I happen to like GM's effort with these two vehicles. The styling, of the Torrent especially, is tolerable and even competitive in the class.

The interiors of these vehicles have partially realized GM's promise of increasingly better quality, design, and value.

The one area in which these vehicles seriously disappoint - the drivetrain.

Yes, they use a 5-speed automatic transmission, which is impressive; but the power is generated by the same old, stodgy, inefficient, 3.4 liter V6 that GM's used in a number of sub-par vehicles for decades or more. It's proven to be a fairly reliable powerplant, but it musters horrible fuel economy and it's absolutely aenemic - generating just 185 horsepower. Did GM develop the "new" (it's an increased-capacity 3.5 liter) 3.9 liter they use in the G6 exclusively for that platform? According to Pontiac's website, the G6 w/ the 3.9 liter achieves mileage of 18/26 (city/hwy mpg, respectively). That's not great fuel economy, but the Torrent/Equinox, equipped with the 3.4 liter gets just 19/24. So, with a 240hp 3.9 liter powerplant developed and available - why not use that? With the Torrent, at least Pontiac would have had a marketing angle beyond "value" or an "improvement". They would have had "performance" - which is what the brand supposedly embodies and claims as inspiration. As for the Equinox, I don't think Chevy's marketing team has an angle anymore; or perhaps they do ... but it's sharp ... "like a [water-worn] rock"® ...

What are your thoughts?

M.

 

Here's a picture w/ the Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent specs:

M.

 

Are these the engines that are also made in China? (Shanghai)

 

Those are "cute 'utes" for girls.
They are so damn ugly, and cheap lookin.
What a joke of a car!

 

They don't even have 4 wheel disc brakes

Edit: The Equinox has a 185-hp 3.4L V6? I'll pass, thanks. My ES300 is slow enough as it is.

 

My thoughts? Since you are so concerned with the quality of the engine and the power it produces, before you consider either of these, take a look at the Saturn VUE, which is built on the same GM small-SUV platform as the Torrent / Equinox, has a 250 HP Honda-derived 3.5 liter V6, a performance Red Line Edition, dent and rust-proof plastic body panels, a 30-day money-back guarantee with no vehicle damage, no-haggle deals at list, and better dealer service than either Chevy or Pontiac.
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/showroo...ex.jsp?nav=500

Granted, the VUE's styling, IMO, is rather frumpy, and the fit-and-finish of both the interior and exterior trim is rather cheap, but it has a MUCH better engine than its two GM brothers.

 

No. Absolutely not. They are NOT just for females.....another stereotype nonsense.

These are both at least fairly nice AWD all-weather machines for small families...but then so are many other small car-based SUV's from Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and other manufacturers.......and GM is not noted for reliability in this type of vehicle.

 

On looks alone, I think they have hit a homerun, they look GREAT. Much better than anything Toyota is dishing out.

 

Dood, no way those are chick city trucks. Why are u tryin to justify a GM on the lexus forum anyway.

Both those crappy cars suck.

 

Well, you have a right to your opinion if you think they s - -k. That's what CAR CHAT is for. But just open your eyes and you will see plenty of small families running around in this type of vehicle.....small-to-medium-sized car-based unibody and space-frame SUV's. They are popular because they are useful, versatile, and they WORK....for a LOT of people.

Now....as far as "justifying" GM products goes, here on CAR CHAT we discuss the entire car and truck world....past and present......almost anything with four wheels and anything related to it, and sometimes motorbikes too. That is the way the CL moderators have set it up. Here we talk VEHICLES.....cars, trucks, crossovers, and everything in between. Obviously, we also discuss Lexus products here too, but if you want to CONFINE the discussion to specific Lexus products, there are other forums here on CL especially for that....they will be happy to have you join in.

 

The engines for those so called "SUV's" are made in China. Anyone that buys one of those POS's doesn't really care about cars that much.

Im sure they work for fools that buy GM crap and like it.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by the above. Do you mean that the consumer of the vehicle is a fool or that the consumer's employer is a fool?

As far as China goes - GM isn't going to survive without further pursuing globalization - which they've done and continue to do with vehicles like the Solstice, Aveo, Cobalt, and these two mid-size SUV's.

While I don't think the 3.4 liter powerplant is the best choice for this vehicle, it has proven to be a reliable powerplant - as mmarshall noted, and that is not conjecture - Consumer Reports concurs. And I indicated the engine's history of reliability in my original post which I don't think anyone who's responded actually read.

GM is improving significantly - but they're not there yet; my initial post was just noting my opinion as to why.

M.

 

You will note that in my first post on this subject I made reference to the Saturn VUE. It is built on the same general platform ( with a space frame and plastic body panels instead ) as the Chevy / Pontiac and comes standard with the 3.5L Honda V6...a high-quality engine by anyone's stretch and also used ( in various states of tune ) in a number of Acuras.

As far as GM " crap " is concerned, yes, they sell some real junk. They also sell some respectable products.