The 2021 Chevy Equinox Reportedly Leaked In China, Showing Off New Grille And Headlines

These photos surfaced on a Chinese outlet's website

[Photos: Cole Marzen via Twitter (@cole_marzen)]

The Chevy Equinox is GM’s best-selling car, and it competes in a feverishly competitive segment. The current generation is still fairly new, but it seems the updated 2021 Chevy Equinox is around the corner, based on these photos reportedly leaked from an outlet in China and posted on Twitter.

We’re used to mild mid-cycle refreshes when it comes to crossover, and these photos supposedly showing the updated Equinox show superficial changes from what’s currently on sale. Up front, the most noticeable change comes down to the headlights. The chrome grille accents split the headlight assemblies in two, creating another front end that borrows styling cues from the new Blazer. The fog lights have also been updated, and these photos show a slightly different bumper.

Around back, these leaked photos show new LED taillights, a more pronounced exhaust outlet, and that’s about it. I suspect the Equinox received an equally minor treatment inside, if these photos are accurate.

The Twitter post above mentions styling cues taken from the Blazer. It’s easier to make that argument with the headlights, but it’s not quite as much of a carbon copy as the Trailblazer. Whatever the case, it does look different, although that may or may not be a good thing. It depends on your own personal tastes when it comes to styling.

Powertrain updates?

Apart from the styling, the post mentions that the 2021 Chevy Equinox will “obtain the company’s new nine-speed automatic transmission”. The current Equinox already has a nine-speed transmission option in the U.S., though, so that may just be for the Chinese market. The smaller 1.5-liter turbo engine comes mated to a six-speed unit, so maybe it’s getting the updated transmission.

We don’t expect the 2021 Chevy Equinox to change much under the skin. The two turbo engines will likely remain, while the diesel option already bowed out for the 2020 model year.