By Tom Crosby
AAA Carolinas

General Motors is sharing engines and platforms to keep costs down. The all-new GMC Acadia is a four-door, seven- or eight-passenger crossover sport utility vehicle that uses a global 3.6-liter, V-6 engine with variable valve timing popular in several General Motors vehicles. The new 2007 Saturn Outlook shares the same engine, and Outlook and Acadia use the same Lambda platform, sharing similar design features.

The Acadia attracts comments with its sharp looks, similar to GMC’s full-size Yukon and Yukon XL SUVs. Polished roof rails shine above a vehicle with an appearance of power and luxury, due to a raked windshield, tapered roof line, flared fenders, rear spoiler, 18-inch tires and trapezoidal grille emblazoned with the GMC logo between cats-eye, projector-beam headlights.

Acadias come in all-wheel or front-wheel drive with three trims, base SLE, SLT1 and SLT2, the top-of-the-line that was our all-wheel drive tester. Nearly $7,000 of options included a touch-screen navigation system that was easy to operate, dual skylights with mesh shade screens (instead of sliding plastic) divided by an entertainment system with a drop-down screen and BOSE audio, heads-up windshield display with speed and an upgrade to 19” ultra bright aluminum wheels.

The result was a fun to drive, spacious, comfortable and versatile vehicle. More than 116 cubic feet of cargo space was easily obtained by second-row captain’s chairs (a 3-passenger bench is available) and third row seats that fold flat. Even with all seats up, storage space behind the third row is nearly 20 cubic feet and a small storage bin is hidden under the floor. Plenty of knick-knack spaces exist – inside and under the sliding armrest, under the dashboard climate controls and in molded map pockets with cup holders. Cup holders also exist beneath rear seat climate/entertainment controls.

The remote engine start button is addictive, warming/cooling the vehicle ahead of time. Rear parking assist averts dings by beeping when getting too close to an object. The SLT-2 comes with leather seats and combined with interior chrome accents, exudes a luxurious ambiance. Handling was responsive and a manual button on the automatic gear shifter helped boost acceleration when requested but the Acadia’s 2-½ ton weight could use more engine horsepower. The suspension functioned well, and engine and road noise were minimal. Rear visibility is hindered by third row seats head restraints. Neat features include automatically open/shut left-gate, dashboard dials legible with sunglasses on, presets across bands on the radio, a left footrest parallel with the gas pedal, six standard airbags, including side curtain ones on all rows.