Where Does the 2017 GMC Acadia Fit?

Thanks for the in depth article Drew. Good stuff. I think that GMC is going in the right direction with this. I will say.. unless the Blazer is actually coming here based on the Colorado7.. I think the Traverse should be doing the exact same thing. At this point.. only the luxury divisions should be the LWB of C1xx, maybe even stretch it out for the XT5 to make an XT6. I mean Chevy only has 20 vehicles in their line-up 4Godsake.

Seriously. The question be asked by someone why.. for the time being.. does Cadillac not take this approach and keep the SRX as an XT4.. have their upcoming XT5, and also elongate it for an XT6?

Great write up, I too wonder about the 6 sp and why not an 8sp tranny.

I'm planning to write up the Acadia, but wasn't going to go into nearly this much detail. Love the tables.

On front legroom, so far the only cheaters I've found are nearly all Fords redesigned from 2012 onwards and the 2016 Kia Sorento.

Actual front legroom (based on interior volume specs):
Edge 40.5

Explorer 40.6

Sorento 41.3

The "cheat" is done by measuring front legroom with the seat all the way back, then setting it for an x-percentile male (yielding the above stats) before measuring second row legroom.

among the most egregious sins are a loss of 4+ inches of hip room in row 2 and 5+ inches of hip room in row 3.  This becomes a max 6 passenger vehicle.  Acadia was one of the few true 8 passenger vehicles available on the market.

Cargo goes from 116cf to 79cf.  that's almost a third of cargo loss.

All this for what is looking like 1 mpg gain, despite new engine and start stop, trannies, and all that and several hundred pounds of weight loss.

Also highly telling, the current Terrain and this new Acadia are practically the same in front hip room.

GMC and fanbois of GM can spin this all they want......on other msg board and forums across the net, lots of folks are not liking the downsize.  I just don't think you tinker with what was so well accepted.  People wanted a large car based SUV that was not a truck like Yukon. it's been wildly successful, it was a unique market benefit, and now you throw it in to a group stuffed with competition, will bring less demand and price, and it won't push more people into Yukons because they never wanted a truck to begin with.

It doesn't touch the Grand Cherokee on style, reputation, and comfort, prob not on powertrain either.  They should have stayed in the market space they were in.

As a GMC Envoy, this would be perfect.  If they decide to stretch this, they should at least have had this ready for market at the get go.

The cladding looks horrendous.

A commenter from another forum site

 

 

I don't think it will fit my plans. I looked seriously at the 6/7 passenger Hyundai Santa Fe last year before buying the 2015 Traverse LT. The Santa Fe was just too small to replace the Traverse, plus since I got 15% for it being one of the oldest in stock it was actually a couple of thousand less.  I considered the Santa Fe since I had used a Hyundai Elantra as a daily commuter for about 3.5 year. Nice small car.  

BUT, I bought a 2008 Saturn Outlook in August 2008. Love it. I drove it part time for awhile then my wife started driving it when her 2004 Envoy XL starting giving her problems.  I want something large enough for adults/teenagers to ride in the third row, if I'm going to have a vehicle with a third row. The Outlook and Traverse both fit that requirement.  I don't think the new Acadia will, so if the Enclave and Traverse downsize anytime soon, they may be out of the picture as well.  I don't want to move up to a Yukon/Tahoe size/cost vehicle, so might have to look at other vehicles.

   

 

among the most egregious sins are a loss of 4+ inches of hip room in row 2 and 5+ inches of hip room in row 3.  This becomes a max 6 passenger vehicle.  Acadia was one of the few true 8 passenger vehicles available on the market.

 

Cargo goes from 116cf to 79cf.  that's almost a third of cargo loss.

 

All this for what is looking like 1 mpg gain, despite new engine and start stop, trannies, and all that and several hundred pounds of weight loss.

 

Also highly telling, the current Terrain and this new Acadia are practically the same in front hip room.

 

GMC and fanbois of GM can spin this all they want......on other msg board and forums across the net, lots of folks are not liking the downsize.  I just don't think you tinker with what was so well accepted.  People wanted a large car based SUV that was not a truck like Yukon. it's been wildly successful, it was a unique market benefit, and now you throw it in to a group stuffed with competition, will bring less demand and price, and it won't push more people into Yukons because they never wanted a truck to begin with.

 

It doesn't touch the Grand Cherokee on style, reputation, and comfort, prob not on powertrain either.  They should have stayed in the market space they were in.

 

As a GMC Envoy, this would be perfect.  If they decide to stretch this, they should at least have had this ready for market at the get go.

 

The cladding looks horrendous.

 

A commenter from another forum site

 

 

 

I don't think it will fit my plans. I looked seriously at the 6/7 passenger Hyundai Santa Fe last year before buying the 2015 Traverse LT. The Santa Fe was just too small to replace the Traverse, plus since I got 15% for it being one of the oldest in stock it was actually a couple of thousand less.  I considered the Santa Fe since I had used a Hyundai Elantra as a daily commuter for about 3.5 year. Nice small car.  

BUT, I bought a 2008 Saturn Outlook in August 2008. Love it. I drove it part time for awhile then my wife started driving it when her 2004 Envoy XL starting giving her problems.  I want something large enough for adults/teenagers to ride in the third row, if I'm going to have a vehicle with a third row. The Outlook and Traverse both fit that requirement.  I don't think the new Acadia will, so if the Enclave and Traverse downsize anytime soon, they may be out of the picture as well.  I don't want to move up to a Yukon/Tahoe size/cost vehicle, so might have to look at other vehicles.

   

 

This was a person that either could not afford it or was never going to buy the old Acadia anyway. No matter if it stayed the same size or shrunk. Plenty of people wanted the Acadia but never really bought it and when it came time they went with the compact version in this case a Traverse LT. Big difference in price between the Traverse and an Acadia.

Time will tell if GM messed up, but my gut tells me no. The people crying over this are the same type of people crying about the lack of 2 door coupes and convertibles in the cheap entry level market but would really never buy them anyway.

 

among the most egregious sins are a loss of 4+ inches of hip room in row 2 and 5+ inches of hip room in row 3.  This becomes a max 6 passenger vehicle.  Acadia was one of the few true 8 passenger vehicles available on the market.

 

Cargo goes from 116cf to 79cf.  that's almost a third of cargo loss.

 

All this for what is looking like 1 mpg gain, despite new engine and start stop, trannies, and all that and several hundred pounds of weight loss.

 

Also highly telling, the current Terrain and this new Acadia are practically the same in front hip room.

Just stop.. really...  the Terrain is being downsized to CRV level.  The Enclave and Traverse are still there in the GM porfolio. You can't say that the Acadia was one of the few true 8 passenger vehicles on the market when GM builds 2 other models the same way.   

The transmissions are the same, the V6 engine is an update of the current model and doesn't come with start/stop, the 4-cylinder will be where the fuel economy gains are.... and the Lambdas struggle to get close to their EPA ratings in the real world.  With 700 lbs of weight loss, they should do better than the current models once people get their hands on them.

If the Acadia's size bothers you that much, GM will invite you to look at the Enclave or Traverse.

 

 

among the most egregious sins are a loss of 4+ inches of hip room in row 2 and 5+ inches of hip room in row 3.  This becomes a max 6 passenger vehicle.  Acadia was one of the few true 8 passenger vehicles available on the market.

 

Cargo goes from 116cf to 79cf.  that's almost a third of cargo loss.

 

All this for what is looking like 1 mpg gain, despite new engine and start stop, trannies, and all that and several hundred pounds of weight loss.

 

Also highly telling, the current Terrain and this new Acadia are practically the same in front hip room.

 

GMC and fanbois of GM can spin this all they want......on other msg board and forums across the net, lots of folks are not liking the downsize.  I just don't think you tinker with what was so well accepted.  People wanted a large car based SUV that was not a truck like Yukon. it's been wildly successful, it was a unique market benefit, and now you throw it in to a group stuffed with competition, will bring less demand and price, and it won't push more people into Yukons because they never wanted a truck to begin with.

 

It doesn't touch the Grand Cherokee on style, reputation, and comfort, prob not on powertrain either.  They should have stayed in the market space they were in.

 

As a GMC Envoy, this would be perfect.  If they decide to stretch this, they should at least have had this ready for market at the get go.

 

The cladding looks horrendous.

 

A commenter from another forum site

 

 

 

I don't think it will fit my plans. I looked seriously at the 6/7 passenger Hyundai Santa Fe last year before buying the 2015 Traverse LT. The Santa Fe was just too small to replace the Traverse, plus since I got 15% for it being one of the oldest in stock it was actually a couple of thousand less.  I considered the Santa Fe since I had used a Hyundai Elantra as a daily commuter for about 3.5 year. Nice small car.  

BUT, I bought a 2008 Saturn Outlook in August 2008. Love it. I drove it part time for awhile then my wife started driving it when her 2004 Envoy XL starting giving her problems.  I want something large enough for adults/teenagers to ride in the third row, if I'm going to have a vehicle with a third row. The Outlook and Traverse both fit that requirement.  I don't think the new Acadia will, so if the Enclave and Traverse downsize anytime soon, they may be out of the picture as well.  I don't want to move up to a Yukon/Tahoe size/cost vehicle, so might have to look at other vehicles.

   

 

 

This was a person that either could not afford it or was never going to buy the old Acadia anyway. No matter if it stayed the same size or shrunk. Plenty of people wanted the Acadia but never really bought it and when it came time they went with the compact version in this case a Traverse LT. Big difference in price between the Traverse and an Acadia.

 

Time will tell if GM messed up, but my gut tells me no. The people crying over this are the same type of people crying about the lack of 2 door coupes and convertibles in the cheap entry level market but would really never buy them anyway.

 

There is no difference in size between a Traverse and Acadia they are identical.... I think you mean Terrain?

The Enclave and Traverse are getting the long wheelbase version of this.

I haven't seen any mention of the platform designation..is this a new platform (Lambda II or something)?

I haven't seen any mention of the platform designation..is this a new platform (Lambda II or something)?

C1XX is the official designation, I don't know if they are calling it Lambda II or not.

I see this being a huge hit.  i think the smaller size could actually bring in MORE customers wanting something smaller and easier to amneuver.  And as said the Traverse and Buick will still be big and there is always the Tahoe and Yukon. 

I don't see how the size change is a problem. GMC shares the majority of its dealers with Buick, so the full-size Enclave is across the showroom, not to mention GMC's own Yukon in two sizes.

It was unnecessary for GM to have 3 full size crossovers with largely overlapping demographics, while being completely vacant in the midsize CUV/SUV segment. I think this Acadia is going to be just the right size for tons of families that don't want a full size tank of a vehicle, but can't get away with a CRV/Equinox/Escape.

 

 

 

among the most egregious sins are a loss of 4+ inches of hip room in row 2 and 5+ inches of hip room in row 3.  This becomes a max 6 passenger vehicle.  Acadia was one of the few true 8 passenger vehicles available on the market.

 

Cargo goes from 116cf to 79cf.  that's almost a third of cargo loss.

 

All this for what is looking like 1 mpg gain, despite new engine and start stop, trannies, and all that and several hundred pounds of weight loss.

 

Also highly telling, the current Terrain and this new Acadia are practically the same in front hip room.

 

GMC and fanbois of GM can spin this all they want......on other msg board and forums across the net, lots of folks are not liking the downsize.  I just don't think you tinker with what was so well accepted.  People wanted a large car based SUV that was not a truck like Yukon. it's been wildly successful, it was a unique market benefit, and now you throw it in to a group stuffed with competition, will bring less demand and price, and it won't push more people into Yukons because they never wanted a truck to begin with.

 

It doesn't touch the Grand Cherokee on style, reputation, and comfort, prob not on powertrain either.  They should have stayed in the market space they were in.

 

As a GMC Envoy, this would be perfect.  If they decide to stretch this, they should at least have had this ready for market at the get go.

 

The cladding looks horrendous.

 

A commenter from another forum site

 

 

 

I don't think it will fit my plans. I looked seriously at the 6/7 passenger Hyundai Santa Fe last year before buying the 2015 Traverse LT. The Santa Fe was just too small to replace the Traverse, plus since I got 15% for it being one of the oldest in stock it was actually a couple of thousand less.  I considered the Santa Fe since I had used a Hyundai Elantra as a daily commuter for about 3.5 year. Nice small car.  

BUT, I bought a 2008 Saturn Outlook in August 2008. Love it. I drove it part time for awhile then my wife started driving it when her 2004 Envoy XL starting giving her problems.  I want something large enough for adults/teenagers to ride in the third row, if I'm going to have a vehicle with a third row. The Outlook and Traverse both fit that requirement.  I don't think the new Acadia will, so if the Enclave and Traverse downsize anytime soon, they may be out of the picture as well.  I don't want to move up to a Yukon/Tahoe size/cost vehicle, so might have to look at other vehicles.

   

 

 

This was a person that either could not afford it or was never going to buy the old Acadia anyway. No matter if it stayed the same size or shrunk. Plenty of people wanted the Acadia but never really bought it and when it came time they went with the compact version in this case a Traverse LT. Big difference in price between the Traverse and an Acadia.

 

Time will tell if GM messed up, but my gut tells me no. The people crying over this are the same type of people crying about the lack of 2 door coupes and convertibles in the cheap entry level market but would really never buy them anyway.

 

 

There is no difference in size between a Traverse and Acadia they are identical.... I think you mean Terrain?

 

The Enclave and Traverse are getting the long wheelbase version of this.

 

Thanks for catching my error, yes, I was thinking Terrain.

 

 

among the most egregious sins are a loss of 4+ inches of hip room in row 2 and 5+ inches of hip room in row 3.  This becomes a max 6 passenger vehicle.  Acadia was one of the few true 8 passenger vehicles available on the market.

 

Cargo goes from 116cf to 79cf.  that's almost a third of cargo loss.

 

All this for what is looking like 1 mpg gain, despite new engine and start stop, trannies, and all that and several hundred pounds of weight loss.

 

Also highly telling, the current Terrain and this new Acadia are practically the same in front hip room.

 

Just stop.. really...  the Terrain is being downsized to CRV level.  The Enclave and Traverse are still there in the GM porfolio. You can't say that the Acadia was one of the few true 8 passenger vehicles on the market when GM builds 2 other models the same way.   

 

The transmissions are the same, the V6 engine is an update of the current model and doesn't come with start/stop, the 4-cylinder will be where the fuel economy gains are.... and the Lambdas struggle to get close to their EPA ratings in the real world.  With 700 lbs of weight loss, they should do better than the current models once people get their hands on them.

 

If the Acadia's size bothers you that much, GM will invite you to look at the Enclave or Traverse.

 

As much as I like the Lambdas.. I have no idea that anyone would be this hurt by a simple change of size for 1 of the 3. He acts as iff GM has left the market.. they haven't. They even still sell the huge Yukon and the even larger XL.. not to mention on most GMC showroom floors.. the Buick Enclave as well.

I don't see how the size change is a problem. GMC shares the majority of its dealers with Buick, so the full-size Enclave is across the showroom, not to mention GMC's own Yukon in two sizes.

 

It was unnecessary for GM to have 3 full size crossovers with largely overlapping demographics, while being completely vacant in the midsize CUV/SUV segment. I think this Acadia is going to be just the right size for tons of families that don't want a full size tank of a vehicle, but can't get away with a CRV/Equinox/Escape.

E

xactly. Go into  GMC/Buick dealership right now.. U will see the Acadia, Enclave, Yukon, and XL.. all there in a row to confuse the $h! outta someone. Same thing over at Chevy. I personally think that the Traverse should get the diet as well... unless that Blazer is on the way very soon that is

Lots of women won't buy Chevy or Buick, but will buy GMC.  You just took their choice away. 

It would help if the new Acadia didn't look as frumpy as it does.

Lots of women won't buy Chevy or Buick, but will buy GMC.  You just took their choice away. 

 

It would help if the new Acadia didn't look as frumpy as it does.

I did no such thing.

I don't think the Acadia looks frumpy at all.  In terms of appearance, it looks like a strong Grand Cherokee or Durango competitor, and a bit more upscale than Edge.   If anything GMC just gave women a new choice in the mid-size segment. 

must be long lines at the urinals due to all that GM kool Aid

time will tell what happens with this.  at least its not an embarrassment the likes of Ford and the Continental and the new MKz grille

must be long lines at the urinals due to all that GM kool Aid

 

time will tell what happens with this.  at least its not an embarrassment the likes of Ford and the Continental and the new MKz grille

GM just re-entered one of the most popular size segments in the industry that they've been noticeably absent from for over a decade with an entry that is both attractive and sufficiently capable, while remaining in the larger segment with two popular vehicles......

I think GM will do fine here.  The only question is going to be price.  If they price it the same as a Durango, they'll do great. 

Lots of women won't buy Chevy or Buick, but will buy GMC.  You just took their choice away. 

 

It would help if the new Acadia didn't look as frumpy as it does.

Insanity. If anything I'm betting that women will prefer the smaller size.. It's easier to park for one thing

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/03/17/2017-honda-crv-spy-shots/

Honda CR-V set to grow in its next-generation Extra-long rear door suggests a three-row model is on the way.

"It's been accepted that cars grow with each successive generation. Honda looks to be stretching that theory as it conducts testing of the next-generation CR-V. It's big."

So, the CR-v is getting BIGGER.  (and may even get a third row....ala Rogue perhaps)?

So, the Terrain is getting SMALLER.  CRv will probably outsize the current Terrain.  Now the Terrain will be on the smaller end.  wth, huge miscue, GM

Still think it would have been wiser to call this new Acadia either the Envoy or move the Terrain up.  The downsized is to be Terrain could  have been the new nameplate.  Leave the Acadia name for the Xl sized, like people are familiar with.

Interesting bit.  I chatted a bit at the auto show last wkd with the GMC product person / model / spokesperson, etc. and said, they should have kept it the same size.  She said something to the effect of trying to space out the 'length' of all the different models.

I get that.  But length is only one component.  New Acadia has 1/3 less cargo room and barely matches a current CRv now.  Actually, she said something about possibly getting rid of the Yukon as well (Don't know if it meant both lengths of the Yukon).  Other thing said was if people wanted a vehicle the size of the current Acadia they are supposed to go for the Yukon.

Well again, that is flawed because the Yukon is a truck, not a crossover, and its like 15 grand more.  That's why 100,000 Acadias a year sell like they did.

"It's been accepted that cars grow with each successive generation."  Grow, not shrink 

The CR-V has hardly grown in all of its years on the market... and the new ones actually feel smaller and less useful inside compared to our '04.    I'm sure that Honda is eyeing the sales of the Rogue with it's 3rd row. 

 

 

New Acadia has 1/3 less cargo room and barely matches a current CRv now.

No... just no.  Cargo volume is very deceptive, especially when measured in cubic feet.  For example, the CR-V lists cargo volume with the rear seat down at 70.9.... and that may be true if you're filling it with sand, but that doesn't mean the cargo room is usable.

I know from experience that the Grand Cherokee can haul more with the seats down than a CR-V even though it is listed with a smaller cargo volume. 

I really don't understand what your agenda against the new Acadia is... GM still offers two vehicles the same size as the outgoing Acadia and they will remain that size in the next generation.  Go buy a Traverse or Enclave if the size matters that much to you.  The Acadia is exactly class competitive in the new class it resides in.