Verdict
Design | Consolation | Know-how | Efficiency | Security | Gas Economic system | Pricing | FAQ
Mainstream three-row crossovers have to tick numerous containers for the households that gobble them up. Certain, they need to be snug and straightforward to drive. There needs to be sensible tech and superior energetic security, too, and in the event that they occur to look able to modest off-road heroics, that’s all the higher. However above all else, these autos should be spacious.
If passenger and cargo capability are your highest precedence, I’d recommend wanting on the Chevrolet Traverse. Just like the Equinox I reviewed a number of months in the past, that is an in any other case common product. However the place that’s the Equinox’s prime power, the Traverse excels due to its immense cabin. When you want room – if you happen to actually, really want to make use of the third row in your three-row CUV – the Traverse makes a compelling case in a massively aggressive class.
A car’s scores are relative solely to its personal phase and never the new-vehicle market as a complete. For extra on how Motor1.com charges vehicles, click on right here.
14 Images
Design
Exterior Colour: Radiant Crimson Tintcoat Inside Colour: Jet Black/Clove Wheel Measurement: 20 Inches
A facelift for model-year 2021 noticed the Traverse undertake extra chiseled exterior options in a bid to regulate the notion it’s simply one other soft-roader. The trouble was solely partially profitable – the Traverse nonetheless doesn’t flip heads or recommend it may deal with something greater than a dust driveway, nevertheless it appears to be like and feels crisper than earlier than. I drove the the range-topping Excessive Nation trim, however except for the chrome exterior bits, 20-inch wheels, and badging, there’s little to tell apart it from lesser Traverses.
That’s doubly true of the cabin. Restricted to only a single upholstery theme, the Jet Black/Clove combo is muddled and uninteresting – on the seats, there’s a seemingly tan tint to the black leather-based, however I by no means felt like I used to be taking a look at a devoted two-tone inside scheme. On the similar time, the uninteresting, plastic-laden sprint and door panels, small 8.0-inch touchscreen, and button-heavy middle console depart the Traverse feeling outdated and unhip. The upside is that every part right here feels strong and nicely constructed, even when the supplies themselves lacked the polish of newer rivals.
Â
Consolation
Seating Capability: 7 Seating Configuration: 2 / 2 / 3 Cargo Capability: 23.0 / 57.8 / 98.2 Cubic Toes
The Chevy Traverse makes an attempt to separate the distinction between roomy, uncool minivans and roomy, unwieldy body-on-frame SUVs with its big cabin, upright stature, and relaxed driving character. By way of max passenger quantity, the Traverse is in a category of its personal. The entrance chairs are open and expansive, with flat bolsters and satisfactory padding. The second-row captain’s seats (a bench is out there on lesser trims) slide fore and aft, whereas the third row has 1.3-inch legroom benefit on the subsequent closest various. And no matter which seats are up or folded, the Traverse leads the phase in cargo house.
Trip high quality is aggressive, with the Traverse displaying spectacular composure over tough patches and glorious steering isolation. There’s some tire and wind noise, however the Traverse holds its personal whereas cruising at freeway pace.
Know-how & Connectivity
Middle Show: 8.0-inch Touchscreen Instrument Cluster Show: 8.0-inch Wi-fi Apple CarPlay or Android Auto: Sure
The Traverse earns above-average marks right here by the pores and skin of its tooth. The 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system is about as small because it will get within the phase, nevertheless it responds readily to inputs and makes use of the acquainted working system current in different GM merchandise, with particular person icons on a giant, easy residence display screen. And bodily controls for issues like the quantity and audio tuning imply that the infotainment is a type of set-and-forget factor.
This Excessive Nation mannequin comes absolutely outfitted, so clients received’t have to dig via sophisticated possibility sheets to search out issues like wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto or the nifty rear digital camera mirror.
Efficiency & Dealing with
Engine: 3.6-liter V6 Output: 310 Horsepower / 266 Pound-Toes Transmission: 9-Velocity Automated
The Traverse’s efficiency is satisfactory however, like so many different autos within the phase, completely unexciting. The three.6-liter V6 packs 310 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque, which outguns the Kia Telluride (291 hp and 262 lb-ft), Honda Pilot (280 and 262), and Nissan Pathfinder (295 and 270). Solely the turbocharged, 300-hp Ford Explorer out-twists the Traverse, with 310 lb-ft. Regardless of best-in-class normal horsepower, the Traverse’s 5,000-pound (non-compulsory) tow restrict ties the Pilot and Telluride and trails the Explorer (5,300 kilos) and Pathfinder (as much as 6,000 kilos).
In the true world, the Traverse’s V6 and nine-speed auto work nicely collectively – energy builds gently though the engine is responsive when given a boot stuffed with throttle. The nine-speed engages readily off the road, however whereas underway, its focus is extra on smoothness and refinement fairly than swapping gears shortly.
Dealing with is strictly as portly as some other 4,300-pound three-row CUV. The Traverse wallows back and forth when pushed and defaults to secure, predictable understeer if you happen to’re that one lunatic that treats the college run like an autocross. Extra related is the gentle, predictable brake pedal that gives ample stopping energy and straightforward modulation.
Security
Driver Help Stage: SAE Stage 1 NHTSA Score: Not Rated IIHS Score: Not TSP/TSP Plus
Reward be, Chevy has lastly listened to our fixed complaining and gives a complete host of energetic security gear normal. Each Traverse comes normal with Chevy Security Help, the Bowtie model’s security suite. It consists of ahead collision warning, pedestrian detection, automated emergency braking that works beneath 50 mph, lane-keep help, and automated excessive beams. That also trails Honda and Toyota, which bundle adaptive cruise management with their respective suites, however Chevy will get an A for effort.
The Traverse Excessive Nation, in the meantime, consists of ACC, along with full-speed automated emergency braking and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert (non-compulsory on lesser fashions). It lacks any type of lane-tracing or centering system, although, so driving the Traverse on the freeway is a extra concerned affair even with adaptive cruise engaged.
Gas Economic system
Metropolis: 17 MPG Freeway: 25 MPG Mixed: 20 MPG
Pricing
Base: $34,520 + $1,395 Vacation spot Trim: $53,395 As-Examined: $56,090
The Traverse could be an excellent worth if you happen to want room, however the range-topping Excessive Nation is (like so many different premium trims of mainstream three-rows) a fairly poor worth, including $17,480 to the Traverse’s $35,915 (together with the $1,395 vacation spot cost) base value, for a trim value of $53,395. All-wheel drive provides $2,200 to that determine, whereas my tester’s $495 Radiant Crimson paint introduced the sticker to $56,090. That’s a number of money for a car with no premium badge on the nostril.
As an alternative, take into account a Traverse apart from the Excessive Nation. The LT Leather-based trim, with all the identical energetic security gear, an equivalent 8.0-inch touchscreen, and the rear digital camera mirror, is out there for about $48,000. That’s the sensible purchase if you happen to’re purchasing for a three-row Chevy crossover. But when house is not your primary precedence, there are higher values in the marketplace. The range-topping Ford Explorer Platinum comes with a extra highly effective and extra environment friendly hybrid powertrain and gives a twin-turbo V6 as an possibility. The Kia Telluride, Honda Pilot, and Nissan Pathfinder, in the meantime, undercut the Traverse of their costliest kinds.
FAQs:
