JoLin
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2007
- Messages
- 5,146
I'm bored this morning so I decided to bore the rest of you, too.
Gave my 2007 Mitsu Outlander to my son a year ago and bought an off-lease Equinox for myself. This is the previous model (2012-2017) Equinox, not the current one. For 2018 the car is smaller, lighter, has a shorter wheelbase and comes only with turbo-4 engines.
Mine is the FWD "LT" (mid-range) version with the base 4-cyl. It has a couple of extras- 6-way power driver seat, roof rack and remote start. I bought it with 15K on the clock and 17 months left on the b-2-b warranty for $17.4K. Prep, taxes and fees brought it to just over $19K off the lot. It's coming up on 25K miles.
Pros:
1. It's been totally reliable. No electronic glitches and nothing broken. Very tight, not a single squeak or rattle. The OE MIchelins have a little more than half their tread left. I keep them inflated and rotate them every 6,000 miles.
2. Comfort. In the small SUV class, GM really got this car right. The wheelbase is longer than the competition (smoother ride, less pitching), the seats are big and comfortable and the driver ergonomics are great. Tilt/Telescoping steering wheel. The rear seat reclines a little, and also slides fore and aft about 6 inches. Slide it forward when you want the cargo space, slide it back for passengers. They have a ton of legroom. Haven't see that in any other small SUV except the GMC Terrain (basically the same car). The 2018 models did away with that feature. (A friend who bought a 2016 Equinox new, shopped both it and the bigger Traverse. He bought the Equinox because it was more comfortable)
3. Wind noise is very low. Road noise varies with the road surface. Usually pretty low, but it can be annoying sometimes. Might be due to the Michelins.
My wife and I have taken several 10-12 hour trips in it, and neither of us is particularly tired at the end. My Mitsubishi would just beat the tar out of me. I'd be stiff and sore for a day or two after a drive like that. It's a better long-distance car than my wife"s 2016 Ford Escape, too.
Cons:
1. Styling. Uhhh... it doesn't have any. If you were drawing a quick sketch of an SUV for somebody who's never seen one, it'd look like an Equinox. The definition of the word 'generic' has a picture of an Equinox next to it. It's perfect if you want to be invisible.
2. Small item storage. There'a big glove box and a big console storage box. That's it. Everything gets lost in them. My Mitsu had 2 glove compartments (iupper and lower) a 2-level console storage compartment and a small pop-open compartment on top of the dash. Much more functional.
3. Power. Like the styling, it doesn't have any. The 4 cyl. is just about adequate around town, and okay once you get to highway speed, but if you can buy a 6 instead, do it. The base engine just isn't worth it. Freeway merges can be exciting, and on the highway long hills take a toll. Economy isn't great because the motor works hard. 1500 miles of highway driving on a recent trip netted me 27.6 mpg. In fairness, I had a full load of luggage and my normal cruising speed was 75-80 mph. In 10,000 miles (2/3 around town and 1/3 highway), my average mileage has been just shy of 24.
Despite the 'cons' it's been a good car and fine for 90+% of my driving. I don't regret buying it at all. The comfort factor (I'm old) makes up for most of the negatives. Just wish I'd been able to get a decent deal on a V-6.
My .02
Gave my 2007 Mitsu Outlander to my son a year ago and bought an off-lease Equinox for myself. This is the previous model (2012-2017) Equinox, not the current one. For 2018 the car is smaller, lighter, has a shorter wheelbase and comes only with turbo-4 engines.
Mine is the FWD "LT" (mid-range) version with the base 4-cyl. It has a couple of extras- 6-way power driver seat, roof rack and remote start. I bought it with 15K on the clock and 17 months left on the b-2-b warranty for $17.4K. Prep, taxes and fees brought it to just over $19K off the lot. It's coming up on 25K miles.
Pros:
1. It's been totally reliable. No electronic glitches and nothing broken. Very tight, not a single squeak or rattle. The OE MIchelins have a little more than half their tread left. I keep them inflated and rotate them every 6,000 miles.
2. Comfort. In the small SUV class, GM really got this car right. The wheelbase is longer than the competition (smoother ride, less pitching), the seats are big and comfortable and the driver ergonomics are great. Tilt/Telescoping steering wheel. The rear seat reclines a little, and also slides fore and aft about 6 inches. Slide it forward when you want the cargo space, slide it back for passengers. They have a ton of legroom. Haven't see that in any other small SUV except the GMC Terrain (basically the same car). The 2018 models did away with that feature. (A friend who bought a 2016 Equinox new, shopped both it and the bigger Traverse. He bought the Equinox because it was more comfortable)
3. Wind noise is very low. Road noise varies with the road surface. Usually pretty low, but it can be annoying sometimes. Might be due to the Michelins.
My wife and I have taken several 10-12 hour trips in it, and neither of us is particularly tired at the end. My Mitsubishi would just beat the tar out of me. I'd be stiff and sore for a day or two after a drive like that. It's a better long-distance car than my wife"s 2016 Ford Escape, too.
Cons:
1. Styling. Uhhh... it doesn't have any. If you were drawing a quick sketch of an SUV for somebody who's never seen one, it'd look like an Equinox. The definition of the word 'generic' has a picture of an Equinox next to it. It's perfect if you want to be invisible.
2. Small item storage. There'a big glove box and a big console storage box. That's it. Everything gets lost in them. My Mitsu had 2 glove compartments (iupper and lower) a 2-level console storage compartment and a small pop-open compartment on top of the dash. Much more functional.
3. Power. Like the styling, it doesn't have any. The 4 cyl. is just about adequate around town, and okay once you get to highway speed, but if you can buy a 6 instead, do it. The base engine just isn't worth it. Freeway merges can be exciting, and on the highway long hills take a toll. Economy isn't great because the motor works hard. 1500 miles of highway driving on a recent trip netted me 27.6 mpg. In fairness, I had a full load of luggage and my normal cruising speed was 75-80 mph. In 10,000 miles (2/3 around town and 1/3 highway), my average mileage has been just shy of 24.
Despite the 'cons' it's been a good car and fine for 90+% of my driving. I don't regret buying it at all. The comfort factor (I'm old) makes up for most of the negatives. Just wish I'd been able to get a decent deal on a V-6.
My .02
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