Thinking of Buying a 2008 Equinox

seadog95 · 05-18-2008, 05:30 PM

I might be buying a 08 equinox in a couple of days and i would like to ask some of you owners how you like them? Is it a good car.

Ruley73 · 05-21-2009, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seadog95

I might be buying a 08 equinox in a couple of days and i would like to ask some of you owners how you like them? Is it a good car.

If the price is right, I'd say jump on it. Don't listen to Consumer Reports or any other reviews like that. If your looking for opinions go to edmunds.com, but I can tell you flat out that the Equinox is hands-down the best deal out there - period - for smaller SUVs. My wife and I got a great deal on a 2007 Chevy Equinox LT (paid $12,999 last October with 27K miles, brand new tires and GM Certification) and we really like it. The back seats are very spacious and can seat 3 adults comfortably for short trips. The back seat also can be slid forward for more cargo space.

The fuel economy is impressive; especially for 2-ton SUV with a V6. My wife does mostly in city driving and averages about 20.5 MPG (actual calculations, onboard MPG meter is pretty accurate too though). I took it on 1000 mile round trip about a month ago with three adult passengers, and got 23.3, 24.5, and 26.3 MPG on those three tanks (which holds 20 gallons BTW). Most of that was highway travel at about 75-80 MPH.

The stereo is sounds decent, but leaves alot to be desired. The front has woofers in the doors and tweeters in the front window sill. The rear only has woofers (not full-range speakers) in the doors and no tweeters. I think it will suffice most though, since I'm somewhat of a audiophile - but not an extremist in that regard.

The climate control system does a good job of keeping you comfortable in any temperature and the engine warms up really quick. We had heat within only a minute or two after a cold-start when it was -20*F this winter. I never was a fan of auto climate control so I'm thankful it has the manual controls

It drives very smoothly and is pretty quiet at highway speeds. The electric power steering feels somewhat light and doesn't have as much road feel as a traditional hydraulic power steering system. It takes a little getting used to, but isn't bad at all. The four wheel disc brakes (standard on 2007+ Equinox, 2005-2006 had rear drums) are also impressive.

The engine on paper looks weak with a meager 185 HP rating, but it has 210 Ibs-ft of torque - which is what really counts. The 5-speed automatic tranny does a good job of providing decent power whenever you need it. It'll do 0-60 in about 8.5 sec. You won't do it often, but it reaches the 110 MPH speed-limiter surprisingly quick.

Unless you plan on regularly taking on a foot of snow or do a fair amount of off-road driving, I'd pass on the AWD. The AWD on this vehicle is not designed for those purposes anyways. You're only carrying more weight and costing yourself a few MPG all the time and IMO is not worthwhile unless the first sentence applies to you. Keep in mind, the AWD on this one and most compact SUVs is not true full-time AWD and would more accurately be described as rear-wheel assist. The front wheels need to slip a bit before the rear wheels kick in.

I live in Iowa and we get a fair amount of snow here in the winter. We had no problem getting around with just FWD. The traction control can be annoying in snow & ice, but can be disabled with the button if you choose. The ABS however works pretty good in all conditions. There are better tires to be had, but the O.E. Bridgestone Dueler H/T D684 tires perform decent in all conditions too. A lot of people say they are crappy, but they apparently don't know what crappy tires are. As long as you use some common sense in inclement conditions you'll be fine.

At night the headlights make the road very visible. You will probably seldom use the hi-beams. One thing that is noteworthy is that the headlights seem to annoy oncoming traffic with the low-beams since we get flashed all the time. Unfortunately they are not adjustable at all.

I don't have a sunroof or foglamps so I can't comment on those features.

There are a few minor annoyances though. If you're a bigger person like me you may find the gas pedal uncomfortable to modulate during long trips due to the unergonomical design of the center console. The cup holders can be annoying at times as well and the cigarette lighter outlet is located in the console on the floor. If you lock the vehicle with the fob (or the power lock button), then go to unlock it with the key, the horn chirps until you put the key in the ignition and turn it on. There is no rear hatch release button on the key fob and no key lock cylinder for the hatch. There is a hidden electronic button that needs to be held while you pull the hatch open. It takes a few times to get the coordination down, but it's nothing to cry about.

If you change your own oil, I can guarantee this will be the easiest oil change you've ever done. No jack required, the filter is in the front underside and the drain plug is easy to get at. It holds 4.5 qt. with a filter FYI.

The Equinox also has a cabin air filter that filters dust and other particulates. Some of the aftermarket cabin air filters have charcoal in them to filter out foul scents and do a good job of that.

I think I covered everything. Sorry if it's long, but I know when I ask for others' opinions I want details, not just a "Yeah they're pretty good."

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