News
ENLARGE
As the kind of real-world car sure to appeal to practical-minded drivers, GMC's variation on the full-sized crossover is a pretty decent vehicle.
The GMC Acadia, sister to the slightly more glossy Buick Enclave and the now disappearing-into-the-ether Saturn Outlook (and built on the same platform as the Chevrolet Traverse) is … well, GMC's branding of the same package.
And as a result, even without the Cadillac-esque Denali upgrade available this fall, the Acadia still packs largesse with a bit of extra sparkle and about nine million cubic yards of leather.
It also felt just a tad light on power, all things considered, given its 4,925-pound curb weight, but I guess some concessions had to be made in order to be able to reach 23 mpg—that being a 3.6-liter V6 that produces a healthy but not overwhelming 288 horsepower.
My week-long comparison test also came directly after some seat time in some high-end European SUVs and … it's definitely a whole different beast, to be sure.
Acadia's only 400 pounds more than a Porsche Cayenne, but the two are similar only in that they have four wheels and an engine. Acadia cruises the High Country with very palpable body roll and on sharp corners, I needed to hold on with two hands, even with a vehicle empty of passengers and cargo.
As was the case with the Enclave, you'll get a lot of use out of the self-select mode on the six-speed automatic transmission. Drop the shift lever into “low” and then you can use a thumb switch to electronically toggle between the gears, helpful on steep climbs and descents. Brakes also felt suspiciously underwhelming.
Acadia will rather effortlessly seat seven with two large captain's chairs in the second row and a somewhat smallish third row bench; the console box I remember from the Enclave, perched between the second row seats, is deleted. Rear passengers get their own AC controls and vents, plus a ceiling-mounted DVD screen and even a large rear cabin sunroof, with a rolling mesh screen.
Those front- and second-row seats will rather comfortably accommodate your plus-size frame, and the rear seats completely flatten (complete with self-positioning headrests), yielding almost 70 cubic feet of storage, or an amazing 117 cubic feet if you also flatten the second row.
A power liftgate adds versatility, as do chromed roof rails. Inside, the bright bits include chromed air vents, shift gate and cupholder surrounds, and the sliding armrest reveals a deep bin for the wireless headphones or other storage.
Some very red-lit instruments provide absolute clarity; the center stack layout is clean and the controls are simple. The newest variation on GM's cross-platform navigation and entertainment system suddenly began providing me with noisy, random but usually helpful traffic updates. A Corvette-styled head-up display is also available as a fancy, Acadia-only option.
To its credit, Acadia was both a 2010 Consumer Guide and Consumer Digest best buy and earned MotorWeek's Driver's Choice Award in 2008 for best crossover.
The GMC Acadia, sister to the slightly more glossy Buick Enclave and the now disappearing-into-the-ether Saturn Outlook (and built on the same platform as the Chevrolet Traverse) is … well, GMC's branding of the same package.
And as a result, even without the Cadillac-esque Denali upgrade available this fall, the Acadia still packs largesse with a bit of extra sparkle and about nine million cubic yards of leather.
It also felt just a tad light on power, all things considered, given its 4,925-pound curb weight, but I guess some concessions had to be made in order to be able to reach 23 mpg—that being a 3.6-liter V6 that produces a healthy but not overwhelming 288 horsepower.
My week-long comparison test also came directly after some seat time in some high-end European SUVs and … it's definitely a whole different beast, to be sure.
Acadia's only 400 pounds more than a Porsche Cayenne, but the two are similar only in that they have four wheels and an engine. Acadia cruises the High Country with very palpable body roll and on sharp corners, I needed to hold on with two hands, even with a vehicle empty of passengers and cargo.
As was the case with the Enclave, you'll get a lot of use out of the self-select mode on the six-speed automatic transmission. Drop the shift lever into “low” and then you can use a thumb switch to electronically toggle between the gears, helpful on steep climbs and descents. Brakes also felt suspiciously underwhelming.
Acadia will rather effortlessly seat seven with two large captain's chairs in the second row and a somewhat smallish third row bench; the console box I remember from the Enclave, perched between the second row seats, is deleted. Rear passengers get their own AC controls and vents, plus a ceiling-mounted DVD screen and even a large rear cabin sunroof, with a rolling mesh screen.
Those front- and second-row seats will rather comfortably accommodate your plus-size frame, and the rear seats completely flatten (complete with self-positioning headrests), yielding almost 70 cubic feet of storage, or an amazing 117 cubic feet if you also flatten the second row.
A power liftgate adds versatility, as do chromed roof rails. Inside, the bright bits include chromed air vents, shift gate and cupholder surrounds, and the sliding armrest reveals a deep bin for the wireless headphones or other storage.
Some very red-lit instruments provide absolute clarity; the center stack layout is clean and the controls are simple. The newest variation on GM's cross-platform navigation and entertainment system suddenly began providing me with noisy, random but usually helpful traffic updates. A Corvette-styled head-up display is also available as a fancy, Acadia-only option.
To its credit, Acadia was both a 2010 Consumer Guide and Consumer Digest best buy and earned MotorWeek's Driver's Choice Award in 2008 for best crossover.
