TENNESSEE-MADE ACADIA IS GOLDILOCKS SUV
When I was a child growing up in Maury County, Tenn., I never imagined that the rolling hills around the little hamlet of Spring Hill would one day become the site of one of GM’s busiest auto assembly plants. In 1990, the new GM plant opened as home of the now-defunct Saturn brand, maker of GM’s import-fighting, plastic body sedans and SUVs. More recently, the Spring Hill plant has been retooled and expanded to produce mid-size SUVs, one of the hottest — and most profitable — segments in the automotive world.
Earlier this summer, we tested the excellent, Tennessee-made Cadillac XT5, which is built in Spring Hill on the same platform as today’s tester, the GMC Acadia SLT-1 with allwheel-drive. While the Cadillac is a
five-passenger luxury crossover, the redesigned 2017 Acadia is more of a family hauler. In most configurations, the Acadia is a seven-passenger mall-mobile with three rows of seats.
However, our Acadia SLT-1 tester, in rugged All-Terrain trim (an $1,800 upgrade), sheds the thirdrow seats in favor of more cargo room for those with fewer children and an active lifestyle. The cargo area includes rails to anchor bikes, and All-Terrain Acadias equipped with a trailering package ($650) can tow up to 4,000 pounds.
Bryan House, general sales manager of Integrity GMC in Chattanooga, says that his dealership already has 2017 Acadias in stock. “(We are) already selling them,” House notes. “They are fantastic.”
Our all-wheel-drive Acadia tester has a sticker price of $47,465, about the same as the two-wheel-drive Cadillac XT5 we tested earlier.
STYLING AND FEATURES
The redesigned GMC Acadia seeks a Goldilocks solution to the question of SUV size: not too big, not too small, but just right. In this case, GM decided to carve down the dimensions and weight of the previous-generation Acadia to produce a more fuel-efficient — and nimble — mid-size SUV.
The 2017 Acadia is about 6.4 inches shorter and 3.5 inches narrower than before, making it easier to park and navigate our twisting mountain roads. It’s also 700 pounds lighter than before, which boosts fuel efficiency to 20 mpg overall. (Expect 25 mpg highway, 18 mpg city.)
Base Arcadias start at $29,995, and tricked-out AWD units can top can top $50,000. Our SLT-1 model has most of the creature comforts you’d expect in a vehicle with a $47,465 price-tag, including leather seats the color of new footballs, an 8-inch color touchscreen with Apple Carplay capability and 20-inch aluminum wheels. Navigation ($495), dual sunroofs ($1,400) and metallic paint ($395) are a few of our tester’s options, which add about $5,000 to the bottom line.
The All-Terrain package includes distinctive styling cues, including lots of “black chrome” that gives our tester a more masculine look. The redesign also tones down the Acadia’s old grille and features split-spoke alloys that toughen-up the look even more.
Even with the smaller exterior dimensions, the Acadia still has plenty of room inside. Head and shoulder room is immense, and second-row passengers have plenty of leg room to stretch out. The only complaint my passengers had was that the rearseat AC vents seemed a bit anemic on a 95-degree day. A third row of seats would have been helpful one day when my two sons wanted to take friends to a Chattanooga FC soccer game, but if you’re a buyer you know what you need in the way of passenger space.
Like most new GM products, the Acadia can turn into a wifi hot-spot that can support up to seven Internet-connected devices. Data subscriptions are available for a price.
A full suite of safety options is available, including pedestrian braking, forward automatic braking, following distance indicator and a surround vision camera.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Although Acadias equipped with four-cylinder (194 horsepower) engines are now available, the take rate should be fairly low. As long as gas prices stay near or below $2 a gallon, the V-6 option is a no-brainer. The 3.6liter powerplant pumps out 310-horsepower and slingshots the Acadia from zero-to-60 mph in under seven seconds.
In a week of driving around Chattanooga, the Acadia sprinted through afternoon traffic and scampered up and down the mountainous roads to my house. The potent V-6 mates to a silky six-speed transmission. Although most automakers have moved beyond six-speeds to eight- and nine-speed transmissions, the Acadia’s gearbox gets the job done.
Most noticeable is the improvement in maneuverability. As many who drive the W-road up Walden’s Ridge know, steering a fullsize SUV through the switchbacks is a nerve-wracking experience. The more compact, third-generation Acadia was easy to whip through he turns.
BOTTOM LINE
The 2017 GMC Acadia is a giant leap in the right direction for most families. With small-SUV handling and big-SUV interior room, the Acadia is the “just right” solution for domestic SUV buyers.