Compare the2023 Cadillac XT5VS 2023 Chevrolet Equinox

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

Safety

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The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional 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.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Cadillac XT5 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Chevrolet Equinox doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The Cadillac XT5 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Equinox doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Equinox doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the XT5 and the Equinox have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The Cadillac XT5 weighs 403 to 1064 pounds more than the Chevrolet Equinox. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Cadillac XT5 is safer than the Chevrolet Equinox:

	XT5	Equinox
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	147	159
Neck Stress	188 lbs.	190 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	287	376
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	22/17 lbs.	264/236 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Cadillac XT5 is safer than the Chevrolet Equinox:

	XT5	Equinox
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.9 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	151 lbs.	195 lbs.
Hip Force	184 lbs.	357 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	183	288
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	55 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	40 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the XT5 is 1.3% to 1.6% less likely to roll over than the Equinox.

Warranty

The XT5 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Equinox’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the XT5 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Chevrolet covers the Equinox. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Equinox ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The XT5’s 6 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Equinox runs out after 100,000 miles.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XT5 has a standard 730-amp battery. The Equinox’s 700-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the XT5’s reliability 31 points higher than the Equinox.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in long-term dependability. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Chevrolet is rated lower.

Engine

The XT5’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 60 more horsepower (235 vs. 175) and 55 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 203) than the Equinox’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The XT5’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 135 more horsepower (310 vs. 175) and 68 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 203) than the Equinox’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Cadillac XT5 V6 is faster than the Chevrolet Equinox:

	XT5	Equinox
Zero to 60 MPH	6.4 sec	9.2 sec
Quarter Mile	15 sec	16.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.4 MPH	81.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the XT5’s fuel efficiency. The Equinox doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The XT5 FWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Equinox FWD’s standard fuel tank (19.4 vs. 14.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The XT5 AWD’s standard fuel tank has 6.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Equinox AWD’s standard fuel tank (21.7 vs. 15.6 gallons).

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Cadillac XT5, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Equinox.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the XT5’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Equinox:

	XT5	Equinox
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	12.4 inches	11.3 inches

The XT5’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Equinox are solid, not vented.

The XT5 stops shorter than the Equinox:

	XT5	Equinox
70 to 0 MPH	174 feet	182 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	111 feet	120 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XT5 has larger tires than the Equinox (235/65R18 vs. 225/65R17).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XT5 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Equinox LS/LT. The XT5’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Equinox.

The Cadillac XT5’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Chevrolet Equinox only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

Suspension and Handling

The XT5 has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the XT5 flat and controlled during cornering. The Equinox’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The XT5 offers an available 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 XT5 has 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XT5’s wheelbase is 5.2 inches longer than on the Equinox (112.5 inches vs. 107.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the XT5 is 2.6 inches wider in the front and 2.6 inches wider in the rear than on the Equinox.

The XT5 AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Equinox LT AWD pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XT5 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Equinox LT AWD (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The XT5 has .3 inches more front legroom, 1.9 inches more front hip room, 1.1 inches more front shoulder room, 3.1 inches more rear hip room and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Equinox.

Cargo Capacity

The XT5 has a larger cargo volume than the Equinox with its rear seat up (30.2 vs. 29.9 cubic feet).

The XT5’s cargo area is larger than the Equinox’s in almost every dimension:

	XT5	Equinox
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	41.5”/75”	34.9”/67.4”
Max Width	51”	53.7”
Min Width	41.6”	40.7”
Height	30”	31”

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XT5. The Equinox doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Chevrolet Equinox is limited to 1500 pounds. The XT5 offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The XT5 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.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Chevrolet. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 28% lower rating, Chevrolet is ranked 16th.

Ergonomics

The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, warning 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 XT5’s front power windows 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 front passenger window doesn’t close automatically.

The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Equinox’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XT5 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Equinox doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The XT5 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 XT5’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 XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional Automatic Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Equinox Premier’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the XT5 is less expensive to operate than the Equinox because it costs $27 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the XT5 than the Equinox, including $86 less for a muffler, $115 less for front brake pads, $44 less for a starter, $36 less for fuel injection and $382 less for a fuel pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Cadillac XT5 and the Chevrolet Equinox, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the XT5 second among midsize premium suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Equinox isn’t in the top three in its category.