The Anti-Hummer Chevrolet's nicely sized new Equinox SUV is likely to win fans.
By Alex Taylor III

(FORTUNE Small Business) – As some SUVs get more monstrous--the Hummer H2 weighs about 6,400 pounds--a smaller, more practical version is catching on: midsized SUVs (or "sport-cutes"). They're now one of the fastest-growing categories in the automotive business, and Chevrolet hopes to add to that momentum with its new Equinox, which arrives at dealers in full strength early this summer.

Almost 900,000 midsized SUVs were sold last year, according to AutoPacific, a West Coast marketing consulting firm, and sales are expected to peak at one million in 2005. You can't argue with the utility. These vehicles give you all the convenience of an SUV--tailgates and fold-down rear seats, all-wheel drive, and the sense of safety that comes from sitting high in the driver's seat--yet you don't feel as though you're behind the wheel of a tank. The heft of these vehicles seems just right to me, more muscular than the smaller Honda CRV but not as clunky as truck-based SUVs.

Right now the Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, and Toyota Highlander lead the midsized segment, but based on my test drive, the Equinox is likely to join them at the front of the pack. Despite its affordable price (the base model is $21,560; my loaded test car, with OnStar and XM Satellite radio, came to $27,660), this is one of the most refined General Motors vehicles I've driven. The window switches were quiet and smooth, and the steering-wheel control stalks clicked with mechanical precision. Unlike so many GM models I've driven in the past, there isn't any feeling of cheapness around the edges. GM expects to sell 150,000 Equinoxes a year (vs. 168,000 for the Escape last year and 163,000 for the Liberty).

On the highway, the Equinox passes for a close cousin of the bigger and heavier Chevy TrailBlazer, but with far better road manners. It feels lighter, has a less jouncy ride, and its 185-horsepower V-6 engine gets pretty respectable mileage in this year of escalating gasoline prices (16 to 22 miles per gallon in the city and 21 to 29 mpg on the highway). That's because it doesn't use a truck frame, like the TrailBlazer, but more carlike components, like its sister vehicle the Saturn VUE. Passengers in the back can stretch out--the rear seat slides eight inches forward and aft, a novel feature--though storage space is a little tight. You can carry about a week's worth of family groceries, nothing more.

Because the market for midsized utes is so hot right now, more versions are coming, such as the Mercury Mariner later this year and the Volvo SC50 in 2005. That means the models that have already been on the market for a few years are being substantially discounted. Edmunds.com, a car-shopping service, figures that price breaks worth $2,856 are available on the Escape (base price: $19,855) and $1,619 on the Saturn VUE (base: $17,495). There won't be much in the way of incentives on the Equinox for several months, but GM continues to aggressively discount even its newest cars and trucks. So if you fall in love with the Equinox, you might want to hold off until the fall to make your relationship a permanent one. It'll probably save you some money.