2018 Chevrolet Traverse Unveiled in Detroit
DETROIT, Michigan – After the celebrations surrounding the Chevrolet Bolt EV for having won the North-American Car of the Year title, GM introduced the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. Slightly smaller than before, like its GMC Acadia cousin, the Traverse can seat up to eight passengers. The American automaker has been on a roll in the last year, with new models coming one after the other. The redesigned Traverse is the fourth new model presented in the past 12 months.
The 2018 Traverse will be offered in three trim levels; base, sporty RS and top-shelf High Country. The latter gets leather upholstery with suede accenting, 20-inch polished alloy wheels, High Country badging, exclusive LED headlight clusters, all-wheel drive and a power-folding third-row seat.
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For now, the brand has announced two powertrains for the second-generation Traverse. The 3.6-litre V6 is still on offer, but this newly developed version is now connected to a nine-speed automatic transmission. Output is rated at 305 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. A turbocharged, 2.0-litre Ecotec four-cylinder engine is also available, which produces 255 horsepower. This is the engine that will motivate the RS version, which swaps traditional chrome for blacked-out trim and alloy wheels.
The 2018 Chevrolet Traverse includes a split-folding, second-row bench that’s mounted on rails for easier access to the third row. As usual with GM, this midsize crossover is equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, and obviously, OnStar 4G LTE on-board Wi-Fi so the whole family can connect their portable devices to the outside world. USB ports are also installed in all three rows.
As for active safety, the new Traverse is equipped with a 360-degree camera system, more powerful LED headlights, blind spot and lane departure warning, pedestrian detection and precollision warning.
The 2018 Traverse also boasts two very unusual features. The first one is passenger detection for the third-row seat, so no objects or occupants are forgotten inside the vehicle. The other one is an illuminated logo that appears on the ground below the rear bumper that indicates where to set our foot for the hands-free power tailgate to open. A nice touch!
The new 2018 Chevrolet Traverse should hit dealerships in this summer.