GMC Acadia vs Yukon vs Toyota Sequoia

baseballmom97

I'm getting ready to go test-drive an Acadia. I currently have an '04 Toyota Sequoia with a lease due to end in December so I need to figure out what I'm getting next.

I like the Acadia's looks, gas mileage and second row captains chairs but after driving almost full-size SUVs for the past 6 years -- the Sequoia and previously an '02 Yukon, I'm a little concerned that we will miss the cargo capacity and feeling of sitting up high.

How are the second row captains chairs and third row seating compared to the Sequoia or Yukon?

Does the Acadia feel a lot smaller inside?

We have two kids, 10 and 13, and do a fair amount of carpooling and traveling so I've really enjoyed the space of the Sequoia, however, Toyota is supposedly supersizing the new Sequoias and I don't want a Suburban size vehicle. Also, we don't do any towing.

Any thoughts and input from others who have traded in their larger SUVs for the Acadia? I really want to like this vehicle but want to make sure I get what best fits our needs.

Thanks for any advice and feedback!

stage

We traded a '03 Sequoia for our 2008 AWD Acadia SLT2. We've also owned a Honda Pilot and a Suburban. The Acadia is such an improvement over the Honda Pilot. The Acadia doesn't have the fit and finish of the Toyota, (but is very good) - and it has nearly as much room and cargo space. We don't miss the difference at all. It gets about the same mpg (we've had ours only a few weeks now) in town as the Sequoia - freeway driving about 20 mpg. I'm hoping for improvement on these mpg numbers after the break-in period. The Acadia offers so much more in the way of options than the Toyota or Honda. It parks easily; we like the OnStar, and the other options that Toyota or Honda doesn't offer. I don't miss sitting higher up. There is very little road noise in the Acadia. We like the rear fold down seats of the Acadia vs the non- folddown of the Sequoia & suburban. The seats are not as comfortable to me as the Sequoia,(the seats are a bit smaller in the Acadia) but plenty of room in the 3rd seat in the Acadia. All in all, I would say it was a trade for the better. We'll be able to give a better review after a few months of ownership.

albook

The Acadia is actually bigger inside- despite being 4 inches shorter in length. So you would actually be gaining interior space, as there is a larger third row, and more cargo space. If you want the build quality of your Toyota or better, than look at the Acadia's siblings, Outlook (about the same quality, and finish), or the Enclave (better quality, about that of Lexus). I don't think you will miss what little overall height you would lose, and performance will be so much better.

nedzel

All the Acadia siblings are built on the same line by the same people, so the build quality will be the same for all of them. The interior appointments (fabrics, plastic, etc.) may be better in the Buick, but the build quality will be the same.

thegraduate

or the Enclave (better quality, about that of Lexus).

The one Enclave I sat in felt sort-of plasticky, very unlike Lexus (I don't particularly care for Toyota or Lexus vehicles personally, but Lexus' interior quality is completely unmatched). For GM, it was ok, until I looked at the pricetag. OUCH.

liameen

We bought a Buick Enclave after owning a Seqouia that was disappointingly unreliable. My wife went to the local GMC dealer to look at an Acadia and she saw the Buick and liked the look of it.They are basically the same car. The Buick is slightly (not much) more expensive, but is a lot nicer inside than the GMC. In terms of interior size the Enclave/Acadia is just around the same as a Sequoia but the fold-flat seats are definetely a plus. The Buick is finished very well although I know that the "wood" is not real except on the steering wheel. I like the 19 in. wheels, On-Star, its quietness on the road, AWD, the dash, 6 speed transmission, remote start etc. On Star is very good, and if I were buying again I probably would not buy the NAV system and just use On Star for NAV. It costs $17 a month after the free 1 yr trial period but it would take a long time to add up to whatever it is they're charging for the NAV system, plus there are other On Star features besides navigation. Also worth considering is GMC's warranty which is much better than Toyota's, and my experience with GM dealers has been much better than Toyota's.We looked at the new Sequoia a few times and I could not warm up to the dash, I figure it is the thing that I would be seeing the most in that car (or any car).
On the downside for the Buick, the transmission is a bit slow to changedown on hills etc. Also, while the car is still breaking in, I thought that the MPG would be a bit better. We still have not reached the 16 MPG city ( after 2500m) that GM quotes.

liameen

I was mistaken about the price of OnStar ( mentioned in the previous post) on our Buick Enclave. It is $17 for the basic service but it is actually $28 per month for the OnStar "Turn-by-Turn" Navigation/Diagnostic service. However, the Buick list price for the in-dash navigation system is $3025, therefore you would pay the $28 for OnStar's navigation for 108 months (or 9 years) to catch up with the price of the in dash system. The OnStar nav is quite good. It calls out the turns, giving street names through the car's stereo system. It also gives the turns in script in the driver information center where the odometer is. You do not, however, have the map display. There are other OnStar benefits as well, such as being able to unlock the car via satellite if you lock yourself out, tracking the car in the event of theft, a monthly diagnostic report e-mailed to you, telling you if you need to change the engine oil, tire pressures, and many other service issues.

xier

Wow - 28 bucks. I was not aware OnStar offered NAV - how does it work?

liameen

You press a button located on the rearview mirror and this puts you speaking with a live operator. You then give the operator the address, or the operator will help you find an address or point of interest. They are quite good. When you finish with the operator,(it doesn't take very long) the directions are sent electronically to the car and the directions are called out by an automated voice, similar to a GPS or Nav system. The voice give adequate warning of upcoming turns and gives street names. The directions also appear in script on the vehicle information system located by the speedometer, which is a good place for it. The only drawback is that you do not have a live map- you just have the voice and script. I found it to be fine in comparison to the Nav system in our Buick and a Garmin GPS that I have.