Today we’re taking you behind the wheel of the Holden Equinox, a car we’re pretty familiar with here at gcmag, having now road-tested on the Gold Coast for a week of peak hour traffic, scenic driving, beach trips and grocery runs.
We were also among the first in the country to test drive the whole range when they launched back in 2018.
We’ll be breaking up our road test into a few easily digestible sections with no over-complicated car speak or buzz words here just the facts and opinions of a guy who likes to drive.
My Drive
This is the part where I guide you through my driving experience and observations, I’ve had the chance to drive the Equinox now in multiple conditions and a range of different models from the LS to LTZ-V, our Gold Coast road test had us trekking around in the LS+.
Taking the Equinox out for the first time i was pleasantly surprised with the responsiveness and zip of the Equinox and its 188kw engine, and this feeling continued a year later jumping in the LS+ for this road test.
What is apparent that from the base LS model right through to the LTZ-V AWD, there’s very little difference in performance, handling or driving comfort.
Our first extensive trip in the LS+ was our standard M1 shuffle spending a little over an hour and a half back to the Gold Coast, in this parking lot I quickly became familiar with all of the safety features, tech offerings.
Over the next day, we took to the roads of the Gold Coast for an extensive road test from the city to the hinterland and trekked back up the coast on a range of windy and scenic routes and the Equinox passed with ease.
Day to Day
So the Equinox now became my daily driver for the remainder of the week, the first outing was morning coffee meetings in Burleigh taking the trip in the Equinox simple to park with it’s reversing camera and not so bulky frame.
Having the car with a bit of space for junk in the trunk I thought it was time to upgrade my at homework desk and set out to buy one, pleasantly relieved when the boot space opened up and allowed plenty of room for the flat-pack desk another point in favour of the Equinox.
Throughout the remainder of the week, I found myself slightly enjoying the fact that the commute took a little longer, being a bigger person I appreciated the plenty of headroom and spacious cabin sometimes not on offer in other medium SUV’s.
The Equinox comes equipped with all the safety offerings you’d expect from a new car, including reversing cameras, automatic headlamps, rear park assist, six airbags all culminating in a 5 Star ANCAP safety rating across the whole range.
As you move up in the range, you will see an increase in features Holdens Safety Alert Seat in the LS+ model and Holden Eye with Lane Departure, Distance Indicator and Blind Spot Monitoring and Autonomous Emergency Braking.
Holden also brought an impressive suite of tech into the range with Active Nose Cancellation, Apple Car Play, Android Auto and Siri Eyes Free across the field and moving up to Bost Sound and Ventilated Seats for those further up the range.
The Equinox has a stylish new look for the medium SUV market. It keeps within expectations of the market if you move up the range and opt for the Black edition or sunroof you’re going to have in my opinion one of the better looking SUV’s in that medium range.
One the price front the Equinox starts at $30k Driveaway and currently on offer is seven years free scheduled servicing and a 5-year unlimited km warranty for their 2019 plate clearance sale.
So if you’re looking for a great all-rounder for family, fun and the Australian driving experience, we would recommend checking out the Holden Equinox with the latest in Safety, Tech and perfect for the commute or long road trip at this time of year.
If you would like more information on the range click here
