The 2024 Chevrolet Traverse Review: An Answer To The Grand Highlander

So just because you have a big family doesn't mean that you don't want to venture off the beaten path every now and then. The 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 serves that purpose very well, as it offers some off-road capability while being big and practical enough to carry your entire family.

Before I talk about the car in detail, let's talk about pricing. The pricing for the 2024 model year isn’t really comparable to the 2023 MY because Chevy has redesigned the Traverse quite a bit. 

Chevy has even removed some of the previous existing trim levels and introduced a new trim level, the Z71 which is the one I’ll be reviewing today. For 2024, the Traverse starts from $39,495 and goes all the way up to $55,595 for the top level RS trim.

Aggressive Looks

The front of the new-generation Chevy Traverse is going to have a nice boxy appearance. With the Z71, you're also going to get some premium finishes as well. So that's going to give you a high-gloss finish across your grill with this kind of mesh design. You also have a smoked chrome accent and a black two-tie emblem. 

The other big thing that you get with the Z71 is a real metal skid plate that's going to protect you all the way across the entire vehicle. Plus, you have red recovery hooks if you get a little over your head. 

The ground clearance itself is 1.2 inches more than the regular versions of the Traverse, which equals 7.76 inches of ground clearance.

The headlight of the 2024 Traverse is split into two sections. The top sections house the LED turn indicator and the DRL, while the bottom section has the projector LED headlights, which are in the bottom section and are surrounded by the smoked chrome trim.

Now, in terms of the wheels, you do have an exclusive 18-in alloy for this Z71. The wheels on the Z71 come with a nice gloss black finish with some contrasting elements. Again, the important element that adds capability is the fact that the Traverse Z71 is going to come with all terrain tires.

While looking at the Traverse Z71 from the side, it's quite clear that it's one large SUV. Now, in terms of overall vehicle length, it's about 204 inches long, which does place this as one of the largest offerings in the segment. It's only about 5 1/2 inches shorter than a Chevy Tahoe, for reference. 

The rear design of this all-new Traverse Z71 is going to have that off-road and very capable look to it, as well as, of course, the new elements for the Traverse lineup. Now, as far as what you're going to get, there’s a spoiler at the top. You also have a rear wiper that's exposed. 

And then, you also have a piece of trim that stretches between both the taillights. That is going to be finished in black, no matter what color you choose. So you do have that very aggressive design. 

The tail lights kind of have a Camaro-inspired design. One portion of it swoops down while the other wraps around the side. It's a very aggressive-looking taillight. I really like the overall look, and it is going to be a full LED tail light here with this Traverse. 

The lower bumper of the Traverse has two elements. The top element is finished in black, while the bottom has a silver color. You’re also going to get quad exhaust outlets, which are actually standard across all versions of the Traverse this year, and I really like the overall look. makes it look aggressive and, overall, very classy. 

Practical Interior With New Features

The interior is, of course, very different from the outgoing generation, and there's a lot to talk about in terms of technology. I'll mostly talk about the Z71 specifically. Starting with the seats, the Z71 trim level will come standard with a cloth seat. 

You can also get an evotex leatherette seat, which is faux leather. Those seats are very soft and supple. Those seats also have some perforation in the center, which I like. You also get some special Z71 embroidery on the headrest. Besides that, you have some cool dual-color stitching that's going to run down the bolsters. 

The seats themselves will, of course, be power-adjusting. You’ll get 10 ways of power adjustment, including our four-way lumbar support. Memory seats, though, are not going to be included on the Z71. 

Now, let's talk about materials inside the 2024 Traverse Z71. The Z71 isn’t fully loaded like the RS, but you still get leatherette trim on all armrests, along with soft touch plastic on the doors and the top of the dashboard.

You also get faux carbon fiber red trimming around the door handles and the center of the dash. So all in all, the materials used in the Z71 are pretty good and there’s not much to complain about for the price.

Plenty Of Interior Storage

Since the Traverse is a big crossover, you want to see a lot of storage on board, and thankfully, that's what you’ll get. The center console in the traverse is very large and deep. It also has a removable tray, which is useful. You get another bin in front of the center console, two large cup holders, and another storage area that also has your wireless charging pad. 

Besides that, you have another gigantic open storage area under the center console. This is courtesy of the new electronic shifter we've seen several GM products move to.

Plenty Of New Features

In terms of the tech that comes with the new Traverse, the most obvious one is the 17.7-inch infotainment screen, which is standard on all trim levels. It is an absolutely huge display; really nice resolution also. It has good performance because this is an Android automotive-based system, so it's very snappy. 

You also have Google apps built in, such as Google Maps. Unlike the electric products in the GM portfolio, you still retain Android Auto and Apple CarPlay with wireless abilities on this ICE product. 

This screen also comes with climate controls integrated into it. You still have redundant physical controls below that, though, so you can make your temperature and fan speed adjustments using those. 

Most of the important controls are done using the physical buttons, but you can use the screen to adjust some additional things, like the heated seats on the Z71.

The ventilated seats, though, are available on the RS trim level. The last thing I wanted to point out was that the headlight controls actually live inside the main display itself as well. 

The 2024 Traverse comes with a new 11-inch digital gauge cluster. It's on every single trim level. It is customizable, and it has Google Maps built-in, so you can even enlarge the maps to cover most of the display. Unfortunately, you don’t get a heads-up display in any trims of the Traverse.

In terms of the audio situation, the model I was reviewing had a Bose sound system, which is an option on the Z71 but comes standard on the RS. And, as you can imagine, the Bose audio system sounds great.

Lastly, you get a 360-degree camera pull-up on every single trim level. This system has all the different views that you can switch between, and the resolution is quite nice as well.

Spacious Rear Seats

Now, arguably the most important area of this review is the rear seats, because that's really the reason why you buy a family 3-row. Now I'm very happy to tell you that there’s a lot of good news when it comes to the rear seats of the new Travers. 

First of all, the good news is that it has a lot of space. In terms of actual figures, you get 41.5 inches of legroom and 39.9 inches of headroom. 

That does mean it's really one of the largest options in the class. That is going to be better than the Toyota Grand Highlander, and it's going to be a pretty big improvement over the previous generation Traverse. 

Now I'm 5 '9, and I had more than enough space for my knees while sitting in the second row seats. My feet can also slide up underneath the seat. Additionally, the second-row seats can slide forward and back a good distance, and they can also recline a very good distance. 

I also have to mention that both the Z71 and the RS trims come with captain chairs, while the LS and LT come with bench seats for the second row.

Now, as far as the features are concerned, you do have two cup holders. You also have our own climate controls, which is great. The vents are located on the ceiling, though. Additionally, you have two USB-C ports and a household-style outlet, along with a little storage cubby below that. no heated rear seats. that will be reserved for the RS trim level. 

The equally important third row has easy access because folding the second-row seats is just a one-step process. One of the really great elements of the 2024 Traverse is the third row. You have about 32 inches of legroom and about 38 inches of headroom. That does mean that the Traverse has one of the more spacious third rows that you can find in this segment. 

It is going to be slightly smaller than the Toyota Grand Highlander, but overall, it has a very nice third row. Another thing that I like is the thigh support. The thigh support is one of the best for a third-row seat. Also, my feet can slide easily up underneath the second-row seat. 

Now, in terms of features, you do have a cup holder and a little storage cubby on either side of the seat. You also get USB-C ports on either side and the air vents that come out of the ceiling, so they kind of blow directly into your face. I really like that. 

Class Leading Cargo Space

The 2024 Traverse comes with a new smart-sensing tailgate setup. So instead of having the kick function, all you have to do is walk up to the car, and it will sense your presence, beep a couple times, and then go ahead and open the tailgate. This feature works well most of the time and comes standard on all trims, which is great.

In terms of space, you're going to get about 23 cubic feet of space behind the third row of seats. if you fold the third row down. You're going to have about 57 cubic feet behind the second row, and if you fold the second row down, you have a maximum of around 98 cubic feet. 

Now that is a very impressive number, guys. This is a class-leading cargo capacity. Yes, it does beat out the Toyota Grand Highlander—not by much, but it does beat it out by a tenth of a cubic foot. I don't think that's a mistake. I think Chevy wanted the class-leading cargo figure, so they got here with the Traverse, which is great for anyone who wants tons and tons of room for you and all of your family's belongings. 

I do want to point out that both the second and third row seats have to be manually folded. But you do have a completely flat loading floor once that is done. Besides that, you also get a large storage cubby underneath the floor and a spare tire underneath that. 

Plenty Of Power

Now, when it comes to the new Traverse, you do have a new powertrain compared to the previous generation. It's going to be using exclusively a 2.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, and that is going to go for the entire trim lineup as well, including the Z71. 

This engine produces 328 horsepower and 326 lb-ft of torque. So those are very, very healthy horsepower and torque figures for this segment. 

As a matter of fact, the vast majority of vehicles at this point are competing against, you know, the Kia Telluride, some of the standard setup in the Toyota Grand Highlander, and the Volkswagen Atlas. All of those are going to be quite a bit lower when it comes to horsepower and torque. So you are getting a little bit of a benefit when it comes to power figures for this all-new powertrain. 

I will say though that this is a very big vehicle, so you might be concerned that the 2.5 turbo wouldn't be able to keep up, and overall, it seems to be definitely powerful enough to handle that extra weight. This engine is definitely going to get you up to speed quite nicely overall.

This engine is more powerful than that of the previous V6. It doesn't have the same sound, of course, but it is going to be, you know, more powerful, and you're going to have access to torque on the low end versus the V6, where you had to build up. 

Now, of course, this won't be comparable to, say, a Grand Highlander with the hybrid Max. that's going to be substantially more powerful, and you don't have any types of more powerful engine options, like, say, the Ford Explorer ST, which is something you might cross-shop with. that is going to offer you more power. So this is just the only powertrain that is going to be offered for now. 

The 2024 Traverse also comes with an 8-speed automatic transmission, and overall, shifting feels nice and smooth. 

Torque-Vectoring AWD System

I think the important thing that needs to be pointed out about the Z71 is that it doesn't have the same all-wheel drive system as the other trim levels. So first of all, those trim levels will come standard with front-wheel drive. 

The Z71 will come standard with all-wheel drive all the time. and it is a twin-clutch all-wheel drive system. So what that basically is is a torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system that's going to allow a lot better distribution of torque depending on a situation. 

You can actually send 100% of the torque to any individual wheel. So that's certainly very helpful, and you can manually turn it to all-wheel drive or two-wheel drive mode with the press of a button. 

Of course, this is a family SUV after all, so let's go ahead and dive into your ride quality. Now, when it comes to this area of the Traverse, I have spent a good amount of time with it, and I've been nothing but impressed. 

Here with the Z71, we do have a special suspension tuning, and of course we also have those really thick, meaty all-terrain tires, and I think that translates to very good ride quality overall. 

When you hit a bump, it soaks it up nicely. The seats I find to be quite comfortable as well. And as far as any type of tire feels, I do feel maybe ever so slightly some knobiness from the ultra-rain tires. but overall, I think you're going to be more than satisfied with this Z71's ride experience. 

It's good to keep in mind that, compared to the RS trim level, they are going to actually have different suspension tunes between the two of them. So if you obviously want kind of a little bit of a sportier or as sporty as you can call a giant three-row SUV, the RS is going to be a better bet.

The Z71 is going to be very comfortable both on and off road. Of course, the RS does have quite a few larger wheels, so that is something to keep in mind.

Also, with the Z71, body roll is pretty nicely maintained. The steering is very light. It's certainly going to be that you know more on the numb side of things, but you have a pretty good sense of where you're headed overall, and, like I said, not too much body roll. 

Decent Fuel Economy

Let's go ahead and talk about this four-cylinder fuel economy. So in this regard, we're sitting at 21 MPG combined for the front-wheel-drive version. For all-wheel drive, we're sitting at 20 MPG combined. So as far as that fuel economy figure, that is going to be very similar to the vast majority of competition in terms of fuel economy, and it's pretty much the same fuel economy figure as what you were getting before. It's a typical three-row fuel economy. 

One of the things that I do want to point out is that there is no hybrid option for the 2024 Traverse at this time. So this is going to be your only engine option, as I mentioned earlier. So that is what you're looking at in terms of fuel economy. 

Safety

Now this is a family SUV after all, so you expect to have a lot of good safety elements, and with the Traverse, you are going to get all four active safety features as standard equipment. This includes a forward emergency braking system, auto-high beams, lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control. You're also going to get extra goodies thrown in, like blind spot monitoring standards on all trim levels. 

Updated Super Cruise

Additionally, they're also giving you super cruise availability. Now, Super Cruise will be standard on that top-end RS trim level; however, it is optional on this Z71. I had that option in the model I was reviewing, and it is a very advanced hands-free driving assistant, and it even now allows for secondary road hands-free driving. 

I did get to spend some time with the super cruise, and one of the new things is that they're adding the availability of secondary road hands-free driving instead of just interstates. It's certainly cool that you can now utilize this on more and more roads as time passes. and I think it's particularly a very good thing for a family three-row like this because, as you know, this is the type of vehicle you would take on a long road trip, and having this will kind of help you out in the process. 

Highlight And Lowlight

There are actually two things that I like about the 2024 Chevy Traverse. The first thing is the available space. This segment is moving towards bigger, bigger options, and this is frankly the biggest in terms of the maximum cargo capacity. It's just absolutely enormous and very well packaged in terms of that. 

Additionally, the technology, especially the standard technology, Most of the tech that comes with the Z71 is available on the base model, and that is super impressive. Some of the things that you get on the base LS trim include a 360-degree camera, heated seats, a heated steering wheel, and a 17.7-inch display. 

The one thing that I didn’t like that much was the interior. I wish the interior was finished a little nicer. That's not to say that this interior is not nice. It is nice, but it's not going to have that specialness that a lot of the segments have in their top trim levels. 

For example, a telluride has a suede headliner and wood trim. In this traverse, it is going to be more on the basic end. It has a faux carbon fiber trim, and the dashboard is made of leatherette material instead of more premium stuff, so it's not going to rival the most luxurious experience in the segment, that's for sure. If you’re looking for a more premium experience in a GM car, you can check out the GMC Acadia, which is a car that I have reviewed previously.