By the sales team at Lucas Chevrolet · Updated June 2026

Most people spend about eleven minutes in a car before deciding whether they want it, and they spend most of that time listening to a salesperson talk. We would rather you drive. So we built a standing test-drive loop out of our lot on Route 38, and we hand customers a short list of things to pay attention to along the way. This post is that list.

The loop takes roughly twenty minutes and covers the four things that actually decide whether you like a compact SUV day to day: a jughandle, a stretch of stop-and-go, a two-lane road with real curves, and a highway merge. If you drive here, you already know those four things describe about ninety percent of your week. Here is what to notice in each one, and what we tend to hear back.

1. The Hartford Road jughandle

We turn right out of the lot and take the first jughandle. If you learned to drive somewhere else, the jughandle is the single most New Jersey thing about driving here: to turn left, you exit right, loop around, and cross the highway at the light. Route 38 is stitched with them at Hartford Road, Ark Road, and Masonville-Fostertown Road.

What to notice: how much of the loop you can see out of the front three-quarter window, and whether the A-pillar hides the crossing traffic when you come to the light. Ask us to pull up the camera view while you sit at the light. The Equinox comes with an 11.3-inch center screen, so the camera image is large enough to actually read at a glance instead of squinting at a postage stamp.

This is also where the steering weight shows itself. A jughandle is a tight, constant-radius turn taken at about fifteen miles an hour, which is the exact speed at which over-boosted steering feels vague. Notice whether the wheel loads up evenly as you come around.

2. Main Street stop-and-go

From the highway we drop onto CR 541, which is Main Street through town, and it is usually a stack of lights. Deliberately so. This is where most of your commuting minutes actually go.

What to notice: the first inch of throttle and the first inch of brake. The Equinox uses a turbocharged 1.5-liter four making 175 horsepower, paired with a CVT on front-drive models, and the payoff in this exact environment is that there is no hunting between gears at 25 mph. Roll on, roll off, no shift shuffle. It is a small thing on a spec sheet and a large thing at 5:15 on a Tuesday.

Front-drive models are EPA-rated at 26 mpg city and 29 mpg highway, and this stretch is where that city number does the work. Full numbers are on the technical specs page if you want them side by side.

3. The run down toward Medford

We follow 541 south, and within a few minutes the strip malls give way to two lanes, farm fields, and tree cover on both sides. The road narrows, the curves get real, and the surface gets choppier than the highway.

What to notice: body control and noise. On a two-lane road with an uneven shoulder, you feel a compact SUV's suspension tuning honestly for the first time. Listen for how much of the road surface comes through the cabin, and notice how settled the car stays over the frost-heaved patches. If you are driving an ACTIV, this is where its all-terrain tires and tuned suspension make themselves known, and where the roughly eight inches of ground clearance stops being trivia.

This is also the right place to try the Drive Mode Selector, which is standard on every trim for 2026. Flip it and see whether you notice the difference. Some people do immediately, some never touch it again, and both answers are useful to know before you buy rather than after.

Vehicle shown for illustration. Options, colors, and trim may vary.

4. The merge north

We loop back and take the ramp north, toward the Turnpike and I-295 interchanges. Short ramp, fast traffic, and a merge that does not wait for you.

What to notice: how the car builds speed from 40 to 65, and how much you have to plan the merge. The 1.5-liter turbo makes its torque low in the rev range, which is what you want on a short on-ramp. Front-drive models pair it with a CVT; adding all-wheel drive brings an eight-speed automatic and a bit more torque, and if you have been sliding out of your driveway in February, this is the version to ask about.

Once you are settled in the right lane, this is the moment to test the safety tech. Chevy Safety Assist is standard on every Equinox, and the RS and ACTIV add blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alerts as standard equipment. Change lanes a few times and see how the alerts behave with a truck sitting in your mirror. Adaptive cruise control is available too, and if traffic is thick enough, we will have you switch it on.

5. Back in the lot: the cargo test

The part almost everyone skips. Pull into a space, leave the engine running, and go open the back.

What to notice: the actual shape of the opening, not the number. The Equinox offers 29.8 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 63.5 cubic feet with them folded, but volume figures do not tell you whether your specific stroller, hockey bag, or folding wagon clears the liftgate opening. So bring the thing. Customers who bring the stroller make faster, happier decisions than customers who guess. If you want the full measurements first, they are on the cargo and interior page.

While you are back there, fold one side of the 60/40 seat and sit in the other. Rear legroom is 39.9 inches, which sounds abstract until your teenager is actually sitting in it behind your own driving position.

Which trim to ask for when you book

All three trims drive this loop well, and each one rewards a slightly different driver. Tell us which of these sounds like you and we will have the right one pulled up and ready when you arrive.

• Ask for the LT if the commute is the whole story. Heated front seats and a heated steering wheel are standard, which is the equipment you use every morning from November to March.
• Ask for the RS if you want the blacked-out look and the larger wheels, plus blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alerts included.
• Ask for the ACTIV if your weekends involve gravel lots, trailheads, or a beach house driveway. The all-terrain tires and rugged trim are the point.
• Ask for all-wheel drive on any of them if winter mornings are a recurring negotiation with your driveway.

A full trim-by-trim breakdown lives on the trim comparison page, and if you are still deciding between nameplates, we have written up how the Equinox stacks up against the Honda CR-V and its GMC Terrain sibling.

Book the loop

Lucas Chevrolet is at 1622 Route 38, Lumberton Township, NJ 08048, with the lot visible from the highway between the Mount Holly and Hainesport stretches. Call (609) 288-7663 and tell us which trim you want waiting, or schedule a test drive online. Browse the current Equinox inventory before you come, or start a pre-approval so the paperwork is not what slows you down afterward.

If you want to read up first, the Equinox research hub collects everything we have written on the 2026 model in one place, including the model overview and the maintenance schedule.

Test drive FAQs

How long does the test drive take?

Our standard Route 38 loop takes about twenty minutes of driving, plus a few minutes in the lot to pair a phone and check cargo space. Plan on roughly forty-five minutes at the dealership if you want time to look at more than one trim, and longer if you are also appraising a trade-in.

Can I bring my car seat or stroller to test fit?

Yes, and we encourage it. Bringing the actual car seat, stroller, golf clubs, or dog crate you use is the surest way to know whether a vehicle fits your life. The Equinox offers 29.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats and 63.5 cubic feet with the rear seats folded, and it has standard LATCH anchors for child seats.

Do I need an appointment to drive a 2026 Equinox?

An appointment is not required, but it helps. If you call ahead at (609) 288-7663 and tell us which trim you want, we will have that specific vehicle pulled up, charged, and ready rather than sending you out in whatever is closest to the door.

Can I take it on the highway during the test drive?

Yes. Our standard loop deliberately includes a highway merge, because a short on-ramp tells you more about a vehicle than a parking lot ever will. If you want a longer highway stretch to test adaptive cruise control, just ask and we will extend the route.

What should I bring to a test drive?

Bring your driver's license, your phone so you can pair it and try Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and any bulky item you regularly haul. If you are considering a trade-in, bring the title or loan information and we can appraise it while you drive.