Last September we heard the Chevrolet Equinox was set to receive some updates and styling tweaks in time for the 2016 model year. It appears as if those changes will be applied to the hot-selling SUV sooner than we thought, with the 2016 Equinox set to make its debut at the Chicago Auto Show on February 12.
“Chevrolet is embarking on a truly remarkable product transformation in 2015 that will showcase the ingenuity that has been the driving force behind the brand for more than a century,” said president of GM North America, Alan Batey. “The Chicago Auto Show attracts a tremendous audience, which makes it the perfect place for us to introduce the redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Equinox, which is going to help keep the compact crossover segment one of the hottest in the industry.”
The new Equinox is expected to bring with it a deeper, wider grille that will bring it closer in line with newer Chevrolet products, along with some other minor tweaks in order to keep the aging crossover fresh. The automaker isn’t overly eager to replace the current-gen Equinox, a model which has sold an increasing amount of units year after year, saying “the market will dictate when the Equinox has had its run.”
A third-generation Equinox should be introduced sometime in 2017 and will likely ride on the same D2XX platform as the Buick Envision crossover. This platform switch should help the Equinox drop a few pounds, and could bring with it new engine options, too.
Comments
Wait then when is the terrain gonna show up? The same time?
I hope the update the interior with some softer plastics, my lease is up in September on my 2013 Equinox, and nothing else is looking good to me yet
Lease business is just one of the reasons that “the market will dictate when the Equinox has had its run” is a terrible strategy. Equinox is a strong lease vehicle and some lessees are already on their 2nd one of this generation, which is unchanged since 2010. 2016 is too late for many of them who will surely want something different, and where will they go? The “end of its run” may come swiftly. It’s a risky game producing the same, albeit successful vehicle for 7 model years. The 2016 Equinox should not have been planned as a minor update like this will surely be (see Cruze and Camaro) but rather have been all-new.
A refresh could extend some life into the product if the changes were productive — not just change for change sake. If you change things like the fascias, make the change a WOW! and not just to make them fit the family styling theme.
GM needs to add features like heated steering wheel, dual panel glass roof, maybe some special trim/appearance packages to keep it fresh.
Would really love to see a new four cylinder turbo make it into the lineup and then into the replacement model as well.
Need a high end model on the Chevy and the Terrain Denali needs to have more high end features too. That’s where the money is!
I agree with you mostly although I think it will be a minor update to the fascia and some features etc like you described. Lately GM has been extending the life of the current model by an additional year by making minor changes like they did for 2015 Cruze and 2014 Camaro. It keeps things fresh and also familiar at the same time and aims at extracting the very last drop of the current successful platforms.
One thing I don’t think GM will bring to the Equinox is the panoramic roof as it also reduces the roofs weight bearing capability. In my opinion an SUV should be able to hold at least 200LBs on the roof and be capable of lightweight towing.
You said it Elroy!! Hopefully GM incorporates these things! Plus a qualitative interior would be nice as well! The hard plastics are kind of a nuisance, especially after a few years of ownership. All the squeaks and rattles are unacceptable!! Even for a relatively budget product!
Sure, change the front and rear fascias. I’d also like to see some technology enhancements within the infotainment and safety systems. The interior also could use some freshening up! Perhaps some new color options? Dark Ash/Jet Black and Cocoa/Dune Leather? The rear door panels should also get leather trim and the “brushed aluminum” plastic trim around the door handles like so on the front door panels.
They gotta do something. I am true blue Chevy but the styling of the Equinox was tepid at best when it came out. Then the Escape took this segments style to a new level and made the Equinox, as nice as it truly is, look even odder.
I have a 2009 Equinox, the last year of the first generation, and I wish Gm will offer the EREV version by 2016 as a 2017 model.
A friend trading in his 2012 Equinox for a 2015 wanted blind spot mirrors like he had on the 2012. No longer available! Was told that people don’t like them!! Are you kidding me? Sounds like the old GM is back. Reminds me of when I met the GM Marketing Head back in the late 90’s and asked him why they didn’t offer folding rear seats on most of their cars. He said people don’t like them. My friend bought an Escape instead.
Lets get some facts out here.
The redue here is much like the Cruze and will be small with new grill and tail facia and some very minor changes else where. So do not expect all these crazy ideas posted by some.
Now the new vehicle is not that far out and the changes to this one will let it fall for a 6 year or two as a fleet sale vehicle for GM once the new one arrives.
Now some of the ideas that were posted will make it to the the next model but keep in mind just how much would they add to the price and how much more are people willing to pay. These options may be nice but how important are they going to be in keeping sales. GM as it is is selling more and more of these vehicles as times goes on and that is the reverse of what it should be doing.
Folding mirros are neat but do you really need them on a vehicle this size. Not really and it would only add to the cost and raise prices. Other things like an improved interior are great ideas and a turbo motor once the lighter new one arrives would be a great move. But as it it this vehicle has 1-2 years left and they are not going to invest too much more unless they can redeam it ont he fleet sales in 2-3 years from now.
I own a Terrain now and know this vehicle insideout. I also know the market well too as I see the forums and how many of the present owers go back and buy a new one just like they had generally only changing trim levels, engines and going to AWD. The repeat ownership is amazing here and I am sure is part of the sales growth of the vehicle.
As for the little things like the spot mirrors I am sure they had clinics where many people don’t care as this vehicle is not really bad for blind spots as many others are. The savings would have been little here so I really do not see them removing it to cheap out. I personally like them but my wife hates them.
The big thing is you have to look well beyond just what you know as to what is going on and what will happen. GM has a strong seller and they plan to mine the gold while they can and in about a year they can make the move to production on the next model.
Note just the Nox alone is sellling over 200,000 units per year and GMC was over 80,000 and that is not counting the Captiva on the same platform.
GM is doing the right thing and for once is in a postion of advantage here vs. being dollars short and years late on a slow selling vehicle.