Chevy Equinox vs Honda CR-V

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghh101 So why not sell the Malibu and just keep the Equinox. You will save more that way.

I would go that route. I have a 2017 Equinox - 6cyl AWD. DW and I like it very much but when the 2018's came out they looked pretty nice and I felt like I wish I would have waited. Then I read that all they had was 4cyl engines. Sorry, deal breaker for a heavy SUV like the Equinox. Those 4cyl engines are going to be working pretty hard so if I got one, I wouldn't have the drive it until it dies mindset. Probably look at about 6-8 years/80,000 miles. Also, if they have that stupid start stop technology, I wouldn't even look at it.

I drove a rental with start/stop and while it wasn't bad, I did not like it. Then I read that in order to accomplish start stop, it requires extra equipment. Not sure if it's true, but I read stop/start cars have an extra battery and equipment to keep the fluids pressurized while the engine is off (redundant pumps?). Not to mention the wear on the starter. No thanks.

Sorry that doesn't answer your question about the Honda, but you said you're pretty familiar with the Chevy and my guess is that maybe not as much as you think given the changes in 2018.

[Bflotomny]

This is a very easy decision:
If you are leasing the Chevy will be fine. It will self destruct about the time of trade/return
If you are purchasing for long term then reliability is very important. That said its the Honda

[pb4uski]

My Chevy truck had ~120k milles before I traded it in... only because the frame rusted due to all the brine that is used in the winter around here. Other than one major repair that ws covered by the warranty it was only routine maintenance the whole time I owned it... but I admit that replacing the brakes were pricey.

[meierlde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 Then I read that all they had was 4cyl engines. Sorry, deal breaker for a heavy SUV like the Equinox. Those 4cyl engines are going to be working pretty hard so if I got one, I wouldn't have the drive it until it dies mindset. Probably look at about 6-8 years/80,000 miles. Also, if they have that stupid start stop technology, I wouldn't even look at it. I drove a rental with start/stop and while it wasn't bad, I did not like it. Then I read that in order to accomplish start stop, it requires extra equipment. Not sure if it's true, but I read stop/start cars have an extra battery and equipment to keep the fluids pressurized while the engine is off (redundant pumps?). Not to mention the wear on the starter. No thanks. Sorry that doesn't answer your question about the Honda, but you said you're pretty familiar with the Chevy and my guess is that maybe not as much as you think given the changes in 2018.

Note that the 6 is now going the way of the v8. Actually compare the torque/hp, and if it is a turbo charged engine (actually the equinox has a 1.5 and 2 l gasoline engine and a 1.6 l diesel. All are turbocharged). The 2.0 is supposed to be available this summer and comes with the same 9 speed auto transmission that the 2017 Malibu Premier comes with.

You might also check if the 2.0 l comes with start stop. The Malibu only has start stop on the 1.5l engine.
Start stop has a second battery to keep the hvac running while the engine is stopped. The start stop does not come on until the engine is warmed up also.

[rayinpenn]

I have to ask - if you have a perfectly good Malibu, only a couple years old, why would you buy a new car? I'm guessing there's no way buying a new car will yield a net savings... sell the old equinox, baby the Malibu and run it until it is uneconomical. If you really want a CRV, and are true financially motivated find a 3 year old one. Sell the other 2 cars.

By the by my old CRV is sitting outside with 130,000 miles on it ready to take my freshmen son to college just over 1.5 hours away... CRV s are known to be great reliable cars.

[Moemg]

Before you rush out and but a CRV especially a used one read the complaints about the air conditioning
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t10050_ds38007
This happened to me at 35,000 miles and a friend at 42,000 miles .

[Red Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Agreed on road noise. An older CR-V we had was so noisy I thought the wheel bearing were shot. Even after a new set of tires, it was still noisy. Fuel mileage was not anything to brag about either. As said above, the newer models are supposedly improved in both areas. We have been happy with our 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and bought that over the Chevy Equinox at the time. We would have gone for the Equinox back then but the heated seat option which DW insisted on was only available in the highest option package and I didn't want to shell out thousands more to have heated seats. Incidentally, the Santa Fe gave us the heated seats, including rear heated seats, in the lower end tech package which made the car about $4K less than the Equinox. Repairs on the Santa Fe have been $0 in 62,000 miles. Only oil, filters and one new set of tires is all we are into the car for. In my opinion, all SUV's in this class are pretty good. It just depends on the options you want.

WE currently own 2 SF's (2007 & 2014). They're almost bullet proof. Probably trade the 2007 for another Hyundai product in the near future.

[Midpack]

The Consumer Reports reliability ratings make it an easy decision to me. And having owned 4 Hondas and 3 Toyotas, all for over 100K miles, it would be hard to convince me otherwise now. By many accounts GM has improved but the 2 Chevys I owned briefly when I was much younger, and the handful of rentals I've driven, ranged from meh to complete garbage.

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack The Consumer Reports reliability ratings make it an easy decision to me. And having owned 4 Hondas and 3 Toyotas, all for over 100K miles, it would be hard to convince me otherwise now. By many accounts GM has improved but the 2 Chevys I owned briefly when I was much younger, and the handful of rentals I've driven, ranged from meh to complete garbage.

In defense of GM, they have improved. I've always driven GM's because a family member gets me the employee discount. The real shock was when Consumers Reports had the Impala as it's best full size car. I leased it for two years and it was a good solid car.

It's not universally true and some models are certainly better than others but most manufacturers of your mid-level cars put out a pretty good product with a pretty good chance of not having any problems before 100,000 miles.

[Chuckanut]

I owned one GM car in my life, a 1985 Pontiac.

The design of the car was very nice and it was a joy to use - up to about 60,000 miles. After 60,000 miles me and guy who owned the local repair shop became VERY good friends. After 60K, I doubt if I ever went more than 6 months without some sort of repair. Every two to three months was the norm. You name it, it broke.

A few years ago I was tempted by a Buick that had good reviews and a good repair record. But, the thought of that Pontiac was more than I could over come.

Face it, I will never own another GM automobile. They lost a customer for life. And I made a point of telling my children about my sad GM experience. None of them has owned a GM car yet.

This is what happens when they let the bean counters run the business.

Note: I now recall that my first major repair was in the mid 40,000's when I had the steering rack replaced because it had 'morning sickness'. That was just the first time. It needed to be replaced again before the car had 100K miles.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Face it, I will never own another GM automobile. They lost a customer for life.

Same here, but it was a Studebaker...

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Same here, but it was a Studebaker...

I bet you'll never buy another!

[hesperus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg I am probably the only one that had a problematic CRV . The air conditioning went at 35,000 miles and the paint started coming off in clumps . Reading the car boards apparently some years had these problems .Mine was a 2010 . Other than that it was a good car . I traded it in on a Rav 4 .

No, you're not the only one.
We have a '15 CRV EX-L (bought new) and at 18K miles the alternator went. Then, at 23K, the water pump went. Both within 12 months of each other. Both happened while we were travelling, which upped the stress level of locating a dealer while on the road. They replaced each under warranty, but I simply didn't appreciate the hassle of getting it into the shop, especially with a 'newer' vehicle that shouldn't have these failures. I also agree with calmloki in that the honda CRV lacks a certain level of refinement in the interior. Even with the EX package with leather, there is a certain utilitarian feel to the vehicle. Cheap silver plastic covers the door handles and various trim sections. Cut-rate sun visors without extenders don't block much sun, and hard plastics adorn the upper doors and entire dash in textures that range from respectable to bargain-bin. I would have preferred to purchase a Mazda CX5 as well, but no dealers anywhere near us, so we went with the honda. DW liked the reliability (?) factor and the crash test ratings, but would I buy the honda CRV again - NO.
We are longtime Toyota and Honda owners, and this is the first time we've ever been unhappy with one of them.

[ncbill]

iirc, people are getting some sweet deals on Equinox leases (see leasehackr.com)

based on personal experience (owned a 80s Camaro, recently was gifted a relative's Suburban) I wouldn't want to own any GM vehicle out of warranty, but a lease would be fine.

once the last of the kids is out of our house I'll be able to downsize to a couple of vehicles...one old reliable brand (owned) and the other what we want to try out (leased)

[samclem]

I'm not ready to write off GM (or other US car companies) forever. I'd put them into my decision matrix if their current models were giving 200K miles/10 years of trouble-free service, comparable to Toyota and Honda. But it takes 10+ years to get a reputation like that, and they've made promises over many years that "we've learned and now we are doing things really well" and it often hasn't turned out that way. So, I will remain very suspicious skeptical.
I recently had a 2017 Chevy Cruze as a rental car, and drove it 1200 miles in two weeks. I was surprised--it was a nice little car. The fit and finish were good, it got 44 honest MPG on the highway (at 65-70 MPH, and no particular effort on my part to economize), the ride was quiet and smooth (for a small car). It had a small 4 cylinder turbo engine that produced good acceleration and was smooth. If they'd been making them (or similar models) for a decade and they had proven to have Civic/Corolla reliability, I'd consider a Cruze. But, for now, the Chevy reputation (including the previous Cruze years/body styles), the start-stop engine control (getting more common--maybe it will prove to be okay but it is an irritant in my opinion), and the inclusion of the small turbo on the small engine (another thing to go wrong--and marrying the turbo to the start-stop engine feature seems to be inviting eventual problems with turbo bearing coking) would all give me pause.
It takes a long time to really turn the corner and build a quality car. It's not just a design issue or making sure the cars are assembled right in the GM factories. It also requires the establishment of good relationships with suppliers of everything that GM doesn't make--pumps, switches, gaskets, bearings, electric motors, brackets, sensors, etc, etc. These suppliers need to know that GM will track the reliability of these parts over 10-15 years and reward or punish them accordingly in their future dealings. That's what it takes. So, it might require a couple of decades to weed out crummy parts and establish a sterling reputation for GM products. So far, GM isn't there.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover I bet you'll never buy another!

Studebaker?

I had a MGB 32 years ago (1985) and it was a troublesome car. Heck, the Lucas electrical system was a nightmare and the engine leaked oil. I'm not going to buy another MG product ever again.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Studebaker? I had a MGB 32 years ago (1985) and it was a troublesome car. Heck, the Lucas electrical system was a nightmare and the engine leaked oil. I'm not going to buy another MG product ever again.

A bad Lucas electrical part? I've never heard of such a thing. Bwahahaha

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover A bad Lucas electrical part? I've never heard of such a thing. Bwahahaha

He probably let the smoke out of it without replacing it.
wire-harness-smoke-Custom.jpg

[foxfirev5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 I would go that route. I have a 2017 Equinox - 6cyl AWD. DW and I like it very much but when the 2018's came out they looked pretty nice and I felt like I wish I would have waited. Then I read that all they had was 4cyl engines. Sorry, deal breaker for a heavy SUV like the Equinox. Those 4cyl engines are going to be working pretty hard so if I got one, I wouldn't have the drive it until it dies mindset. Probably look at about 6-8 years/80,000 miles. Also, if they have that stupid start stop technology, I wouldn't even look at it. I drove a rental with start/stop and while it wasn't bad, I did not like it. Then I read that in order to accomplish start stop, it requires extra equipment. Not sure if it's true, but I read stop/start cars have an extra battery and equipment to keep the fluids pressurized while the engine is off (redundant pumps?). Not to mention the wear on the starter. No thanks. Sorry that doesn't answer your question about the Honda, but you said you're pretty familiar with the Chevy and my guess is that maybe not as much as you think given the changes in 2018.

Yes newer is not necessarily better. The CV trans in the CRV is a deal breaker for me. The eco stop feature on GM's is likewise a deal breaker. I've rented a couple of Chevys with this feature and hated it. One Impala and a Cruz had such a lurch and jolt on takeoff I seriously thought the trans would drop out.
I have no idea what I'll buy when the '05 Lexus gives out in 5 or 10 years. I figure the '15 Equinox we have should last another 15 years so there's no urgency. Hope I last that long.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover A bad Lucas electrical part? I've never heard of such a thing. Bwahahaha

You've heard the term "Prince of Darkness" I gather...?

OP, I've decided (but you don't have to do anything I recommend)...go with the new Equinox! (be American, buy American!)