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2026 Chevrolet Equinox Safety Rating

Small SUVs · Current IIHS listing · IIHS data updated 2026-09-04

Complete evidence record

The 2026 Chevrolet Equinox scores 85.8/100, ranking #14 of 29 current small SUVs and #78 of 137 vehicles overall with complete IIHS records. It does not hold a current IIHS award.

Results below Good: Small overlap front rated Acceptable. Rear-passenger restraints in the updated moderate-overlap test: Acceptable; rear-passenger head protection: Good.

85.8
Safety score / 100
Complete record
No award
IIHS award
No current award
#14
of 29 small SUVs
See the class ranking
Not rated
NHTSA overall
Reference only, not scored
$28,800
Starting MSRP
Approximate base trim
42
Class driver death rate
per million vehicle-years; all vehicles 38

IIHS crash-test results

Front Crash Prevention: PedestrianAcceptable
Front Crash Prevention: Vehicle-to-VehicleGood
Small Overlap Front Acceptable
Moderate Overlap Front: Updated Test Good
Side: Updated Test Good
Whiplash Prevention Acceptable
Headlights Good
Seat Belt Reminders Good
Latch Ease Of Use Good
Detailed results by test (55 entries)

IIHS publishes these under the test they belong to, so the same label can appear more than once. Rear restraints and kinematics, rear head protection, structure and safety cage, and front restraints are the four that count toward the score (25%).

Small overlap front

Overall driver-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Overall passenger-side evaluation Acceptable
Structure and safety cage Acceptable
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Acceptable
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematicsThe dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but nearly rolled off the left side, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward structure. The side curtain airbag did not deploy during the crash. Acceptable

Moderate overlap front: updated test

Overall evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Thigh/hip Good
Leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Thigh Good
Rear passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Acceptable

Side: updated test

Overall evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Acceptable
Pelvis Good
Driver head protection Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Good
Pelvis Good
Rear passenger head protection Good

Whiplash prevention

Overall evaluation Acceptable

Headlights

Overall rating Good
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Overall ratingApplies to 2025-26 models Good

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0

Overall evaluation Acceptable

Front crash prevention: pedestrian

Overall evaluation Good

Seat belt reminders

Overall evaluation Good

Child seat anchors

Overall evaluation Good
View the IIHS report

Opens on iihs.org in a new tab

How the score is built

Primary IIHS tests (55%)
92.5
4/4 reported · small overlap, updated moderate overlap, updated side, headlights
Occupant-protection details (25%)
87.5
4/4 reported · rear restraints, rear head, safety cage, front restraints
Pedestrian front crash prevention (10%)
75.0
IIHS pedestrian AEB result: Acceptable · vehicle-to-vehicle: Good (shown, not scored)
Class context (10%)
55.8
Damped class-level driver death-rate term; award status is shown above but carries no weight
Rear-seat-priority score
84.1
Alternate published view: rear restraints weighted 20%
Injury-measure average (tiebreak only)
96.25
Mean of 40 published injury measures across the three crash tests. Orders vehicles with equal scores; carries no weight in the score.

Full formula, weights, and missing-data rules →

NHTSA 5-star rating

2026 CHEVROLET EQUINOX SUV N/A AWD

OverallNot rated
Frontal crashNot rated
Side crash★★★★★
Rollover★★★★☆ 17.4% risk

NHTSA stars are shown for reference and carry no weight in the score. NHTSA source. Why the two programs disagree →

Real-world context

MeasureResultWhat it covers
Class driver death rate42 per million registered vehicle-yearsSmall SUVs as a class, adjusted for driver age and sex (Farmer, 2023); all vehicles average 38. Class context only.
Chevrolet Equinox 4WD (2020) driver death rate30 (95% CI 0–62)Earlier model years of this nameplate; class average for that study 42.6. Reflects who bought and drove those cars as well as the car.
Chevrolet Equinox 2WD (2020) driver death rate49 (95% CI 17–80)Earlier model years of this nameplate; class average for that study 42.6. Reflects who bought and drove those cars as well as the car.

Compared with other small SUVs

Closest-scoring current small SUVs with complete IIHS records, plus the class leader. See every small SUVs ranked →

VehicleClass rankIIHS awardRear restraintsStarts atScore
2026 Mazda CX 5 #1 of 29 TSP+ Good $29,990 95.6
2026 Nissan Rogue #13 of 29 — Acceptable $29,090 86.5
2026 Chevrolet Equinox (this page) #14 of 29 — Acceptable $28,800 85.8
2026 Subaru Solterra #15 of 29 — Acceptable $38,495 83.0
2026 Subaru Trailseeker #15 of 29 — Acceptable $39,995 83.0

Our analysis

The 2026 Chevrolet Equinox belongs to the Small SUVs class. This class has a driver death rate near the national average of 38 deaths per million registered vehicle-years. The class figure is adjusted for driver age and sex, which removes a large part of the selection effect in raw death rates. It is still a class average, not a measurement of this model.

The Chevrolet Equinox has no IIHS Top Safety Pick award for 2026. That can mean a result below the award threshold in one test, or tests IIHS has not completed. Absence of an award is not evidence that the vehicle is unsafe.

Across the 7 IIHS rating categories reported, the Chevrolet Equinox earned 5 Good ratings. Results below Good deserve attention, especially the updated frontal and side tests that IIHS toughened in 2022 and 2023. Our updated crash test analysis explains what changed.

This analysis is produced independently; we have no affiliation with Chevrolet or any manufacturer. Read the full methodology or learn more about us.

Safety recalls for the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox

No recalls on record. NHTSA lists this model year and currently shows no recall campaigns against it.

Check your VIN at NHTSA

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2026 Chevrolet Equinox safety score 85.8 out of 100

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Questions about the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox

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Shopping for a family? Compare three-row vehicles and rear-seat evidence. Buying used? See real driver death rates by model.