How often have we heard reviewers or drivers complain of the seats in their compact SUVs? They’re usually too hard or don’t have enough support. With the Chevy Equinox, you won’t hear those complaints from too many people. 

The GM Authority blog shares the results from J.D. Power’s annual survey that showcases the vehicles that have the highest quality seats. Guess who’s number one for the compact SUV category? If you guessed the Chevy Equinox, you would be right. Let’s take a look at how they came up with these findings and how well Chevy did overall. 

How J.D. Power’s seat quality study comes up with their findings

J.D. Power surveyed vehicle owners from different segments of the automotive industry. They use the data collected to determine which vehicle has the highest quality seats from each of the automotive segments. 

To come up with the answer, they take the number of reported complaints each vehicle model receives and creates a ratio per 100 vehicles in the study. The more complaints a car, truck, or SUV has, the poorer quality the seats are. The fewer negative comments given, the fewer complaints registered in the study.

The segments they typically test are compact cars, midsize/large cars, compact SUVs, midsize/large SUVs, truck/vans and luxury cars, and SUVs. One vehicle will come out on top of each category, and one of those vehicles was the Chevrolet Equinox. 

What were the results?

For the 2020 J.D. Power Seat Quality and Satisfaction Study, one automaker came out on top three times. It appears that Chevrolet owners were pleased with the quality of their seats. 

The Chevy Sonic had the least complaints in the compact car segment with only 2.5 issues reported per 100 vehicles. It had a large margin over the second-place slot, which was the Hyundai Accent. Hyundai’s owners reported 7.4 issues per 100 vehicles with those seats. 

When it came to the midsize/large car segment, Chevy, again, came out on top. The Impala had only 6.6 problems reported per 100 vehicles, which was a small margin over the Ford Fusion who had 8.8 reports against them. The Nissan Maxima found its way to the third slot with 8.9 issues. 

So, when it comes to the compact SUV category, it was no surprise to see that Chevy had once again proven that their seats were far superior in quality than its rivals. This time it was the Chevy Equinox that had owners happy with its seats, with only 4.2 problems per 100 vehicles. But Chevy wasn’t done yet. The Silverado also made the list in third place for the truck/van category.

Most of the complaints given on the survey had to do with the design of the seats, namely the lack of adjustment capability. Chevy has spent a good deal of time getting to know the consumers that buy their vehicles, and they can use that understanding to give them just what they want in seat quality.

What’s new with the Chevy Equinox for 2020?

As GM Authority reports, Chevy made a few changes to spice things up for the Equinox. They switched around some body paint colors, getting rid of about seven of them, but added three new ones to the list. Also, they did away with the leather-wrapped shifter, but they added the option to include black leather seat covers. 

One of the best things they did was to add more standard safety features to this model. Some of them include lane-keeping assistance, lane departure warning, Intellibeam headlights, forward collision warning, and automated emergency braking to name a few. 

Chevy also removed a couple of trims from their lineup. The Equinox no longer has the 3LT and 3LZ trims. Since they removed the 1.6-liter turbo diesel engine from the Equinox as an option, the two models were no longer needed.

Chevrolet continues to build quality vehicles, down to the high-quality seats that owners really like. It’s no surprise as they’re one of the few that take the time to get to know their buyers and what they want out of a vehicle.