2018 GMC Acadia

Could be a lot better

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 3

My 3.6L/6T70 SLT2 FWD Acadia handles better than I expected. I just came out of a 2008 Pontiac Torrent GXP which handled pretty good for a non sports car. I wanted to buy another Pontiac, but we all know that is not possible. So I ended up buying the Acadia. I have only driven GM vehicles for 40 years and considered the new Volvo XC60 & the BMW X3. The worst thing about the 2018 GMC Acadia is the 6T70 transmission. After 1500 miles, it still doesn't know how to shift consistently. Cold shifts (1-2 & 2-3) have a ton of initial feel. Horrible. Once the trans gets warmed up, they get better but still lag most competitors. My 2008 GXP was very good, so how did GM screw up a 10 year old design? Some 2-3 shifts have a triple feel to them (Initial feel, sag & an end bump). Terrible. Then there is a "shift in a turn" phenomenon. Sometimes, the trans seems to be very affected when in a slow speed turn. The 2-3 gets real firm or slips. Very weird. I can't believe that GMC won't fix this. I feel I wasted $45k & hate to drive it. I also found the seats to be narrower in the Acadia as compared to the buckets in the Pontiac which had a narrower chassis. I was shocked to learn that the Acadia had few & less small places to put things than my smaller Pontiac Torrent. Where is the technical memory for these kinds of things? And that damn chime is so loud with the Bose entertainment system. I have the chime volume turned all the way down & it still assaults my deaf old man ears. Give me the option to use a different sound like the tinkle used for the "check back seat" warning and to turn it down some more. It had 2 body fit issues. First, the tailgate fit very badly. Down at the driver side bottom edge, it stood very proud of the tail light. I don't know how it got out of the factory that way & wonder why it was delivered to me that way. I loosened the 2 bolts on the roof hinge & was able to correct it. The hood also fit badly. I played with the rubber snubbers on both sides to get it to look more symmetrical. Inside, the drawer that pulls open from the rear of the armrest wouldn't open because it runs into the raised lip of the optional GMC floormats I ordered. Doesn't any GM engineer check this stuff? I removed the drawer & took a hacksaw to the bottom lip on the drawer. Since it is at the bottom, no one can see what I did. It now clears the floormat. Lastly, I have to mention the GMC dealer in Western Ann Arbor. They were terrible. They forgot my deposit, screwed up the registration and failed to give me the proof of insurance after talking to my insurance company. Then they charged $210 for paper work! And no one would call me back after leaving messages. I guess they figured they had my money. I even called their Corporate Experience Mngr., and she promised to call me back that day & never did. 4 days later, I emailed her only to get more promises but no action. This was going to be my last vehicle, but I fear that I will have to sell it and take a huge loss and I'll never go to that dealer again. Being a "GM" guy that worked at the company for 34 years, this was a difficult review to write.