General Motors' brand GMC has announced the new 2017 Acadia, a smaller and lighter mid-sized SUV.
GMC unveiled the original Acadia in 2006 as a 2007 model and refreshed it in 2013. GMC also added the Denali version in 2011. Despite being an old car in the segment, the Acadia has posted high sales in the United States in 2015 and a year-over-year growth of 14.8 percent.
On Tuesday, the carmaker introduced the new Acadia at the North American International Auto Show, popularly known as the Detroit Auto Show. The GMC crossover has been slimmed down but the company hopes that it will give stiff competition to rivals.
"GMC is a strong, growing premium brand and the Acadia is a cornerstone of our success story," says Duncan Aldred, VP of GMC Sales and Marketing. "The all-new Acadia leverages GMC's proven SUV experience to take on and shake up one of the largest vehicle segments, with a strong blend of design, technology and capability."
Body And Engine
When compared to the 2016 Acadia, the new variant is narrower and shorter. GMC engineers were able to take 700 pounds from the Acadia, giving the 2017 model higher fuel efficiency. GMC claims that the 2017 Acadia is easier to turn and park and it also offers an enhanced overall driving experience.
The latest Acadia is about 7 inches shorter in length and 3.5 inches narrower in width. It is also around 4 inches shorter in height.
The 2017 Acadia will be available in a number of powertrain options. The based version of the car will be equipped with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, which produces 194 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque. The higher variants of the car will have a 3.6-liter V6 engine that produces 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque.
Both engines will be paired with a six-speed automatic gearbox and customers will also have the option to buy front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The current model of the Acadia can accommodate up to eight passengers. However, depending on the model the 2017 Acadia will seat five to seven passengers.
The exteriors of the Acadia will also be different from its predecessors. The Acadia gets new wraparound headlamps and grilles. When compared to the earlier versions of the Acadia, the new car also has slightly different interiors.
Design And Tech
Helen Emsley, who is the executive director of Global GMC Design and User Experience, says that the 2017 Acadia has a confident design influenced by customer feedback. In addition, the original Acadia was inspired by truck bodies, but the design of the new Acadia is influenced by SUVs.
GMC has installed a number of tech features in the 2017 Acadia. The car has onboard 4G LTE support, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The 2017 Acadia also has a rear seat alert as standard, which reminds drivers of items left in the second or the third row seats.
The car has a rear-vision camera system, which helps in hitching and towing a trailer. A forward automatic braking feature makes the car stand out from the crowd.
The 2017 Acadia will be available in spring 2016. GMC is yet to reveal the price of the latest Acadia.
Last October, General Motors recalled more than 31,000 SUVs in North America, including the 2016 Acadia, due to a manufacturing defect in the vehicles' windshield wiper motor. The company has since addressed the fabrication issue, so the 2017 model may not have the same problem.
