It’s here. The day has come. It’s time for you to join the over fifty percent of American vehicle shoppers who forsake the zippy compact or luxurious sedan or classic muscle car for *drumroll* an SUV. With their added height to see on the highway and cargo space for all your things, it’s no wonder SUVs continue to gain popularity. Choosing an SUV doesn’t mean you have to give up on all the financial benefits of a car, from the MSRP to the gas pump. A compact crossover is an excellent choice for anyone watching their wallet but also wanting to upgrade their ride, and the 2023 Chevy Equinox has lots to love when it comes to compact crossovers.
Start with the Bottom Line
It is no secret that, like everything else, car prices continue to rise, between the availability – or lack thereof – of computing chips and steel and the labor to put those chips and steel and the rest of the parts together on the assembly line. In May 2020, the industry average vehicle price was just shy of $40,000 and crossed that threshold less than a year later. By the end of 2021, the average new vehicle cost was significantly higher at $47,077, and by the summer of 2022, it rose to $48,182, a 12% increase from the previous year.
These numbers may be overwhelming if you are shopping on a budget. It should come as a pleasant surprise that the starting MSRP on the 2023 Chevy Equinox is just $26,600. While this is significantly more than Chevy’s extremely compact Spark, it’s less than $2,000 more than an all-new, mid-size Chevy Malibu sedan while boasting more than four times the amount of cargo space. Cargo space isn’t the only reason to upgrade to an Equinox. Let’s talk about all those other benefits!
Moving on Up
At 65.4 inches, the height of the 2023 Chevy Equinox is over eight inches taller than its sedan sibling, the Malibu. When you move up to the Equinox, you’ll generally have a better view of the highway and probably feel less boxed in by tractor-trailers. Because the Equinox is still a compact crossover, you still get all of the great maneuverability that a car has to offer, and you will feel less like you’re driving an unwieldy float in a parade versus other mammoth, full-sized SUVs. The 2023 Equinox has been called “poised” and “stable” and is noted for giving its riders a smooth, pleasant journey, even over rough road surfaces. Whether your commute is primarily on the highway or mostly spent in busy, slow-moving school dropoff/pickup lines, there’s much to love about how the Chevy Equinox handles.
You don’t just move up in height when you choose the Equinox over a car like the Malibu. Chevy gives you one more paint color, bronze, with this comfortable SUV than it does on its sedan, making a total of eight exterior colors, and only one comes at an extra charge. So many other vehicles only come in maybe two colors for the base price, making this another reason the 2023 Chevy Equinox is a great choice for the budget shopper. You can also choose between two interior color choices with the Chevy crossover SUV versus the car, which only comes in one shade. In addition, the seating in the Equinox has leather trim, no matter which model you choose, something also not available in its sedan sibling.
Room for Activities
The cargo space is the biggest perk – no pun intended – when choosing a compact SUV over a car. While the mid-size Malibu has an acceptable 15.7 cubic feet of max storage space, the 2023 Chevy Equinox has a whopping 63.9 cubic feet of storage space – while being nearly a foot shorter than the sedan in length! There’s even hidden storage underneath the floor in the rear of the Equinox. Hidden storage underneath the floor is a great benefit when choosing an SUV over a car. Trunks are great, but they only provide so much room for storage. On top of that, hidden floor storage has a multitude of uses, not just from prying eyes in parking lots but from prying eyes from little ones around the holidays and birthdays. The kids can’t find their presents when they are hidden in plain sight in the driveway!
The second-row bench seating in the 2023 Chevy Equinox has a 60/40 split so that you can more conveniently reach items in the cargo area or even have a rear-seat passenger while still taking advantage of the hauling capabilities. For instance, if you’re also trying to save money by doing DIY projects at home, the 60/40 bench seat allows you to carry lumber while also carrying a third person to help you with your building and construction. The 2023 Chevy Equinox has an available hands-free power liftgate for added convenience. This hands-free power liftgate comes standard on the uppermost Premiere trim, and it springs into action when the keyfob is sensed, and you move your foot in the correct location. As if that’s not handy enough, the Equinox makes it easy to know exactly where you need to gesture with your foot by providing a projected Chevrolet bow-tie logo on the ground.
Pricing at the Pump and Beyond
These days, a vehicle is considered to have “good“ gas mileage if it averages at least 23 MPG between city and highway driving. With an EPA-estimated gas mileage of 26-city, 31-highway, 28 mpg combined, the 2023 Chevy Equinox handily meets that standard and sits firmly in the good gas mileage category. This combined gas mileage also puts it ahead of competitors like the Buick Encore, the Mitsubishi Outlander, and the Volkswagen Tiguan. A compact like the Chevy Spark will have better gas mileage, but those are pretty good numbers, especially considering the extra cargo space.
The people who crunch these numbers say that the average cost of ownership for a brand-new Chevy Equinox is well under $9,000 for the first ten years you own it. This figure includes basic repairs and general maintenance like regular oil changes and tire rotations. The Equinox, on average, comes in at several hundred dollars better than the industry average when it comes to regular maintenance and repair. If you take care of your 2023 Chevy Equinox, it will take care of you!
When It All Balances Out
When you’re looking for a ride with more height and cargo space while still keeping an eye on how much all those perks cost, the 2023 Chevy Equinox is a great find. Besides more than acceptable cargo space and gas mileage for its market segment, the Equinox is fun to drive. It has a smooth, steady ride and good responsiveness.
We haven’t even talked about all of the other bells and whistles! All new Equinoxes come standard with Chevy Safety Assist. This full suite of driver assistance features includes forward collision alert with automatic emergency and front pedestrian braking; lane keep assist with lane departure warning; a following distance indicator, Intellibeam automatic headlights, and a rear vision camera. On top of that, there’s the option to add adaptive cruise control and front and rear park assist.
Tech-wise, the 2023 Chevy Equinox comes with the newest generation of Chevy’s infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and a user-friendly touchscreen. When you add it all up, between the cargo space, the gas mileage, and the ease of driving, there are a lot of reasons why you want to leave smaller cars behind and choose the compact crossover 2023 Chevy Equinox.
