This weekend editor JayKav and I had to head up to Infineon Raceway in Sears Point for the 24 Hours of Lemons race. This time we were bringing my 6-year-old pit bull, Mya. In any case, after only having her for a month I had no idea of her jumping abilities. So when it came time to get her in the Raptor's backseat, I worried for a bit. The footwells were packed with Jay's gear and the passenger side was walled up with luggage. Do I try and lift a squirmy 60-pound dog into the backseat? After all it's about 3 feet total for her to jump. I figured worst-case scenario there'd be some scrambling.
Fortunately, Mya has some mad jumping skills. She got it on the first try. And I suspect she could kick this Chevy Traverse-jumping dog's ass in a high jump contest.
By the way, I bought a seat harness for her so she was safely seatbelted in for the long road trip.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse,2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
NHTSA has already weighed in and now the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) has added its pair of pennies to the discussion: It's designated the Traverse a Top Safety Pick. This comes after Chevy's crossover scored the highest possible ratings in the organization's front, side, rear and rollover protection crash tests.
According to GM's media site, the designation applies to 2011 models built "after January." Keep in mind, though, that the 2011 model is basically a carryover from 2010.
Notes IIHS president Adrian Lund: "Car buyers shopping for safety get a big head start with vehicles earning our Top Safety Pick designation. This award highlights the elite group of vehicles that earn top Institute safety ratings across the board, and that have electronic stability control."
Hmm -- that's probably the only time you'll ever hear the word "elite" used in reference to the unpretentious Traverse. Congrats to the capable Chevy. It serves as a cooler-than-a-minivan-but-almost-as-functional sort of ride for many drivers, so having this accolade is an important feather in its cap.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
The Chevy Traverse can be brushed off as an overpriced, oversized crossover as well as yet another spin on GM's long-in-the-tooth Lambda platform. Or it can be considered a practical, roomy vehicle that comfortably straddles the line between functionality and entry-level luxury.
Truth is our long-term 2010 Chevy Traverse LTZ falls somewhere in between. That it has all the bells and whistles helps make the case that it's a contender in its class; that it also has a bloated sticker price of $42, 050 doesn't. But you don't have to spend a dime over the base price of $37,985 to get the standard Bose Surround Sound System on the LTZ trim level. And even if the Bose system is buried in the base price, we still wondered if it's worth it and how the system performs.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
I suppose General Motors figured Chevrolet Traverse owners would be in such a sleep-deprived, zombified, parental state that they'd never bother checking the oil. But oil change intervals are long on this crossover SUV -- the Traverse had its first service at 10,000 miles and isn't due to go back until 20,000 miles.
So it's not inconceivable to think that a certain percentage of owners would have the presence of mind to check the oil before setting out on a long road trip.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
I hopped into our 2010 Chevrolet Traverse last night, and was struck again by how easy it is to maneuver for its size. Actually, at 205 inches long and 78.4 inches wide, it's really about the same size as any of the current crop of minivans. But the Traverse is a few hundred pounds heavier (4,800 pounds) and it drives large. Sluggish steering response (more sluggish than the published 16.1:1 ratio would suggest) exacerbates that impression.
Yet, when it's time to parallel-park (there used to be Prius behind it on this street), it's very easy to get a feel for the perimeter, with a little help from the back-up camera, and a few turns of the wheel later, there you are, all parked. Add a few screaming kids in the back, and I think parking the Traverse would still be the least of your worries.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 12,851 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
I realize that some people put a low priority on car audio. For me, that priority depends largely on what kind of car it is and under what conditions it's being driven in. When I had a Shelby GT500 to drive around in, I rarely had the radio on. With our Traverse, though, I think it's more important since I'm more prone to rotting in traffic than making my run through Beggar's Canyon. The verdict? Pretty good, overall.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
Granted, our 2010 Chevy Traverse doesn't see a lot of highway driving, but when I hopped in to see the trip computer reading 10.8 mpg average, I was a little surprised. Traditionally, these things run on the high side (see: GMC Terrain ) so 10.8 mpg is....well...bad.
So rather than keep speculating, I did the math:
Best MPG: 20.9
Worst MPG: 8.6 (one of eight tanks below 10 mpg -- there are 15 tanks between 10.0 and 10.9)
Average MPG: 12.9
This is slightly worse than the EPA estimation of 17/24 for our FWD Traverse, but is similar to the one user review who posted on the EPA's website averaging 12 mpg.
Mike Magrath, Associate Editor, Inside Line @ 12,641
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse,Fuel Updates
One of the editors complained how "dumb" the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze's mirrors are. "Why do they pinch up at the ends? You can't see where you want to see," he said. So just for giggles, I pulled up photos of other long-termers' side mirrors. I know they vary according to the size of the cars but just indulge me, which shape do you prefer? The boxiness of the Raptor? The 528i's and Traverse's slanted rectangles or the Cruze's anime eye shape?
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse,2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor,2011 BMW 528i,2011 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ
"Riswick, don't do that to ours," I say. "Ohhh, you guys have a Raptor?" says the Ford guy at the booth. "For the purposes of this conversation, yes, absolutely."
Anyway, this week of course was the 2011 Detroit Auto Show (you've been following on Straightline, right? ) and in between press conferences and free espresso, I snagged shots of as many of our current Long Termers as I could find. (Note: Some substitutions)
Here ya go!
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse,2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor,2010 GMC Terrain,2010 Honda Accord Crosstour,2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD,2011 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ,2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0,2011 Mazda 2 Touring,2011 Toyota Sienna SE
Curious to see what actual owners of the 2010 Chevrolet Traverse thought of the car, I browsed the Edmunds forums. There, I came across two camps: "Happy With Traverse" and "I hate my Traverse."
The negative camp seems to overwhelm the positive with its 40 comments versus the 13, but keep in mind that one of the commenters, as decided by the other forum members, had an ulterior motive for going off on the Traverse.
Anyway, to find out what the forum members think of the CUV (positive and negative), hit the jump.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
Last week in New Hampshire, a serial bank robber suspect held up a bank and then fled in a silver Chevrolet Traverse. Later, what was believed to be the same Traverse was pulled over on a traffic stop and the driver took off, leading police on a car chase. He crashed the car and then was taken into custody. Initially, I was skeptical of the suspect's choice of getaway cars. I mean, really? But after going back and reading the track test notes on our 2010 Chevrolet Traverse, it might have held its own OK. Wish there was video of the chase!
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
OK, this is really about the 2011 Chevrolet Traverse, but thought you'd like to know that it just received five stars in overall safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's new Five-Star Safety Rating program. This is alongside the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia.
Last year, the NHTSA didn't have that overall safety rating yet, but the 2010 Chevy Traverse still scored five stars for front driver, front passenger, side driver and side rear passenger; four stars for rollover two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.
On another note, am I the only one who finds crash test videos creepy?
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
We dropped out 2010 Chevrolet Traverse off at Chevrolet Santa Monica for its 10,000-mile service and more. The more consisted of: a second row seat belt recall (#10243), a loose side door molding and a leaking sunroof. These would require the Traverse stay overnight.
All items were fixed to our satisfaction. The oil change ran us 46 bucks. The seat belt was repaired per the recall. Our leaky sunroof was the result of a clogged drain tube, which was cleaned out for proper drainage. And the loose door molding, well, that part had to be special ordered. For the time being it was removed. When it arrives, we'll have it installed.
Days out of Service: 1
Total Cost: $46.41
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 10,367 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
I found these videos in my camera that I never posted.
Click through for an 11-second video showing the cargo area...
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
Seriously, I'd like to know. These dash bins were all the rage last decade, especially amongst American cars. Within our fleet, the Fusion and Traverse have them. In all the times I've driven cars with these bins, however, I've never felt inclined to put anything in them.
Am I missing something? What do people put in these? A fuzz buster, maybe? Is it just an excuse to use up some empty under-dash space and keep up with the Joneses in the mid-2000s dash bin race? At least its chromed plastic latch catches the sun and blinds you.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
Caroline and Donna are our resident heated seat experts around here, gladly toasting themselves to bring you reviews on the latest in heated seat advancements. Caroline seemed to be impressed by the Traverse's seat heaters.
I, however, would gladly trade bun warmers for butt coolers.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
That....probably shouldn't do that.
What you're seeing here is the passenger side rear door halfway opened on our long term 2010 Chevy Traverse. That chrome thing gouging up the paint? Not supposed to do that.
This chrome trim piece is de-gluing itself at both ends and while the trailing edge (not pictured) isn't really hurting anything flopping about in the breeze, the leading edge catches on the front door and does nasty things to the paint.
But don't worry, I fixed it.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
The trip computer was on a different screen at the time so I didn't realize our Traverse passed the 10,000 mark until I fueled up at 10,042. Oh well, sorry about that. I hope no one was planning on blowing the Traverse's milestone picture up and framing it on their mantle. My bad.
On the upside, the Traverse hasn't had any problems thus far. If I remember correctly, our long-term Enclave was also quite reliable ... until its power steering failed on a mountain road just past the 20,000 mark. Hopefully that's just a Buick problem.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 10,042 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
Yes.
I moved two weekends ago and this past weekend came the inevitable trip to Ikea for a Billy, a Forhoja (add your own umlauts), a Micke, a Stenstorp and a Bekvam.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
On this chilly morning, I was SO appreciative to see this in our 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. OK, even if it wasn't chilly, I'd still be happy to see the seat heaters for both bottom cushion and the back. Oh, happy day. This worked so well. Heated up quickly and the highest setting wasn't scorching but nice and toasty so I didn't have to switch out of it.
Bonus is since it's supposed to be hot this weekend, schizo weather, it's nice to know that our Traverse offers cool relief for the posterior as well.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
