BLUFFTON, S.C. — The 2024 GMC Acadia is a revamped tackle the model’s common three-row SUV. It’s fairly a bit larger than the outgoing mannequin, with 8.4 extra inches of wheelbase and 10.6 additional inches of total size. That’s an enormous boon to cargo house (up 80%), whereas additionally including 27% to second-row legroom. Its new seems to be align extra carefully now with the GMC Sierra pickup, granting it a brawnier persona.
Whereas it’s in some ways fairly much like the up to date 2024 Chevrolet Traverse, (together with in dimension, now) GMC did an admirable quantity of design work to distinguish the Acadia from its shut relative. The tall, truck-like grille provides the Acadia extra presence than earlier than, and the C-shaped LED headlights add character. Alongside the facet, the chunky C-pillar is hidden from sight, whereas the D-pillar is expanded. This supplies a greater view for third-row passengers, and has the additional benefit of obscuring the cargo space from onlookers. Round again, we see extra LED lighting, in addition to quad exhaust suggestions GMC mentioned have been impressed by the C8 Chevy Corvette, full with their squarish form. The general look is extra truckish, nevertheless it nonetheless has a sporty slant.
Underneath the pores and skin, a lot is shared with its Chevy platform-mate. It sports activities the identical new 2.5-liter turbo 4 producing 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque and shifts by way of an eight-speed computerized transmission. The engine employs the identical “ePhaser” to regulate the camshaft on the fly to advance and delay the spark in keeping with energy and effectivity wants. And similar to the Traverse, the front-wheel-drive Acadia will get 20 miles per gallon metropolis, 27 mpg freeway and 23 mpg mixed, or 19/24/21 mpg with all-wheel drive.
Along with the bottom Elevation trim ($43,995 together with vacation spot, with AWD costing one other $2,000), the Acadia boasts the extra luxurious Denali trim ($55,695 for FWD and $57,695 for AWD), in addition to the off-road-ready AT4 trim ($51,395 with AWD normal). We’ll have to attend to judge the function content material within the Elevation, however the Denali and AT4 have been readily available for us to judge in South Carolina.
Our first stint within the Acadia was within the Denali. Getting inside, it’s instantly noticeable that the Acadia’s inside is a giant step up over that of the Traverse. Up entrance, the centerpiece is the tech interface normal on all Acadia trims: a portrait-oriented 15-inch infotainment display working Google Constructed-In, in addition to an 11-inch driver show. The Denali additionally comes with a head-up show as normal. One function that helped immensely (in each Acadias we drove) on unfamiliar roads was the power to change the instrument panel show to donate most of its actual property to reflect the Google Maps navigation, placing our instructions immediately in entrance of us whereas liberating up the infotainment display for another capabilities wanted alongside the best way. And, sure, this GM product nonetheless has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The remainder of the Denali’s inside design is inviting, with leather-based seats boasting really engaging stitching. There are nonetheless some grainy, laborious plastics to be discovered, however they don’t dominate the cabin. We actually just like the look of the open-pore ayous wooden trim, full with the Denali title etched on the far finish of the sprint. The fairing that covers the motive force’s facet of the sprint is curiously formed, with good character for a component that might in any other case be simply missed each by designers and shoppers. Its massive heart console is open beneath for handy storage, due to GMC relocating the drive selector from the console to the steering column. We additionally admire the large, sturdy HVAC toggles built-in on the backside of the infotainment display.
Customary throughout the lineup is a seven-passenger format with second-row captain’s chairs; there isn’t any bench seat choice. The second row is kind of roomy, with seats that regulate to supply extra room or to punish whomever is sitting behind you. The third row is pretty giant, although. With the motive force’s seat in my ideally suited driver place and a cushty second-row place behind that, I squeezed my 6-foot self into the third row and located my knees touching the seatback forward of me. With a few minor changes from the ahead seats — ones that wouldn’t be asking an excessive amount of of the opposite occupants — I might match within the third row pretty comfortably. A child can be proper at dwelling for lengthy journeys. Adults would not less than admire the respectable headroom.
You might carry quantity of bags for all these passengers. Cargo quantity behind the third row checks in at a segment-beating 23.0 cubic toes, with a big under-floor bin as a bonus. If it’s only a household of 4 taking the journey, flattening the third row opens that as much as 57.3 cubic toes. Fold all of the seats down for a most 97.5 cubes, and also you’ve received a good shifting car. There’s additionally 5,000 kilos price of towing capability when you someway run out of house contained in the Acadia.
Our explicit Denali tester was geared up with the usual 20-inch wheels, not the non-compulsory 22-inchers and the “efficiency suspension” included within the Denali Reserve Bundle. That upgraded suspension makes use of passive, frequency-based dampers that behave otherwise in keeping with enter from the highway. It’s most likely extra vital to have when rolling on the larger tires with their shorter sidewalls, however the 20-inchers with the usual suspension proved simply high quality for our drive. We didn’t encounter a few of the tire-flattening, cratered pavement we see up in Michigan, however the imperfections we did encounter handed underneath tire with out grievance.
GM’s Tremendous Cruise hands-free driver help system is non-compulsory throughout the Acadia lineup, and our Denali had it. It’s nonetheless a fantastic system, decreasing fatigue and galvanizing confidence in its talents because it deftly strikes together with site visitors — or round it with computerized lane modifications. As GM provides extra mileage to its map of suitable roads (about 750,000 miles now!), we have been generally stunned by a few of the smaller highways it will work on. One such stretch of highway had its share of intersections with cease lights. Forward of a few of these busier intersections, the Acadia would tell us to take over steering with a crimson gentle on the steering wheel, a message on the motive force show and a vibration of the seat cushion (a good way to ship an alert with out freaking out any passengers on board). Tremendous Cruise stays one of many extra superior driver help techniques that we really take pleasure in utilizing.
The two.5-liter turbo engine felt like match for the Acadia. Whereas it might not appear as macho as a V6, it supplied loads of energy to get and hold the Acadia shifting. It doesn’t sound dangerous, both, and what you do hear isn’t very loud. Turbo lag is at a minimal, and there’s sufficient energy readily available to get the entrance wheels to spin from a cease (which is accompanied by a suggestion on the motive force show to change to AWD mode). We’ll have an interest to see if the engine nonetheless feels as much as the duty when loaded up with passengers and a trailer in tow, however nothing thus far suggests it received’t.
The following morning, I received within the off-road-leaning Acadia AT4. That comes geared up with all-terrain tires mounted on 18-inch wheels. In all, the AT4 positive factors about 1.2 inches in journey peak over the Elevation, about two-thirds of that coming from the suspension, whereas the tires account for the remaining. The AT4 makes use of a model of the non-compulsory efficiency suspension from the Denali, although tuned for extra rugged responsibility, and together with the identical hydraulic rebound cease discovered within the Chevy Traverse Z71. It additionally will get crimson tow hooks, underbody skid plates, a twin-clutch all-wheel drive system and Off-Street and Terrain drive modes. The outside brightwork isn’t precisely shiny, utilizing tinted chrome that comes off as a broody, shiny graphite-ish shade. We’d be remiss to disregard the AT4’s marker lights on its wheel arches — it’s a small element, however a neat one, nonetheless.
Inside, the AT4 doesn’t robotically get the Denali’s normal options, like a head-up show, leather-based upholstery, ventilated entrance seats, heated second-row seats, one-touch-folding second-row and power-folding third-row seats, energy steering column, reminiscence settings and premium ground mats. A few of that’s out there, some not, however what you do get remains to be good and, we’d argue, suited to its objective. The mixture material and artificial seats are comfy and really feel sturdy, and the remainder of the inside design remains to be engaging, full with wooden trim. However regardless of fewer luxurious trimmings, the AT4 feels much more particular to drive.
The AT4 is especially at dwelling traversing down gravel roads at speeds that left big plumes of mud behind us, the suspension doing a fully excellent job of smoothing out the ruts and bumps. As soon as the gravel turned to high quality, dry sand, the AT4 was a hoot. In Off-Street mode, it was completely pleased to hold momentum and even speed up pretty shortly via the free medium. It felt just a little playful, however not unruly because the entrance tires clawed via the sand, holding the Acadia’s grille pointed the place we wished it. Only for enjoyable, we switched the drive mode again to Regular mid-sand-rip, and the AT4 did certainly battle to maintain up momentum, slowing down considerably regardless of my inputs, because the traction management system fought towards slippage. Popping it again into Off-Street mode by way of the (poorly positioned) toggle to the left of the steering column, the Acadia was as soon as once more wanting to cost ahead because the AT4’s Energetic Torque Management AWD system allowed the wheels just a little extra freedom to spin.
GMC was sort sufficient to dig up one of many sandy roads on our drive path to allow us to get some wheels within the air. The AT4 was pleased to creep via in Terrain mode with out us having to fumble between the fuel and brake pedals. Moreover, each liftoff and landing of the wheels occurred with out drama — no noise, and managed with consolation (not less than from the motive force’s seat). We additionally turned on the car’s exterior cameras, which might be helpful if that portion of the path had any turns.
Later, once we’d come again to the identical spot, newly refreshed by GMC’s on-hand earth-moving gear, the sandy ruts have been deep and free sufficient to get the Acadia briefly caught, wheels spinning to no avail. There was no must resort to the tow hooks, although, as backing up a few inches, then rolling the entrance wheel again onto the incline and holding a gradual foot on the accelerator was sufficient to permit the all-wheel-drive system to type the torque sufficient to get us up and out of the pit and, ultimately, again onto principally degree floor.
On the pavement, the AT4 proved nearly as comfy because the Denali we had pushed the day earlier than. We have been in a position to elicit a bit extra wheel spin from the all-terrain tires when gunning it from a cease, they usually gave just a little little bit of a roar once we known as upon its lateral grip reserves when pushing via a nook. Extra physique roll didn’t pose an issue from the motive force’s seat, and the candy suspension continued to degree out no matter got here at it on the straight elements of the highway, too.
Our AT4 was additionally geared up with Tremendous Cruise, which labored simply in addition to it did within the Denali. The one distinction was that we seen a bit extra correction from the steering system, with only a slight wobble of the steering wheel on heart because it cruised down the freeway. That didn’t translate into any additional movement within the cabin, nonetheless, as the whole lot felt calm and secure as we chugged straight forward with our arms in our lap.
The 2024 Acadia is a sexy three-row SUV, maybe extra so than the marginally extra reasonably priced Chevy Traverse — much more reasonably priced than that when you stroll additional down the Chevy’s deeper trim lineup. The Acadia’s exterior design is exclusive, and its inside design is a giant draw over its cousin when evaluating these comparable trims. Is that price an additional few grand to you? As a result of past that, there’s not so much, particularly when it comes to driving, that units it other than the Traverse. With that in thoughts, it’s easy sufficient to go check them again to again; they’re each in dealerships now, they usually symbolize massive upgrades over their outgoing variations.
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