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wtf? C&D tests 2010 Chevy Equinox at 18 MPG

S

stateofbeasley

Senior member
C&D Link

We recorded a best 0-to-60-mph time of 8.7 seconds and a quarter-mile in 16.8 at 84 mph. Those figures put it near the back of the mini-SUV pack, as does our observed fuel economy of just 18 mpg.
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18 MPG??? This car is advertised at 22/32. 😕

The testers said they had to floor the car to actually get it to go. All the power and torque is in the high end of the RPM range:

We blame that on the transmission, which is so eager to swap cogs that it?s as if the Equinox is celebrating having six speeds, saying, ?Why not shift now? We?ve got six gears to get through!? Well, ?why not? are the engine?s lofty power and torque peaks?6700 and 4900 rpm, respectively?and getting even moderate acceleration requires a stiff jab at the gas to keep the tranny in lower gears and the engine in the power band.
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And like recent offerings from other manufacturers, this car is badly overweight:

At 3752 pounds, our tester is on the hefty side of this segment. It pays for that mass with fuel economy that won?t live up to the 22/32 mpg EPA ratings in real-world use
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3752 lbs? wtf. :disgust:

The heaviest FWD Ford Escape with a V6 weighs 3,,421 lbs.. 3,355 lbs. if you opt for the I4.

My conclusions? The EPA ratings are easy to game by making the transmission behave oddly. Direct Injection is useless if the car is so heavy that it overcomes the extra power. Ford >> GM.

Locked because it has been derailed.

Zenmervolt - AnandTech Garage Moderator
 
Either that, or Car&Driver is being stupid again (wouldn't surprise me). If they were flooring it and all that to test quarter mile and 0-60 times, of COURSE it won't get its normal mpg. That goes with any car.
 
Seems like the car mags floor the hell out of any car they get their hands on.

Here's the Escape's MPG according to C&D.

C&D Link

21 MPG combined for the 4-cylinder, rated 20/28.
 
Yeah, good thing that the EPA tested the cars for mileage ratings, instead of the C&D testers, or there would have been a bunch more vehicles that qualified for the cash for clunkers trade ins!! 😉
 
the EPA doesnt test all cars, only certain random samples of vehicles that are either really close to the guzzler tax, get impressive mileage, or are new comers in a new category...
 
Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
the EPA doesnt test all cars, only certain random samples of vehicles that are either really close to the guzzler tax, get impressive mileage, or are new comers in a new category...
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So those numbers they make up are random?
 
I think when car and driver tested my Fusion Hybrid they managed a piddly 35mpg combined(the car is rated 41city/36highway/39combined) Now granted I hypermile my car and easily manage 55-70mpg on my daily commute, if I dont hypermile and drive to work like a indy car driver to work I can still manage 40-45mpg. So my conclusion is C&D plants the pedal to the floor and never lets up.

EDIT: And holy chunky batman. My Fusion Hybrid weighs about 3700 pounds with a giant magnet and nearly 200 pounds of battery as well....and gets a better 0-60 time too!
 
ROFLCOPTER

maybe I'm confused, but hasn't the whole premise of Car n' Driver over the past 25 yrs been to shit talk American cars

///RAV4 4 teh winnar
 
Exactly. Car and Driver is full of smug jerks who hate anything American, plain and simple. You are not getting an objective viewpoint when you read that rag. Are there terrible American cars? Yes... the Chevy Aveo comes to mind (although that's actually a Korean car) but there are also superb American cars. Any publication that blindly praises every product from one brand and blindly trashes every product from another isn't a legitimate information sources - it's an advertisement. Car and Driver is a 75 page advertisement.
 
The mfg tests most of the cars and the EPA takes their word. The EPA does spot checks, and checks certain cars such ones that would get a gas guzzler tax.
 
I'm sure they weighed it properly, and we know the HP, so this should not be a surprise.

They gave up the low end torque with the smaller DI engines.
 
This brand new GM 2.4L DI engine barely keeps up with Honda's old style 2.4L...it's shy a few HP in fact...
 
C&D observed fuel economy means nothing. It's like you saying you own an equinox and get 25 mpg and i say i get 32 and bob down the street gets 18 because he floorsit all the time, which apparently they did. EPA ratings are much better. I find C&Ds numbers are always significantly below EPA.

Those high torque peaks are an annoyance, i bet.

In other news, C&D tested the new BMW M3 sand said in real world use it got 90 mpg. They then proceeded to ejaculate all over it.
 
Originally posted by: iFX
Exactly. Car and Driver is full of smug jerks who hate anything American
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Uh, no. First of all, you can't invalidate C&D findings just because you hate C&D. Second, there are examples of American cars that C&D rates highly:

C&D rates Ford Fusion #1 midsize hybrid

Ford has pulled off a game changer with this 2010 model, creating a high-mpg family hauler that?s fun to drive. That achievement has two components: First, the machinery is unexpectedly refined?call it Toyota slickness expressed with car-guy soul. Second, the electronic instrument cluster involves the driver, invites you into the hybrid game, and gives you the feedback needed to keep increasing your personal-best mpg number.
...


Ford really hit all the marks with this hybrid Fusion, combining excellent fuel economy with slick manners and an engrossing personality. Fun and fuel economy have finally gotten married in a mid-size sedan.
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Your bias against C&D does not change the fact that the Equinox is overweight at 3752 lbs.
 
there are sedans that weigh more than 3750lbs...

go drive a crx if you're worried about weight. >4000lb SUV's are extremely common.
 
Originally posted by: Mermaidman
I don't think 3700 lb is overweight for an SUV, but I do think that the base motor is inadequate for spirited driving. The lacklustre MPG results from trying to make the puny motor do what it's not designed to do.
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The Equinox is bloated compared to some of its other competitors. Both the Subaru Forester and the Toyota RAV4 have similar or greater interior space, and comparable 4-cyl engines, yet they are hundreds of pounds lighter, even at higher trim levels.

Equinox (base trim: 3770 lbs): 99.7 ft3 passenger volume, 31 ft3 cargo volume. GM specs

Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited (3360 lbs, w' AT and AWD): 102.1 ft3 passenger volume, 30.8 ft3 cargo volume. 400 lbs lighter

Toyota RAV4 Limited (3439 lbs, w' AT and FWD): 108.2 ft3 passenger volume, 36.4 ft3 cargo volume) 330 lbs lighter

I used Polk comparison tool @ Subaru to get these specs

Even in the loaded up Limited trims, the Forester and RAV4 are still lighter.

The 2010 Equinox may be better than the previous generation, but it's a dud as far as living up to its spec sheet claims.
 
Originally posted by: stateofbeasley
Originally posted by: Mermaidman
I don't think 3700 lb is overweight for an SUV, but I do think that the base motor is inadequate for spirited driving. The lacklustre MPG results from trying to make the puny motor do what it's not designed to do.
Click to expand...

The Equinox is bloated compared to some of its other competitors. Both the Subaru Forester and the Toyota RAV4 have similar or greater interior space, and comparable 4-cyl engines, yet they are hundreds of pounds lighter, even at higher trim levels.

Equinox (base trim: 3770 lbs): 99.7 ft3 passenger volume, 31 ft3 cargo volume. GM specs

Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited (3360 lbs, w' AT and AWD): 102.1 ft3 passenger volume, 30.8 ft3 cargo volume. 400 lbs lighter

Toyota RAV4 Limited (3439 lbs, w' AT and FWD): 108.2 ft3 passenger volume, 36.4 ft3 cargo volume) 330 lbs lighter

I used Polk comparison tool @ Subaru to get these specs

Even in the loaded up Limited trims, the Forester and RAV4 are still lighter.

The 2010 Equinox may be better than the previous generation, but it's a dud as far as living up to its spec sheet claims.
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According to YOUR Car & Driver article, the Equinox's competitors are the
Ford Edge, >4000 lb, wheelbase 111"
Hyundai Santa Fe, 3700 lb, wheelbase 106"
Mazda CX-7, 3700 lb, 108"
Nissan Murano, >3800 lb, 111"
Toyota Highlander--? weight not provided by Car & Driver, wheelbase 110"
Equinox wheelbase ~112"

So I still think the Equinox weight is comparable to its competitors. GM at this point does not make a small SUV. Just like at Starbucks, you get large, larger, and largest. 😀 FWIW, I read a rumor that GM will release a new small SUV in 2 or 3 years to compete with the CR-V types. The new small SUV would replace the Chevy HHR wagon.
 
GM's own web advertisements for the Equinox compared its MPG to the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, and Honda CR-V. I saw plenty of banner ads reading: "More MPG than Ford Escape Hybrid!!1one!!1"

While the Equinox may compete with the Edge and the Murano, its clear to me that GM also targets this car for the cute 'ute segment. The longer wheelbase does nothing to diminish the fact that its interior volume is essentially that of a small SUV, while its mass is much greater and observed MPG is worse.

I don't question that C&D thrashes the hell out of the cars it drives. But thrashing the hell out of an Equinox netted 18 MPG, worse than the 21 MPG that C&D, got with a Ford Escape.
 
Originally posted by: stateofbeasley
GM's own web advertisements for the Equinox compared its MPG to the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, and Honda CR-V. I saw plenty of banner ads reading: "More MPG than Ford Escape Hybrid!!1one!!1"

While the Equinox may compete with the Edge and the Murano, its clear to me that GM also targets this car for the cute 'ute segment. The longer wheelbase does nothing to diminish the fact that its interior volume is essentially that of a small SUV, while its mass is much greater and observed MPG is worse.

I don't question that C&D thrashes the hell out of the cars it drives. But thrashing the hell out of an Equinox netted 18 MPG, worse than the 21 MPG that C&D, got with a Ford Escape.
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Yah, I think GM is forced to cherry-pick in its marketing because it doesn't have a true small SUV, so the Equinox has to span both segments. So the question is whether buyers would see it as a viable compromise between small and medium SUVs, or whether it's a useless "jack of all trades."

By the way, this Equinox review at Jalopnik provided better MPG for both 2.4L and 3.0L motors than Car & Driver!
Everyday mixed use saw an average of about 28.2 MPG, even accounting for our leaden foot. The thirstier V6 with all-wheel-drive returned 21.8 under mixed use and the four-cylinder with all-wheel drive managed 23 MPG.
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