bachldrs
New member
Just signed onto this Forum moments ago. ' Found you all by Googling "Equinox Owners Club". We've had the 'Nox for 13 months now, having bought it June 30th, 2010, and just turned over the first 10K miles. Trouble-free except TPM went out at about 7K. No problem - replaced under warranty.
Technically, the car is my wife's. I remain philosophically opposed to new cars but since the 2010 model was without precedent, I could not find anything in the used car market to compare. At our advancing age, my wife really wanted one new car in her life, so we sprung for it. It's an LT1 four-cylinder. ' Considered a V6 with AWD but we wanted the mpg of the four. Previously, the wife had a '97 LeSabre and, with her severe neck and back problems, she swore she would never find another ride as good. It was about the only car she could ride in - save my 1973 MGB/GT.
At the GM dealer, we test-drove a Lucerne, a Malibu, and the Nox. She liked the ride of the Nox the best of all - and perhaps even better than the old LeSabre. I can add that it handles much better and is a lot more fun to drive than the old bathtub. One thing Buick really got right on those old cars, though, was the 3.8 liter engine - very smooth and quiet, quite fast, and fiercely economical at 28-30 mpg highway. Rated at 32 mpg highway, the four-cylinder Nox is slightly better - although getting the rated 32 mpg out of it takes some gentle, attentive, driving - preferably with a tailwind.
If you cast mpg to the wind, the four gets pretty fun to listen to while it's still pulling hard at around 7 grand or more. I find the performance pretty amazing. ' Wonder if the 2.4 would fit in one of my MGs (is GM using this engine in any rear-wheel-drive applications?). One gripe: too much lag on downshifts - can make passing on two-lane road downright dangerous if you don't allow for the downshift to happen before you pull out to pass. Otherwise, ' love the smooth six-speed tranny. Like the Buick, it's smooth ride will fool you, and I frequently find that when I'm accelerating on to a freeway, I get up to 10-20 mph faster than it feels before I notice. I also love the feel and performance of the brakes. Even hard stops are never 'hard". Rather, the car smoothly and rapidly decelerates with seemingly no sense of forward "Gs". Suddenly you're stopped - no fuss, no muss.
The fact that it qualifies as an SUV means nothing to us. We love the ease of getting our septuagenarian bodies in and out of the high, comfortable seats, and the most rear foot-room since the '48 DeSoto Suburban.
Two minor complaints over the design: a car of this quality and thoughtful design should have a rear seat that folds completely flat; and I am forever bumping the cruise control rocker switch to the "off" position with the palm of my left hand. Otherwise, this is an extremely well-made car that really delivers on its promise.
' Hope to hear from other owners - what attracted them to this car, what they like and dislike, what problems they've had, etc. I don't know anything about pre-2010 Noxes - but was attracted by the new claims for the 2010 design. So far, I haven't been disappointed.
Technically, the car is my wife's. I remain philosophically opposed to new cars but since the 2010 model was without precedent, I could not find anything in the used car market to compare. At our advancing age, my wife really wanted one new car in her life, so we sprung for it. It's an LT1 four-cylinder. ' Considered a V6 with AWD but we wanted the mpg of the four. Previously, the wife had a '97 LeSabre and, with her severe neck and back problems, she swore she would never find another ride as good. It was about the only car she could ride in - save my 1973 MGB/GT.
At the GM dealer, we test-drove a Lucerne, a Malibu, and the Nox. She liked the ride of the Nox the best of all - and perhaps even better than the old LeSabre. I can add that it handles much better and is a lot more fun to drive than the old bathtub. One thing Buick really got right on those old cars, though, was the 3.8 liter engine - very smooth and quiet, quite fast, and fiercely economical at 28-30 mpg highway. Rated at 32 mpg highway, the four-cylinder Nox is slightly better - although getting the rated 32 mpg out of it takes some gentle, attentive, driving - preferably with a tailwind.
If you cast mpg to the wind, the four gets pretty fun to listen to while it's still pulling hard at around 7 grand or more. I find the performance pretty amazing. ' Wonder if the 2.4 would fit in one of my MGs (is GM using this engine in any rear-wheel-drive applications?). One gripe: too much lag on downshifts - can make passing on two-lane road downright dangerous if you don't allow for the downshift to happen before you pull out to pass. Otherwise, ' love the smooth six-speed tranny. Like the Buick, it's smooth ride will fool you, and I frequently find that when I'm accelerating on to a freeway, I get up to 10-20 mph faster than it feels before I notice. I also love the feel and performance of the brakes. Even hard stops are never 'hard". Rather, the car smoothly and rapidly decelerates with seemingly no sense of forward "Gs". Suddenly you're stopped - no fuss, no muss.
The fact that it qualifies as an SUV means nothing to us. We love the ease of getting our septuagenarian bodies in and out of the high, comfortable seats, and the most rear foot-room since the '48 DeSoto Suburban.
Two minor complaints over the design: a car of this quality and thoughtful design should have a rear seat that folds completely flat; and I am forever bumping the cruise control rocker switch to the "off" position with the palm of my left hand. Otherwise, this is an extremely well-made car that really delivers on its promise.
' Hope to hear from other owners - what attracted them to this car, what they like and dislike, what problems they've had, etc. I don't know anything about pre-2010 Noxes - but was attracted by the new claims for the 2010 design. So far, I haven't been disappointed.
