With gas prices rising, every car manufacturer is eager to scale down their models. But what is in the pipeline, cannot easily be stopped. As was the case with GM’s new family of SUVs that was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2006. But fortunately, the General had already started developing a new architecture for crossover vehicles.
The new crossover family comes right on time, since GM can just step up the ladder in the crossover segment, that shows an important growth from 450,000 vehicles in 2002 to more than 600,000 in 2007. The first models that came on the market were the 2007 GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave.
Now it’s Chevrolet’s turn with the 2009 Traverse, that should “Build on the momentum of the success of the Don Butler, executive director of Chevrolet truck marketing.
“The Malibu was named the best midsize sedan in J.D. Power’s initial quality study and number 4 in the industry.”
The car is built in Springhill, Tennessee, that also makes the Saturn. “And has a dedicated and motivated workforce,” according to Butler. “We developed the Traverse with no compromises, everything that matters is built in. There I mean, style, quality, safety, utility and capability.”
As could be expected, the Chevrolet Traverse has a different styling and its own interior, but it shares the 3.6-liter V-6 with its siblings. Here and there, the Traverse shows its family relationship with the Malibu, which is not a negative point.
The Traverse has LED turn signals on the LT and LTZ models, and a new feature: blind spot mirrors. Not like other models that have a flashing arrow when another vehicle appears in the mirror, but a small wide-angle mirror incorporated in the outer top corner of the rear view mirrors. It provides the driver a good look at what’s behind you in the blind spot.
The design of the Traverse also shows details that we will see in future Chevrolets around the globe, such as the twin port grille with chromed inserts. The lowered hood with the power dome, the tight wheel wells with the large wheel-tire combination, the small overhangs and the special designed roof rails provide the Traverse a dynamic stance. With 0.33 it has a low coefficient of drag for this type of vehicle.
Driving a pre-production Traverse, it was obvious that both the exterior and the interior have tight tolerances between body components. Such as the 3.5 mm door gaps, that add to the quality appearance of the new crossover.
With the 2009 Traverse, Chevrolet is offering a real family vehicle. It can haul eight people or a lot of goods. It also tows up to 5,000 pounds.
The new Chevrolet provides excellent five star safety with six airbags, including side curtains that also protects passengers in the third row and is one of the longest in the industry. In addition to the airbags, the Travers has GM’s rollover sensing system. The Traverse comes standard with Bluetooth hands-free calling, turn-by-turn navigation and the so called Advanced Crash Response system. The latter means that if a crash activates an airbag, OnStar automatically notifies an advisor, who immediately calls the vehicle and/or calls emergency services.
GM’s 3.6-liter V-6 has direct injection. It delivers 281 horsepower in the LS model that has a single exhaust and 288 horsepower in the LT and LTZ with dual exhausts. Maximum torque is 253 and 270 pounds-feet respectively and is available between 2,500 and 6,000 rpm.
With a wheelbase of 118.9 inches, a length of 200.5 inches, a width of 78.5 and height of 72.8 inches it is not a small car, but the V-6, that is teamed to a 6-speed Hydra-Matic transmission, seems to make you unaware of its 4,925 curb weight. It is not fast, but it can do the work and has enough passing power. A big advantage is the low amount of noise when cruising.
As we only had some stints on the Milford Proving ground in Michigan, readers have to wait for a real review of the car in daily traffic. But we did tow a 4,500 trailer and boat combination and hardly noticed it was there. The first impression is that the overall driving dynamics are really good for such a large and heavy vehicle.
Fuel economy is 17 / 24 (FWD) and 16 / 23 (AWD). The available intelligent all-wheel-drive (AWD) system provides increased traction on slippery roads by managing the torque distribution between the front and rear axles. We drove the Traverse through a lane change on a slippery path of the track and felt how the system automatically decides how much torque to apply to the wheels that have the best traction.
Job 1 is for early September with an on-sale at the end of that same month with a MSRP of $28,990, including a $735 destination charge, for the 2WD LS model. But the question is if the demand for this type of vehicle will be enough to keep the Traverse crossing. With gas prices above $ 4.20 a gallon, GM might still hit stormy weather.
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