The first-ever diesel-powered version of the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox compact crossover has achieved a highway fuel consumption rating of 6.0 L/100 km in highway driving in front-wheel drive form, which the automaker expects will be the best highway estimate in the compact crossover segment.
If it turns out to be so when the Equinox diesel reaches Canadian dealers this fall, it'll give Chevy serious bragging rights in a highly competitive segment of the new vehicle marketplace.
The Equinox's turbodiesel is a 1.6L motor that makes a modest 137 hp but backs that up with 240 lb-ft of torque, and Chevrolet says 90 percent of that torque happens with the engine spinning anywhere between 1,500 and 3,250 rpm. Diesel Equinox models get a six-speed automatic transmission.
Whether the diesel Equinox will find itself atop the overall fuel consumption rankings is another question: the current class leader is the 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, an all-wheeler with estimates of 6.9 L/100 km for city driving and 7.8 in highway cruising, for a combined rating of 7.3 L/100 km.
Chevrolet doesn't say what the Equinox diesel's city estimate is, but the Cruze compact sedan powered by the same 1.6L turbodiesel engine comes with a city driving rating of 7.6 L/100 km that the bigger, heavier Equinox won't be able to challenge.
While Equinox pricing starts at just over $27,000, the diesel option drives the MSRP to $35,645 (both prices including the destination charge).
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