Compare the2022 Mercedes GLAVS 2022 Chevrolet Equinox

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes GLA have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chevrolet Equinox doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The GLA’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Equinox doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Mercedes GLA has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Equinox doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The GLA’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Equinox doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The GLA offers an optional Post Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Equinox doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the GLA 4MATIC’s standard Downhill Speed Regulation allows you to creep down safely. The Equinox doesn’t offer Downhill Speed Regulation.

The GLA has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Equinox’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the GLA has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Equinox.

The GLA’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Equinox doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the GLA and the Equinox have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

Warranty

The GLA comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Equinox’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The GLA’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Equinox’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Engine

The GLA’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 51 more horsepower (221 vs. 170) and 55 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 203) than the Equinox’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Mercedes GLA is faster than the Chevrolet Equinox:

	GLA	Equinox
Zero to 30 MPH	2.7 sec	3.7 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	6.8 sec	9.6 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	4.7 sec	6.2 sec
Quarter Mile	15.3 sec	17.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	93 MPH	82 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the GLA 250 FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Equinox FWD (24 city/34 hwy vs. 26 city/31 hwy).

Transmission

An eight-speed automatic (SMG) is standard on the Mercedes GLA, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Equinox.

The GLA offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Equinox doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the GLA’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Equinox:

	GLA	Equinox
Front Rotors	12.6 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	11.6 inches	11.3 inches

The GLA stops shorter than the Equinox:

	GLA	Equinox
60 to 0 MPH	133 feet	135 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	145 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the GLA has larger tires than the Equinox (235/55R18 vs. 225/65R17).

The GLA’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Equinox LS/LT’s standard 65 series tires. The GLA’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Equinox’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the GLA has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Equinox LS/LT. The GLA’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Equinox.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the GLA can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Equinox doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

Suspension and Handling

The GLA has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the GLA flat and controlled during cornering. The Equinox’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The GLA offers an optional driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Equinox’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The GLA has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Equinox doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The GLA’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Equinox doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The GLA 250 4MATIC handles at .80 G’s, while the Equinox LT AWD pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

Chassis

The GLA is 9.5 inches shorter than the Equinox, making the GLA easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The GLA has .1 inches more front legroom, 3.1 inches more front hip room and 5.6 inches more rear hip room than the Equinox.

Cargo Capacity

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the GLA. The Equinox doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The GLA uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Equinox uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Equinox Premier, the GLA has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The GLA offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Equinox doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The GLA’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Equinox’s passenger windows don’t close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the GLA the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Equinox can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The GLA has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Equinox doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The GLA’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Equinox’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the GLA offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Equinox doesn’t offer cornering lights. The GLA also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The GLA offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Equinox.

The GLA has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Equinox and isn’t available on the Equinox LS.

The GLA’s standard automatic temperature control maintains the temperature you set, automatically controlling fan speed, vents and temperature to maintain a consistent, comfortable environment. The Equinox LS doesn’t offer automatic air conditioning.

The GLA’s optional Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Equinox Premier’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Economic Advantages

The GLA will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the GLA will retain 51.6% to 51.76% of its original price after five years, while the Equinox only retains 42.36% to 47.88%.