Drew Dowdell

She also must have (as the flaw dictates) loaded her key up with loads of crap.

Electric defrost on the sides too!

Honestly, I can't even see a difference from the current one.

It looks like a Pilot EXT.

You guys know I love looking at the numbers... Where does the 2017 GMC Acadia Fit?

At every auto show there are big headline grabbing releases. These are releases like concept cars (Buick Avista) and production high end luxury vehicles (2017 Lincoln Continental and 2017 Lexus LC 500) that draw crowds and clicks, but after the lights are turned off at the Cobo Center those vehicles mean little to the average car buyer. Then there is news that matters to more in everyday life… important, just not headline grabbing. One of those important news items from the 2016 Detroit Auto Show was the repositioning of 2017 GMC Acadia crossover from full-size to mid-size. The GMC Acadia was introduced for the 2007 model year becoming one of the largest crossover vehicles on the market. A big part of the Acadia’s appeal is that it was 9/10ths the size of a GMC Yukon yet easier to maneuver, handle, and more economical with fuel. Many people do not realize just how big the Acadia really is. Measuring in at 200.8 inches in length, the 2007 – 2016 GMC Acadia actually sits just 3 inches shorter than a Yukon. When the 2017 GMC Acadia debuted, it was announced that it dropped a lot of size and weight. How much? GMC aimed precisely at the center of the mid-size crossover market. Next Up – Size Matters The 2007 – 2016 GMC Acadia and its GM Lambda platform brothers do a pretty good job of hiding their overall size. Prior to gathering the data for this article, I would have speculated that the Acadia and competition in the likes of the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander were all roughly the same size. But as you can see on the chart below, the current Acadia has up to 9 inches over them in length. In terms of wheelbase, the current Acadia is also the longest of all of the front wheel drive crossovers. All of that size comes at a price however, and at 4,646 lbs the Acadia is 250 lbs heavier than the next heaviest FWD-based crossover, the Ford Explorer, and nearly 1,000 lbs heavier than the lightest 2-row on this list, the Kia Sorento. Even with all of that weight, the EPA rated fuel economy for a FWD Acadia is 19 city/ 24 highway, however my experiences have never matched that. For 2017, GMC is changing the game plan to aim squarely at the mid-size segment leaders by dropping 7.2 inches in length to an overall 193.6. This puts the Acadia right up next to the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander, two of the best-selling mid-size models on sale today. Wheelbase also drops to 112.5 inches, virtually matching Honda Pilot, Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, and Dodge Journey. Naturally, all of that size reduction results in a weight reduction as well. GMC shaved 700 lbs off of the Acadia, putting it among the lightest of the 2-row/3-row crossovers. Next Up – It’s what’s on the inside that counts One of the rabbits GM has been pulling from its hat lately has been vastly improved interior packaging in the newly redesigned platforms. Still, when dropping 7.2 inches in length, 3.5 inches in girth, and 700 lbs in weight, there is only so much engineers can do to maintain interior volume, so some interior dimensions have to be reduced a bit. ** Dodge lists the total cargo volume for the 5-passenger and 7-passenger versions the same, this seems unlikely. This chart is sorted on the second column, cargo area behind the 2nd row seats with the 3rd row folded flat. It is my guess that this is the configuration most often used by the bulk of drivers. Cargo room in this configuration has dropped significantly. No longer in spitting distance of the Yukon XL, the 2017 Acadia falls behind the Explorer, Pilot, Highlander and Durango while being just slightly larger than the 2-row Ford Edge and Jeep Grand Cherokee. With both the second and third row folded, the 2017 Acadia remains mid-pack. With all seats up, the Acadia is nearly the smallest with just 12.8 cubic feet of cargo room. Leg room is an area where all manufacturers seem to fudge a bit. Our friends over at TrueDelta.com have cited the fudged leg room numbers on a few Ford products and automatically deduct 2.5” from whatever the Ford published specs are. For this chart however, we are taking all of the manufacturers at their word. Here, the spread between the top and bottom is fairly narrow and with second row seats that slide fore and aft, the difference can be reduced further. In absolute terms, the 2017 Acadia is nearly the smallest, however when I sat in the second row during the Detroit Auto Show, it felt plenty roomy, so I doubt anyone would notice the 3 inch drop from the current model. Some of that drop may have been given to the third row which actually sees about a 2 inch increase in legroom. GM’s flip and slide system for the second row is still there, but only on the passenger side of the car. Getting into the 3rd row from the driver’s side looks fairly awkward. Next up – I’ve got the power For the first time, the GMC Acadia will come standard with a 4-cylinder engine. This move is clearly for fuel economy purposes, and as far as the naturally aspirated 4-cylinders in the class go, it is the most powerful. People coming from a 4-cylinder Toyota Highlander or Kia Sorento, won’t be missing any power. The updated V6 produces 310 horsepower, which makes it the most powerful non-Turbo V6 in the segment. With the new “added lightness”, the Acadia V6 should feel plenty powerful compared to the outgoing model. I do feel that GMC may have a missed opportunity here for a mid-level engine. The 2.0T with about 250 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque would have made a good tweener engine, it would be unfortunate if the only reason that engine isn’t available is to give the new Buick Envision sitting in the same showroom something unique. Also, where are the 8-speed automatics? The 2017 Acadia comes only with a 6-speed auto. Next Up – What is just right? For a long time, one of the knocks against GM is that they have too many vehicles that are too similar. The GMC Acadia has always sold well, posting sales gains every year since 2009, so why would GM make this move? What GM hasn’t had for a while is a true mid-size entry into the segment, no Goldilocks crossover that wasn’t too big like the Acadia, or too small like the Terrain, and it is a well known secret that the next Terrain will be downsizing also. At 4 inches bigger than the Grand Cherokee, 6 inches smaller than Dodge Durango, and within an inch of the Honda Pilot, three of the segment's best sellers, the 2017 GMC Acadia aims for the heart of Goldilocks and it seems to be just right. View full article

Aren't they going to share this platform with a CUV? That'll get them the volume they need to keep the minivan alive.

Very mild. Don't expect any Grand Cherokee Overland type off-roading.

It does have auto close. You don't need to slam the door, you just pull it into position and the car pulls the door in for you. Fully manual opening though, correct? So you need something to physically grab onto, handle-wise? Yes. Put your hand into the handle and there is a small button inside. Pull and the electronic release triggers to unlatch the door, pull open. It works fine, I just think the electronic release needs a bit faster of a response. I feel the same way about the Tesla handles.

I'm working on an article right now to show where the GMC fits.

It does have auto close. You don't need to slam the door, you just pull it into position and the car pulls the door in for you.

Concept was considerably more elegant with the solution. And, unfortunately, pretty much unworkable as a production vehicle.

9 speed will most likely be coming eventually. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Ford/GM working on a ten-speed automatic, could be in the Continental's future. That's rwd based. The fwd is a 9 speed

I'm a bit skeptical on the 2.5 also. I think they could have helped things had they used the 8 speed auto.

What do you think of the door handles? Seem strange to me. But this is one car I want to see in person before I form an opinion of it... Unique and interesting. I liked it. Probably could use a tune to the response time a little bit. They are electronically activated, but not as instant as I expected. The guy that likes 3-different sizes of sausage thinks the Continental is boring....... Lincoln must be doing something right. Well when you have the best looking full size sedan on the market, the classiest looking small luxury sedan on the market, might as well make the middle sedan look similar. Mercedes has interesting looking interiors again. From 2010 to 2014 they got boring, the interiors are fantastic again. They have a sort of bland looking car on top of a stretched Fusion platform. I am also not that excited because I know they'll price it higher than they should, and it won't sell, and this car will be forgotten about, unless they can push a bunch to the Hertz Gold lots in 3-4 years. If you did not know this was on the fusion platform, there's nothing in the car to give that away.

Someone asked for a door handle.

Call it what you like, but nobody but GM fans will know what the CT6 is and how to find it. The Continental is one of the darlings of the show. And I don't recall much hoopla the first time the showed the CT6. Were you in NYC for the debut of the CT6? I was... I had an invitation from Cadillac for the event... How did you get your invite? I remember the hoopla because I was there.

And the other 2/3 were industry people who have also seen the CT6 before. No one was crawling over the MKX either for the same reason. Pacifica had security guards to keep the Kia engineers off. Cars that are new to the show get the attention. Stop being such a cheerleader.

The guy that likes 3-different sizes of sausage thinks the Continental is boring....... Lincoln must be doing something right.

I alluded to it in another thread that I had a bit of a medical on monday. I'm fine but still feeling out of it. I hadn't really eaten much since sunday morning, little sleep, very little breakfast sunday morning, overly hot Cobo center while I'm wearing a suit jacket.... my blood sugar dropped and so did I.... in the middle of the Chevy booth. I sat it out for about an hour drinking O.J. and just went on with the show at a slow pace the rest of the day. I'm heading home tonight so I have a full day to rest tomorrow. I'm still kinda "meh" but okay.

The south american trailblazer is based on the Colorado and it's no featherweight. The Acadia is FWD/AWD on the heavily modified Lambda platform, I'm not sure GM's new coding for it. It's on a new platform called C1XX. No real sharing with Lambda to speak of. Shared with the new XT5. Here are my shots of the GMC Acadia from the show. To me, this is the biggest evidence that the Terrain will shrink significantly next refresh. In 5-passenger trim, the Acadia is dangerously close to the Terrain in interior room with almost all of the extra space happening behind the 2nd row. Thank you for the clarification! The Lambda part was an educated guess. The D2XX and E2XX underpinning GM's new FWD sedans are based on the Delta and Epsilon platforms in some capacity, I didn't know the Lambda chassis was being ditched after one extended generation. The Chi platform back in the day was supposed to be the "sedan" version of the Lambda platform and used for big cars like the Lucerne and DTS. 2007 happened and that Chi platform didn't. Epsilon was never intially intended to be stretched to the lengths it has been and thats why the XTS, Lacrosse and Impala have some weight issues. I imagine the only reason the Lambda platform lasted as long as it has (though with bargain basement updates) is because of the huge volumes that GM continues to enjoy on them. Now this new C platform should give GM a lot more breathing room to share among more vehicles.

The south american trailblazer is based on the Colorado and it's no featherweight. The Acadia is FWD/AWD on the heavily modified Lambda platform, I'm not sure GM's new coding for it. It's on a new platform called C1XX. No real sharing with Lambda to speak of. Shared with the new XT5. Here are my shots of the GMC Acadia from the show. To me, this is the biggest evidence that the Terrain will shrink significantly next refresh. In 5-passenger trim, the Acadia is dangerously close to the Terrain in interior room with almost all of the extra space happening behind the 2nd row.