Compare the2024 Buick EnvisionVS 2024 Chevrolet Equinox

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

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Buick Envision 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 Buick Envision 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 Envision has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Equinox doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Envision. But it costs extra on the Equinox.

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

The Envision 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 and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Equinox’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Envision has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Braking 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.

Both the Envision and the Equinox have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available front parking sensors.

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

	Envision	Equinox
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Leg Forces (l/r)	153/386 lbs.	363/349 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	223	376
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	23.1%	26%
Neck Stress	111 lbs.	153 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	221/21 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 Buick Envision is safer than the Chevrolet Equinox:

	Envision	Equinox
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.7 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	139 lbs.	195 lbs.
Hip Force	261 lbs.	357 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	52 G’s	55 G’s
Hip Force	572 lbs.	630 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	249	377
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	40 G’s
Hip Force	313 lbs.	730 lbs.

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 Envision is 1.6% to 1.7% less likely to roll over than the Equinox.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Buick vehicles are better in initial quality than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked fifth.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick second in reliability, above the industry average. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 10th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Buick 8 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

Engine

The Envision’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 53 more horsepower (228 vs. 175) and 55 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 203) than the Equinox’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Buick Envision is faster than the Chevrolet Equinox:

	Envision	Equinox
Zero to 30 MPH	3.1 sec	3.7 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	7.5 sec	9.6 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	4.4 sec	6.2 sec
Quarter Mile	15.9 sec	17.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	92 MPH	82 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

The Envision has 1.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Equinox FWD’s standard fuel tank (16.1 vs. 14.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Buick Envision, 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 Envision’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Equinox:

	Envision	Equinox
Front Rotors	12.6 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	12.4 inches	11.3 inches

The Envision’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 Envision stops shorter than the Equinox:

	Envision	Equinox
60 to 0 MPH	127 feet	135 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	134 feet	145 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Envision has larger standard tires than the Equinox (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Envision Sport Touring/Avenir’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Equinox (245/45R20 vs. 235/50R19).

The Envision Preferred’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 Envision Sport Touring/Avenir’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Equinox’s optional 50 series tires.

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

Suspension and Handling

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

The Envision offers an available continuously variable suspension system. Using sensors on steering angle, speed and other driver inputs, the shocks soften to improve ride, or stiffen when appropriate to aid handling on tricky roads or off-road. The Equinox’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Envision’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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Envision’s wheelbase is 2.1 inches longer than on the Equinox (109.4 inches vs. 107.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Envision is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Equinox.

Passenger Space

The Envision has .9 inches more front hip room, .4 inches more rear headroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Equinox.

Servicing Ease

The Envision 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 Buick service is better than Chevrolet. J.D. Power ranks Buick fifth in service department satisfaction. With a 20% lower rating, Chevrolet is ranked 16th.

Ergonomics

The Envision has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer 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 Envision’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 Envision’s optional 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 see further while navigating curves, the Envision has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Equinox doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Envision Avenir has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Equinox.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Buick Envision has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Equinox Premier offers wireless charging.

The Envision Avenir’s Enhanced 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.

Recommendations

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

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