Rental review: 2016 Chevrolet Traverse LT AWD

[Stew]

My brother had another rental while his Audi was in the shop.................  again.

 

Anyway, enterprise was having a weekend deal at $9.99 a day for the weekend.  THey were out of basically everything, but still had to honor the deal, hence the Traverse.   He had it from Friday Morning until Monday evening for around $32 all in.  Not bad.

 

Anyways, here are just a few impressions.

 

Exterior:

 

Basic Traverse, silver in color.  Decent rims and huge tires.  A neat little easter egg I located was the CHevy bowties located on the headlights, I am sure there were probably more.  Decent looking for sure, but can't wait to see what the new one looks like.

 

Interior:

 

Extremely nice.  The dash was a very handsome stitched soft-touch piece with accent stitching.  The dash was layed out nice with Chevy's Very good touchscreen user interface, easy to read gauges, and dual power heated seats.  There were plenty of storage cubbies.

 

The middle row was extremely roomy with it's own radio controls, usb ports, and overhead vents.  It had the bucket seats which were okay.  My biggest complaint was that the seat bottoms were way too short. 

 

The third row, well, I wouldn't want to be stuck there for very long.  ingress and egress was not the most coordinated event, but the seats are usable for adults.  The flip forward middle seats do help with getting in and out of it.  It also has it's own roof vents and another row of HVAC vents located under the seat.  Cargo capacity was quite generous even with all seats in place.

 

Ride and drive:

 

The ride is excellent and fits the mission statement very well.  It is no sports car in handling, and it shouldn't be for what it is, but always felt stable and planted.  Excellent setup for a family hauler I think and I definitely am not going to complain about it lacking shift paddles like one of the main stream mags did on the Pacifica (it's a minivan for crying out loud!)  While you wouldn't win an drag races the 3.6 was more than powerful enough and extremely smooth.

 

Overall:

 

I can understand why these are so popular.  i think they hit heir target straight in the bullseye.

[cp-the-nerd]

GM did a great job on the refresh a couple years ago to bring up the appeal. Especially the interior like you mentioned, granted the steering wheel and gauge cluster are straight out of 2008. The Acadia that's about to be replaced catches my eye every time I drive by one, very few crossovers achieve that for me.

 

I think the 2014-16 Lambdas are going to be an excellent option on the used market for middle class families for years to come. My brother just got himself a 2011 Lacrosse 3.6L for $14k. It's an INCREDIBLE car for the money. American car depreciation with their modern quality is really creating some insane deals.

[Suaviloquent]

The only demerit would be the unresolved LFX issues - which would mean extended warranties ahoy. However, the one thing I've always felt about the Lambdas is that I don't think there's much of a separation between the Traverse all the way up to the Enclave. Okay, the seats are nicer, but there's nothing else really than an analog clock, copius fake wood trim and moulded to look stitched vinyl on the dash and door uppers. and then there's the exterior blingy chrome - which looks MUCH better in person.

 

But now I think GM is correcting things very well by making the Chi based 3 row crossovers different in size and functionality, as well as the different missions for each brand.

 

A Premier Traverse could be very close or even better interior wise than the last gen Acadia Denali.

[cp-the-nerd]

The only demerit would be the unresolved LFX issues - which would mean extended warranties ahoy. However, the one thing I've always felt about the Lambdas is that I don't think there's much of a separation between the Traverse all the way up to the Enclave. Okay, the seats are nicer, but there's nothing else really than an analog clock, copius fake wood trim and moulded to look stitched vinyl on the dash and door uppers. and then there's the exterior blingy chrome - which looks MUCH better in person.

 

But now I think GM is correcting things very well by making the Chi based 3 row crossovers different in size and functionality, as well as the different missions for each brand.

 

A Premier Traverse could be very close or even better interior wise than the last gen Acadia Denali.

 

Lambdas don't use the LFX V6, they use the LLT. What "unresolved issues" are you referring to?

[Drew Dowdell]

 

The only demerit would be the unresolved LFX issues - which would mean extended warranties ahoy. However, the one thing I've always felt about the Lambdas is that I don't think there's much of a separation between the Traverse all the way up to the Enclave. Okay, the seats are nicer, but there's nothing else really than an analog clock, copius fake wood trim and moulded to look stitched vinyl on the dash and door uppers. and then there's the exterior blingy chrome - which looks MUCH better in person.

 

But now I think GM is correcting things very well by making the Chi based 3 row crossovers different in size and functionality, as well as the different missions for each brand.

 

A Premier Traverse could be very close or even better interior wise than the last gen Acadia Denali.

 

Lambdas don't use the LFX V6, they use the LLT. What "unresolved issues" are you referring to?

 

 

There are some timing chain stretching issues with the Lambdas... and all of the earlier 3.6es even.  GM has been dropping the ball on this one by only extending the timing chain warranty on some models but not others.

 

The biggest difference between the Traverse/Acadia and the Enclave is the addition of Buick's quiet tuning.  Not that the Chevy and GMC are particularly loud, but the Enclave is whisper quiet and serene inside.. it really is ... an Enclave.

[regfootball]

My brother had another rental while his Audi was in the shop.................  again.

 

Anyway, enterprise was having a weekend deal at $9.99 a day for the weekend.  THey were out of basically everything, but still had to honor the deal, hence the Traverse.   He had it from Friday Morning until Monday evening for around $32 all in.  Not bad.

 

Anyways, here are just a few impressions.

 

Exterior:

 

Basic Traverse, silver in color.  Decent rims and huge tires.  A neat little easter egg I located was the CHevy bowties located on the headlights, I am sure there were probably more.  Decent looking for sure, but can't wait to see what the new one looks like.

 

Interior:

 

Extremely nice.  The dash was a very handsome stitched soft-touch piece with accent stitching.  The dash was layed out nice with Chevy's Very good touchscreen user interface, easy to read gauges, and dual power heated seats.  There were plenty of storage cubbies.

 

The middle row was extremely roomy with it's own radio controls, usb ports, and overhead vents.  It had the bucket seats which were okay.  My biggest complaint was that the seat bottoms were way too short. 

 

The third row, well, I wouldn't want to be stuck there for very long.  ingress and egress was not the most coordinated event, but the seats are usable for adults.  The flip forward middle seats do help with getting in and out of it.  It also has it's own roof vents and another row of HVAC vents located under the seat.  Cargo capacity was quite generous even with all seats in place.

 

Ride and drive:

 

The ride is excellent and fits the mission statement very well.  It is no sports car in handling, and it shouldn't be for what it is, but always felt stable and planted.  Excellent setup for a family hauler I think and I definitely am not going to complain about it lacking shift paddles like one of the main stream mags did on the Pacifica (it's a minivan for crying out loud!)  While you wouldn't win an drag races the 3.6 was more than powerful enough and extremely smooth.

 

Overall:

 

I can understand why these are so popular.  i think they hit heir target straight in the bullseye.

and now they will downsize them!  (the acadia at least)

 

good score on the 9.99 weekend rental!

 

Ride and drive description sounds about right from what i recall.........

[regfootball]

 

 

The only demerit would be the unresolved LFX issues - which would mean extended warranties ahoy. However, the one thing I've always felt about the Lambdas is that I don't think there's much of a separation between the Traverse all the way up to the Enclave. Okay, the seats are nicer, but there's nothing else really than an analog clock, copius fake wood trim and moulded to look stitched vinyl on the dash and door uppers. and then there's the exterior blingy chrome - which looks MUCH better in person.

 

But now I think GM is correcting things very well by making the Chi based 3 row crossovers different in size and functionality, as well as the different missions for each brand.

 

A Premier Traverse could be very close or even better interior wise than the last gen Acadia Denali.

 

Lambdas don't use the LFX V6, they use the LLT. What "unresolved issues" are you referring to?

 

 

There are some timing chain stretching issues with the Lambdas... and all of the earlier 3.6es even.  GM has been dropping the ball on this one by only extending the timing chain warranty on some models but not others.

 

The biggest difference between the Traverse/Acadia and the Enclave is the addition of Buick's quiet tuning.  Not that the Chevy and GMC are particularly loud, but the Enclave is whisper quiet and serene inside.. it really is ... an Enclave.

 

I've heard of those issues you describe, its really kept me from ever getting too serious on any used GM product with that motor.

 

When i was selling da suzukis i even remember some folks bringing those in (the XL7's made by GM) for that issue.

[caddycruiser]

These things are old...but I have to agree.

 

I tried to find any other idea for mom when she was tired of (2) back to back Terrains and wanted a 3 row crossover, but the Traverse still won.

 

Her 2LT AWD has more features than even an MDX (and I work for Acura...) for a lot less money, and is built well. Push button keyless? No. She's good with that. It's an old design that's perfected at this point, and drives smooth, feels solid, and just seems like a big nice solid ute going down the road.

 

It's nothing over the top, but value for the dollar, none are bigger, or offer as much. So GM did well adding features over the years, even if they never got push button, etc. To have Blind Spot, Cross Traffic, "Saddle" colored leather, awesome touchscreen nav, the smooth 3.6L, and more, for such a great lease, it was a no brainer.

 

Good review, and hits on all the points.

[cp-the-nerd]

 

 

 

The only demerit would be the unresolved LFX issues - which would mean extended warranties ahoy. However, the one thing I've always felt about the Lambdas is that I don't think there's much of a separation between the Traverse all the way up to the Enclave. Okay, the seats are nicer, but there's nothing else really than an analog clock, copius fake wood trim and moulded to look stitched vinyl on the dash and door uppers. and then there's the exterior blingy chrome - which looks MUCH better in person.

 

But now I think GM is correcting things very well by making the Chi based 3 row crossovers different in size and functionality, as well as the different missions for each brand.

 

A Premier Traverse could be very close or even better interior wise than the last gen Acadia Denali.

 

Lambdas don't use the LFX V6, they use the LLT. What "unresolved issues" are you referring to?

 

 

There are some timing chain stretching issues with the Lambdas... and all of the earlier 3.6es even.  GM has been dropping the ball on this one by only extending the timing chain warranty on some models but not others.

 

The biggest difference between the Traverse/Acadia and the Enclave is the addition of Buick's quiet tuning.  Not that the Chevy and GMC are particularly loud, but the Enclave is whisper quiet and serene inside.. it really is ... an Enclave.

 

I've heard of those issues you describe, its really kept me from ever getting too serious on any used GM product with that motor.

 

When i was selling da suzukis i even remember some folks bringing those in (the XL7's made by GM) for that issue.

 

 

Timing chains aren't unresolved. I haven't heard any issues with any of the refreshed Lambdas, and only very rarely of any 3.6L engine manufactured after 2010. They've updated the chain and the maintenance procedures.

 

I know quite a bit about the 3.6L engine variations since I drive one. Basically, use synthetic oil and maintain the engine properly and you'll avoid stretched timing chains 99% of the time. The real issue with older 3.6L engines is that the piston rings would rot and they'd start eating oil like crazy. Low oil causes the stretched timing chains.

[Stew]

Thanks for the comments!  I was actually quite surprised how nice it was and b how much it suits it's purpose in life.  I agree about it and it's sibling being amazing values on the used market. 

[regfootball]

Lambdas were a dead eye bullseye on what people want. A million sold. Now GM wants to mess with that value equation. Smh

[Stew]

Lambdas were a dead eye bullseye on what people want. A million sold. Now GM wants to mess with that value equation. Smh

 

I think the Traverse and Enclave are supposed to stay long wheelbase.  I just hope they don't fall into the handling over ride trap.  That is okay for a Camaro, but not a family vehicle. 

Edited June 6, 2016 by Drew Dowdell
fixed double post