Chevy Traverse vs Buick Enclave vs GMC Acadia vs Honda Pilot vs 4WD Mini Van

[Anonymous]

I know everyone hates a minivan - but I totally love it! Now that my kids are older and we carpool a lot, everyone is comfortable, not to mention how much room for travelling, just sayin!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just got the new Traverse. I really like it.

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

The Enclave was nice but I just couldn't figure out how to change gears. I'm sure in time I would have figured it out but it's a cross between an automatic and a stick. I didn't love the car enough to want to figure it out.

The Pilot was nice but didn't have an option of a power third row. That meant that I would have to crawl into the car in order to pull up the 3rd row. Most days I wear a dress and heels so this was a deal breaker for me.

I just didn't want a mini van so I didn't look at them.

I have a Pilot and I most certainly don’t have to crawl into the car to pull up the 3rd row. It is ridiculously easy from outside the rear of the vehicle. Takes all of 3 seconds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just got the new Traverse. I really like it.

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

The Enclave was nice but I just couldn't figure out how to change gears. I'm sure in time I would have figured it out but it's a cross between an automatic and a stick. I didn't love the car enough to want to figure it out.

The Pilot was nice but didn't have an option of a power third row. That meant that I would have to crawl into the car in order to pull up the 3rd row. Most days I wear a dress and heels so this was a deal breaker for me.

I just didn't want a mini van so I didn't look at them.

Um... the enclave is an automatic transmission. No gear changing necessary.

Yes, it's an automatic. But there's something different about how you put it into park and drive. If I remember correctly, you had to move the gear shift over and up or over and down while engaging a button. The sales person said it was a European type automatic shifter. In any case, it didn't work for me. I can drive an automatic. I can drive a stick. I'm too old to learn how to drive some other mechanism. Maybe if I really loved the rest of the car, but I didn't.

No.

The enclave is just a regular transmission. There is nothing different at all about it.

[Anonymous]

I would absolutely get an AWD.

I would never buy a Chevy again. Mine's been nothing but problems.

The new Arcadia is really nice but has bad blind spots. Test drive them and see what you like.

[Anonymous]

We have both a Toyota minivan and a Honda Pilot. A minivan can’t be beat for convenience and space. However, if you don’t see yourself as a minivan owner, definitely check the Pilot out. We love ours. It handles well and offers a very comfortable ride. The 3rd row is easier to get to and seemed more spacious than the other 3rd row vehicles in its class. We purchased the Elite (top model) and love all the bells and whistles and safety features.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just got the new Traverse. I really like it.

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

The Enclave was nice but I just couldn't figure out how to change gears. I'm sure in time I would have figured it out but it's a cross between an automatic and a stick. I didn't love the car enough to want to figure it out.

The Pilot was nice but didn't have an option of a power third row. That meant that I would have to crawl into the car in order to pull up the 3rd row. Most days I wear a dress and heels so this was a deal breaker for me.

I just didn't want a mini van so I didn't look at them.

Um... the enclave is an automatic transmission. No gear changing necessary.

If you do any kind of mountain driving you don't just leave your car in Drive--you downshift as needed. But if you never leave DC, not a problem that you don't know how cars work.

NP. Okay, Amazon woman. Don't get your Keens in a tizzy. 99% of us don't drive in the mountains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

Yup, I had a 2011 Acadia, loved it and wanted to get another one, but didn’t like the redesign. So a found a 2016 Acadia with 15K miles for 2/3 of the price of a new one.

we HATE our 2014 acadia, spent WAY more than should have on non warranty repairs. we would sell it and buy a pilot this week if the acadia had moire value

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just got the new Traverse. I really like it.

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

The Enclave was nice but I just couldn't figure out how to change gears. I'm sure in time I would have figured it out but it's a cross between an automatic and a stick. I didn't love the car enough to want to figure it out.

The Pilot was nice but didn't have an option of a power third row. That meant that I would have to crawl into the car in order to pull up the 3rd row. Most days I wear a dress and heels so this was a deal breaker for me.

I just didn't want a mini van so I didn't look at them.

Um... the enclave is an automatic transmission. No gear changing necessary.

If you do any kind of mountain driving you don't just leave your car in Drive--you downshift as needed. But if you never leave DC, not a problem that you don't know how cars work.

What are you taking about? I do a ton of mountain driving, not just in WV, but the Alps, Utah, Colorado, Canada, etc. There is no need to manually downshift an automatic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just got the new Traverse. I really like it.

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

The Enclave was nice but I just couldn't figure out how to change gears. I'm sure in time I would have figured it out but it's a cross between an automatic and a stick. I didn't love the car enough to want to figure it out.

The Pilot was nice but didn't have an option of a power third row. That meant that I would have to crawl into the car in order to pull up the 3rd row. Most days I wear a dress and heels so this was a deal breaker for me.

I just didn't want a mini van so I didn't look at them.

Um... the enclave is an automatic transmission. No gear changing necessary.

Yes, it's an automatic. But there's something different about how you put it into park and drive. If I remember correctly, you had to move the gear shift over and up or over and down while engaging a button. The sales person said it was a European type automatic shifter. In any case, it didn't work for me. I can drive an automatic. I can drive a stick. I'm too old to learn how to drive some other mechanism. Maybe if I really loved the rest of the car, but I didn't.

No.

The enclave is just a regular transmission. There is nothing different at all about it.

Here's a video that shows what I'm talking about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c34sZ5oHfuc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just got the new Traverse. I really like it.

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

The Enclave was nice but I just couldn't figure out how to change gears. I'm sure in time I would have figured it out but it's a cross between an automatic and a stick. I didn't love the car enough to want to figure it out.

The Pilot was nice but didn't have an option of a power third row. That meant that I would have to crawl into the car in order to pull up the 3rd row. Most days I wear a dress and heels so this was a deal breaker for me.

I just didn't want a mini van so I didn't look at them.

Um... the enclave is an automatic transmission. No gear changing necessary.

If you do any kind of mountain driving you don't just leave your car in Drive--you downshift as needed. But if you never leave DC, not a problem that you don't know how cars work.

What are you taking about? I do a ton of mountain driving, not just in WV, but the Alps, Utah, Colorado, Canada, etc. There is no need to manually downshift an automatic.

Have fun replacing your brakes way more often than you need to. Just because you don’t do it doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just got the new Traverse. I really like it.

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

The Enclave was nice but I just couldn't figure out how to change gears. I'm sure in time I would have figured it out but it's a cross between an automatic and a stick. I didn't love the car enough to want to figure it out.

The Pilot was nice but didn't have an option of a power third row. That meant that I would have to crawl into the car in order to pull up the 3rd row. Most days I wear a dress and heels so this was a deal breaker for me.

I just didn't want a mini van so I didn't look at them.

Um... the enclave is an automatic transmission. No gear changing necessary.

Yes, it's an automatic. But there's something different about how you put it into park and drive. If I remember correctly, you had to move the gear shift over and up or over and down while engaging a button. The sales person said it was a European type automatic shifter. In any case, it didn't work for me. I can drive an automatic. I can drive a stick. I'm too old to learn how to drive some other mechanism. Maybe if I really loved the rest of the car, but I didn't.

No.

The enclave is just a regular transmission. There is nothing different at all about it.

Here's a video that shows what I'm talking about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c34sZ5oHfuc

One of the PP Acadia owners here. That would annoy the crap out of me, and my other two cars are stick, so it’s not like I’m averse to moving a gearshift around.

[Anonymous]

We looked at all those options 2 years ago (except for minivan). We bought an Enclave. I have no idea what PP is talking about re: the transmission. It is an automatic just like all automatics. The third row seats in the Enclave were roomier than the Pilot and the finishes were more appealing to us. The new Acadia had just come out and were more $ or I would have considered one of those seriously because I had a GMC truck before this and it lasted forever and we loved it.

[Anonymous]

We just bought our new Honda Pilot Elite back in February after our Ford Explorer (had two of them) was on it's way out. We LOVE our Honda Pilot. It has captain's chairs for the second row and a very roomy third row which is easy to put up/down. In looking at all of the options you stated, a lot them needed premium gas which I was not a fan of. Also, felt the "trunk" area with the third row up was very spacious. As someone else said the bells and whistles of the Elite are what sold us. Very happy with our choice and Hondas have a very good reputation of lasting a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just got the new Traverse. I really like it.

The Acadia was redesigned and now is smaller than the Traverse. There really was no trunk space with the 3rd row up.

The Enclave was nice but I just couldn't figure out how to change gears. I'm sure in time I would have figured it out but it's a cross between an automatic and a stick. I didn't love the car enough to want to figure it out.

The Pilot was nice but didn't have an option of a power third row. That meant that I would have to crawl into the car in order to pull up the 3rd row. Most days I wear a dress and heels so this was a deal breaker for me.

I just didn't want a mini van so I didn't look at them.

Um... the enclave is an automatic transmission. No gear changing necessary.

If you do any kind of mountain driving you don't just leave your car in Drive--you downshift as needed. But if you never leave DC, not a problem that you don't know how cars work.

What are you taking about? I do a ton of mountain driving, not just in WV, but the Alps, Utah, Colorado, Canada, etc. There is no need to manually downshift an automatic.

Have fun replacing your brakes way more often than you need to. Just because you don’t do it doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea.

NP and car guy...downshifting to slow your car down is a *terrible* idea. Pads and rotors are a couple hundred dollars, what do you think a transmission rebuild costs? It's like suggesting OP turn her heat off in the winter to save $$$ and then burn Rembrandts to stay warm.

[Anonymous]

Also, unless you're leasing the Highlander or Pilot should be your only choice in this segment.