At its introduction in 2009, the Chevrolet Traverse was the newest of GM’s mid-size crossovers to come to market, following the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook in 2007, and the Buick Enclave that was added in 2008.
I tested the Acadia and Enclave shortly after their respective launches and found them to be pleasant and capable, but lacking for power from the 3.6-litre V6 engine they shared. Since then, GM has moved in the same direction as many of its competitors, adding a direct fuel injection system designed to both boost power and save fuel.
Changes for 2012 are few. The top-of-the-line LTZ model gets power-folding mirrors with driver’s side auto-dimming, and the 2LT trim adds side mirrors with integrated turn signals and driver’s side auto-dimming; these are included in 1LT models when the rearview camera is ordered.
While the direct fuel injection version of this engine arrived in 2009, this 2012 Traverse is the first of these crossovers equipped with it that I’ve driven. On paper, the “new” engine makes 281 horsepower and 266 lb.-ft. of torque, increases of 6 hp and 15 lb.-ft. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but it makes a big difference: while the engine still has to work hard to move the Traverse’s nearly 5,000-pound (2,234 kg) curb weight, it feels more eager to do so, especially in the engine’s high end, where it pulls the truck along with some authority and a snarly exhaust note, which you hear a lot of at wide open throttle. Speaking of exhaust, an available dual-exhaust system (my tester didn’t have it) boosts output to 288 hp and 270 lb.-ft.
The six-speed automatic transmission is the same one used in these crossovers since 2007. It’s a good one, shifting smoothly and responding promptly when asked for acceleration. There’s a manual shift mode designed mostly to hold the transmission to a lower gear for engine braking. Top gear keeps the engine turning less than 2,000 rpm at 120 km/h.
The Traverse’s fuel consumption ratings, per Natural Resources Canada, are 13.1 and 8.8 L/100 km with all-wheel drive, city and highway, respectively. My tester averaged 14.8 L/100 km in mostly city driving, including some cold mornings and brutal back-to-school traffic. Given the conditions, that’s a good real-world figure for this type of vehicle, again considering what it weighs.
Notwithstanding a lack of mainstream demand in North America, and the extra cost associated with their production, diesel engines are made for big vehicles like this, with their added low-end torque and lower fuel consumption.
It’s typically in the higher price ranges that you’ll find a crossover or SUV that handles well (think Porsche Cayenne or VW Touareg), but the Ford Flex, one of the Traverse’s direct rivals, boasts better responses from a performance point of view. For what it’s made to do, though, this Chevy’s chassis is very well-sorted. The ride is firm and well-controlled, but not punishing, and aside from lots of body lean, the Traverse handles curves pretty well. The brake pedal is perfect – firm but not hard, and connected to four-wheel discs that are good at hauling the Traverse’s significant mass down from highway speeds in a hurry, without drama. The cabin is quiet at highway speeds, with little wind or road noise getting in, despite my tester’s chunky Goodyear Fortera tires.
My tester’s second-row captain’s chairs are decent except for a bottom cushion too short and too low to provide much thigh support. A fore-and-aft adjustment allows for great legroom with the seat slid fully rearward, and headroom is excellent.
To get any real legroom in the third row, however, the middle chairs have to be slid all the way forward. Once you do that, the rearmost seats provide adult-scale leg- and headroom, albeit for smaller adults.
Folding the third row is a simple process – pull the handle on the seatback, and push the seat down. A pull on the long strap (which could be longer) underneath that handle brings the seat upright again. The second-row seats fold flat at the pull of a strap in the side of the seatback, and the headrests fold down and out of the way automatically. Third row access is gained with a tug on a different handle, which tips the bottom cushion up and allows the entire seat to slide forward – GM calls this SmartSlide – and well out of the way.
A bunch of eight-foot lengths of baseboard moulding fit easily, but only by sticking them between the front seats. This is why the minivan is the true utility vehicle, as most of them can carry the common eight-foot lengths of wood behind the front seats, with the tailgate closed.
The dash looks good, but if you’re expecting soft-touch materials, you’ll be disappointed. Hard plastics are all you get, save for the thinly-padded door armrests and a leather-look (vinyl) panel in the door skin. Dashboard panel fits were far from the best I’ve seen in this class, and a buzzy rattle from the passenger side of the dash drove us crazy.
The centre stack is nicely organized, loaded up with controls that are easy to figure out. Some of the climate control buttons are too small, though, and the rear wiper switch belongs on the steering column stalk where the front wiper controls are found. Chevrolet’s use of a single stalk for turn signals and wipers is a turn-off, too (this used to be a Ford thing, and one that that company is finally moving away from); I’d rather have the wipers on their own stalk on the right-hand side. A nicely-padded centre armrest hides a small storage bin, and slides back to provide access to a larger bin below it.
With its melt-into-the-walls looks, the Traverse is an easy vehicle to forget about, especially next to a Chevrolet line that is otherwise rapidly being renewed with more interesting and engaging vehicles. If you can see past the iffy interior quality, you’ll find proof in the Traverse that parent company GM was building solid vehicles before its bankruptcy-driven reinvention. If utility is what you’re after, a minivan is still the best choice, but if an SUV or crossover is what you want, the Traverse is well worth a test drive.
