Accelerate Mpls

I will be really up front and honest with you.  When I received the email telling me a 2010 GMC Acadia was coming my way, my first thought was “I will not like this vehicle.”  The main reasoning behind this is because I actually like the current Chevrolet Tahoe (the GMC Yukon is fine but I like the Tahoe styling better) and I could not imagine why I would personally buy this mammoth crossover instead of a Tahoe.  Yes, I’m aware the Acadia starts roughly around $5,540 cheaper than the Tahoe, but pricing never entered my thoughts when making this judgment.  The more interesting thing was, I had just hopped out of a fully loaded Buick Enclave, which rides on the same platform and shares so many parts with the Acadia.  I really enjoyed my time with the Enclave, but it still didn’t sway my opinions about the Acadia.  So what happened?

The Acadia’s exterior is striking.  The headlights are unique and truly good looking.  They really set the front end apart from other crossovers.  The hood has nice sculpting in the center with lines running from the front clip into the hood on either side.  The side profile is less sculpted, but has a bulge towards the bottom of the doors near the rocker panels.  The fenders are somewhat over exaggerated but not overly done.  The rear taillights are stylized with two round turret-looking shapes in each housing.  The Acadia’s exterior is overall, very sharp especially sitting on the optional twenty inch chrome clad wheels.

The Acadia’s interior does have a few design cues shared with the Chevrolet Traverse, though it is worth noting the Acadia came to market before the Traverse.  The center stack and instrument panel are all easy to operate and organized well.  At night the gauges and switchgear all light up GMC red and white. I personally find this easy on the eyes late at night.  The standard fold-flat third row is easy to operate but as a usable seat, the space back there is really meant for a child.  With the third row in seating position, there is still room in the back for bags.  The seats while large and flat were most definitely road trip worthy.

Powertrain options in the Acadia are limited to the 3.6 liter V6 featuring direct injection. Power output is 288 hp and 270 lb-ft to either the front or all four wheels.  The power is handled by a six speed automatic with manual shift capabilities.  I am undecided on this transmissions programming.  It could be the particular Acadia I was in, but the transmission seemed lazy to me.  Shifts were not quick and crisp.  They were delayed and took longer than expected when not pushed hard.  In all-wheel-drive mode, as the tester was equipped, the EPA rated the Acadia at 16/23 miles-per-gallon.  I saw an average of 16.8 mpg in the city and 19.9 mpg cruising at 75 miles-per-hour on the highway.  It is worth noting I averaged 22.8 mpg when cruising at 65 mph.

Rear End With Third Row Seat Up

The Acadia was optioned as a SLT-2 model with a sticker price of $42,185.  The test model also included the following options: technology package, touch screen navigation with rear view camera, rear seat entertainment, power sunroof with second row skylight, heated and cooled front seats with perforated leather surfaces, and red jewel tintcoat.  The total price swelled to $49,740 after destination and the plethora of options!  That’s a lot of money for a non-premium CUV.

A few things that stood out to me while I was in the Acadia:  first, was the heads up display. I like how GMC decided to include this feature with the technology package.  Second, the cooled seats in this Acadia were some of the best I have encountered to date.  They seats cooled very quickly and prompted me to pay attention as the seats made my backside chilly.  Finally, the iPod/iPhone interface on the optional touch-screen radio worked terrific.

So after driving the Acadia for the week, was it good enough to change my original opinions?   I was sure I wasn’t going to like it.  My final opinion on the CUV is I kind of like it and I kind of don’t.  I definitely was impressed at the end of my test.  I liked the Acadia as a vehicle; more than I ever thought I would like it.  With that said, I cannot admit the Acadia would be my top pick for $49,740.  GMC is deep into luxury territory at that price and in reality, the Buick Enclave has a nicer interior.  Looking past GM’s products other vehicles in the same price category as the Acadia include: the Acura MDX, Audi Q7 and many others luxury brand CUVs.  For the same price as the Acadia, the Audi Q7 TDI or the Acura MDX might be a better buy in my opinion.  The main problem is not the Acadia, but rather GM’s pricing of the Acadia. This vehicle fits in much better at with a $44,000 price ceiling to be truly competitive.   The bottom line is, if someone was ready to buy an Acadia and asked me if they should, I would say this: if you like it, it is a good vehicle but if selecting a fully loaded one I might be cautious on purchasing.

Full Disclosure- The review vehicle was provided by General Motors

Episode 23 starts by discussing what CAFE standards are and also what the next generation standards will be along with when they are going into affect.  Moving into the garage we talk about the GMC Acadia I was in for the past week along with the Chevrolet Traverse Colin was in.  We then move along to the major news of the week segment.  This week included-

• Death of Hummer
• Honda Ridgeline May Not Return
• Infiniti G to get four-cylinder Mercedes engine/ 2011 Audi Q7 gets three new V6s

We then proceed to the clip of the week segment.  This week we featured an ad telling Canadians to stop urinating on the planet. (Link)

Next came our main topic which was discussing CAFE standards and solutions to meet those standards.  We mainly talk about different materials used in building cars currently and possibly in the future.

Last we discuss the past week on our respective blogs, Cheers and Gears,  AutoBird Blog and Accelerate Mpls.  The week in review included- my editorial on the Koreans Are Coming, and the first Mpls Cars & Cafe of the season.  Cheers and Gears had a post on the 2016 CAFE standards.  Colin had posts about Canadian sales numbers and a post about Engineering Speed by the one and only William Maley.

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Let’s be frank: I personally never felt Chevrolet had a great minivan. The Venture was ho-hum at best and the Uplander was a train wreck. In theory you are supposed to keep going until you get it right and I am all for that, but at some point, you need to cut your losses and refocus on something else. General Motors has done that exactly with the Lambda platform based CUVs and left the minivan behind.

The Chevrolet Traverse is the latest (and last to the market) of General Motor’s large CUVs. This is no small vehicle and, in fact, is pretty much the size of a Tahoe. The thing is, while it is almost as big as the Tahoe, it drives and rides completely differently. The ride is much more like a car-based vehicle and the reason for that is the unibody design and construction of the vehicle. The Tahoe is a body on frame design. The Traverse is an older truck style vehicle.

The sister vehicles to the Traverse are the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and the now dead Saturn Outlook. The Traverse launched with an upgraded motor from these other vehicles; a 3.6 liter V6 featuring direct injection technology. This engine puts out 281 hp and 266 ft-lb (288 hp in LTZ trim). The direct injection gave the engine both more power while maintaining acceptable fuel economy. The power is routed through the front wheels with all wheel drive as an option. The six speed automatic transmission does have manual shifting abilities via a rocker switch on the gear selector. The engine is rated at 17/24 in front wheel drive form, which is a decent rating for a vehicle of this size. I managed to average 17.6 mpg in mixed driving, although my city driving has lot of stop and go while going into work and really does kill the gas mileage. In the beginning of the week, when it was straight to work in downtown, I was averaging a mere 15.4 mpg. Once I started driving on the highways a more, my mileage crept up above 17 mpg.

I have driven a lambda based vehicle before but it is has been a while. Upon entering the Traverse, I looked in my rear view mirror and remembered just how big this vehicle is. Site lines are good with decent sized mirrors. Those mirrors each feature a refracted lens for your blind spot. Driving this big CUV was a pleasant experience. The steering was not overly light but more is more car-like than big SUV. The power is more than enough to overpower the front wheels on numerous occasions. Slamming the gas pedal will result in the tires trying to grip the pavement, but the traction control quickly kicks in.

The interior is styled very nicely. With a large amount of space to work with, the designers definitely tried their best to sculpt the materials to prevent the look of vast expanses of plastic and it is job well done for the most part. The dash has nice lines and fits well with the current Chevrolet styling theme. The interior was a very dark place with everything being dark charcoal (pretty close to black) and no sunroof option on this vehicle. The seats are wide and somewhat flat and, without question, these are seats made for Americans. I liked the front seatback design which is unique and looks nice. The second row tumbles forward to allow entrance to the third row which is not a place an adult will want to spend time, although a child will be comfortable and it folds flat at the pull of a handle. Another sign that this vehicle is made for Americans is the cup holders because they are literally everywhere.

The styling of the exterior is very conservative. The sides are very plain and almost slab sided. Upon looking further, you will notice a slight character line towards the bottom of the doors and one near the door handles. These are by no means strong lines, but rather soft. The lines all integrate with each other quite well, flowing from one panel to the next with no break. The front is the sharpest part of the vehicle. The dual port grille and the headlights show similarity to the rest of the new Chevrolet vehicles, while still being distinctly different. The overall exterior will not offend anyone and is by far the most conservative of the three other Lambda vehicles.

The Traverse I had was a 1LT with a sticker price of $31,745. The trailoring package, which included a heavy duty cooling system and trailer hitch, cost $525. The rear view camera system is a $450 option was done the right way, in my opinion. With no navigation optioned on this vehicle, the screen was integrated into the rear view mirror; very easy to use and convenient. The total sticker price after destination and options rang to $33,495, and while this is not cheap, it is competitive for its class.

The entire week I had the Traverse, I felt like I should be heading to the soccer field to pick up the kids. While the vehicle has more then enough power to get up and go, it is by no means sporty and that is not its intentions. The vehicle is a family hauler, designed and engineered to deliver the kids to soccer practice and make trips to Costco.

The competition is stiff in this segment and the Traverse is here for the fight. Naturally, the big blue oval is a competitor in the Ford Flex but actually, the Flex and the Traverse are completely different vehicles. I can not imagine someone that wants a Flex will even give the Traverse a second thought and vice versa.

In commercials, Chevrolet compares the Traverse to the Honda Pilot and, while both sport three rows of seating, the Traverse is the larger vehicle. Without a doubt, the Traverse is a highly competitive entry into a cut-throat segment and the vehicle I had at just over $33k is a decent alternative if you do not want a minivan. Chevrolet buyers finally have a vehicle that is not a minivan but can haul the family while achieving acceptable fuel economy

Full Disclosure- The review vehicle was provided by General Motors