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Acadia is a good medium size car- But it is not a truck, off road vehicle, or a towing vehicle

7K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  MI-Acadia 
#1 ·
Folks, when you buy and own a GMC Acadia or similar type vehicle, you are getting yourself a good, nice vehicle to drive to work, and your other routine driving needs. It handles good, it is a good driving and riding vehicle. What it is not is a strong, heavy duty, off road, or towing vehicle. It was not designed and or equipped to handle abuse.It was designed to operate on modern roads and highways well, if properly maintained, tires, brakes, hoses, belt, oil changes, filters for air and oil, and other necessary maintenance items are routinely replaced. Do not allow the engine to run hot. If you do, it will likely destroy both the engine and the transmission. So, always look at your engine gauges, especially low oil and temperature, check the engine oils and transmission fluid level and engine coolant level every two weeks or so if you drive it regularly. Change the engine oil and filter every 3000 to 5000 miles of regular use. Follow all the manufacturers standard maintenance schedules in your owners manual. This manual was printed and provided to YOU, THE VEHICLE OWNER TO READ AND FOLLOW. If you do not do these things, then you will have costly repairs, a vehicle that will fail to perform, and this will cost you time and money.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Agree mostly. The Acadia is a good "people mover" designed for comfort, decent MPG, and versatile passenger and cargo space. The gearing in the transmission and tuning of of this particular engine application do not seem to be slotted to more than light to moderate towing. Perhaps a boat or small camper of 1,200 to maybe 1,700 pounds maximum including any stored cargo even with the towing package IMO.
From a GMC website:
"
Can you tow in the 2017 GMC Acadia without the Trailering package?

Yes! Both the 2.5L I-4 engine and the 3.6L V6 engine in the GMC Acadia are capable of towing 1,000 lb behind them. GMC doesn’t recommend exceeding this weight without the Trailering package. - "


I do notice the transmission temperature runs up to 180F to +190F on longer highway drives in 80F to 90F summer temperatures with just wife and I and no cargo. So I imagine any towing would push that range. Also, the engine would work harder.

Comparably and with a similar engine (3.6L LGZ) our 2017 Colorado truck with 8 speed transmission runs only about 120F to 135F transmission fluid temps under the same driving and trip conditions. We get 26 to 28 MPG in the Colorado on highway trips.

Kind of reminds me of the 1993 Pontiac Bonneville we had with the 3.8L engine. That drive train would net 29 to 31 MPG on 7 hours trips at 70MPH with 4 of us and luggage in it. I also had a boat and trailer of about 1,100 lbs and once that was hooked up on the same 7 hour trips I was doing well to get 16 MPG.
It all had to do with gearing. The drag and weight of the boat and trailer took it toll.
 
#3 ·
I’d love to see the statistics on what people are towing with these (and similar, non-truck) vehicles correlated to transmission issues later on, taking into account servicing and environmental conditions along the way.

It’s interesting data sets you’ll never see...
 
#9 ·
Now all you have to do is convince the state vehicle registration departments that the Acadia is not a truck.

Why does a truck have to have off road capabilities? Why does a truck have to be able to tow large loads to be called a truck.

Regardless, who cares what it is called?

George
 
#5 · (Edited)
The Acadia has load handling characteristics of a 1/4-ton truck. In many states, including the one in which I live, it's considered a truck and titled/licensed that way. Towing specs aren't much different than those for other such vehicles - like the Jeep Wrangler, which started military life designated as a 1/4-ton truck. With that in mind, people should feel relatively confident towing anything with their Acadia which falls within manufacturer's recommended weight restrictions.

AWD was never meant to compete with 4WD. People are foolish to think so. It's going to be interesting to see how the new AT4 Acadia is tested and how it stacks up against the competitors. Frankly, I wouldn't take it to off-road places where I've driven IH Scouts, K5 Blazers, Broncos (incl. the Bronco II), and Land Cruisers. Whatever floats one's boat!
 
#6 ·
Sometimes car makers stretch specs and what was in a class years ago has little to do with today's configurations.

Except about the AT4 which is more of a cosmetic upgrade and different tires than anything substantial. Sad to see that there is only one SLT trim now for 2020.
 
#7 · (Edited)
The All Terrain was more cosmetic than anything else. The AT4 has significant changes to the drive train in both torque management and the rear differential.
 
#8 ·
In other words. . just a more techy AWD system. Nothing that makes really an off road worthy as the name suggests. In my opinion as well as others. Each to their own. Nothing that would make me interested.
 
#16 ·
The AMC Eagle wasn't too odd looking. (Neither was the Javelin.)
 
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