Compared: 2023 Chevrolet Equinox vs. 2023 Ford Escape
These compact SUVs are competitive in price, but one offers more for the money.
Ford | Chevrolet
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Competition within the compact SUV segment is vast, with more than a dozen models vying for sales at any given moment. Two of the Big Three automakers from Detroit are represented here with the 2023 Ford Escape and 2023 Chevrolet Equinox.
Looking strictly at prices, the Escape and Equinox are similar, though the Chevrolet holds a slight advantage. However, the Ford offers more trim levels and powertrains, greater towing capacity, and an updated infotainment system. Is that enough to give it the edge overall?
2023 Chevrolet Equinox vs. 2023 Ford Escape: Price
The 2023 Ford Escape is available in seven trims, ranging from the Base model, which starts around $30,000, to the ST-Line Elite, which starts around $40,000. An Escape Plug-In Hybrid is available starting around $43,000. Front-wheel drive is standard on Base, Active, and ST-Line models, with all-wheel drive a $1,500 option. ST-Line, ST-Line Select, Platinum, and ST-Line Elite Escapes are available as hybrids for somewhere between around $500 and $3,000, with a charge of about $1,000 being the most common.
The 2023 Chevrolet Equinox is available in four trim levels, with either front- or all-wheel drive. The line starts with the front-wheel-drive LS at about $28,000 and includes the LT, RS, and range-topping Premier FWD at about $33,000. The all-wheel-drive versions range from around $30,000 to $35,000. There are no hybrid or plug-in options for the 2023 Equinox.
Ford
2023 Chevrolet Equinox vs. 2023 Ford Escape: Features
The Equinox only carries one available engine: a 175-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder. The Escape starts with an EcoBoost 180-hp turbocharged three-cylinder in the Base trim, with an available EcoBoost 250-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder on higher grades. Hybrid and Plug-In Escape SUVs feature a 163-hp Atkinson cycle 2.5-liter four-cylinder with total outputs of 192 horsepower and 210 horsepower respectively.
The 2023 Equinox boasts 63.9 cubic feet of cargo room behind the front row; not quite the 65.4 cubic feet of the Escape with the 1.5- or 2.0-liter engines, but more than the hybrid Escape at 60.8 cubic feet. The Equinox has a maximum towing capacity of 1,500 pounds, equal to the hybrid Escape but less than the EcoBoost 1.5-liter (2,000 pounds) and well under the 3,500-pound max of the EcoBoost 2.0-liter with Ford's Class II Tow Package.
Inside, Ford's Sync 4 infotainment system is standard on all Escape models. Lower trims come with an 8.0-inch touchscreen and 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster, expandable to 13.2 and 12.3 inches on certain versions. The Equinox has a standard 7.0-inch touchscreen, with an 8.0-inch unit available as part of some infotainment packages.
Chevrolet
2023 Chevrolet Equinox vs. 2023 Ford Escape: Fuel Economy
The 2023 Equinox returns 26 mpg as an AWD vehicle and 28 mpg in front-wheel-drive form. That all-wheel-drive figure doesn't quite outdo the Ford Escape's 28 mpg with the 1.5-liter engine and AWD, but it does match the 250-hp 2.0-liter with all-wheel drive. The standouts of the Escape line are the 1.5-liter with front-wheel drive, estimated at 30 mpg, and the hybrid, rated at 39 mpg with either front- or all-wheel drive. The EPA hasn't reported a rating for the 2023 Escape Plug-In as of February 2023, but the 2022 model earned an estimate of 105 MPGe for its EV mode with up to 37 miles of range, and 40 mpg when operating as a conventional hybrid with up to 520 miles of range.
All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and is rounded to the nearest thousand.
