This past week, I was one lucky Mama and I was able to scoot around town in a brand new 2011 Chevy Traverse.
Let me tell you, I was not sad to leave my minivan behind for a week. That van has been very good to us (including bringing us safely through two accidents), but lets be honest… it is not the coolest car in the world 😉
We've been looking at small SUVS to replace my husband's ten-year-old car because we want something with all wheel drive that would fit our whole family, but I have not been impressed with the interior size. When you have three car seats, you're just limited in your options, I guess. And I've been under the impression that I was going to have to be stuck with a minivan until they all left home and went to college, but look:
That is three car seats – THREE. WITH room for more! I was amazed. So you see those captains chairs? The kids could easily climb in and out without moving seats or climbing over things. WHICH I LOVED. The Traverse is really fun to drive. It’s remarkably quiet and handles nicely, delivers a smooth ride (even in the very back seat!) and the brakes are remarkably responsive, even in the torrential rain I was driving in.
I LOVE the inside. Its darn pretty on the outside, but the inside really won me over. The dashboard is laid out perfectly – everything is right where it should be. There's tons of room, a place for my coffee mug, my phone, loads of storage – even a special spot to store my GPS. Our Traverse was loaded with a leather interior, all wheel drive, a backup camera, a power lift gate (NICE!!!) and it even included a DVD player, which the kids thought was "SUPER AWESOME!" The driver’s seat is really comfortable, I loved the adjustable lumbar support – that would make a long drive much more comfy.
My biggest concern with a new car is storage. We take a lot of road trips and go camping, so we need LOTS of room. As you can see, the trunk was surprisingly roomy:
It easily fit a huge load of groceries and the stroller. And the soccer bag. And the dance backpack. And the boxes and boxes of items I carted around town while helping with my daughters' school auction all week. And – unlike the last SUV I tried out – things didn't slide around in the back every time I took a corner. Very annoying. I'd love to try this out for a long trip – I'd be curious how we'd fit everything we'd need for a whole weekend of camping!
There were only a couple things I didn't like. I found the backup camera annoying – I have to parallel park a lot and the little alarm that went off to tell me when I was close to another car drove me nuts. My husband didn't like having the windshield wipers and blinkers on one control, he kept accidentally turning on the wipers when he went to turn. It also seemed like it was a little slow to accelerate when I was merging in heavy traffic, but around town it was just fine.
Bottom line: I really liked this car. My kids loved this car. (My daughter was actually in tears when they came to get it. Then the girls asked if they put all the money in their piggy banks together would they have enough money to buy one. And with a price tag starting at around $30,000, they are a little short.) My husband even liked it (He was really surprised how much he liked it!) The parents at soccer practice were all checking it out and were so impressed. My mom loved it too! This is a great family vehicle – do not forget to add it to your list of cars to check out!
