the screens are “the gateway to music, media, maps, and other connected services via Google built-in.” The company doesn’t mention Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. GM has promised to eliminate them from EVs. But, this being the gas-powered Equinox, they may still appear here.
Same Engine, New Chassis
The 2025 Equinox rides on an entirely new platform, Chevy says. But its engine carries over from the last model — a 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder making 175 horsepower.
It comes paired with a continuously variable transmission in front-wheel-drive (FWD) editions or an 8-speed automatic with the available all-wheel-drive (AWD) setup.
The compact SUV segment is one of the most crowded. Shoppers have many compelling choices there. The segment leader, the Toyota RAV4, now sells so many copies each year that it nearly knocked a full-size truck out of the top three best-sellers list for the first time in a decade last year.
So, the Equinox competes in a tough field. But Chevrolet managed to outsell most competitors in the space with a far less interesting offering this year. Now that it’s a better-looking SUV, expect to see a lot of these on the road.
