The main problem with luxury SUVs is that they’re not much good at the “sport utility” part of “sport utility vehicle.”
Unless you’re talking about purpose-built off-roaders — SUVs from Land Rover or Toyota — the modern premium SUV is a station wagon on steroids. Its core purpose is to haul families, groceries, gear, and pets around the nation’s suburban enclaves.
GMC has been around for a century and has long been thought of as an upscale truckmaker, especially under the Denali sub-brand. There are no passenger cars in the GMC portfolio, just pickups and SUVs/crossovers, and the division has lately been making an enviable boast: it’s average transaction price is stratospheric for a “non-luxury” brand, at $45,000.
Almost a third of all GMCs sold are Denalis, which means that GMC is something of money-printing machine inside General Motors.
Across the board, however, GMC has a lofty brand promise to live up to: upscale utility. These are trucks and SUVs for the discerning contractor or the demanding rancher. If you want to bust up your truck in fields and streams, then loom to Chevy. If you want to get cleaned up for a night on the town once the day’s labors are done, check out GMC.
This credibility means that GMC SUVs and crossovers in particular can also appeal to Lexus/Acura/BMW/Mercedes/Audi customers who might doubt the ability of, say, a Lexus RX 350 or BMW X3 to get down and dirty.
We got the chance to put this all to the test when we recently borrowed a 2017 GMC Acadia Denali, with all-wheel-drive. This maxed-out mid-size crossover, which shares a platform with the new Cadillac XT5, stickered at $52,185, with numerous options. It is possible, however, to get a base Acadia for around $30,000.
Here’s what we thought:
Matthew DeBord/BI
It's just incredibly solid in every way. The vehicle is packed with unpretentious premium materials and high-end technology, and it has all the versatility a family of five could want, without graduating to a full-size SUV.
On a highway cruise from New Jersey the East End of Long Island and back, everyone travelled in mellow comfort, enjoying the quality audio system and the extensive OnStar 4G LTE connectivity. A bunch of advanced cruise-control features -- ranging from a forward-distance indicator to low-speed forward braking, a following-distance indicator to lane-keep assist -- made for a low-key jaunt. (In cities, there's a helpful front pedestrian-detection system).
If I had one complaint, it was that the Acadia Denali's ride, no matter which mode it was in, was a tad stiff. Stiffer, to be sure, than the Cadillac XT5, with which it shares a platform. The GMC's engine, however, felt more robust than the Caddy's even thought they're effectively the same. This could be due to the XT5's eight-speed transmission, versus the six-speed on the GMC.
Overall handling was very good. This is an SUV that you can hop into an feel comfortable with right away. The learning curve is minimal. We're not talking about a sports car, but the Acadia Denail comes off as rather nimble, for a crossover than can accommodate so many people (the 2017 Acadia is actually 700 lbs. lighter than the previous generation of the vehicle, which was also bigger).
The weird thing about the Acadia Denali is that its fully optioned pricing is right up there with Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and others, but it's brand reputation isn't based on luxury. Instead, it's based on the true utility of a truck, even if it's a crossover SUV. So the Acadia Denali comes off a more serious ride than, say, a Lexus RX 350.
The mid-size crossover is an incredibly competitive segment -- one of the most important for automakers doing business in the US and increasingly in China. But the Acadia Denali doesn't approach with a lack of confidence. It's almost as if this SUV has nothing to prove, but goes ahead and proves it anyway. This is stealth luxury.
It's impressive, and it's why the Acadia Denail is my new favourite luxury SUV than isn't actually a luxury SUV.
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Matthew DeBord/BISerious business.
