2018 Chevrolet Equinox Revealed With Malibu-esque Styling, Turbo Engine Lineup, Diesel Option

Chevrolet has lifted the curtain on its next-generation Equinox, revealing a host of technological and styling updates for a long-running model that had grown long in the tooth.

The changes coming for the 2018 model year put the Equinox as a proper compact SUV, as the slimmed-down model sheds significant weight and adopts a trio of turbocharged four-cylinders. Going out on a limb in the red-hot market segment, Chevrolet plans to offer a diesel.

Looking like a Malibu that morphed into an SUV, the next-generation Equinox adopts the design language of Chevy’s newest crop of small sedans. Forget about the yawnmobiles of yesteryear and get a load of these busy, flowing flanks, the model shouts.

Underneath the skin, the changes are equally dramatic — maybe even more so. Chevy engineers shaved 400 pounds from the Equinox, which now weighs 10 percent less than the previous model. With rear seats folded flat, GM lists interior cargo volume at 63.5 cubic feet.

Like its recently redesigned Malibu stablemate, the Equinox’s diet allows it to accept a four-cylinder-only engine lineup. Gone is GM’s ubiquitous 3.6-liter V6.

The entry-level mill is the turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder found in the Malibu, making 170 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. Chevy doesn’t list the transmission, but it’s almost certainly the brand’s trusty six-speed automatic.

GM’s new 9T50 nine-speed automatic comes standard on up-level models powered by a 252-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four. While the automaker hasn’t announced torque figures for this mill (it’s a 2 hp bump over the 2.0-liter found in up-level Malibus), it does promise the same max trailering capacity as past V6 models (3,500 pounds).

There’s plenty of debate over the future of light-duty diesel engines in North America — mainly, is there a future? — but Chevy doesn’t seem worried about the oil-burning stigma spawned by Volkswagen’s emissions deception. The optional 1.6-liter turbo-diesel is the only engine of its type in the North American compact SUV market. Making 136 hp and 236 lb-ft, the mill adopts start/stop technology and allows the automaker to advertise a GM-estimated 40 miles per gallon on the highway.

Highway mileage for front-wheel-drive base models is estimated at 31 mpg, while the 2.0-liter front-wheel-drive variant is estimated at 28 mpg. All-wheel-drive models adopt a switchable system that decouples from the rear axle when four-wheel traction isn’t needed, a la Jeep Cherokee and Chrysler 200, further aiding fuel economy.

The 2018 Equinox goes on sale in the first quarter of 2017.

[Images: General Motors]