This is now a serious competitor for the Honda CR-V. The Equinox has the optional 2.0-liter, 252 hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which provides great pep. The nine-speed automatic transmission didn’t call attention to itself, which — trust us — is a compliment. Quiet and comfortable. The old Equinox, which was some 400 pounds heavier, 12 years less refined, and was neither particularly quiet nor comfortable. The new one is both. It has very good sound insulation, a calm ride, and the suspension leaves your kidneys completely undisturbed, city or highway. It’s a softer, more comfortable ride than the CR-V. Easy handling. The Equinox is easy to maneuver, and while it emphasizes comfort, there’s not a lot of body lean or pillowiness. It’s no drama, in the positive sense. Roomy. There’s good room inside the Equinox, front and back. Adults who have to ride in the back of your Equinox will thank you for renting the Equinox over the Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape. With the rear seats folded down, there’s a whole lot of cargo room, too. Safety, Only available on the top trim models, our FWD Premier version comes with city-speed forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking. Blindspot detection and rear cross traffic alert are standard equipment on the Premier. Good touch-screen system. GM’s home button gets you to what you need quickly. We find the system intuitive and easy to use. It also has Apple Car Play and Android Auto if you are phone-centric. Plenty of USB ports make life easy for people who like to plug in. Visibility. A large front windshield, good sized front-windows, and a high seating position, makes front visibility pretty darned good. Rear visibility, typically these days, is not as good—although the Equinox’s rear window is larger than many these days. A standard backup camera is useful and necessary. Volume buttons on the back of the steering wheel. Chevy has recently joined Fiat Chrysler and Mini in moving the steering wheel volume buttons to where God intended them — on the back side of the steering wheel, where your index and middle fingers naturally rest. There’s nowhere better for them. Hands never leave the wheel, and the driver never has to search for the volume control…which is still one of the most commonly used controls in a car.