All long-term cars pass through the same instrumented test gauntlet. Our 2010 Chevrolet Traverse is no exception. It just has more body roll than most.
Numbers and pictures after the jump...
Vehicle:
Odometer: 1,769
Date: 3/2/2010
Driver: Chris Walton
Specifications:
Drive Type: Front wheel drive
Transmission Type: 6-speed automatic
Engine Type: 3.6-liter SIDI V6
Displacement: 3,564 cc (217 cu-in)
Redline (rpm): 7000
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 288 @ 6300
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm): 270 @ 3400
Brake Type (front): 12.8-inch ventilated cast-iron disc with single-piston sliding calipers
Brake Type (rear): 13.0-inch ventilated cast-iron disc with single-piston sliding calipers
Steering System: Speed-proportional power steering
Suspension Type (front): Independent, MacPherson Struts, Coil Springs, Stabilizer Bar
Suspension Type (rear): Independent, Multi-Link, Coil Springs, Stabilizer Bar
Tire Size (front): P255/55R20 107H M+S
Tire Size (rear): P255/55R20 107H M+S
Tire Brand: Bridgestone
Tire Model: Dueller H/L Alenza
Tire Type: All-season
Wheel Size: 20 x 7.5
Wheel Material (front/rear): Cast Aluminum
As Tested Curb Weight (lb): 4,801
Test Results:
0 - 30 (sec): 3.3
0 - 45 (sec): 5.4
0 - 60 (sec): 8.2
0 - 75 (sec): 12.4
1/4 Mile (sec @ mph): 16.2 @ 86.9
0 - 60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 7.9
30 - 0 (ft): 33
60 - 0 (ft): 130
Braking Rating: Good
Slalom (mph): 59.8
Skid Pad Lateral Acceleration (g): .78
Handling Rating: Good
Db @ Idle: 42.6
Db @ Full Throttle: 72.8
Db @ 70 mph Cruise: 69.2
Acceleration Comments:
Turning off the aggressive traction control allows just enough spin to keep the engine on the boil. Engine feels torque-rich and free-revving with a relatively high (7,000 rpm) fuel cut-off. Very smooth upshifts in Drive, but "L" with manual shifts proved slower.
Braking Comments:
Good power/effectiveness and fade resistance. Pedal stops short of going all the way to the firewall and remained so throughout.
Handling Comments:
Skid pad: Non-defeat ESP relegates the Traverse to circle with the throttle pinned to the floor with no brake application. Steering feels a little overboosted and doesn't offer much information. Slalom: It feels far more confident and capable than the physics and ESP will allow, where understeer is rectified with both throttle bleeding and brake application.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager
jasond52 says:
05:11 AM, 04/23/10
The tranny will be dead in a couple of weeks now.
powell_jr says:
05:22 AM, 04/23/10
Did anybody else notice that the big body is just a smidge slower than the crosstour...very interesting.
willin58 says:
06:12 AM, 04/23/10
powell_jr: Yes, I was going to post the same thing had you not.
0757lx says:
06:35 AM, 04/23/10
And it has a shorter braking distance than the Crosstour too (130 ft vs. 135 ft.)
chrome58 says:
06:38 AM, 04/23/10
Seems like it acquitted itself quite well.
stephen987 says:
06:41 AM, 04/23/10
+1 powell_jr.
hybris says:
06:57 AM, 04/23/10
I wonder if you can get a anti roll bar upgrade for the Traverse?
lmbvette says:
07:02 AM, 04/23/10
I was just going to comment about the CrossTour vs Traverse testing as well. For a vehicle this large, it really holds it's own in regards to pricing, performance and cargo volume. I'm very surprised.
CommonSense01 says:
09:41 AM, 04/23/10
Powell Jr
Thats probably because the honda engine produces its torque really high in the rev range (5000+ rpm) while the traverse is making all of its power at 3000+ rpm.
ed124c says:
10:07 AM, 04/23/10
Seems like a no-brainer between choosing the Crosstour or the Traverse. It would take too long to list the advantages of the Chevy over the Honda. I guess that AP survey, about US drivers now preferring Ford and GM over Asian brands, seems like it might be valid.
equ says:
11:12 AM, 04/23/10
Puts the crosstour to shame by matching its numbers with a 4-cyl engine and a higher chassis. Congrats to GM!
mikes12 says:
11:29 AM, 04/23/10
Uhh...equ:
They Chevy has a 3.6L V6....No idea what you're talking about.
As for the chevy vs. honda thing...they're both bloated pigs.
prndlol says:
01:46 PM, 04/23/10
Forty
eight
hundred
and one
POUNDS.
stovt001 says:
07:22 PM, 04/23/10
Now that's interesting. I did not expect results like that.
lexuslvr says:
08:40 PM, 04/24/10
Nice. The Crosstour needs to upgrade seriously.
zoomzoomn says:
07:34 AM, 04/26/10
Having driven both the Acadia and Outlook from which this is based I can say that this is a decent driving all weather, multi-purpose, family-mobile. It did everything well if not anything exceptionally so. The only real drawback for us was price, poor real world MPG and interior space. It was way too easy to push these up to and over $40K! Reviews within Edmunds revealed truly sub-par real world gas mileage (11-16MPG). Lastly, GM tries to woo you with rather decent looking interior measurements. All were withing an inch or so of my '03 Expedition (which was a truly roomy truck...even in the third row!). I don't know how GM measures these things, but the only way we could figure is that the second row was measured with that seat moved all of the way back and then the third row was measured with the second row seat slid all of the way forward. Not exactly apples to apples in the real world...just like the gas mileage. Long story short we bought an Armada to replace our aging Expedition. It was less expensive in the end (after all rebates and discounts applied), gets about the same gas mileage with much superior performance and has more room. It's like GM kind of missed the boat with this one in every aspect.