Chevrolet Equinox-3

My husband and I recently hit the road south with a Chevrolet Equinox for Taste of Tulalip, an indulgent weekend of food and wine in Western Washington.

Chevrolet Equinox-2

As we started off on a crisp fall morning, we familiarized ourselves with the onboard tech features, starting with MyLink, the home base for all things music and Bluetooth. MyLink incorporates voice-activated features, and pairs well with a smart phone (we used an iPhone 4 to test it out). Once the system recognized my phone, I was able to access my phone contacts, and dial handsfree.

Chevrolet Equinox-4

Often-used menu items can also be found right on the steering wheel.

Chevrolet Equinox-6

XM Satellite Radio meant a huge variety of channels instantly accessible for our trip. Cue my 80’s college soundtrack brought back to life: First Wave! The quality sound system is fully customizable through the menu screen.

Chevrolet Equinox-7

A USB port in the centre console was a well-thought out addition. We arrived with a fully charged phone battery!

Chevrolet Equinox-1

The screen checks for surrounding concerns as you back up. The Equinox gauges braking distance based on speed while on the highway. If you drive too close to oncoming cars, a sensor will trigger a red crash icon indicating that you’re getting close to danger.

Another safety feature we liked was the side mirrors that have a blind spot incorporated into them. They are also heated to stay clear through frosty weather.

The liftgate can open fully, 3/4, or be set to manual operation, all from the car’s inside. There’s a button that will close the liftgate on its own. I do hope that Chevy will soon implement the kick sensor liftgate feature that can be found on the 2013 Ford Escape, another SUV that I recently had the chance to take out for a day, courtesy of Ford Canada.

Chevrolet Equinox-8
[MyLink paired with a 3rd generation iPod Nano]

This is a fun, roomy car that’s easy to operate, full of standard features, and up to date on the tech front. A couple of things we could have benefitted from were a lighted mirror adjustment panel on the driver’s door side (to change the mirror’s angle in the dark), as well as front passenger seat options (the driver’s seat has 8-way power options with lumbar support while the passenger side only has two manual adjustments).

The base price for a 2013 Equinox is $33,775. Many thanks to Carter GM for letting us get our hands on an Equinox for the weekend.

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.