Guest post: 2014 GMC Acadia: Refreshed Design and Enhanced Safety for a Faithful Companion

The 2014 GMC Acadia sports a freshened up exterior and interior design, and offers enhanced safety features this year to boost its reputation as a jack-of-all-trades, full size crossover SUV. Always a faithful companion since the 2007 model year, the Acadia has evolved into what is now a plush, comfortable SUV with seating for up to eight in three rows of seats and enough cargo space to carry just about whatever your family needs to be carried. Let’s take a look at what the Acadia offers.

Innovative Safety Features The latest Acadia has a remarkable new safety item pioneered by General Motors and available only on GM vehicles—the front center airbag. This airbag deploys from the driver’s seat as a secondary airbag between the front seats to cushion impact between the driver and passenger in side collisions.

Also new to the Acadia for 2014 are a forward collision alert system and a lane departure warning system. These advancements helped the Acadia to receive a five-star overall safety rating, the highest rating given, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as the highest safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Powerful Powertrain All Acadias have a 3.6-liter, V6 engine producing 288 horsepower coupled to a six-speed Hydra-Matic 6T75 transmission. Front wheel drive comes standard, with four-wheel drive as an option. The high tech engine has direct fuel injection, dual overhead camshafts, and variable valve timing to maximize fuel efficiency.

Spacious Luxury Interior The updated interior takes the luxury factor up a notch or two for 2014 with impressive build quality, an attractive layout and with most of the surfaces covered with soft, nice-to-the-touch materials. The standard seating holds up to eight people, but with the second row bench seat swapped out for two captain’s chairs, the seating is reduced to seven. Fold-flat second and third row seats give easy access to the cargo area. Speaking of the cargo area, there is 24.1 cu. ft. behind the third row of seats, 70.1 cu. ft. behind the second row, and a cavernous 116.1 cu. ft. behind the first row with the other rows folded flat

SUV Heritage The Acadia is a direct descendant of the original SUV created by General Motors in 1935 with the Chevrolet Suburban Carryall. GMC joined the party in 1937 with its own Carryall featuring an all-metal body, three rows of seats for eight people, and doors at the rear to provide easy access to the cargo storage area. GMC improved the Carryall over the years to include an automatic transmission, a V8 engine and four-wheel drive, eventually evolving it into to today’s SUVs.

Coolness Factor If you’re one of the many who would rather wear a paper bag over your head than be seen driving a minivan, the Acadia is for you. It will transport everything you could put in a minivan and you’ll be cool enough to actually roll down the windows and wave to all of your friends.

Bruce Troxell