1 Dec 2017
Holden finally filled the gap left by the underwhelming Captiva 5 with its Mexican-sourced Equinox mid-size SUV that it picked from the Chevrolet stable.
The five-seat Equinox was developed in the US, but Holden’s engineering team had a hand in the suspension and power steering tune to ensure it better suited Australian conditions.
It was initially offered with three powertrains, including a 1.5-litre turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder engine producing 127kW/275Nm paired with either a six-speed manual or auto, offered only in base LS grade.
A 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol unit delivering 188kW/353Nm matched with a new nine-speed auto – the same drivetrain from the ZB Commodore – was offered in LS+, LT, LTZ and LTZ-V, with the latter two variants available with all-wheel drive.
A Euro 6 100kW/320Nm 1.6-litre turbo-diesel launched a couple of months after the petrol-powered versions and the oil-burner was available in all model grades except the base LS.
Pricing at base level undercut virtually all of its competitors, including the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4, Standard kit from LS up included automatic headlights with LED daytime running lights, 7.0-inch colour touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, six airbags, a reversing camera and 17-inch alloy wheels, while automatic versions had ‘active noise cancellation’.
