The GMC Acadia benefits from a fresh look in 2013, with a redone front end that makes it look more rugged. GMC has also improved the interior with better quality fabrics on the doors and dash panels and innovative functional augmentations to the infotainment controls. Other than that, the Acadia is mechanically unchanged. There are five trims, a six-speed automatic transmission, and basic front wheel drive, with all-wheel drive as an option.
Performance
The Acadia is smooth when accelerating from a stop or when driving at highway speeds, and easy to park as well. You get a good feel of where all four corners of the crossover are located. Gas mileage for front-wheel drive models is valued at 17/24 mpg city and highway, and 19 mpg collectively.
Interior
The interior finish of the Acadia is decent. The front seats have broad seat bottoms with leather surfaces that are rather comfortable. It also features a modern adaptation of GM’s MyLink multimedia system. The system is quite easy to manipulate in terms of how menus change and how numerous settings are formatted. The 6.5-inch screen is somewhat small; however, and perhaps placed a bit low, of course, this will depend on your field of vision.
Family Friendliness & Freight
The spaciousness of the GMC Acadia is superb. If your family uses all three-rows regularly, the Acadia has 24.1 cubic feet of room for freight in the back of them. This gives plenty of space for groceries, sports gear, and lots of other equipment.
Base SLE-1 Acadias are delivered with standard second row bench seats, for a cumulative count of eight. Two captain’s chairs alter that amount to seven and are standard on the SLE-2 trim and higher. Nonetheless, the bench seat is a free alternative in higher trims if you require the additional space.
Technicians put the Acadia through rigorous tests to see how it works in conjunction with a number of car seats. The captain’s chair reduced third row availability while sliding second row space assisted with providing copiousness amounts of room for little ones and booster seats. In spite of this, placing the infant seat in the second row was difficult, and no latch connectors are featured in the third row.
Features & Costs
Acadia’s starting price is over $34,000, yet, you get a reasonable quantity of content, like a six speaker stereo, camera, USB port, Bluetooth, parking sensors, and cruise control. Arcadia’s prices reach above the $40,000 mark as you rise to the top-trim level, the SLT-2. However, GMC has a more expensive model, the Acadia Denali. It is a bit more sophisticated on the exterior, along with exclusive bumpers and wheels, as well as additional features on the interior. Starting price is around $46,000.
Safety
The 2013 Acadia was a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. High marks were given in roof-strength, side and rear crash tests, and frontal assessment. The 2013 Arcadia was also awarded a five-star for general safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A list of standard safety features can be found here.
Conclusion
Although, not drastically unlike before, the 2013 Acadia is filled with a combination of comfort, interesting features, cargo space, and functionality in a utility-style arrangement.
Paul Smoth is a freelance writer who loves his car.