2025 Chevy Equinox LT vs Activ/RS – Which one you should buy?

So you’re considering purchasing the new 2025 Chevy Equinox but might want to know a little bit more about two trim levels. Well, in this post, we’re going to cover the LT versus the Activ or the RS because those are going to be equipped the exact same for the 2025 model year.

Just note I’ll be referring to Activ versus LT here in this post, but you can substitute the Activ with the RS those cosmetic differences if you would like.

So in this post, we’re going to cover all the feature, option, packaging, and pricing differences between these two trim levels and see what the additional money gets you moving up to that higher Activ or RS trim.

2025 Chevy Equinox LT vs Activ/RS Real Comparison

As usual, I want to put this disclaimer out there that I created this list of similarities and differences to the best of my ability using the GM Fleet order guide.

If you believe anything is incorrect or just need additional clarification, go ahead and leave a comment down in the comment section. I will do my best to answer them, and of course, I highly recommend everybody check out the Chevy build and price tool once that feature becomes available.

Standard Equipment for 2025 Chevy Equinox

First things first, I want to cover the standard equipment that you’re going to get on every single Equinox for the 2025 model year. Then we’ll move into the standard equipment that you’re gaining going up to that higher trim level, then move into the optional equipment for both trim levels, and finally conclude this video with some of that pricing information.

Taking a look at some of the Equinox standard equipment for 2025, of course, you’re going to get the Chevy Safety Assist Suite, which includes automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, lane-keeping assist with lane departure warning, forward distance indicator, as well as forward collision alert and IntelliBeam high beam assist functionality.

Continuing on, Convenience Package 1 is going to be standard on every Equinox, which includes remote start, illuminated vanity mirrors, driver and front passenger heated seats, as well as a wrapped heated steering wheel.

So every Equinox will come with heated seats and a heated steering wheel, which is fantastic, as well as remote express up/down front windows, and all windows are going to be automatic down. Pretty nice features there in that convenience package.

LT vs. Activ Standard Equipment

Now continuing on even further, here are some more impressive features for standard equipment: adaptive cruise control, as well as blind zone steering assist, is going to be standard.

You have 5G vehicle connectivity for the built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, an 11-inch fully digital instrument cluster with an 11.3-inch infotainment system, very similar to the one seen in the Chevy Trailblazer for the refresh as well as the all-new Chevy Trax for 2024.

This will include wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which is fantastic to see, intersection automatic emergency braking, keyless open and push-button start, active noise cancellation, occupant presence detection for both the front and the rear, USB data and charge ports (USB-A in the front as well as one USB-C), and then the rear will feature two USB-C charge-only ports.

The safety alert seat, which actually vibrates depending on some of the safety systems inside the vehicle to help alert the driver, is going to be standard. We have LED projector headlights, LED tail lights, deep-tinted rear glass, as well as outside heated mirrors.

Once again, all that equipment is going to be standard on the entry-level Equinox LT and, of course, those higher trims as well.

Next, moving on to the Activ standard equipment over that of the LT, all of these features are going to be gained automatically going to an Activ or an RS over that of an LT. First, we have the Convenience Package 2, which is going to be optional for an additional charge on the LT but comes standard on the Activ.

It includes an eight-way power driver seat with two-way power lumbar, cabin humidity and windshield sensor, rain-sensing front wipers, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated wiper park, wireless charging pad, auto-sensing hands-free power liftgate, universal garage door opener, eyeglasses holder, as well as roof rails.

One other item I do want to mention is the Activ trim specifically is going to get the maple sugar sueded microfiber and EvoTex interior as standard equipment.

It’s going to be a two-material interior, and then you’re going to have the option on the LT to upgrade to the EvoTex interior in either black or Artemis gray for an additional charge, I believe it’s right around $1,000 of an upcharge, where it is going to come standard with a cloth interior only in black, likely a slightly two-tone like we saw in the last generation Equinox.

So do keep that in mind; you’re going to get a more premium interior standard on the RS or the Activ, whereas you do have to pay additional money to get that more premium interior on the lesser LT.

Optional Equipment

Next up, we have some of the optional equipment on both the Activ and the LT. It’s going to be the Safety and Technology Package, which includes the rear digital camera mirror, front fog lights, connected cameras, rear pedestrian alert, HD surround vision camera system, traffic sign recognition, as well as the surround vision recorder.

Also, available on both of these two trims is the panoramic power sunroof, which if you do option that on the LT, it will come included with the side roof rails just like it comes standard on the Activ and the RS. So the roof rails will automatically come with the panoramic power sunroof if you do choose that option on the LT. Those are also going to be included, I believe, in one of the midnight appearance packages for the LT as well.

So those two options are going to be both optional on the Activ and RS as well as the LT. If you haven’t seen some of those connected cameras or surround vision recorders before, that’s actually essentially a safety system which uses the cameras that are built into the vehicle itself to actually record the vehicle when you’re not around it.

It’s parked in a parking lot, etc., and I believe it records to either a small SD card or maybe over the air in their next generation vehicles, likely to an SD card, but it would be cool if they could have it upload to the cloud automatically. Nice to see they’re rolling out some new technology inside this Equinox.

I do have to add a caveat on that Safety and Technology Package because, according to the order guide, this is actually going to be required at the start of production. So every Equinox is going to come equipped with that optional package, which will likely add to the price point obviously on pretty much every Equinox out there.

We will get into that pricing a little bit later, but just know every Equinox, at least for the start of production, will come with that optional Safety and Technology Package.

Next, moving into the optional equipment only on the Activ or on the RS, not available at all on the LT, that is going to be Convenience Package 3, which includes an eight-way power passenger seat with two-way power lumbar, ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, as well as the memory driver seat and side mirrors.

If you want any of those options and features, you do have to get either an Activ or an RS with the optional Convenience Package 3 because, unfortunately, that is not going to be available on the LT.

That’s going to do it in terms of the main option and feature differences between these two trim levels.

Exterior Color Options

Next, moving into some exterior color availability, we do have two new exterior colors.

Starting out with the full list, you’re going to have Iridescent Pearl Tri-coat, Summit White, Mosaic Black, Radiant Red Tintcoat, Sterling Gray Metallic, Lakeshore Blue Metallic, and then the two new colors are going to be Reef Blue Metallic as well as Cacti Green.

We have seen Cacti Green available on the 2024 Trailblazer as well as the Chevy Trax, so that’s actually not really a new color for GM but is going to be newly available on the Equinox. It will be interesting to see what Reef Blue Metallic looks like, but the rest of the color palette is pretty much going to be a carryover from the 2024 model year Equinox. Of course, those denoted with a little asterisk, the Iridescent Pearl as well as Radiant Red, will be an extra cost color.

Pricing Information

Finally, moving into the one aspect that I’m sure most of you guys are very, very curious about, and that is the exact pricing information.

LT Trim

Starting out with the Equinox LT front-wheel drive, this is going to come in at $29,995, including destination, and all-wheel drive is going to be a $2,000 upcharge, so an LT all-wheel drive starts at $31,995, including destination.

Activ Trim

Now moving up to the Activ trim level, this is going to start at $34,320 for front-wheel drive and $36,395 for all-wheel drive. So you can see there is a pretty hefty price bump of just over $4,000 if you’re looking to go up to an Activ from an LT in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

The exact pricing applies to the RS as well, so the Activ and RS are going to be priced identically for the starting MSRPs.

Additional Pricing for Options

Moving into some of the pricing for the features, options, and equipment, the panoramic sunroof is going to run $1,495. The Safety and Technology Package, which I said is going to be mandated at the start of production, is going to be $1,085.

Convenience Package 2 on the LT is going to be $2,050. Convenience Package 3 on the Activ or RS only is going to be $950. The Midnight Appearance Package is $1,045, available only on the LT.

Fully Loaded Pricing

So for a fully loaded Equinox LT all-wheel drive with pretty much every single available option that you can choose, you are going to be approaching just over $38,000, so pretty pricey for a fully loaded LT.

Now, for a fully loaded Activ or RS, once again, all-wheel drive, including pretty much every available option that you can choose, Convenience Package 3, Safety and Technology Package, extra cost paint color, and of course, those 20-inch alloy wheels, you are going to be coming in just over $40,000.

So quite pricey, especially for a fully loaded Equinox, but if you do want a more budget-friendly Equinox with a lot of the standard safety equipment and not as many options, of course, you can go with the LT for a reasonable price point. I do want to hear your thoughts on the pricing down in the comment section below.

That’s going to do it for the pricing information, and overall, I think this is a very, very well-packaged Equinox for 2025. A lot of great features and standard equipment with pretty reasonable option pricing. Overall, a great competitor in its class.

Once again, let me know what you think down in the comment section below, and if you have any questions, I’ll be sure to answer them to the best of my ability.