UTE WORTH TRYING OUT
Smooth, comfortable ride makes it a competitor in a crowded market
Of all the brands in GM’s stable, GMC is the slimmest. It has never made a car, and has but three SUVs: The smaller Terrain, the larger Yukon, and my tester, the middle-place Acadia.
The Acadia got a complete makeover for 2017, making it slightly smaller than before — unusual in the industry — as well as shaving off some 317 kilograms and improving its looks. On the heels of that, there are very minor changes for 2019, including new paint colours and the Black Edition, a $1,695 option on my tester, which added black exterior accents and 20-inch aluminum wheels.
It shares its platform and V6 engine with the Chevrolet Traverse, but they’re fraternal siblings, not identical twins. The Chevy is slightly larger overall, has a longer wheelbase, holds up to one more passenger than the Acadia, and has a different transmission and only one engine choice.
The Acadia’s model line starts with a four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive. This keeps the price down — it starts at $34,300 — but you’ll want more than this engine pulling it around if you plan to load anything into it. My tester had a 3.6-litre V6, making 310 horsepower and 271 poundfeet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and with all-wheel drive. I had the SLT-1 trim level, which starts at $45,800, but with numerous options that lifted it to $51,235 before freight and taxes.
It’s all a matter of preference, but I like that GM went with a conventional V6 for its higher-powered version, rather than bolting a turbocharger onto a four-cylinder engine. There’s just something about the simplicity that appeals to me. The six-cylinder is a smooth operator, quiet but with good acceleration, and while most automakers have put more cogs in their transmissions, the six-speed does its job very well.
In combined city and highway driving, I got 11.9 L/100 kilometres, just below the published rate of 11.7. The four-cylinder tows up to 1,000 lbs., but the V6 handles up to 4,000 lbs., or 1,814 kilograms.
A console-mounted dial switches between front- or all-wheel drive, which sends power to the rear wheels, and then further distributes it between the left and right rear tires as needed. The Acadia’s handling is livelier than you might expect from a sport ute, and the ride is well composed and with only the very nastiest potholes bumping up through the suspension.
Almost all Acadias have three rows of seats — the off-roadish All Terrain can be ordered with two — and with a second-row bench for seven-passenger seating, or captain’s chairs for six, as mine was equipped. Those second-row seats slide forward a considerable distance for access to the third row, even if a child seat is attached, making it easier to get back there. Those farthest-back seats aren’t super comfy, but they’re roomier than most and are acceptable for most adults, especially if the second-row occupants slide forward to give up a little of their legroom to provide more for the back.
The second and third rows fold flat, but when they’re all in place, the cargo compartment is limited to 362 litres (plus another compartment underneath), which doesn’t always jive with the number of seats. I’ve seen a lot of threerow owners picking up a full load of passengers at the airport, and then trying to figure out what to do with all their luggage. That’s the case with pretty much every threerow that isn’t a minivan these days, but just keep it in mind if your usual load includes something like a sports team and all their gear.
Both the first- and second-row seats are comfortable and supportive, clad in leather on the SLT-1. My tester also included stitched padded panels on the dash and door pads, along with the console and steering wheel, but overall, the interior is a bit of a mixed bag. The styling is handsome, but the upscale metallic accents often butt up against hard, cheaper-looking plastics, and there is some uneven panel fit.
And on a sport ute that starts just shy of $46,000, why do I get heated seats but no heated steering wheel? I have to move up to the top-level Denali to get that.
I like the simplicity of the controls, including big dials and buttons for the climate control, hard buttons to pull up the touch-screen menus, and large, intuitive icons once you get there. There’s no need for simple operations, like turning up the fan speed or activating a heated seat, to be distractingly hidden in a maze of computer menus as some automakers do. Simple should never be considered unsophisticated.
Possibly the Acadia’s biggest hurdle is that, while it’s a decent vehicle in its own right, it’s swimming in a huge pool of mid-size sport utes, where its head is above water but it doesn’t make large enough waves against the competition. Don’t dismiss it, though. Despite a few faults, its smooth ride and comfortable interior make it a contender in this category, and it’s definitely deserving of a spot on the test-drive list.