With the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain General Motors finally figured out what car buyers are looking for in a compact crossover. Dealers have had trouble keeping them on lots. But did GM work out all of the bugs prior to launching the vehicle?
With prompt quarterly updates, TrueDelta’s Car Reliability Survey can answer this question well ahead of other sources. The latest update, which includes owner experiences through the end of 2009, reports that 2010 Equinox and Terrain owners have been experiencing 94 repair trips per 100 cars per year. This is worse than average. This said, the reported problems have generally been minor and fixed quickly on the first attempt.
Other recent GM crossover launches, including the 2007 GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook and the 2008 Saturn VUE, had similar stats at this point. Both later improved to average, and the same will likely happen with the new Equinox and Terrain.
While most recent GM launches have been worse than average initially, not all have been. The new Chevrolet Camaro has fared better: with 41 repair trips per 100 cars it’s about average, and the most common repair has involved loose bolts for the rear spoiler.
With prompt quarterly updates, we’ll track all of these cars closely as they get more miles on them. The stats for the Equinox and Terrain could improve as soon as the next update, in May.