Smart and Sustainable Electric Mobility
Filed under: Mercedes-Benz,First Drives,Coupe,Luxury,Performance
Continue reading 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE 450 Coupe First Drive Review: A satisfying blend of C and E
2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE 450 Coupe First Drive Review: A satisfying blend of C and E originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Jun 2024 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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NAPA, Calif. – Confession time. I kind of forgot that the Infiniti QX80 exists. Sure, it’s gotten a refresh or two in the past few years, but it's essentially been the same big ol’ three-row SUV since 2010. I’m pretty sure I used to call it Fudgie the Whale. Or maybe it was Pudgie the Whale. Like I said, it’s been a minute.
Now I’ve gotten a taste of the 2025 QX80 and hey, what do you know, there is a lot to like. The third-generation of the body-on-frame SUV goes big on tech, style and comfort, making it a respectable triple into the right-center gap. However, its ride quality keeps the QX80 from being a home run.
Fudgie’s V8 was nixed in favor of a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 good for 450 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Sure, it doesn’t sound quite as good as the older powerplant, but it produces more power and better fuel economy to boot – 18 mpg combined with rear-wheel drive and 17 with four-wheel drive. The old one managed only 15 mpg with four-wheel drive. With low-mpg numbers like these, that’s actually a huge difference. The new turbo V6 is well-mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission, putting the power down to the rear wheels as standard in Pure and Luxe trims, or all four wheels as an option with those trims or as standard with the higher Sensory and Autograph.
There are no complaints about power delivery. It has more than enough grunt for merging and the transmission downshifts readily for easy passing. There are five drive modes as well as a Personal setting, but I spend my time alternating between Standard and Sport. The latter tightens up the steering and powertrain, allowing the SUV to hustle fairly well on a twisty road without much body roll. It’s no Mercedes-AMG GLS, but starting at under $85,000 including destination, it’s not nearly as expensive either.
It’s when you’re just toddling around town that the ride quality becomes a problem. All but the base Pure trim comes equipped with an “Electronic Air Suspension” and “Dynamic Digital Suspension,” the latter function monitoring the QX80’s motions to electronically apply damping forces. This isn’t necessarily anything new in the automotive world, but other manufacturers just do it better. Up and down motions are well-controlled, but I’ve been in row boats with more side-to-side stability. My head gets tossed around like I’m piloting a Jeep on a dusty back road, and all I’m doing is driving the paved streets of Napa Valley, California.
I’d be curious to drive the base Pure model without the Digital Dynamic Suspension to see if the standard coil-spring suspension makes any difference. Unfortunately, there weren’t any available at this press event. As it stands, I wouldn’t buy an SUV that makes me vaguely queasy, let alone $112,590 for the Autograph trim I drove.
It’s a shame too, because there are so many other things that Infiniti got so very right. The styling is 100% on point and I’d put it up next to the Range Rover or Cadillac Escalade any day. Infiniti says the grille was inspired by a bamboo forest – if they say so, but the QX80 has a very handsome face. The segmented daytime running lights are up high and narrow while the headlamps are lower, forming a bit of a dimple on either side of the grille. There is even some cool negative space going on here as part of the aerodynamics, funneling air around the wheel wells.
Twenty-inch wheels are the smallest you’ll get, but the 22s on my tester look right at home on the QX80. Door handles are flush with the body, popping out when you approach the rig, but it’s the rear end that really seals the deal here. The horizontal LED light bar spans the full 83 inches of width, and it’s segmented like the running lights up front. However, the bar is narrower in the middle, giving it a cool, edgy look. Strong work, Infiniti.
The excellent design continues inside with open-pore wood trim and aluminum accents, semi-aniline quilted leather seats and plenty of soft-touch surfaces. The seats are supremely comfy with all trims getting heated in all three rows. Most trims get cooled first- and second-row seats, and there is even an available massage function in the first and second rows. It’s not the most refreshing massage on the face of the planet, but massage is like pizza – even bad massage is still massage.
And it’s plenty roomy, too. The third row is actually comfortable for full-sized adults, which hasn’t been a given for full-size SUVs, and they even recline a bit. The second-row seats take a bit of time to move out of the way, but once they are moved forward, it’s easy enough to get into that third row. All rows get USB-C charge ports with up to 15 watts of power for quick device charging.
Dominating the dash are two 14.3-inch displays. The gauge cluster is configurable three ways, and the center display comes with Google Built-in. That means integrated Google Maps with greater functionality than the CarPlay norm, downloadable apps from Google Play, and voice control courtesy of Google Assistant. What’s really cool is that navigation directions, music and phone calls can be set to play just through the driver’s side headrest speaker, the most novel of 24 other speakers included with the Klipsch Reference sound system (Sensory and Autograph trims). Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard as well, but you won’t get the individual audio function.
Under the infotainment screen is a 9-inch touchscreen for HVAC and drive mode controls. This one uses haptic feedback to tell you you’ve successfully selected a feature, but it takes quite the stab to get it done – a light tap or swipe won’t do it. Just below this screen is the push-button transmission selector surrounded by a piano black surface. Be prepared for lots of fingerprints in this section of the dash.
However, my favorite feature here is the Autograph’s cooling center console box. It’s big enough for a six-pack of soda and tall enough to accommodate larger bottles of water and whatnot. The “Cool Box” available in the Lexus GX is much smaller. At the onset of my ride, I immediately put two bottles of Diet Dr Pepper inside the box and they were chilled to perfection within 15 minutes.
Although I question the utility of some of the QX80’s technology, I can’t deny the practicality of the 170-degree front wide view camera feature. In an Infiniti-designed demonstration, the camera was able to see a child’s bicycle hidden behind another SUV parked just forward and to my right. It was not visible to me in the driver’s seat. The tech is even more impressive when displayed across both screens.
Other cool camera tricks are an invisible hood feature that projects an image of what is under the car to the two interior screens as well as a 360-degree camera that can detect moving objects and comes with eight pre-selected viewing angles. I’m also here for the rear camera mirror, which provides a wide-angle video feed of the view behind the car directly to the rear view mirror. It’s particularly helpful when your rearview would otherwise be filled with the heads and luggage of passengers.
The QX80 Sensory and Autograph have a built-in dashcam that can automatically record any traffic events. Drivers can also manually hit the record button in case of, say, their friend making a fool out of themselves by dancing in front of the SUV to demonstrate the feature. Not that my friends would do that. My friends are more likely to use the in-car camera to take a selfie photo or record a podcast with the video recording feature. It’s certainly a neat little gizmo and you can access the camera through the Infiniti app and get an interior cabin look in real time. However, this still seems like novelty tech.
The least serviceable tech feature has got to be the biometric cooling also found in the top two trims. In theory this infrared sensor detects when a second-row passenger is overheated and automatically adjusts the zoned climate control to max cooling. I mean, it’s handy that the driver doesn’t have to do anything but how hard is it to just set the HVAC for 65 and hit the Auto button? Not very.
As for advanced driver’s aids, all the usual suspects are here, including blind-spot monitoring that works when towing a trailer up to 33 feet in length. ProPilot Assist is here in both hands-on and hands-off guise. The more advanced ProPilot Assist 2.1 even has a two-mode lane-change feature. The driver can initiate a lane change by signaling and then let the car make the steering and throttle inputs. However, I let the car decide when to change lanes based on surrounding traffic and my set speed. As the driver, I have to accept the lane change, but the maneuver is accomplished cleanly.
The QX80 can tow up to 8,500 pounds and cargo space has expanded considerably to better haul kids and their required detritus. Behind the third row is now 22 cubic-feet of space (quite a lot among full-size SUVs), expanding to 59 cubes with the third row folded flat, then to 101 with both rows folded. The air suspension can lower the QX80 nearly 3 inches for easy loading of cargo as well as passengers.
In all, I’m very impressed with the 2025 Infiniti QX80. Its design is stellar, the powertrain is on point, and the features and technology are all a huge improvement over the previous generation. I wish the ride quality were a bit more sorted, but that might be something the company can address in next year’s model or through an over-the-air update.
Filed under: Infiniti,First Drives,SUV,Luxury
Continue reading 2025 Infiniti QX80 First Drive Review: So close to being great
2025 Infiniti QX80 First Drive Review: So close to being great originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Jun 2024 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ALPHARETTA, Ga. — There’s no company that knows how to precisely slice a product line more than Porsche. Just look at the myriad variations of the 911. And that kind of clinical categorization carries over to the 2025 Cayenne GTS. In price, it fits pretty perfectly between the Cayenne S and the Turbo E-Hybrid. Performance-wise, it falls much closer to the S. Whether it’s the right Cayenne for you really comes down to how well you know what you want and what your budget is. If this one fits your needs, it’s a damn good one. If not, well, Porsche has other extremely good versions for you.
So what makes the GTS worthy of its own trim, and not just option packages for the S? It has a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 found in the S. That includes all of the various changes made for this generation of Cayenne, such as monoscroll turbos instead of twin-scroll in a move to help the engine run cleaner, but also variable valve timing and lift, upgraded fuel injection and electric wastegates to help make up for potentially slower spooling turbos. Porsche even found it could drop cylinder deactivation on this new engine. But distinguishing the GTS version from the S is an extra 25 horsepower (493) and 44 pound-feet of torque (486). It also makes 40 more horsepower and 30 more pound-feet of torque than the previous GTS.
On top of the power, the GTS also includes a number of the S’s optional performance upgrades as standard. They include Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus and air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management. The suspension lowers the GTS by 0.39 inches compared to more affordable Cayennes, at least those without this upgraded suspension. For extra performance, customers can add rear-wheel steering, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control and carbon ceramic brakes. Of course, those are available on the S, too. The Coupe version also has a unique Lightweight Sport Package on offer with less noise insulation, a carbon fiber roof and different, center-exit exhaust, all of which reduce curb weight by 55 pounds. Though with the regular SUV coming in at 4,956 pounds, and the Coupe at 5,027 pounds (yes, it’s heavier somehow), it’s not exactly a light machine.
Not available on the S are the front pivot bearings taken from the Cayenne Turbo GT, which give the GTS a bit more negative camber at the front. It also gets the Turbo GT’s water-cooling system for the transfer case.
Visually, the Cayenne GTS basically just adds a few optional extras as standard. It gets the SportDesign exterior package and 21-inch RS Spyder wheels. Inside, it does get standard eight-way adjustable sport seats that aren’t offered on the S (though the 14-way ones can be optioned on the lower model).
You’ll have probably noticed that a lot of the features of the GTS can simply be added to the S. And that obviously presents the question: Why not just option up an S? The reason is simply that you would be spending more money, and end up with a little bit less. Building out a Cayenne S with the same features the GTS gets standard, with the exception of exclusives like the transfer case cooler, front suspension bearings and extra power, you’ll end up with a price tag of $132,095. The GTS starts at $126,895. So the GTS is actually a bit of a bargain … in an obtuse way.
Or at least, comparing the most comparable versions. If all you’re worried about is power, you can get a more powerful (though slower to 60 mph) Cayenne S E-Hybrid starting at a little over $100,000. It would still end up more expensive once the other features were added, but with more power and also some electric range.
But we’re really digressing. Let’s get back to the GTS.
The one thing we haven’t really talked about is the driving experience, and gosh darn it, it’s just really stinking good. Obviously, the Cayenne is a great base to start from, and with the GTS getting a bunch of choice options, it becomes easily one of the best driving SUVs you can find at any price. Our test example was the regular-bodied SUV, but with rear-wheel steering, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control and carbon brakes added. Even with the monoscroll turbos, boost still felt nearly instantaneous. Throttle response in Sport Plus is incredibly sharp and responsive, maybe too much so for street driving. Normal is soft and gentle, definitely for comfy cruising, and Sport is the sweet spot for response, but without the hard edge of Sport Plus. The suspension settings mirror the throttle response, with Normal being cushy, and Sport Plus a bit firm. Though even Sport Plus is compliant enough that you could drive in the mode on the daily.
Steering doesn’t change as much between modes, and that’s good, because it’s so superb. It’s got heft, but is still easy to helm. The precision is pinpoint, and there’s a surprising amount of feedback. The chassis itself is tight and predictable. Traction was copious, and when the rear end started to take over, it came in very smoothly and controllably. The GTS was a joy on the winding mountain roads north of Georgia, and didn’t feel at all its nearly 5,000 pounds. And the firmly bolstered seats were very welcome, keeping us in place and also providing some great general support (which my recently sprained back really appreciated). They were the standard seats, too, so don’t feel like you’d need to upgrade.
Like any other Cayenne, the GTS also has a somewhat conservative-looking interior, but with exquisite build quality and switchgear. The screens are vivid and software smooth. Every moving knob or switch is phenomenal. Even the slightly dinky looking automatic shifter is solid, heavy metal with the tightest action. And of course it’s all quiet inside, unless you want to hear the exhaust. The sport exhaust can add both real and synthetic rumble, plus carefully applied pops on throttle lift. Truthfully, the loud exhaust mode could afford to be a little more raucous. It still sounds restrained, like Porsche’s afraid of being too wild and crazy.
So yeah, the GTS is an excellent version of an excellent SUV. It’s got most of the performance goodies you could possibly want, along with a couple special pieces, and it all comes together to be one of the best driver’s SUVs out there. So if you have the coin, you can’t go wrong with it. And if you don’t, you’d still do well with nearly any other Cayenne.
Filed under: Porsche,First Drives,Crossover,SUV,Luxury,Performance
Continue reading 2025 Porsche Cayenne GTS First Drive: Another tasty slice of Porsche SUV
2025 Porsche Cayenne GTS First Drive: Another tasty slice of Porsche SUV originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Jun 2024 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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JOSHUA TREE, Calif. – Subjectively, the 2025 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is a deeply lovable truck. It is dripping in character, from the bank of cockpit-style switches on the dash and ceiling console to the name itself. You know you’ve got something interesting when answering “What car is that?” stretches to 10 syllables. For those longing for an even simpler, more analog off-roader than the Wranglers, Land Cruisers and G Wagens of this world provide, it proudly flies its old-school flag packing front and rear live axles, recirculating ball steering, high and low range selected with a sturdy shifter, and multiple locking diffs. If you see some sand ahead and feel the need to turn a dial to an icon with a little cactus on it to get you through, the Quartermaster isn’t your truck.
Objectively, however, the Quartermaster probably won’t be your truck for a whole lot of other reasons. Price is the big one. It starts at $86,900, or $15,400 more than the Grenadier SUV or “Station Wagon” as Ineos calls it, inevitably to the confusion of every American. You can read more about that version in our Grenadier first drive review. The reason for the Quartermaster premium has little to do with the frame and wheelbase that’s a foot longer, nor the 61.5-inch-long bed that stretching accommodates. No, the blame goes to West Germany, Lyndon B. Johnson and chickens.
Back in the early 1960s, the Johnson administration responded to French and West German tariffs placed on a variety of American products, most notably chickens, with a 25% import tax. The United Auto Workers, meanwhile, wanted to curtail the importation of West German-made Volkswagen commercial vans and pickups, and effectively negotiated with the Johnson administration to apply the chicken tax to such commercial vehicles in exchange for not striking. The auto industry would continue to lobby for its application long after chicken tax tariffs were lifted on other products, thereby making it much harder for Japanese companies, particularly in the 1980s, to import its small trucks.
Companies have circumvented the tax in various ways over the years, but Ineos doesn’t feel the need to do so for the Quartermaster, which is built in Hambach, France, in an old Smart factory. The result is a pickup that’s not only far more expensive than its nearly identical SUV sibling, but one that can easily stretch past $100,000 with a reasonable selection of options. It doesn’t feel like it should. Admittedly, there’s no other pickup of its size and power source (gasoline versus electric) in that price range, nor does another off-roader of that price tag offer a pickup bed. Still, it’s a tough pill to swallow.
At least here in the United States. In Australia, the Quartermaster should have no problem finding homes. Its relatively narrow width and short bed, not-palatial crew cab and old-school off-road capability perfectly match the modern definition of the Aussie “Ute.” Indeed, Ineos anticipates 80% of Grenadiers sold Down Under will be either Quartermasters or the chassis cab variant we won’t get.
The American venue chosen to showcase the Quartermaster could certainly be mistaken for Australia, albeit with beige dirt instead of red, and Joshua trees in lieu of eucalyptus. We’re tackling dusty, rocky trails just outside Joshua Tree National Park, often at a decent clip that has the sturdy Grenadier proving resilient to the vicious vibrations caused by washboard surfaces and the solid thwacks of big heaves.
The recirculating ball steering rack is the Grenadier’s most controversial element, a fact telegraphed by how often the folks at Ineos seem to bring it up. There have been potential customers who said “no thanks” after giving it a try, no doubt finding the dead on-center feel, lack of self-centering and stiff turn-in disconcerting and totally different than modern rack-and-pinion systems, typically with electric power assistance. Younger drivers in particular, who may never have driven a car without EPS let alone a recirculating ball setup, should find it particularly foreign. They also may find it novel, just one of many throwback, analog sensations expected for not only the Grenadier but off-roaders in general.
I personally didn’t find it that big of deal, and it’s certainly not as agricultural as I was expecting. The biggest issue is on-center corrections at highway speeds, as well as sudden turns. There was a point while driving at a higher speed in convoy with other Quartermasters that the dust ahead cleared to reveal a sudden right-turn and a metal fence beyond. Quick decision! I yanked the wheel to the right to be met by a wall of resistance that wouldn’t be there with other steering systems. I muscled the two-spoke wheel even further and harder, while hitting the long-travel brake pedal. Fence avoided, worst case experienced.
So why bother with ye olde steering? Well, we also did some mountain goating. I’ve long been trained to not wrap my thumbs around the steering wheel spoke while off-roading, as sudden kickback can, well, break them. That’s a rack-and-pinion thing. It’s far less likely to happen with recirculating ball, and indeed, our rock-crawling stints were easy-cheese from a steering perspective.
The throttle could be difficult to modulate in such situations, however. There’s not much reaction with initial throttle tip-in and the delay in response created some anxiety that I’d over-gun it and launch the Quartermaster into a boulder. I didn’t, but finer pedal feel or a change in throttle application would be appreciated.
Perhaps this is related to the Quartermaster sharing its powertrain with cars that are almost the opposite of a body-on-frame, live axle pickup truck. The 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six is by BMW (it even says so on the hood) and the eight-speed transmission by ZF, both of which go together in umpteen BMWs. Output stands at 281 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, and although the 0-60 time is estimated to be a slow-by-modern-standards 8.8 seconds, it certainly doesn’t feel as slow as I was expecting. Out on the open road, it gets up to speed smartly with ample low-end torque. The smoothness and sound you’d expect from the Bavarian Motor Works is certainly present, too. That said, the ZF transmission is too quick to upshift while driving at speed uphill. In anattempt to compensate, I instinctively slapped the BMW-sourced transmission lever over to the left to select the Sport mode promised by the M/S marking, but discovered there is no S. Only M.
Better than nothing, I suppose, but it’s a curious bit of half-assed parts bin pilfering for a cabin that is otherwise shockingly bespoke. All the other buttons, toggles, stalks, etc. are Ineos pieces. The toggles in particular are super-cool, as it’s hard not to turn the car on (via a switchblade-style key, BTW) and immediately flick two or three unconnected auxiliary toggles in the ceiling just to feel like an astronaut. I may not be Buzz Aldrin, but I play one on the way to Lowe’s.
Speaking of such journeys, the Quartermaster bed has a payload capacity of 1,889 pounds, which is about 500 more than a Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, which is quite obviously the closest thing in concept to the Quartermaster (although the Jeep has a different frame than its own SUV sibling). The 61.5-inch-long bed is an inch longer than a Gladiator’s, as well as 6.9 inches wider at its greatest point (63.7 inches). Of course, a Gladiator does not have its spare tire taking up space in the bed, which the Ineos does. It’s cleverly sunk into an indentation on either side of the bed (you could stuff two spares back there if you’d like), but it takes up space nevertheless. The tailgate is also not damped, a common truck feature nowadays, meaning it just uncouthly slams down.
As with the regular Grenadier, there are grab handles/tie-down points above the rear doors, unique movable tie-down points on the doors, and available “safari” windows over the front seats. There are numerous customization options, including a unique contrast-painted ladder frame (there was a Quartermaster painted Britannia Blue with a Halo Red frame and Scottish White roof that was particularly cool) and numerous accessories such as an integrated front winch and removable rear winch. Should make for a fun tug of war.
The cabin forward of the front seats is common between SUV and Quartermaster, though the truck’s rear seat back is notably more upright and it sure seems like passengers will tire quickly of riding along bolt upright. Legroom is iffy, too, especially if those up front take full advantage of the admittedly appreciated vast seat travel. If they do, hope you like sitting cross-legged. Furthermore, utilizing the fold-flat rear seatback for storage requires you to first flip forward the rear seat bottom which in turn pushes the driver seat far forward. Either way, not ideal.
Other niggles include double-sealed doors that pretty much never close on the first go unless you get in the habit of slamming them. Once inside, there are Tesla-style instruments baked into the center touchscreen, with a panel in front of the driver exclusively devoted to the turn signals and various warning lights that go bonkers when you engage Off-Road mode. The touchscreen itself, which is a unique user interface that comes equipped with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, also washed out throughout the day in the intense desert sun. While its placement makes sense for a British company trying to minimize costs by not creating two different angled center stack designs for left- and right-hand drive markets, there is definitely a downside.
Ultimately, given the Quartermaster’s lofty chicken tax price tag, compromised back seat and the Gladiator’s lackluster sales compared to the Wrangler, it seems likely that the Grenadier “Station Wagon” will find a lot more takers. It has just as much charm (and better rear-end looks I might add), along with the inherent benefits and drawbacks of Ineos’ purposeful, throwback concept. Then again, if you’ve got the money, have extra room in the garage, and are already well accustomed to paying more tax than you think you should, why the heck not? The guy with the Bronco Badlands down the street will be so jealous.
Filed under: First Drives,Truck,SUV,Luxury,Off-Road Vehicles,Ineos
Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster First Drive Review: Dripping in character, damned by chickens originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2024 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading McLaren Artura Spider First Drive Review: Plug-in hybrid supercar drops its top
McLaren Artura Spider First Drive Review: Plug-in hybrid supercar drops its top originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 16 Jun 2024 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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John Beltz Snyder
John Beltz Snyder
BLUFFTON, S.C. — The 2024 GMC Acadia is a revamped take on the brand’s popular three-row SUV. It’s quite a bit bigger than the outgoing model, with 8.4 more inches of wheelbase and 10.6 extra inches of overall length. That’s a huge boon to cargo space (up 80%), while also adding 27% to second-row legroom. Its new looks align more closely now with the GMC Sierra pickup, granting it a brawnier personality.
While it’s in many ways quite similar to the updated 2024 Chevrolet Traverse, (including in size, now) GMC did an admirable amount of design work to differentiate the Acadia from its close relative. The tall, truck-like grille gives the Acadia more presence than before, and the C-shaped LED headlights add character. Along the side, the chunky C-pillar is hidden from sight, while the D-pillar is expanded. This provides a better view for third-row passengers, and has the added benefit of obscuring the cargo area from onlookers. Around back, we see more LED lighting, as well as quad exhaust tips GMC said were inspired by the C8 Chevy Corvette, complete with their squarish shape. The overall look is more truckish, but it still has a sporty slant.
Under the skin, much is shared with its Chevy platform-mate. It sports the same new 2.5-liter turbo four producing 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque and shifts via an eight-speed automatic transmission. The engine employs the same “ePhaser” to adjust the camshaft on the fly to advance and delay the spark according to power and efficiency needs. And just like the Traverse, the front-wheel-drive Acadia gets 20 miles per gallon city, 27 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined, or 19/24/21 mpg with all-wheel drive.
In addition to the base Elevation trim ($43,995 including destination, with AWD costing another $2,000), the Acadia boasts the more luxurious Denali trim ($55,695 for FWD and $57,695 for AWD), as well as the off-road-ready AT4 trim ($51,395 with AWD standard). We’ll have to wait to evaluate the feature content in the Elevation, but the Denali and AT4 were on hand for us to evaluate in South Carolina.
Our first stint in the Acadia was in the Denali. Getting inside, it’s immediately noticeable that the Acadia’s interior is a big step up over that of the Traverse. Up front, the centerpiece is the tech interface standard on all Acadia trims: a portrait-oriented 15-inch infotainment screen running Google Built-In, as well as an 11-inch driver display. The Denali also comes with a head-up display as standard. One feature that helped immensely (in both Acadias we drove) on unfamiliar roads was the ability to switch the instrument panel display to donate most of its real estate to mirror the Google Maps navigation, putting our directions directly in front of us while freeing up the infotainment screen for any other functions needed along the way. And, yes, this GM product still has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The rest of the Denali’s interior design is inviting, with leather seats boasting truly attractive stitching. There are still some grainy, hard plastics to be found, but they don’t dominate the cabin. We really like the look of the open-pore ayous wood trim, complete with the Denali name etched at the far end of the dash. The fairing that covers the driver’s side of the dash is interestingly shaped, with good character for an element that would otherwise be easily overlooked both by designers and consumers. Its big center console is open underneath for convenient storage, thanks to GMC relocating the drive selector from the console to the steering column. We also appreciate the big, sturdy HVAC toggles integrated at the bottom of the infotainment screen.
Standard across the lineup is a seven-passenger layout with second-row captain’s chairs; there is no bench seat option. The second row is quite roomy, with seats that adjust backward and forward to offer more room or to punish whomever is sitting behind you. The third row is fairly large, though. With the driver’s seat in my ideal driver position and a comfortable second-row position behind that, I squeezed my 6-foot self into the third row and found my knees touching the seatback ahead of me. With a couple of minor adjustments from the forward seats — ones that wouldn’t be asking too much of the other occupants — I could fit in the third row fairly comfortably. A kid would be right at home for long trips. Adults would at least appreciate the decent headroom.
You could carry a good amount of luggage for all those passengers. Cargo volume behind the third row checks in at a segment-beating 23.0 cubic feet, with a large under-floor bin as a bonus. If it’s just a family of four taking the trip, flattening the third row opens that up to 57.3 cubic feet. Fold all the seats down for a maximum 97.5 cubes, and you’ve got a decent moving vehicle. There’s also 5,000 pounds worth of towing capacity if you somehow run out of space inside the Acadia.
Our particular Denali tester was equipped with the standard 20-inch wheels, not the optional 22-inchers and the “performance suspension” included in the Denali Reserve Package. That upgraded suspension uses passive, frequency-based dampers that behave differently according to input from the road. It’s probably more important to have when rolling on the bigger tires with their shorter sidewalls, but the 20-inchers with the standard suspension proved just fine for our drive. We didn’t encounter some of the tire-flattening, cratered pavement we see up in Michigan, but the imperfections we did encounter passed under tire without complaint.
GM’s Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance system is optional across the Acadia lineup, and our Denali had it. It’s still a great system, reducing fatigue and inspiring confidence in its abilities as it deftly moves along with traffic — or around it with automatic lane changes. As GM adds more mileage to its map of compatible roads (about 750,000 miles now!), we were sometimes surprised by some of the smaller highways it would work on. One such stretch of road had its share of intersections with stop lights. Ahead of some of these busier intersections, the Acadia would let us know to take over steering with a red light on the steering wheel, a message on the driver display and a vibration of the seat cushion (a great way to deliver an alert without freaking out any passengers on board). Super Cruise remains one of the more advanced driver assist systems that we actually enjoy using.
The 2.5-liter turbo engine felt like a good fit for the Acadia. While it may not seem as macho as a V6, it offered plenty of power to get and keep the Acadia moving. It doesn’t sound bad, either, and what you do hear isn’t very loud. Turbo lag is at a minimum, and there’s enough power on hand to get the front wheels to spin from a stop (which is accompanied by a suggestion on the driver display to switch to AWD mode). We’ll be interested to see if the engine still feels up to the task when loaded up with passengers and a trailer in tow, but nothing so far suggests it won’t.
John Beltz Snyder
The next morning, I got in the off-road-leaning Acadia AT4. That comes equipped with all-terrain tires mounted on 18-inch wheels. In all, the AT4 gains about 1.2 inches in ride height over the Elevation, about two-thirds of that coming from the suspension, while the tires account for the rest. The AT4 uses a version of the optional performance suspension from the Denali, though tuned for more rugged duty, and including the same hydraulic rebound stop found in the Chevy Traverse Z71. It also gets red tow hooks, underbody skid plates, a twin-clutch all-wheel drive system and Off-Road and Terrain drive modes. The exterior brightwork isn’t exactly bright, using tinted chrome that comes off as a broody, glossy graphite-ish color. We’d be remiss to ignore the AT4’s marker lights on its wheel arches — it’s a small detail, but a neat one, nonetheless.
Inside, the AT4 doesn’t automatically get the Denali’s standard features, like a head-up display, leather upholstery, ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, one-touch-folding second-row and power-folding third-row seats, power steering column, memory settings and premium floor mats. Some of that is available, some not, but what you do get is still good and, we’d argue, suited to its purpose. The combination fabric and synthetic seats are comfortable and feel durable, and the rest of the interior design is still attractive, complete with wood trim. But despite fewer luxury trimmings, the AT4 feels even more special to drive.
The AT4 is particularly at home traversing down gravel roads at speeds that left huge plumes of dust behind us, the suspension doing an absolutely superb job of smoothing out the ruts and bumps. Once the gravel turned to fine, dry sand, the AT4 was a hoot. In Off-Road mode, it was perfectly happy to carry momentum and even accelerate fairly quickly through the loose medium. It felt a little playful, but not unruly as the front tires clawed through the sand, keeping the Acadia’s grille pointed where we wanted it. Just for fun, we switched the drive mode back to Normal mid-sand-rip, and the AT4 did indeed struggle to keep up momentum, slowing down significantly despite my inputs, as the traction control system fought against slippage. Popping it back into Off-Road mode via the (poorly placed) toggle to the left of the steering column, the Acadia was once again eager to charge forward as the AT4’s Active Torque Control AWD system allowed the wheels a little more freedom to spin.
GMC was kind enough to dig up one of the sandy roads on our drive route to let us get some wheels in the air. The AT4 was happy to creep through in Terrain mode without us having to fumble between the gas and brake pedals. Furthermore, every liftoff and touchdown of the wheels took place without drama — no noise, and managed with comfort (at least from the driver’s seat). We also turned on the vehicle’s exterior cameras, which would be useful if that portion of the trail had any turns.
Later, when we’d come back to the same spot, newly refreshed by GMC’s on-hand earth-moving equipment, the sandy ruts were deep and loose enough to get the Acadia temporarily stuck, wheels spinning to no avail. There was no need to resort to the tow hooks, though, as backing up a couple of inches, then rolling the front wheel back onto the incline and keeping a steady foot on the accelerator was enough to allow the all-wheel-drive system to sort the torque enough to get us up and out of the pit and, eventually, back onto mostly level ground.
On the pavement, the AT4 proved just about as comfortable as the Denali we had driven the day before. We were able to elicit a bit more wheel spin from the all-terrain tires when gunning it from a stop, and they gave a little bit of a roar when we called upon its lateral grip reserves when pushing through a corner. Excess body roll didn’t pose a problem from the driver’s seat, and the sweet suspension continued to level out whatever came at it on the straight parts of the road, too.
Our AT4 was also equipped with Super Cruise, which worked just as well as it did in the Denali. The only difference was that we noticed a bit more correction from the steering system, with just a slight wobble of the steering wheel on center as it cruised down the highway. That did not translate into any extra motion in the cabin, however, as everything felt calm and stable as we chugged straight ahead with our hands in our lap.
The 2024 Acadia is an attractive three-row SUV, perhaps more so than the slightly more affordable Chevy Traverse — even more affordable than that if you walk further down the Chevy’s deeper trim lineup. The Acadia’s exterior design is unique, and its interior design is a big draw over its cousin when comparing these comparable trims. Is that worth an extra few grand to you? Because beyond that, there’s not a lot, especially in terms of driving, that sets it apart from the Traverse. With that in mind, it’s simple enough to go test them back to back; they’re both in dealerships now, and they represent big upgrades over their outgoing versions.
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Filed under: GMC,First Drives,Crossover,SUV,Luxury,Off-Road Vehicles
Continue reading 2024 GMC Acadia First Drive Review: Big on character
2024 GMC Acadia First Drive Review: Big on character originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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