[jsfein]

I picked up my 2009 SLT-1 today. I wish I had found this forum prior to purchasing. Don't know how I missed it. Anyway, I did not perform as much due diligence before the purchase as I probably should have, but our Mazda MPV is on its way out and the Acadia seemed like the right move. So far, have only drove it home from the dealer. No doubt, I'll have many questions, but a few initial ones.

1. I didn't get the visibility package, but now realize I probably should have for the rear vision camera. Is it possible to add after-market? The rearview mirror already has the rear vision camera on/off switch.

2. I have 8 passenger seating and my kids will be accessing the 3rd row daily. The process of moving the second row seat forward seems quite awkward, but I assume I'll get used to it. I notice that the floor mat gets pushed forward when the 2nd row seat folds up. I suspect it won't take long before the mat will be permanently misshapen. Any way to deal with this?

3. I know its not a minivan, but the rear cargo area with the 3rd row up seems cramped. Once I stick a stroller back there, I don't imagine there's going to be much room for anything else. Our other vehicle is an Odyssey, so I'm probably making an unfair comparison, but I'm really quite surprised by the lack of space after having read so many reviews that the Acadia's cargo capacity is one of the largest (if not the largest) in the crossover category. I don't think the Acadia will be replacing our Odyssey for family road trips due to the lack of sufficient cargo space.

Sorry if I'm focusing on the negatives, as I'm really quite taken with the vehicle (which is why I bought it). I'm looking forward to getting to know the vehicle and learning more as I read this forum. Thanks.

 

[Copperhead13]

Congrats!!!
There are a lot of regulars to answer all of your questions here.

Just check back later, and spend some time searching through
the posts. There is a lot of info on this site.
Also check out the Acadia's sibling sites (Saturn Outlook, and Buick Enclave forums).

Enjoy your vehicle!!! :cheers: :beer: :drunk:

 

[OL_Shopper]

Welcome to the forum & congrats on the purchase. If you care to do some research here, be sure to use the search button on the upper left part of the screen. The one on the upper right only searches the current topic. There is other valuable info in the Blues Clues link in my signature.

Hope you enjoy the Acadia as much as the rest of us!

As for your issues:

1) There are several members that are retrofitting items to their Acadias, be it nav units or steering wheel controls. I do not recall the mirror/camera off the top of my head, but I'm sure someone has thought about it. I'm also sure they will post here or a search as noted above should turn up this information.

2) I have not noticed this problem in our 8 passenger model, but we have limited traffic in/out of the third seat.

3) Ditto #2 above- we can load our groceries and more stuff than we had put into the Durango the Acadia replaced, so it is adequate for our needs.

 

[cnr1089]

3. I know its not a minivan, but the rear cargo area with the 3rd row up seems cramped. Once I stick a stroller back there, I don't imagine there's going to be much room for anything else. Our other vehicle is an Odyssey, so I'm probably making an unfair comparison, but I'm really quite surprised by the lack of space after having read so many reviews that the Acadia's cargo capacity is one of the largest (if not the largest) in the crossover category. I don't think the Acadia will be replacing our Odyssey for family road trips due to the lack of sufficient cargo space.

A mini van was never an option for us, so the Acadia was the car of choice (for space). You could always put the rear seat down split (1 down, 2 seats up), that way you could still seat 7 and have way more room. Maybe not the prettiest, but probably a good compromise (especially since you already own the car!).

 

[hacrwj]

The dealer can install the rear view camera. I believe their cost is $750 (at least thats what they told me). Apparently the wire harness is ready for the camera.

 

[gurufly]

" Our other vehicle is an Odyssey, so I'm probably making an unfair comparison, but I'm really quite surprised by the lack of space after having read so many reviews that the Acadia's cargo capacity is one of the largest (if not the largest) in the crossover category. I don't think the Acadia will be replacing our Odyssey for family road trips due to the lack of sufficient cargo space."


Our other vehicle is a Toyota Sienna. If I was taking a week trip to the beach, for instance, we would definitely take the van. But the Acadia is fine for day trips or even overnight trips. Or, week long trips depending on the number of passengers. Like if your entire family doesn't go, or you go with friends, or your family is of 4 or 5, etc.. And be aware of that 60-40 3rd row seat; you can seat 5 comfortably AND have the 60 or 40 down for more room. Very versatile.

 

[preytor]

3. I know its not a minivan, but the rear cargo area with the 3rd row up seems cramped. Once I stick a stroller back there, I don't imagine there's going to be much room for anything else. Our other vehicle is an Odyssey, so I'm probably making an unfair comparison, but I'm really quite surprised by the lack of space after having read so many reviews that the Acadia's cargo capacity is one of the largest (if not the largest) in the crossover category. I don't think the Acadia will be replacing our Odyssey for family road trips due to the lack of sufficient cargo space.

Sorry if I'm focusing on the negatives, as I'm really quite taken with the vehicle (which is why I bought it). I'm looking forward to getting to know the vehicle and learning more as I read this forum. Thanks.

does the mazda mpv have a bigger cargo space than acadia? i think the acadia has a bigger cargo space. and from your post, looks like you traded your mazda for the acadia, so it makes sense to compare the 2? just my 2 cents.

 

[GeoHawk]

3. I know its not a minivan, but the rear cargo area with the 3rd row up seems cramped. Once I stick a stroller back there, I don't imagine there's going to be much room for anything else. Our other vehicle is an Odyssey, so I'm probably making an unfair comparison, but I'm really quite surprised by the lack of space after having read so many reviews that the Acadia's cargo capacity is one of the largest (if not the largest) in the crossover category. I don't think the Acadia will be replacing our Odyssey for family road trips due to the lack of sufficient cargo space.

The Acadia does have more cargo room and versatility than just about any other crossover out there, but it's not going to compare to the Odyssey (nothing will but another minivan). I was actually impressed that there was as much room as there was behind the 3rd row when we first started checking them out. The Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade trio have essentially no room behind their 3rd row, and their 3rd row doesn't fold flat either, they tumble forward and eat up cargo room. We replaced our Odyssey with the Acadia knowing that there would be some loss of cargo space, but the Lambdas were easily the best non-minivan replacement out there.

Welcome to the community and sorry I don't have any answers for your other two items. :cheers:

 

[jsfein]

Our other vehicle is a Toyota Sienna. If I was taking a week trip to the beach, for instance, we would definitely take the van. But the Acadia is fine for day trips or even overnight trips. Or, week long trips depending on the number of passengers. Like if your entire family doesn't go, or you go with friends, or your family is of 4 or 5, etc.. And be aware of that 60-40 3rd row seat; you can seat 5 comfortably AND have the 60 or 40 down for more room. Very versatile.

I'm a family of 6 and envision using the Acadia for the same type of family use - day and overnight trips. I'm sure I'll get the hang of the Acadia's cargo versatility as I get more familiar with the vehicle

does the mazda mpv have a bigger cargo space than acadia? i think the acadia has a bigger cargo space. and from your post, looks like you traded your mazda for the acadia, so it makes sense to compare the 2? just my 2 cents.

While I do not know the specific cargo capacity, the MPV has a much deeper cargo area than the Acadia. Whereas in the MPV I could fit two large suitcases, in the Acadia with the third row up it looks like I'll only fit one.

The dealer can install the rear view camera. I believe their cost is $750 (at least thats what they told me). Apparently the wire harness is ready for the camera.

This cost doesn't seem too bad in comparison to the $695 (I think) cost of the visibility package. Do those of you with the rearview camera (through the rearview mirror, as opposed to the Nav) find it useful? I have the rearview camera on a Nav display on our Odyssey and like the feature, but not sure how it will translate to a smaller rearview mirror display.

Thanks everyone else for your responses. Its been a joy to drive for the 2 days I've had it so far and it turned quite a few heads in my office parking garage this morning.