Latest version of big ute gets its act together
— It’s time for another edition of Design Your Perfect Car. Today’s feature: Chevrolet. OK. The perfect Chevy would be:
1) A bargain like a Chevy Trax.
2) Engaging performance like a Corvette.
3) Off-road capable like a Colorado Z71/Trail Boss/ZR2.
4) Tough like a Silverado pickup, dude.
5) Capable of seating six comfortably like a Tahoe.
6) Stuffed with cool self-driving tech like a Bolt.
Your wish is granted. Say hello to the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71.
Whaaaaat? The Traverse?!!! The vanilla Soccer Mom SUV that’s been more miserly on standard features than Scrooge and had the face of … wait, what did it look like again? Yes, that Traverse.
For its third generation, the remade Traverse has gotten its act together. Call it the Multiverse. The big ute has always clocked in for work with the biggest interior in class, but it had fallen behind competitors in value (love ya’, Kia Telluride), style (oooh, that Ford Explorer is hot), interior design (Telluride again), and off-road chops (Explorer Timberline, Telluride X-Pro, Honda Pilot Trailsport, etc.).
The off-road oversight was particularly galling for a brand that produces some of the best trucks on the planet. Buy a Chevy pickup Z71, Trail Boss or ZR2 off-road model and you’ll want to take a detour every day on your way from work to play.
So Traverse went to the gym and emerged with a toned, ZR1 off-road bod. Dude.
In the wilds of northwest Georgia, I selected OFF-ROAD mode, turned off traction control and drifted the big ute through some grassy turns. Out on the flat, I buried the throttle and the buttery-smooth, eight-speed transmission swapped the right cogs to get into the meat of the best-in-class, 328-horse turbo-4 — yet another torque monster from the same blacksmiths that gave you gems like the 2.7-litre Silverado turbo-4 and the flatplane crank Corvette V-8.
Alas, Chevy hasn’t complemented this grunt with a throaty exhaust growl. Pity. A good growl would also reinforce Traverse’s tough truck bod, complete with Silverado-like, get-outtamy-way grille and muscled shoulders. Good riddance to the ol’, vanilla, Malibu-inspired wardrobe.
GM makes some of the best engineered chassis in autodom and Traverse is no exception. Whether Camaro, Caddy sedan or Silverado, the General’s models have always been fun to drive. On twisty secondary roads, the XL Traverse felt a size smaller. Now, Chevy ups the fun factor with a proper Z71 off-road package taken from its trucks: 32-inch Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires, underbody skid plates, red tow hooks, 1.2inch lift, twin-clutch rear differential.
The latter is a nifty tech for those rare snowy days. One tire stuck? The clutch packs will throw 100% torque to the other wheel to power you out.
Bang! I smacked the front skid plate over a mogul and the big ute shrugged it off. Don’t ford a stream with it (get yourself a Colorado ZR2 with a snorkel for that kind of hooliganism), but Z71 would be happy towing your family side-by-side to a trail head.
Family road trips are also a breeze with the Traverse’s laundry list of standard features. Forget the mid-range Z71 trim (my favourite if you haven’t already guessed), the base $40K US LS trim Traverse is loaded with blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree camera, forward collision alert, rear cross-traffic braking, auto high beams, side bicyclist alert, 29 inches of digital screens, wireless charge pad, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Oculus VR headset (kidding about that last one). Walk up with key in pocket and arms full of groceries and the rear hatch will even automatically open for you.
What a contrast from a generation ago when popular features weren’t even available on the volume LT trim. Said then-Auto Pacific analyst Dave Sullivan: “It’s a very strange decision not to include these features. Offering a family vehicle … without that equipment is a miss.”
Miss no more. The now-loaded Traverse is in the segment sweet spot. Spec it against its Trailsport, X-Pro, Timberline peers with a pano roof, and it’s the best value in the stable at $49,295 US. The Trax, Chevy’s terrific, affordable $21K starter SUV, would be proud. Need more? Opt for the leather-wrapped, fully accessorized Traverse RS.
Third-gen Traverse has even corrected “very strange” misses like no STOP-START off button. Traverse customers can now nix engine stall — the most despised, government emissions inspired feature in auto dom— with the tap of a button. High five.
With extra cash in their pockets, Traverse customers might even drop $3,280 to outfit Traverse with Super Cruise.
Yes, Super Cruise, the industry-leading, hands-free driverassist feature, is now available on the family truckster. I know, I know, hands-free driving freaks you out, but this is a heckuva system. The latest version even self-drives on secondary roads — though I’d recommend using it primarily on highways so you can safely eat a burger, chat with your spouse and check text messages.
I told you vanilla Traverse is now the Chocolate Chunky Monkey Banana Split Traverse.
For all its improvements, Traverse still hasn’t forgotten its core mission: moving people. At 6’5”, I comfortably sat behind myself sitting behind myself with plenty of headroom in row three. The last row is hardly a dungeon despite its porthole window. With cup-and-French fry holders, backseat carve-outs for your shoes and pano roof overhead, it ain’t a bad place to spend a trip. And with best-inclass cargo room, there’s still space in back for luggage.
Space in the front of the bus is typically well-designed. Bestin-class 17.7-inch dash screen, and Traverse opens up the console by moving the electronic shifter to the steering column (right behind the clever steering wheel, complete with radio station and volume controls on the backside).
Cars are extraordinary things these days with turbocharged engines putting up power numbers V-8s once dreamed of, sophisticated tire/shock combos and dash jumbotrons. The 2024 Traverse manages to integrate all that hardware and then imbue it with personality.
Vanilla no more, the Traverse will be the envy of your kids’ friends in the school pickup line. Load ’em up and drive home hands free.
2024 Chevrolet Traverse
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV Powerplant: 2.5-litre turbocharged, inline-4 cylinder Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: $39,995 US base, including $1,395 destination fee ($49,295 as tested)
Power: 328 horsepower, 326 pound-feet torque Performance: 0-97 km/h NA; towing capacity: 5,000 pounds Weight: 4,504 pounds (FWD); 4,793 pounds (AWD Traverse as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 12 l/100km city/9.8 highway/11 combined (AWD Traverse as tested) Report card
Highs: Bold styling; big screens, room, personality
Lows: Coarse engine sound; no head-up display