Detailed Automotive Review: 2008 GMC Acadia – Test Drive & Prices

In this review, we take a close look at GMC’s newest SUV option on the market. The 2008 GMC Acadia joins a small list of other models that share most of the in-house platform engineering, including the Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave and soon the Chevrolet Traverse. Upon closer inspection, the Acadia seemed like a logical choice in a market that has revolved around gas management. By no means does this new GMC make economy benchmarks in its class, but it makes a valid case that it’s a great alternative to the “big” sport utility vehicle. Below I’ll discuss fit and finish, ease of use, and consider some pricing ideas to further educate the consumer.

First of all, the new Acadia is a good size. Personally, I’d like to think it’s Suburban-sized compared to other midsizes. The bodywork was clean, with a very effective use of materials and free of any huge quality issues. GMC implemented extensive use of automotive safety technology, GMC equipped the Acadia with bright projector beam headlights, LED taillights, an engineered low center of gravity (for easier entry/exit and less body roll), and Ultrasonic rear parking assist. Also coming to the party, this new SUV was available with front-wheel drive or AWD on demand for snow/rain commuters. In turn, the Acadia delivered on its mission to maintain the rugged “pro-grade” look while retaining a revolutionary modern look.

The Acadia is a “three-row” business, so getting to the third row may take some clever ingenuity to win over many families. Thus, the second row, on each side, folds forward in a very ingenious way so that the seat takes up as little space as possible. My 6 foot tall self got back in there very easily, and the seats were kind to the body, the floor was flat, no chest knee action here too. The “Black Tie Audio” instrument stack was clean and very easy to understand. The forward captains seats were great, no problem on those long drives with lots of back and thigh support. My test subject also had a couple of smart gadgets, like an MP3 audio jack for iPods, XM Radio, Bose Primo Sound, and Touch Screen Navigation. Resulting in a mobile Swiss Army knife of fun and functionality, it lacked very little.

My 2008 Acadia was a fully loaded SLT AWD with all the cakes and cookies. So finding all the potential warts was easy knowing I had the main cut. The standard six-speed transmission is wonderful, it gets the job done without all the long, high-revving action that is normally a trait of four-speeds. On the other hand, the only available V6 powertrain was all turkey and chicken, very slow for such a large SUV. I think a V8 is on the way, but it should have been an option by now, to further appeal to the power hungry. I also didn’t care for the front wheel drive action, making U-turns something of a bear, three lanes was the bare minimum. So the GMC could have been improved in a couple of areas to make it more appealing to the Suburban/Expedition EL crowd.

So what’s the price of the new Acadia and what additions do you get for the money? Base 2wd SLE models go for just over $30,000, while higher-end SLTs top out at $45,000. And expect $2,000-$3,500 between bill and MSRP (depends on trim) when you trade. What else protects you? Well, standard is a 5-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, one year of Onstar telematics, and a 100,000-mile tune-up interval all included to justify a higher price. And so, in this price range, the Acadia is competitive in the market. But first I would look at models like the Mazda CX-9 or maybe even the Honda Pilot to save some money. Each of those vehicles also offers three rows of seats. In conclusion, the GMC Acadia is an obvious upgrade from the old Envoy, it should have no trouble finding a niche in its class.