All New Chevrolet 2010 Equinox Gets Power Boost, Better Fuel Economy

Back in January General Motors revealed the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. Not only is the new Equinox based on a revised version of GM’s Theta crossover architecture, but two all-new engines are rounding out the Equinox lineup for 2010. At the announcement in January, GM denoted that the specifications on the Equinox’s two new engines were estimated figures, but nonetheless the figures were promising. GM claimed the coveted 30 miles-per-gallon rating on front-wheel drive models equipped with the direct-injected ECOTEC 2.4L VVT four-cylinder; a barrier that has not been crossed in the segment the Equinox competes with. In addition, they stated an estimated 255 HP out of the new direct-injected 3.0L High Feature V6.

Fast forward to this month and as the launch of the new ‘Nox continues to progress, GMI has learned that the specifications regarding the 2010 Equinox’s engines have been slightly revised. The good news is that all of the revisions appear to be in the “for the better” category; namely with the power output of the 3.0L V6. Below is a list of the specifications that have changed (and appear to be final numbers), as well as the preliminary figures.
Specifications
Direct-Injected ECOTEC 2.4L:

• 182 HP @ 6700 rpm (unchanged)
• 174 lb.-ft. torque @ 4800 rpm (up from 172 lb.-ft.)
• 21/30 MPG on FWD models (unchanged)
• 20/27 MPG on AWD models (unchanged)
• Projected 0-60 mph: 9.5 seconds (new information!)
Direct-Injected 3.0L High-Feature V6:

• 264 HP @ 6950 rpm (up from 255 HP)
• 222 lb.-ft. @ 5100 rpm (up from 214 lb.-ft.)
• 19/25 MPG on FWD models (up from 18/25 MPG)
• 18/24 MPG on AWD models (up from 17/24 MPG)
• Projected 0-60 mph: 7.8 seconds (new information!)

The most notable changes are obviously to the new V6. Note that the horsepower number has increased by 9 horsepower and city fuel economy has been boosted by one MPG for all V6 models. In addition, GMI has learned the projected 0-60 times, which are listed above. The 2.4L 0-60 appears to be in line with competition such as the Honda CR-V, which generally runs 9.5-10 seconds in the 0-60 runs. The V6 appears to be slightly behind competition such as the Toyota RAV4 V6, which achieves 60 MPH in about 6.3 seconds.

Production for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox begins in May. The Equinox’s cousin, 2010 GMC Terrain, will be revealed next month at the 2009 New York International Auto Show. Terrain production is currently slated to start in August of this year. GMInsidenews will have all of the coverage from New York starting on April 8th!