The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chevy Traverse gets a makeover
Crossover is still a great choice for a big family.
The Traverse, Chevrolet’s eightpassenger crossover, enters its second generation for 2018 with a restyling designed to make an already great vehicle even better.
With the makeover, prices for 2018 begin at $29,930 (plus $995 freight) for the base L model with front-wheel drive, and run as high as $52,100 for the High Country model with all-wheel drive.
In between are the LS ($32,100), LT Cloth ($34,600), LT Leather ($41,200), RS ($42,100) and Premier ($44,500) front-wheel-drive models. All-wheel drive is available on all but the L and RS models, and is standard on the High Country. The RS and High Country models are two new trim levels added for 2018.
Our test vehicle for this report was the LT Leather with front drive, with a list price of $41,200 and total delivered price of $42,540, including freight and $395 in options – the cost of the premium Cajun Red Tintcoat exterior paint.
Arguably one of the best of its class, the Traverse is a large crossover with lots of room for the family and their stuff.
Chevy calls the new Traverse’s exterior styling “bold and refined.” It’s not as rounded as its predecessor, but it still very much looks like a Traverse, which is a good thing. This is one of Chevrolet’s best vehicles of the past decade, and it didn’t need an entirely new look.
One thing that was retained in the new generation is the generous third-row space, particularly the legroom, which makes that seat just as comfortable for adults as for children. This is one of the few big crossovers that can achieve that. There is also ample cargo room and overall interior space.
There are also a new split/folding second-row seat and secondrow captain’s chairs that improve on the original Smart Slide feature for that row. That includes the curbside seat’s ability to tip up and slide forward, even with a forward-facing child seat in place, to provide easy access to the third row.
With the captain’s chairs in the middle row, included on our test vehicle, the Traverse seats seven, but access to the third row is easier because of the gap between the two middle-row seats.
The standard engine is the 3.6liter V-6, cranking out 310 horsepower and 266 foot-pounds of torque. It’s connected to a ninespeed automatic transmission. This was the engine on our tester, and we had plenty of power for both routine interstate highway driving and some mountain
roads we encountered during our weeklong test.
EPA ratings for the V-6 are 18 mpg city/27 highway with front drive, and 17 city/25 highway with allwheel drive. The 2.0-liter engine is rated at 20 city/26 highway.
The Chevrolet MyLink audio system with seven-inch screen is standard on L, LS and LT Cloth models, but our LT Leather came with the MyLink system with an eightinch screen, which also is standard on RS, Premier and High Country models. Both systems are compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. MyLink allows for integration of the onboard audio system with smartphones for hands-free calling and Bluetooth audio streaming.
Also standard on all models— and a cool feature on our tester – is the OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, which includes a three-month/3GB data trial. This gives everyone on board Wi-Fi access for their portable devices, as long as the vehicle is in cell service range.
While a rearview camera system is standard on all models, we had Surround Vision with rear camera mirror on our LT Leather model; these are also standard on RS, Premier and High Country trims. Also included on our LT Leather model were rear park assist, rear crosstraffic alert, and lane-change alert with blind spot alert. Chevrolet’s Teen Driver feature is included on all models.
Because the Traverse is intended to be a family vehicle, strong emphasis was placed on safety, with features to protect occupants before, during and after a crash. Among these are electronic stability control and traction control; antilock brakes; and rollover mitigation, to help prevent one of the most dangerous of common SUV accidents.
There are seat-mounted side air bags for the front-seat passengers, and roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for all three rows, along with the standard front air bags.
To assist after a crash, the Traverse comes with GM’s OnStar satellite-based communications system, which reports automatically to an OnStar operator if the vehicle is involved in an accident. Besides reporting when an air bag deploys, the system also tells the operator if the vehicle has rolled over, or been hit on the front, side or rear.
The optional all-wheel drive gives the Traverse great all-weather capabilities, along with limited off-road ability — allowing it to handle many of the dirt roads that might be found in national and state parks. But it has lower ground clearance than most traditional SUVs, and the all-wheel drive doesn’t include low-range gearing for serious trail driving.