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2nd Gen Acadia's don't seem to get stellar reviews?

9K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  MI-Acadia 
#1 ·
Why don't the 2nd Gens get very good reviews? Sure, most say that it is reliable, comfortable and powerful (with available 3.6L) but they also say space is tight, trim is not luxurious even at higher trim levels and it's usually refered to as a famly hauler. I've only had my 2019 SLT for a week now but i gotta say that it is very solid, drives great, has plenty of room for my 6 foot, 300lb self and I also find the interior fairly handsome and well laid out!

I will admit that I am miffed about a couple oddities with the new ride such as lack of adjustable seat belts, no seat memory buttons on the SLT and the Intellilink system doesn't seem to have a GPS HOME button (although you can set home as a contact and use voice assist to navigate to it) or any type of speed dial buttons for phone contacts. I guess I am spoiled for Ram's uConnect system, LOL!

But all in all, I think the GMC Acadia is a super solid automobile that just doesn't seem to get it's fair share of fan fare!

What do you guys think?

8670
 
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#3 ·
Here is Edmund's but just look at any reviews online or on Youtube...they are all very similar.

 
#5 ·
The only opinion I've ever used when buying a car is my own.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Good review. Started out really slow, almost turned it off, but he kept it moving well enough in the end.

One critique I would offer - and I’m not a salesman - is ... he really shouldn’t mention the things he doesn’t like. I appreciate the honesty, but it’s just his personal opinion, and I think you’re supposed to leave that stuff to the viewer to decide for themselves.

As for the actual vehicle - one thing he forgot to mention - and I didn’t see it - was ... where’s the spare tire on this vehicle? Is it one of those that drops down from underneath (like a truck)? It’s listed on the Monroney sticker as having one...
 
#9 ·
Good review. Started out really slow, almost turned it off, but he kept it moving well enough in the end.

One critique I would offer - and I’m not a salesman - is ... he really shouldn’t mention the things he doesn’t like. I appreciate the honesty, but it’s just his personal opinion, and I think you’re supposed to leave that stuff to the viewer to decide for themselves.

As for the actual vehicle - one thing he forgot to mention - and I didn’t see it - was ... where’s the spare tire on this vehicle? Is it one of those that drops down from underneath (like a truck)? Please don’t tell me “it doesn’t come with a spare”...
I agree with not focusing on the list of 'cons' especially when one big gripe was the interior color...I'm sure it comes in other color combos so it is irrelevant.

The spare tire is under the storage space in the rear...you have to open the rear hatch, remove the storage compartment door and remove the storage compartment liner to reveal the tire and tools. Inconvenient? maybe but not a hard task to do when you need to plus I would rather have the tire inside to avoid all the dirt and slop it would get hanging under the car.
 
#12 · (Edited)
If you look you'll see most of his (Raiti's) 'reviews' are from a salesman's perspective, that is look at the icing and not the cake. Very little substance in any of them. There are really only 3 review sources I feel comfortable with: 1) Consumer reports (tends to be very objective), 2) Red Line reviews and 3) Alex on Autos, although the last 2 tend to get a bit enamored with new technology but will still stay objective.

Very few reviews of the '19 exist because it's essentially the same as the '17. Look for '17 Acadia reviews and there are quite a few of them.









IMO the reason you don't see any 'WOW' reviews of the Acadia (any generation) is it's not a 'WOW' vehicle. It's more an appliance than a toy and who gets excited about a refrigerator as long as it keeps the food cold. The higher trim models are nicer appliances with a few more features but that's about the extent of it. They look pretty good overall, are reasonably reliable and get the job done - nothing exciting.

Some of the 'negativity' comes from comparing the 2nd gen to the 1st which was considerably larger so the lesser cargo space and smaller 3rd row seat are negatives when looked at from that perspective. On the plus side being smaller makes it a bit more nimble and fuel efficiency improves but that's expected so it tends to get overlooked and doesn't make for good 'headlines'.

If you want to see 'WOW' reviews check out the 2019 Acura RDX. Reviewers are falling all over themselves about the styling, features, performance, etc. Then go over the the RDX forums and see the owner feedback about the real world performance - substandard infotainment function, infotainment system either 'hangs up' when started or won't turn off at all, NAV system that get's lost, harsh shifting, long delays when shifting into/out of reverse, going into 'limp mode' on the freeway with no warning, substandard fit and finish, etc. The 2020 was just released with no changes so the same issues will carry forward from the '19's. It's been over a year since the initial release and Acura is still promising fixes "any day now".

Bottom line is 'WOW' reviews are meaningless and unless they're backed up with facts they are just one person's opinion.

BTW - I dumped a '19 RDX Advance after 5000 miles for my Acadia - never looked back and absolutely no regrets.
 
#13 ·
Actually, the 2020 Acadia has enough changes that new reviews should be (somewhat) interesting - turbo 4-cylinder, AT4, 9-speed transmission, stop/start on the V6, etc.
 
#14 ·
Consumer Reports review was fairly worthless, but the Alex review was very thorough ... maybe too thorough. I think he intersperses too many references to the competing models along the way. Can get confusing to the viewer. In fact, I think he confused himself near the beginning when he said “Traverse” instead of “Acadia” when discussing seating configurations (LOL!).

Then, after mentioning “Pilot”, “Highlander”, “MDX”, and “Edge” over and over again, he’s got two Korean vehicles on his final list (Sorrento and Santa Fe).

He claims you can keep a child car seat strapped to the 2nd row passenger-side seat and still move it forward enough to access the 3rd row, but I’d have to see that to believe it. Probably depends on what kind of child car seat, and who is trying to get into that third row.
 
#15 ·
I bought my wife a 2019 Denali. I'm very surprised that, although much more costly than many cheap cars which have the feature, it does not have turn signal flasher lights on the side or in the mirrors. Nor does it have express up on the passenger side window. Noisier than my 2015 Yukon SLT. 3rd seat has more legroom than my Yukon. Enough power, although it's hard to get used to the high RPMs when you step hard on the gas. No issues yet--4000 miles. Very happy the V6 doesn't have that terrible start-stop feature; if it did, I probably wouldn't have bought it (had a rental car with it).
 
#16 · (Edited)
I bought my wife a 2019 Denali. I'm very surprised that, although much more costly than many cheap cars which have the feature, it does not have turn signal flasher lights on the side or in the mirrors. Nor does it have express up on the passenger side window. Noisier than my 2015 Yukon SLT. 3rd seat has more legroom than my Yukon. Enough power, although it's hard to get used to the high RPMs when you step hard on the gas. No issues yet--4000 miles. Very happy the V6 doesn't have that terrible start-stop feature; if it did, I probably wouldn't have bought it (had a rental car with it).
LOL You should have been around when GMC eliminated foot well and glove box lighting in the Acadia. People thought the world was coming to an end! "Where did the GM chicklet go?" (LOL, again.) "Fluff" comes and goes all the time with automakers - the mirror signal lights are making a comeback for 2020. I'm with you on the stop/start feature. Stop/start (or whatever the automaker calls it) is also coming on the 2020 V6, but will have disable capability in the personalization settings for anyone who doesn't want to use it.
 
#18 ·
I am a bit disappointed in the Acadia's lack of illumination on the mirrors as well as the rear hatch area...it would be nice to have some LED lights on the inside of the hatch when it is open...the only lighting back there is above the 3rd row. It is weird about the lack of PS window express switch as well as no seat memory buttons on the SLT-1?

Don't get me wrong...I am loving the new Acadia but I really miss my old Durango and all of it's creature comforts! For as much as these cars are, you think they would be better thought out and equipped??
 
#19 · (Edited)
I am a bit disappointed in the Acadia's lack of illumination on the mirrors as well as the rear hatch area...it would be nice to have some LED lights on the inside of the hatch when it is open...
For the cargo area, lighting might be fairly easy to improve. There are GM light sockets that are used on other vehicles that just snap fit into a properly sized rectangular hole cut into the plastic interior side panels. Then fish a pair of wires up to [or down from] the rear most dome light. Also, use a properly sized LED bulb in any added cargo light for more brightness. One of these below on each side of the cargo area might improve things quite a bit. I've used them in other vehicles.
Here are a few examples:




 
#21 · (Edited)
Anything you adjust, feature to turn on/off, etc. is a personalization setting, even if it isn't in a menu, SA.
 
#22 ·
No - It’s not “personalized” if the vehicle keeps resetting it to what IT thinks it should be (every time you start the vehicle!)

That would be like me setting the clock to the current time, only to see a flashing “12:00” the next time I started the vehicle.

Who would want that? Nobody!

If the system allows me to change it, it should stay changed until such time as I decide to change it again ... not the vehicle.

That’s “Vehicleization”, not “Personalization”.
 
#23 ·
Arguing semantics is a waste of a good thread.
 
#24 ·
GM has always been good for reseting your preferences each time the car is started...Fog lights have to be turned on each time, the 2WD/AWD dial will go back to 2WD if you are using sport mode, etc... But in the case of the start/stop button...most manufacturs are taking this route probably due to government requirements or something.
 
#25 ·
...in the case of the start/stop button...most manufacturs are taking this route probably due to government requirements or something.
That's exactly the case. 'Big Brother' (the EPA/NHTSA) has decided that S/S is a good thing and is encouraging it's use by giving manufacturers CAFE credits for including it on their vehicles. The CAFE credit has no relationship to the actual fuel savings achieved by it's use, if any.

An over-simplified summary of how it works:

1 - No S/S system = no CAFE credit
2 - S/S that can be permanently turned off = a little bit of CAFE credit
3 - S/S that can be turned off but turns back on with the next ignition cycle = a little bit more CAFE credit
4 - S/S that can not be turned off at all = maximum CAFE credit

Given that options 3 & 4 provide the most credit at the same cost to the manufacturer it's easy to see why option 2 will seldom be available.
 
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