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In-depth Automotive Review – 2008 GMC Acadia – Test Drive and Pricing

In this review, we take a close look at GMC’s newest SUV choice on the market. The 2008 GMC Acadia joins a small list of other models that share most of the internal 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 gasoline management. This new GMC is by no means an economic benchmark in its class, but it makes a valid argument that it is a great alternative to the “great” sport utility vehicle. Below I will discuss fit and finish, ease of use, and consider some pricing ideas to further educate the consumer.

First of all, the new Acadia looks a good size. Personally, I would like to think that it is similar in size to a Suburban compared to other midsize ones. The body was clean, with very efficient use of materials and no huge quality issues. GMC implemented extensive use of automotive safety technology, GMC equipped the Acadia with bright projection beam headlamps, LED taillights, a designed low center of gravity (for easier entry / exit and less body roll) and Ultrasonic rear parking assist. Also at the party, this new suv was available with front-wheel drive or on-demand AWD for snow / rain commuters. In turn, the Acadia achieved its mission of maintaining the rugged “professional grade” look while maintaining a revolutionary modern look.

The Acadia is a “three row seat” business, so getting to the third row may take a bit of ingenuity to win over many families. So the second row on each side, collapses forward in a very ingenious way so that the seat takes up as little space as possible. My 6 ‘tall me got back there very easily, and the seats were body-educated, the floor was flat, no chest knee here too. The “Black Tie Audio” instrument stack was clean and very easy to understand. The forward captains chairs were great, no problem on those long rides with plenty of back and thigh support. My test subject also had a couple of smart devices, such as the MP3 audio jack for iPods, XM radio, Bose Primo Sound, and touchscreen 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 cake and cookies. So finding all the possible warts was easy knowing you had the best fit. The standard six-speed transmission is wonderful, it gets the job done without having all the high-revving action normally a four-speed trait. On the other hand, the only V6 powertrain available was all turkey and chickens – too 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 didn’t mind the front-wheel drive action either, which made the U-turns somewhat heavy, three lanes being the minimum roundabout. So the GMC could improve in a couple of areas to make it more advantageous to the Suburban / Expedition EL public.

So what is the price of the new Acadia and what additions do you get for the money? Base 2wd SLE models cost just over $ 30k, while higher-end SLTs go for $ 45,000. And expect between $ 2,000 and $ 3,000 between the bill and the MSRP (depends on the cut) when negotiating. What also protects you? Well standard is a 5-year / 100k mi powertrain warranty, one year of Onstar telematics, and an all-inclusive 100k mi tuning interval to make a higher price justifiable. And so, at this price range, the Acadia is competitive in the market. But, I would first 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 aging Envoy, you should have no trouble finding a niche in its class.

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