2010 Chevrolet Equinox
The Equinox has been languishing on the market due to its second-rate interior and ancient engines. But the Equinox's wallflower phase will end this summer, when a vastly improved-and less expensive-cute-ute hits the dance floor.
Open the door, and it's like going from American Bandstand to Dancing with the Stars-gone are the old model's cheap, hard plastics, replaced with an upscale, Acura-like center stack and elegant blue interior lighting. The Chevy's corporate sister, the Pontiac Torrent, gets the ax, but a new twin emerges in the form of the GMC Terrain.
PUSHROD PUSHED OUT: The old pushrod 3.4-liter V-6 is scrapped. In its place is a direct-injection 182-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder that makes similar power but uses 25 percent less fuel on the highway. How does 30 mpg sound? An optional 255-hp, 3.0-liter V-6, also direct injected, achieves an estimated 18/25 mpg.