Overlooked, but Not Forgotten: The 2021 Chevrolet Traverse

by Steph Willems

Published: March 20th, 2020

overlooked but not forgotten the 2021 chevrolet traverse

Lost in the madness of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic this week was the debut of a refreshed version of General Motors’ largest crossover, the Chevrolet Traverse.

The full-size, three-row people hauler enters the 2021 model year with updated front and rear styling, along with notable changes in content. Let’s take a closer look at this generously sized non-minivan.

For 2021, The Traverse takes a hint from its body-on-frame brothers, donning slimmer LED headlamps and a revised grille. It makes for a less dainty look, what with the Traverse’s thicker lower bumper, wider side scoops, and LED running lights partially encircling the round fog lights. Those peepers are LED on all trims, as are the revised tail lamps.

Sadly, GM would only give us a partial look at the lofty High Country and Premier trims, with nothing said of powertrain changes. Chevy recently ditched the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder powerplant, leaving the model with a standard 3.6-liter V6 and eight-speed automatic. It’s expected that this will continue.

The two top-end trims receive GM’s safety alert seat system as standard kit, preventing young ones from being left in a potentially hot car. Just how content breaks down over trim lines is still hazy, though GM mentions an available 8-inch driver information display, and advanced adaptive cruise control available on 3LT, RS, and Premier. One can assume it’s standard on High Country.

Throughout the trim ladder, Traverse buyers will benefit from a standard suit of driver-assist features; among them, automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, forward collision alert, auto high beams, and following distance indicator. No mention of blind spot monitoring or rear cross-traffic alert, which GM generally relegates to option packages on all but the highest trim.

Bummer.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity is also listed as available. Elsewhere, the Traverse gains four new wheel options, two of which can be seen in these pics, as well as wireless device charging and USB ports in all three rows.

More details, including pricing, will arrive closer to the 2021 Traverse’s late-2020 on-sale date.

[Images: General Motors]

#ChevroletTraverse #Crossovers #GeneralMotors #GM #NewCars #Traverse

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9 of 28 comments

Vvk on Mar 20, 2020

My favorite crossover. I have driven CX-9, Highlander, Ascent, Flex, Sorento and Explorer -- Traverse is so much better than any of them. It has a distinctive European car feel. The ride is quiet, comfortable and smooth with that distinct buttoned down feeling of a European car. The steering is great, the seats are very comfortable. It is quick enough with relatively good throttle response. The brakes are so-so. The second row is extremely roomy and the third row is comfortable enough for adults on a 1000 mile trip. The large 22 gal fuel tank lengthens the time between fuel stops. It has more cargo space behind its third row than most competitors. I have only driven the FWD version. I dislike the feel of AWD, so I tend to test drive 2WD versions.

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- NormSV650 on Mar 22, 2020
  
  The brakes on our 2017 Acadia Limited have a softer wooden feel. I flushed the brake fluid and it helped but they are heavy duty brakes that can handle up to 5,000 lbs.
  
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Detroit-X on Mar 21, 2020

I have the GMC version of this platform from a prior year, and what a P-O-S. Typical half-baked 5/8th GM engineering effort and cost-cut to death. Now worth half of the Toyota I should have bought at that time. I want a driver-assist feature that gets me my money back.

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- Lorenzo on Mar 21, 2020
  
  I talked to a GM engineer before the bankruptcy, and you would not believe what beancounters did, and still do. The cost-cutting begins during the engineering-for-production phase, after a complete design for a very good vehicle is complete. What should be standard becomes optional, and features, especially suspension and steering, are "simplified" for production. The original interior design is gutted and old parts-bin parts substituted, making the interior look dated from day one. The cost cutting results in a base vehicle that's priced just a bit more than the well-optioned next smaller vehicle of the type, and people buy the bigger car for just a little more, with just a couple options. The people who moved up then find they bought an incomplete vehicle. The original complete design becomes available only as a special edition, but you can't get the original suspension/steering design, just a modest improvement over the base that was substituted. The people who buy that model find their optioned up vehicle is incomplete too. GM engineers cringe when they hear people who bought those vehicles call them POS, but there's nothing they can do. GM engineers design top-of-the-line vehicles, but they never get built as designed. Read what Murilee did with his 1965 Impala, practically rebuilding it into a very competent car with off-the-shelf GM parts that fit, and you'll see what GM could have built, but didn't.
  
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- Backtees on Mar 21, 2020
  
  Amen. Bought a GMC for my bride few years ago as it was what she wanted and yes, comfortable, nice v6, roomy but a complete piece of junk. Traded for a new Pilot 2 weeks ago and do not even care if I could have gotten a better deal now. Over the years I have enjoyed the following trips to my local dealer; water pump, struts, steering column, brake component, ac compressor, running lights, lift gate motor, windshield washer motor, Starter, drive shaft, Navi malfunction and heater hose. Granted some of the above was within warranty or recall. The last straw was a tranny about to go and within the last week of ownership some sort of engine noise that was probably a timing chain issue per a mechanic familiar with these rolling disasters. Can’t wait to see it pop up on autotrader and the 6 page car fax repair list that follows. Never wrecked and the original paint was shining with 4 matching Michelins. And this is from someone who takes care of his vehicles. During this entire time my daughter’s pilot which is almost a decade old with about the same mileage all we had to do is a starter and alternator but a timing belt is due soon.
  
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- NormSV650 on Mar 22, 2020
  
  Our prior GMC version Acadia Limited has been rock solid for 40K miles. It has needed nothing except for the last two oil changes after the dealership freebies were gone. She is a big girl and not very athletic but rides nice going down the road on twin flow shocks. But the thrum of the V6 on anything that is not flat or down hill invades the cabin where a 2.0T wouldn't at highway cruise.
  
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- Ttiguy on Mar 22, 2020
  
  @backtees My wifes XT5 has racked up 60k miles in 3.5 years with 0 problems so far. Just sayin...
  
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- Lie2me on Mar 22, 2020
  
  @ttiguy NOW would be a good time to unload it, because once the warranty is done the repairs will be expensive. Not sayin' the repairs will be more frequent then a comparable Asian/American crossover, just way more pricey
  
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- Vvk on Mar 22, 2020
  
  My friends bought a new Pilot about a year ago. It has been in and out of the dealer for repairs, sometimes weeks at a time waiting for parts. They keep buying Japanese cars and telling me how they cannot afford maintenance on euro cars that I drive. As far as I can tell, most of their cars have required far more "maintenance" than any of my euro cars. They keep buying new cars every few years while I keep driving my 10+ year old BMW with no worries. I did buy an expensive extended warranty but it turned out to be a complete waste of money. Still drives amazing and looks brand new, including the undercarriage.
  
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