Big, big, big! By Cathy Parker.
ROAD REPORT
So, first impressions of Holden’s Acadia large SUV – it’s bigger than Texas! Second impression after driving it – this is not how we expect a large (by our standards) American SUV to drive, ride and handle – it actually belies its size when on the road. So maybe an anti-tardis effect, “Bigger on the outside” going on here.
Now we are not talking about the actual inside space – because that is also big, big, big – but how it feels to drive, which is almost spritely. The ride is firm and well damped with no sign of wallowing, whilst the handling is sharp with great turn in and cornering and with minimal body roll – definitely not a historical reference point for made in the USA vehicles.
The 3.6L V6 provides plenty of smooth power, backed by an amazingly good nine-speed automatic – glad it is not a manual, I would lose count of that many gears!
The rear cargo space and seating is pretty exceptional – aided by the middle row of seats being able to be slid fore and aft to increase legroom or cargo space as desired, even better, the middle seat has a 1/3 and 2/3 split and you can slide each section independently.
The front also has impressive legroom, along with comfortable seats, which are both heated and cooled and electrically adjusted. The double sunroofs allow great light and cooling, although unlike some Acadia contemporaries, the inside shades are manually operated.
The dash focuses around the eight-inch multimedia screen with all the expected functions, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mirroring.
The LTZ-V has a comprehensive suite of active safety features, including lane assist and lane departure warning, front and rear park assist, rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitoring, forward collision alert with AEB and traffic sign recognition, which warns you of speed limit changes.
Acadia comes with Holden’s haptic seat alert (instead of a noise, the seat vibrates when there is a warning from the safety assist). This can be changed to an audible alert or turned off all together.
Unfortunately it is all or nothing – we personally found the haptic signal great for some warnings (blind spot, rear traffic, etc) but a bit of a pain for say, parking sensors where you get regular vibes turning into a drive way or parking in a garage – it would be great if you could select which warning you got for which alert but alas, not yet.
Speaking of parking, the rear tailgate can be set for two options of opening height, handy if you have a low garage. On the other hand, in my garage, the stubby rubber radio aerial set on the rear roof just touched the garage door when open, making rather scary noises when backing out.
The rear tailgate has a foot sensor to open, as with every other car I have tried with this feature though, it does not seem to like my foot and refused to open,but there is also a button on the tailgate, another on the remote plus on the inside of the front door so plenty of options.
If you want a large SUV, you might as well get a big one, and the Acadia will blow away any preconceptions you might have about American SUV’s with its great driving dynamics. Definitely worth a look and then some.
