2022 Chevy Blazer vs Equinox
The 2022 Chevy Blazer is a midsize SUV, featuring a strong engine performance and towing capability, as well as plenty of standard features. Let’s compare it to the compact Chevy Equinox.
Design/Price
The 2022 Chevy Blazer is a two-row SUV that offers spacious seating and cargo room, with comfortable seating up front and enough room for up to five people. The seats are supportive and it is easy to enter and exit the SUV with its sliding rear seats, but it’s Camaro-like styling makes it harder for taller passengers to sit in the rear. Cloth upholstery and a power-adjustable driver’s seat come standard, and leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, power-adjustable front seats, and heated rear seats are available. An additional option is a heated or power adjustment steering wheel. Cargo capacity is 30.5 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats and 64.2 cubic feet behind the front seats. The Chevy Blazer features four trim levels: 2LT, 3LT, a new sporty RS trim, and Premier, with a starting price of $33,400 for the 2LT trim and ranging to $43,000 for the Premier trim.
The Equinox has a refreshed exterior styling for 2022. It features a striking exterior, with distinctive headlights, a new grille design, and updated front and rear bumpers. This five-seat compact SUV offers tremendous rear-seat legroom and ample headroom that allows tall adults to sit comfortably. It is mixed in its interior quality because of hard plastic surfaces, but soft-touch accents are also present. Standard features included are cloth upholstery and four-way manually adjustable front seats. Standard and available features on the RS and Premier trim include leather upholstery, eight-way power-adjustable front seats, heated and ventilated fronts, heated rear seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a heated steering wheel, and driver’s seat memory seat. You will get about 30 cubic feet behind the rear seats and around 64 cubic feet with the second row folded down. The Equinox comes in four trim levels: LS, LT, RS, and Premier. Starting price is $25,800 for the Equinox and ranges to a starting price of $31,000 for the Premier.
Safety and Technology
New for 2022, the Blazer comes standard with Chevy Safety Assist, a suite of six advanced safety features including, forward collision alert and automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, following distance indicator, front pedestrian braking, and intellibeam auto high beam assist. Additional safety features include rear vision camera, teen driver technology, rear seat reminder. Lane change alert with side blind zone alert, rear cross-traffic alert, rear park assist, adaptive cruise control, and HD rear vision camera is available. Chevrolet offers an easy-to-use Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system and 8-inch touch screen, with graphics that are crisp and easy to see. It also has a handy shortcut bar and responsive touch controls. It comes standard with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, four USB ports, Bluetooth, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and a six-speaker audio system.
The Chevy Safety Assist also comes standard on the Equinox and includes forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, following distance indicator, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, and automatic high-beam headlights. A rearview camera, Teen Driver system, and rear-seat reminder are also standard. A lot of features are standard on all trims, but you’ll need to move up to the LT and Premier trim to get the available Confidence and Convenience packages that include added safety and convenience features; such as a power liftgate and a universal garage door opener. A hands-free park assist is also available now. The Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system comes standard with some great technology features. The LS and LT offer standard features and the RS and Premier add a little bit more. Standard features on all trims include a 7-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, four USB ports, a Wi-fi hot spot, Bluetooth, voice recognition, and a six-speaker stereo. An 8-inch touch screen, navigation, a seven-speaker stereo, wireless device charging, and two additional USB ports are available.
Power
The Chevy Blazer has two engine options: a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque and an available 3.6-liter V6 with 308 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. Both come standard with a nine-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive is available and includes a towing package. This 3.6-liter V6 engine will be powerful enough for most driving situations and can tow up to 4,500 pounds. It drops to 3,500 pounds for four-cylinder models. It sits on 18-inch alloy wheels, and 20-inch wheels for the RS and Premier. There are several drive modes available, including Tour, Sport, and Snow/Ice, as well as available Off-Road and Tow/Haul. Front-wheel drive is standard, and Chevy’s advanced twin-clutch all-wheel-drive system is available on the RS trim. It delivers a 21/27 mpg city and highway rating with its base engine.
Equinox dropped its more powerful 2.0-liter turbo engine, making the only power the Equinox offers for this model year a 170-horsepower, 1.5-liter turbocharged engine and a six-speed automatic transmission. The transmission shifts smoothly, but acceleration is a bit lackluster in its only engine. The Equinox delivers a comfortable ride and takes turns with composure. Opting for larger wheels will give you a jittery experience, especially over large bumps in the road. The Equinox will tow up to a maximum of 1,500 pounds with its only engine and front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is available on all trims. Fuel economy is estimated at 26/31 mpg city and highway.
Conclusion
The 2021 Chevy Blazer and Equinox are built from the same family. The Chevy Blazer is midsize and designed for your drive around down with more towing capabilities and an off-road drive-mode for your adventures; while the Equinox is compact with about the same passenger and cargo space, as well as standard features. The Equinox will give you a smaller engine, but better gas mileage with a better price tag.