2024 GMC Acadia Road Test and Review

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt

When bigger is better, the 2024 GMC Acadia is the best Acadia yet. This three-row crossover has become one of the largest vehicles in its class, and it also adopts the styling of GMC’s full-size SUVs and pickups. A new turbocharged engine keeps gas mileage decent even as the Acadia grew, and a new interior is higher-tech and more richly finished. However, the starting price has jumped by nearly $6,000, to $42,600. 

For this review, we just spent a week testing a top-of-the-line 2024 GMC Acadia Denali. Keep reading as we go over this big SUV’s pros and cons to see if it’s the right three-row crossover for you. 

Bigger and Bolder Body

The GMC Acadia started its life as a plus-size crossover back in 2007. A decade later, General Motors tweaked its strategy: It saved the biggest dimensions for the Acadia’s former siblings – the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave – and gave GMC a smaller, less expensive Acadia. 

This year, GM is back to its original approach. At 204 inches long, a 2024 Acadia is nearly a foot longer than a 2023 model (and more than 3 inches longer than the 2007). It’s also more than 4 inches wider and taller than last year’s. GMC fans will recognize the new Acadia’s upright front end, big rectangular grille, and C-shaped headlights from the Yukon SUV and Sierra pickup. However, the rest of the vehicle looks less imposing – quietly classy rather than in-your-face tough. 

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Fancier, Higher-Tech Interior

The old Acadia had a simple interior with easy-to-use controls and an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen. The new model has become luxurious and high-tech with a big 15-inch touchscreen plus an 11-inch digital gauge cluster. 

The infotainment screen is a landscape-style display that sticks out slightly from the dash, and it meets a high center console that passes over an open storage area below. The screen has crisp graphics and clever customization options, letting you pick what you’d like to display on a split-view homescreen. The Google-based system includes Google Maps while also supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. And many common functions have simple physical buttons and knobs. However, a few controls are painfully obtuse, like the tiny touchscreen-only icons for the headlights and seat heaters/coolers. You must find the right part of the screen, then tap to summon a menu to make your selection. The old Acadia kept these functions simpler. But overall, the new Acadia’s interior is advanced and upscale.  

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Roomier Seating for Seven

Given that the Acadia has grown, it should come as no surprise that the interior has gotten roomier. Wherever you sit, there’s more space than before to stretch out and spread out. With standard second-row captain’s chairs and three seats in the third-row bench, the Acadia has a seven-passenger capacity. That’s the same total as the old Acadia, which could fit three people in a second-row bench seat and two in the third row. But it’s less than the Chevrolet Traverse, which still offers a second-row bench for a total of eight – or five with the third row folded down. 

However, we were surprised that the new Acadia’s third row still isn’t a standout in its class. It’s roomier than last year’s Acadia, but still smaller than the first-generation pre-2017 model. And while its specs are competitive on paper, we were less comfortable than in most three-row rivals. We had to move the Acadia’s second-row seats well forward to even get our feet onto the ground. Expect to juggle legroom among the different rows if you’ll carry an adult in the far back. Also, we wished for second-row windowshades, which are available on many competitors. Easy third-row access was a nice perk, though. 

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt

More Cargo Space, Too

Even if we’d have wished for a more comfortable third-row seat, we have no complaints about the 2024 Acadia’s cargo accommodations. 

With 23 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row, it’s in the elite of three-row vehicles that can actually fit real luggage without folding down the rearmost seat. By contrast, the old Acadia managed just 13 cubic feet with the third row in use. The third row folds easily to give you a generous 57 cubic feet of space, and you get 98 cubic feet behind the front seats – both figures that are among the best in the crossover class. The 2024 Acadia can also tow up to 5,000 pounds, typical for the segment. 

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Four-Cylinder Efficiency

Another big change to the 2024 Acadia is under the hood. GMC replaced an old 228-horsepower four-cylinder turbo engine and a 310-hp V6 with a single new motor that’s more powerful than either of them. It’s a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder that makes 328 hp and 326 lb-ft of torque. That’s more power than most rivals, and this engine has no trouble whipping the Acadia up to speed. However, we don’t love its harsh, raspy sound. Competing four-cylinders in models like the Ford Explorer and Volkswagen Atlas sound better. 

Gas mileage is good for such a big and powerful SUV, though. EPA estimates have barely budged versus the old V6, even as the Acadia grew larger. With front-wheel drive, the Acadia returns an estimated 20 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 23 mpg combined, while AWD models get 19 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined. Our AWD test vehicle edged out that estimate to average 22 mpg in a week of mixed driving. 

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Comfortable Yet Agile

Even as it grew, the Acadia has also remained more agile than some of its three-row crossover rivals. It tackles a winding road with ease; your passengers will complain before the suspension reaches its limits. Yet it also rides pretty smoothly, even on our test vehicle’s big 22-inch wheels. It’s neither the sprightliest SUV nor the most serene one, but it strikes an agreeable mix. An off-road themed AT4 model adds an upgraded suspension, more ground clearance, all-terrain tires, protective underbody skid plates, hill-descent control, a retuned AWD system, and more off-road driving modes. 

Another feature that some folks will love is General Motors’ Super Cruise hands-free driving system, which is newly optional on the Acadia this year. With Super Cruise, you can let go of the wheel and let the Acadia handle your acceleration, braking, steering, and even lane changes on 750,000 miles of North American controlled-access highways. The Acadia’s steering wheel wiggled oddly at times while Super Cruise was active, but the system kept the vehicle safely in its lane. The system will shut off if you aren’t watching the road, so don’t expect to delegate your whole drive to Super Cruise. Only one rival, the Ford Explorer, offers an equivalent system – and Ford’s BlueCruise supports just 130,000 miles of roads.

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt

A Smaller Price Bump Than It Looks

As we mentioned, the 2024 GMC Acadia starts at $42,600, which is nearly $6,000 more than last year’s model. But in addition to its greater size and power, GMC justifies this bump with a longer list of standard features. 

Even the base Elevation model has leatherette upholstery with heated front seats and a power driver’s seat, along with tri-zone automatic climate control, the big 15-inch screen, a wireless smartphone charger, a 10-speaker Bose stereo, and advanced safety and driver-assistance features like adaptive cruise control, forward automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping steering assistance, and blind-spot monitoring. Some of those features cost extra even on the top-of-the-line Acadia Denali last year. The AT4 costs $50,000 with its off-road-focused add-ons, along with standard AWD (which costs $2,300 extra on other Acadias). The Denali like our test vehicle starts at $54,300 with genuine leather, a heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, a power passenger seat, and a head-up display. Our Denali test vehicle swelled to $64,810 with options that included AWD; three years of Super Cruise access; big 22-inch wheels; a panoramic sunroof; a 16-speaker stereo; and a $1,395 destination charge. 

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Acadia and Its Siblings

The Acadia slots between two corporate cousins that use the same platform and engines: the less expensive Chevrolet Traverse and the more upscale 2025 Buick Enclave. 

The Traverse starts at $37,600, and the version more similarly equipped to the Acadia – the LT model – starts at $40,000. Its exterior and interior styling are smoother and more flowing than the blockier GMC’s as well. The 2024 Traverse also has no equivalent to the extra-luxe Acadia Denali, with upgraded interior trim and higher-end features like a 16-speaker Bose stereo and a head-up display. Then there’s the Enclave, priced from $45,000. It’s the quietest and most elegant of the trio, without a huge price premium. But it doesn’t have an off-road variant like the Traverse or Acadia. Among this trio, the Traverse is the best value and the only one with eight-passenger seating. Still, the Acadia provides a more conventional big-SUV design, a few more available features than the Traverse, and a posher interior for folks willing to pay a little more. 

2024 Chevrolet Traverse Z71 ・ Photo by Chevrolet

Competitors to Consider

Along with its fellow GM siblings, the Acadia is among the roomiest three-row crossovers. When you’re looking for maximum cargo room, other leading options include the Toyota Grand Highlander and Volkswagen Atlas. The Toyota isn’t as fancy as the Acadia, but it has simpler controls and more economical engines – especially its optional hybrids. The Atlas has clunkier controls than the Acadia and only sits six people with its optional captain’s chairs, but it handles more sharply. Both have more comfortable third-row seats and quieter engines than the Acadia, too. 

Other popular mid-size crossovers include the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride cousins, the Ford Explorer, the Honda Pilot, the Nissan Pathfinder, and the Mazda CX-90. None of these has the Acadia’s cargo room or plus-size screens, but they’re otherwise comfortable and well-rounded – and also quieter than the Acadiaa. The aggressively priced CX-90 is a leader for luxury, manners, and blending power with fuel economy, but it doesn't have a huge interior. The Palisade and Telluride handle more lazily than the Acadia, but they’re smoothly posh and packed with features for the money. The Explorer and Pathfinder drive well and adopt more of a rugged feel than the Acadia’s premium one. The Pilot is all about simple user-friendliness and comfort more than flashy opulence. 

Meanwhile, if you liked the old Acadia’s smaller size and lower price, we recommend the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe. They’re less spacious than the new Acadia, especially for cargo, but they’re as roomy as the old model – and better-finished and nicer to drive – for less money than last year’s Acadia. They’re even available as fuel-efficient hybrids. 

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Final Thoughts

The 2024 GMC Acadia marries tons of cargo room with a rugged yet premium attitude and a relatively economical engine.

We don’t love how its engine sounds. We wish a few controls were separate from the touchscreen interface. We weren’t as comfortable as we expected in the third-row seat. And we wish it cost less. When those points are priorities, alternatives abound. But the spacious, high-tech Acadia has a lot to offer the right buyer. 

2024 GMC Acadia Denali ・ Photo by Brady Holt