The Chevy Traverse has been on the road for nearly nine years in its current form, and its overhaul in the form of a new generation that will be unveiled today at the Detroit Auto Show is more than long overdue. The Traverse’s almost entire competition has had at least one serious refresh in the past nine years, which makes it pretty much outdated and ancient if you stack it against them. But thanks to Chevrolet’s planning and execution the new generation comes just in time to save the Traverse from oblivion, and it will hit the dealerships sometime this fall.
There is one discrepancy here, and that is the sales figures which haven’t been impacted by the Traverses age. Since it started sales in October 2008, Chevy sold over half a million of these, that is magnificent by itself. The 2018 Chevrolet Traverse will be offered in seven trims which will all, except the RS version receive, GM’s 3.6 L V6 paired to a new nine-speed automatic transmission. This engine will be capable of producing 305 HP and 260 lb-ft of torque.
The RS will come with a 2.0 L turbocharged four-cylinder unit and FWD drive. Smaller turbo engine is delivering 255 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque which is slightly less in hp department but more in the torque segment when compared to what the V6 offers. The rest of the trims will be carried up from the previous generation including LS, LT, and Premier but with an addition of a new range-topping trim called High Country. Top of the line trim will bring LED headlights, leather and suede seats, standard twin-clutch AWD, and a power folding third row.
Since the old Traverse was already one of the more spacious crossovers in the market, the new one will make everyone even more enthusiastic because it has even more space in the second and third rows. Since the wheelbase has massively increased the third-row passengers don’t have to sit on the rear wheels anymore, and because of that shift slightly forward, we have more room in the trunk of the vehicle as well. The third-row seats will be easier to access with second row available to slide forward even with a child seat in place, which is great news for growing families.
That is enough about the space, time to talk tech. The 2018 Traverse will get everything latest that Chevy has to offer such as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a 4G LTE WiFi hotspot, a seven or eight-inch infotainment touchscreen, and USB ports for all three rows. But that is not all, some additional optional safety features will find their way in, these include things like surround view cameras, lane-keep assist with lane-departure warnings, pedestrian braking, forward collision alert, and automatic braking.
As for the outside look of the 2018 Chevy Traverse, we can tell you that it got the much awaited and needed update in the form of more rugged and muscular look taken from the full-sized Tahoe and Suburban. At its front end, Traverse kept the current corporate face, but its rear end was redone in a way, that, at first glance, could be very easily mistaken for Ford Explorer. The engineers, besides all of this, also worked on reducing the fuel consumption of the vehicle by completely disconnecting the rear end from the front thanks to the new AWD system. The official numbers for AWD ratio haven’t surfaced yet, while the FWD ratings have and the V6 FWD returns 18/25 mpg city/highway and the 2.0-liter four cylinder equipped vehicles return 20/23 mpg city/highway.
When asked will the new Traverse impact the sales of the Tahoe, the officials responded very calmly saying that there is not much cross shopping between these two because Tahoe buyers want something tough, truck-like with a big tow rating and the Traverse just isn’t that. They also hinted a possibility of filling the gap between Traverse and Equinox with another crossover which will most likely be the GMC Acadia. This is possible as it has lost some of its dimension in gen two. But that is still hearsay, and we will have to wait and stay tuned for more info that will surely come in the next few months.
