Compare the2024 Hyundai KonaVS 2024 Chevrolet Equinox

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

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Kona have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Chevrolet Equinox doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Kona 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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Kona’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Equinox doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

The Kona has a standard blind spot warning system that 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 Kona has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Chevrolet charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Equinox and the Equinox’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

The Kona’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 Kona 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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Kona is much safer than the Equinox:

	Kona	Equinox
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	POOR
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg/foot Rating	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	POOR
Chest Rating	GOOD	POOR
Thigh Rating	GOOD	GOOD

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Kona is much safer than the Equinox:

	Kona	Equinox
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Tension	201 lbs.	290 lbs.
Neck Compression	-112 lbs.	112 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	1.1 in	1.73 in
Shoulder Force	178 lbs.	312 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.57 in	1.69 in
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Injury Criterion	282	733
Head Peak Forces	no contact	101 G’s
Neck Tension	67 lbs.	89 lbs.
Neck Compression	-134 lbs.	491 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Force	335 lbs.	402 lbs.
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL

The Hyundai Kona has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Equinox is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Warranty

The Kona comes with a full 5-year/60,000-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 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Kona 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Chevrolet covers the Equinox. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Equinox ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Kona’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Equinox’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kona for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Chevrolet only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Equinox.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 23 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 10th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 9 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

Engine

The Kona N Line/Limited’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 15 more horsepower (190 vs. 175) than the Equinox’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kona N Line/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Chevrolet Equinox:

	Kona	Equinox
Zero to 60 MPH	7.7 sec	9.2 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	16.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	89.2 MPH	81.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Kona gets better mileage than the Equinox:

			MPG
Kona
	FWD	SE 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	29 city/34 hwy
		SEL 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	28 city/35 hwy
		1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	26 city/32 hwy
	AWD	SE 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/29 hwy
		SEL 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	26 city/29 hwy
Equinox
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	26 city/31 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/30 hwy

The Kona has a standard locking fuel door. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Equinox. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Transmission

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Hyundai Kona N Line/Limited, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Equinox.

The Kona SE/SEL has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Equinox doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Kona AWD/SEL/1.6T’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Equinox:

	Kona AWD/SEL/1.6T	Equinox
Front Rotors	12 inches	11.8 inches

The Kona stops shorter than the Equinox:

	Kona	Equinox
60 to 0 MPH	118 feet	120 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Kona SE’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Equinox LS/LT’s standard 65 series tires. The Kona N Line/Limited’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Equinox’s optional 50 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

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

The Kona 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.

The Kona Limited AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Equinox LT AWD pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Kona Limited AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Equinox LT AWD (27.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Kona’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Equinox’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet). The Kona’s turning circle is 6.8 feet tighter than the Equinox RS’ (34.8 feet vs. 41.6 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Kona has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Equinox (8.1 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Kona to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Kona N Line’s minimum ground clearance is .3 inch higher than on the Equinox w/18” Wheels (8.3 vs. 8 inches).

Chassis

The Hyundai Kona may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 250 pounds less than the Chevrolet Equinox.

The Kona is 11.8 inches shorter than the Equinox, making the Kona easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Kona has .8 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front hip room and .7 inches more rear hip room than the Equinox.

Servicing Ease

The Kona 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

The Kona’s optional front power windows both open or close with one touch of the switches. The Equinox’s front passenger window doesn’t close automatically.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Kona’s headlights were rated “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Equinox’s headlights are rated “Poor.”

The Kona Limited’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Equinox Premier’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.