2012 Chevrolet Traverse Review – A Solid, Safe, Stylish, and Sensible SUV

Posted by Christian Wardlaw on February 9th, 2012

2012 Chevrolet Traverse

When it comes to buying a family vehicle, parents often look for something safe, something roomy, something dependable, something capable in a variety of weather conditions, and something that delivers genuine value. If it also happens to be stylish, well, that’s a bonus.

Top Crash-Test Scores

The 2012 Chevrolet Traverse is one solution to the family transportation conundrum that meets almost all of these requirements. Named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Traverse also achieves a rare 5-Star overall crashworthiness rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). So from an engineering standpoint, this full-size Chevy SUV certainly is safe.

Interior Materials Could Use an Upgrade

It’s also attractive, inside and out, though the interior materials could use improvement in terms of look and feel. The hard dashboard panels offer pleasing tone and texture, but the silver trim couldn’t look more like plastic if it tried. The storage areas that are flocked employ cheap feeling padded felt rather than rubber trays, and the tamboured door over the center storage console needs a “stickier” surface so that it can hold a smartphone in place while cornering.

2012 Chevrolet Traverse Dash

Officially a Full-Size, not a Midsize, SUV

The Traverse is exceptionally roomy inside, and in terms of total occupant and cargo volume is considered to be a full-size SUV by the EPA. To improve comfort, the Traverse’s second-row seats slide fore-and-aft to create extra legroom for the second- or third-row occupants. Cargo volume is enormous, proving more accommodating than a Tahoe. In fact, unless you require an SUV with body-on-frame design or significant towing and hauling duty, like the Tahoe, the roomier Traverse makes much more sense.

Roominess, however, does not necessarily translate to comfort. The Traverse’s power-adjustable driver’s seat moves far enough back to accommodate the longer limbed among us, but the seat itself is flat and featureless while failing to offer a combination of driving height and thigh support that I would have preferred. The padded center console armrest slides forward, which is much appreciated, but it also sits a bit high for comfort even with the driver’s seat raised. The upper door panels are soft to the touch if you use a little bit of imagination, but they’re high and far away at the same time, and you cannot comfortably rest an elbow there while driving. Finally, the steering wheel is an older GM design, one that we find uncomfortable to hold for any extended length of time.

The Traverse accommodates passengers who are six feet tall in both the second- and third-row seats, but foot space is tight and knees are brushing the seatbacks. That’s why the sliding second-row seats are so handy. If nobody is sitting in the third-row, second-row riders can stretch out a bit more.

Sporty and Sure-Footed

Otherwise, driving the Chevy Traverse is a pleasurable experience. This vehicle feels sportier and more sure-footed than many family crossover SUVs, and in the tested LTZ trim level the standard 3.6-liter V6 makes a little bit more horsepower and torque than other models thanks to a dual exhaust system. The resulting 288 horsepower provides vibrant acceleration and the six-speed automatic shifts when expected most of the time. Occasionally, the driver may depress the accelerator to coax a downshift that simply doesn’t come, meaning that a deeper stab of the go-pedal is required for satisfaction. We averaged 17.8 mpg with a front-wheel-drive Traverse over several hundred evenly mixed miles of city and highway driving. The EPA thinks we should have gotten 19 mpg.

Drives Smaller Than Its Size

One thing we really like about the Traverse is that it drives smaller than its size. Despite the Traverse’s advancing age, it sits on a solid platform exhibiting little chassis flex. The LTZ model’s handsome 20-inch wheels deliver plenty of chatter to the cabin on pavement that’s not smooth, so if you’re looking for a cushy ride this version of the Traverse is probably not the best choice unless you live somewhere with glass-smooth roads. But the communication from the surface is rarely harsh, a testament to the Traverse’s stout underpinnings.

You’ve gotta keep in mind, however, that this is a long vehicle with a long wheelbase. It’s easy to clip curbs with the rear wheels if you don’t give them a wide berth. And in parking garages, beware concrete support posts when rounding corners lest you scrape the Traverse’s flanks on them.

Handling is Better Than Expected

Handling is surprisingly good for something this big and heavy. Grip is excellent, the brakes work beautifully in terms of feel, engagement and consistency, but because the steering is a bit slow and vague, the wheelbase is so long, the Traverse’s lateral weight shifts are readily apparent to the driver, and the stability control is programmed to kick in early, this crossover SUV is not what we would characterize as tossable. But then, it’s not supposed to be.

Entry and Exit Difficult for Kids

This is a city and highway people mover, a minivan without sliding side doors. It could use those sliders, because the Traverse’s big, heavy doors lack adequate detents for close-quartered parking areas. It is genuinely difficult for parents to get into and out of a Traverse with vehicles parked close on either side, let alone to load children, without bumping vehicles next to the SUV. But, if it had sliding side doors, nobody would buy it because then it would be a minivan instead of a cool SUV.

Many Reasons to Buy a Traverse, Few to Avoid One

There are many reasons to consider buying a Chevrolet Traverse. It’s got good looks, a roomy interior, adept handling, and is constructed upon a capably engineered component set. Add best-possible crash-test ratings and a generous powertrain warranty, and perhaps you can overlook average dependability ratings and few shortcuts in terms of interior quality and materials.

2012 Chevrolet Traverse