Equinox 1.5 L Engine Power

[RIT333]

Aren't they supposed to make a corvette SUV ? Should be interesting if they really do.

 

[GaryM]

Aren't they supposed to make a corvette SUV ? Should be interesting if they really do.

Have seen some stuff on it but so far nothing. Seems like that's a depreciation of the Corvette name and history. The Corvette is a unique product and to soften that image with a SUV just doesn't feel right. I'm a Corvette owner and I really appreciate what the Corvette badge means. But companies will do what they want to do.

 

[RIT333]

Yep, they didn't ask me either. I agree that a Corvette SUV doesn't sound right, but neither does a Porsche SUV, and the sell them pretty easily.

 

[Prince Fan]

I go a bit out of my way to a Shell station that has Top Tier fuel. I dump a small bottle of Lucas Oil Upper Cylinder lubricant about every 3rd fill up. Had the vehicle 4 months, rotated the tires once. 6 mile commute, about 1/3 maxes at 50 mph. 25 and change for mpg. Flushed the trans before a 625 mile 1 way road trip. on the way out, part of journey was 75 on cruise control...31 mpg average. set cruise control to 70 and wound up at 35. and change. used 1 bottle of same lucas oil fuel treatment. had a head wind most of the way. On the way back, had a tail wind for a bit. cruise set at 75 the whole way. 4 refills (although not much used on the last). 35.4 total for the trip. mostly highway, and a few hills both directions.

 

[dequardo]

You’ll have to tell us how you’re getting that mileage without it going into 8th gear

 

[2025ChevNox]

Is anyone else disappointed with the lack of acceleration with the 1.5 L turbo engine?

Not at all. It's not far off from our 2020 Cadillac XT4 2.0 Turbo.

 

[GaryM]

My previous Equinox had a 2.0T engine and I would have been delighted to get it again, matched with the 8 spd transmission. That, in my opinion, would have been ideal. I now have a 25 RS. Overall, it's a nice vehicle. Comfortable, quiet, and pretty efficient. From a performance point of view, it's adequate. There are situations when it's lacking but they are few. The only gripe I have is how the transmission control module is programmed to use 8th gear. It doesn't take advantage of the gear unless you know how to get it to use it. Normal driving will only go to 7th gear. It takes a technique to get it to use 8th.

 

[RIT333]

Gary, care to comment on the technique that you use to consistently get it to use 8th gear ? I can sometimes get it to use 8th gear, but not consistently. For me, it is hit or miss.

 

[GaryM]

Gary, care to comment on the technique that you use to consistently get it to use 8th gear ? I can sometimes get it to use 8th gear, but not consistently. For me, it is hit or miss.

Unlike a typical acceleration procedure where you accelerate to road speed, back off the throttle and the trans will shift to it's highest gear, the Equinox will not do that once you're past 62 mph. It will remain in 7th gear, which at 70 mph is 2200 rpm. 8th gear is 1800 @ 70 mph. What I do is accelerate to 58 mph, back off and let it shift to 7th, then slowly accelerate to around 61-62, completely back off the throttle. It will shift to 8th every time. Then slowly accelerate to road speed. The catch here is if you try to accelerate too fast it will down shift to 7th, which means that's where you'll stay. The TCM is programmed not to enter 8th gear while accelerating through the lower gears and definitely will not shift to 8th if road speed is above 62 mph, and throttle % is more than 0. Once in 8th with will remain there until you either accelerate too fast to pass or slow down to a point it downshifts when you're picking up speed again. Either one of those actions will put it back in 7th and it will stay there. This approach may save some fuel since you're never really racing the engine as you merge into traffic, but because you're entering much slower than surrounding traffic you may get some nasty stares from other drivers. I live in a rural area so there's not a lot of traffic but in town (Green Bay) you have to pick your spot. You can always force it using the paddle shift, but to me, that kind of defeats the purpose of an automatic transmission. Using the above technique I'm getting 8th gear 90% or more of the time. Hope that helps.

 

[2025ChevNox]

Just use the paddle shifter to upshift and be done with it. Not really a big deal.

 

[2025ChevNox]

It's programmed to do what's necessary. 8th gear isn't often needed.

 

[CocoaJeff]

"70 mph is 2200 rpm. 8th gear is 1800 @ 70 mph" - GaryM

"It's programmed to do what's necessary. 8th gear isn't often needed." - 2025ChevNox

That's a pretty substantial difference in rpm. I guess I don't understand why it WOULDN'T automatically use 8th gear every time at 70mph? Why would the system be programmed to stay in 7th at a higher rpm, when 1800 rpm would seem to be better for the engine, and mileage?

 

[2025ChevNox]

I too am disappointed. It's very slow to downshift. When I punch the gas, I could almost take a nap before the car accelerates. On neighborhood 35 mph roads, it sounds like it's lugging. I'm frequently doing a short stab of throttle to force a downshift. The 2 liter was no longer available when we bought this '22 Premier.

On the highway, it's great. The rpm is up and the turbo is spinning, so goosing it while doing 60 or more feels good.

It was never intended to be a sportscar.