staff@slashgear.com (Michael Teo Van Runkle)
2024-05-02 09:00:00
www.slashgear.com
Relaxed driving sums up the Traverse on-road quite well, but does that justify the RS badging? Could a top-spec SS package up the ante? Regardless, I will obviously always prefer the Traverse in Z71 trim, if just for the taller tire sidewalls and ZF dampers. I truly believe that no car, truck, SUV, or crossover ever needs 22-inch wheels—but customers want those style points, so who are GM’s frustrated chassis engineers or myself to say otherwise.
The precise buyer for a 2024 Traverse RS seems less well defined. Families who want a comfortable three-row with a bit more capability for fun days will probably spring for the Z71 in the modern era. After all, priced at $47,795 for the Z71 and a hefty $55,595 for the RS, simply factoring the style points onto a mini Tahoe without more power or at least, better handling, the math starts to end up a bit scant while glancing back at a base model at $39,495.
Waiting to see how the GMC and Buick versions turn out might come into play, too, as potential buyers take a look at the 2025 Ford Explorer and Toyota Grand Highlander as comps. Chevy hopes the Z71 might additionally entice potential conquest customers away from Jeep’s Grand Cherokee, though I somehow doubt that will actually happen. Jeep people are gonna Jeep, but those few who do test drive a Z71 will likely realize that General Motors definitely found a happy recipe for a perfectly situated soft-roader in the mid-size three-row SUV segment.