The GMC Acadia is a midsize SUV, but in 2024, it will push the boundaries of that statement. GMC has released an all-new version of its 3-row midsize sport utility vehicle, and it’s almost big enough to qualify as full-size.
GMC has redesigned the Acadia entirely for 2024. The new version is bigger, bulkier, and more powerful. Like most new SUVs, it adopts a more rugged, trail-ready look than the model it replaces. But it retains its family-friendly features and adds significantly more third-row space and cargo room.
GMC hasn’t revealed pricing. The 2023 Acadia starts at $36,800, stretching into the low $50,000 range for a full-luxe Denali edition. We expect 2024 prices to see an increase of a few thousand dollars.
Measures Bigger but Doesn’t Look Bigger
The Acadia shares most of its mechanical parts with the Chevrolet Traverse – also all-new for 2024. But the GMC edition doesn’t look like a dressier Chevy. Borrowing from the most recent GMC Sierra pickup design, it wears a tall, upright grille bracketed by C-shaped daytime running lights.
Blacked-out window pillars mean it lacks the thick C-Pillar of the old design and makes the profile look as though it could be a smaller SUV (it’s a much bigger one). Curiously, the rearmost portion of the D-Pillar is painted black. This makes it look like the rear window wraps around the sides, but it doesn’t.
Upscale Cabin, Huge Screen
However, the real difference between an affordable Chevrolet model and its upmarket GMC cousin always appears inside.
The Acadia’s cabin doesn’t look derived from the Traverse’s. Like most 2024 interiors, it seems designed around its screens. But designers have integrated them well, avoiding the iPad-glued-to-a-dashboard look of the worst modern interiors.
A huge 15-inch, portrait-mounted central touchscreen handles most control duties. It’s flaked by vertical air vents, with a row of toggles and buttons beneath to let you change climate control settings without paging through menus.
The driver gets a display screen instead of traditional gauges, and a shading cowl stretches over both screens to reduce glare. The shifter is mounted on the steering column, old-school, though it’s a tiny modern electronic shifter.
GM’s Super Cruise hands-free highway driving system will be available and includes the ability to change lanes and tow a trailer hands-free on about 400,000 miles of pre-mapped highway in the U.S. and Canada.
328 Horsepower, Turbocharged Engine
GMC will offer just one powertrain, but it’s enough – a 2.7-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine making 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque. That’s more power than the 2023 Acadia and should move the big body easily. It comes mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Off-Road, Ultra-Luxe Trims
Both front-wheel drive (FWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) will be offered. But the off-road-oriented AT4 trim has a separate AWD system with active torque control for tighter low-speed trail maneuvering.
The AT4 rides an inch higher for better ground clearance and gets protective skid plates and selectable drive modes to enhance off-road capability. A unique front fascia and red recovery hooks set it apart visually.
A Denali luxury trim looks restrained, with body color wheel arch cladding and 20-inch wheels (22-inch models are optional). It has leather upholstery, laser-etched natural wood trim, and Galvano chrome accents. Front seats in the Denali are heated and cooled, with second-row seat heaters an option.
A 12-speaker Bose surround sound system includes active noise canceling.
Tough Competition
It’s an attractive upgrade over the outgoing Acadia and should make GM’s midsize SUV competitive with the new Honda Pilot and upgraded Kia Telluride. GMC dealers’ biggest problem may be differentiating it from the Traverse, with its broadly similar specifications. Designers have done an excellent job separating the two. However, we’d still encourage interested shoppers to test drive both, as the ownership experience will likely be highly similar over time.
