With the launch of the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel, the brand completes its trio of turbocharged engine offerings for the compact crossover. The diesel, however, offers more than just a lengthy driving range.
In fact, it leads the segment with an EPA-estimated 39 MPG highway fuel economy rating and can go 577 miles on a single tank of diesel fuel. The highway mileage bests segment leaders such as the Nissan Rogue and Toyota RAV4 Hybrids.
It’s the latest product in GM’s self-described commitment to diesel-powered vehicles in the United States; the 2018 Equinox Diesel joins the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel and will be followed by the 2018 GMC Terrain Diesel. The Cruze diesel manages 52 MPG on the highway when equipped with a manual transmission. Chevrolet says the 2018 Equinox Diesel will also be capable of running on B20 biodiesel fuel as well.
The 2018 Equinox Diesel will go on sale with a starting price of $31,435, which comes equipped with front-wheel drive, 17-inch wheels and a seven-inch infotainment unit. All-wheel drive is optional, though fuel economy drops to an unspecified figure. The diesel-powered compact crossover will go on sale this coming fall.
Comments
Too bad they couldn’t hit the “40” number.
While we all know it will probably actually hit that number, if not exceed it, it would have been nice to slap that number on the window sticker for sure!
The XT5 was rated at 21, but I manage 23.
GM is the opposite of Ford, they always get BETTER mileage in the real world.
I recently got 35.3 miles/gallon (50 mile best) in my 2017 gas powered Equinox. They can and probably will do better with the Diesel. I wasn’t trying, but you won’t get that kind of mileage running 80 mph.
Almost every GM vehicle, especially the EVs, will pass the ERA MPG rating easily on real life driving. My 1995 Buick Regal with its NA 3.8 L (231 CI) V6 engine was EPA rated at 18 MPG. I drove it for 21 years and I was getting over 22 MPG.
It’s like that the 40 mpg internal estimate came out prior to the revised EPA ratings that came out for 2017, which saw most vehicles ratings’ drop between 2016 and 2017, even if they had no changes.
Will be interesting to see how the ratings change when the switch to the 9-speed is made (the Cruze Diesel currently runs the 9AT, so it’s puzzling why it wasn’t made available in the Equinox).
Car and Driver managed to milk the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze to get 70 mpg; thus, one has to think it is very possible to get 42-45 mpg mileage out of the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox if it’s driven with the cruise control on.
Where are all the hybrid supporters? An IC powered vehicle just put the smack down on two hybrids!