You could be forgiven for thinking the 2025 Chevy Equinox comes equipped with dual exhaust. After all, there are what appear to be two exhaust outlets on the rear fascia of the RS and ACTIV trims. But don’t be fooled – these are, in reality, faux exhaust outlets and are there merely for aesthetic purposes.
Our own Alex Luft outlines the design feature on the 2025 Chevy Equinox ACTIV in the video below.
The actual exhaust system of the 2025 Chevy Equinox is, in fact, a single exhaust with the tail pipe tucked under the car. It doesn’t even vent out the rear, but is bent so as to vent out behind the passenger-side rear wheel instead. This is true of all trims of the Equinox, including the LT, which does not include the faux exhaust ports.
Why would Chevy place two exhaust outlets on a vehicle that has only one exhaust and doesn’t even vent out the rear? It’s part of a growing design trend in the industry. In fact, the 2025 Chevy Equinox is not even the first GM model to get this treatment. We saw GM first include the faux exhaust vents on the 2020 Buick Encore GX and the 2021 Buick Envision. They were soon followed by the 2022 Buick Enclave. But GM was playing catchup, as the automaker was not the first to use this design element. Other vehicles that have sported faux exhaust vents include the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Volkswagen Jetta, and Mercedes-Benz GLE, to name a few.
2025 Chevy Equinox ACTIV rear end
2025 Chevy Equinox ACTIV with faux dual exhaust outlets
Not every Chevy model with multiple exhaust vents are pretending, however. The 2024 Chevy Traverse, for instance, comes with no fewer than four exhaust tips. And even the Equinox isn’t entirely left out of the game. The version of the 2025 Chevy Equinox sold in China features two actual exhaust outlets within the lower rear fascia, along with a reverse light between the two vents. The North American model doesn’t come with that reverse light, but simply has a small design element where the light would go.
Chinese-market Equinox ACTIV with dual exhaust outlets
We certainly haven’t seen the end of this industry trend, and wouldn’t be surprised to see the faux exhaust ports show up on more GM models in the near future, at least ones that would typically feature a tucked-under setup.
Comments
I currently have a 2012 Equinox with 202,000 miles on it. I have never had any major repair work done on it and absolutely LOVE IT!! Of course, I have been waiting for the 2025 to come out because I don’t believe I could go wrong with another Equinox although I plan to keep mine as long as it runs good. Does GM provide any additional discounts for extremely satisfied customers, knowing that they will probably be purchasing another vehicle within the year? I did receive a response from GM on Facebook asking me to send a PM, which I did but I’m not sure if it was received or not.
Thank you.
You SAVED money having not bought a new car in almost 13 years. The people that lease a car every 3 years are GM’s best customers, not you. Are you for real. LOL.
No, but if you know anyone who works for GM maybe they will extend you their ” Friends and Family” discount. It’s a nice help on the price.
The faux exhaust complements the faux engine .
Well said!
All show and no go. Bring back the 2.0T!
Once again China gets an “upmarket” dual exhaust and we’re left with garbage faux trims.
Just like how the Trax (called the seeker over there) gets a 1.5T, upgraded cluster and a pano roof, along with LED everything in China.
GM’s priorities have been out of whack since we’ve bailed them out.
Agree. A friend bought a new Trailblazer SS back in 2009. 6.0L , 390 HP, AWD. Definitely a performance SUV. Single exhaust outlet. That same year, the weakling Equinox came with a single cross flow muffler with dual chrome tipped outlets. Go figure.
looks like the 2026 GMC Terrain Denali has dual exhaust outlets tucked under fascia.