Chevrolet's Traverse: A crossover vehicle

General Motors perceives that while the minivan might have had its day, families still have the need for it. Only, with a more sporty contemporary flair. Enter Chevrolet's Traverse, built on the Lambda crossover platform, which it shares with the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave.

It gives you SUV styling without sacrificing minivan versatility. Look at it and you might think it's an SUV. It's built on a crossover platform, so it drives like a car, not a wagon. It's not a minivan, but a look inside may convince you otherwise. It's a bit of all of them; it can tow, can seat around eight people and can zip around faster than some saloons. It's also fuel efficient too. Chevrolet chose to call it a crossover.

A crossover vehicle is typically based on the lighter, unibody structure of a car. A traditional SUV, with body-on-frame construction, is preferred for hauling loads and off-roading, as it is heavier, stronger and truck-like, with a ride to match. With unibody construction, the handling is what matters.

The Traverse handles pretty well. A direct injection, 3.6-litre V6 engine with variable valve timing takes care of that. It's mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and it's offered with either front- or all-wheel drive. The one I tested was a front-wheel drive, and frankly there is no need for the extra two wheels for its normal duties.

The V6 is pretty impressive, belting out 288hp, while its peak torque of 366Nm is available at 3,400rpm. This translates to excellent pulling power. The car is capable of towing up to 2,359kg.

It is mated to a Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic transmission. It lacks a sport mode, but has the regular manual override with a lever to allow the driver to shift manually. Hardly necessary in this case, as you won't feel like playing the boy racer with the Traverse. The auto performs very smoothly with almost no feeling of shifting between the gears.

GM claims that the Traverse can achieve combined fuel efficiency figures of 10.5 litre/100km with front-wheel drive transmission, and 10.9 litre/100km for all-wheel drives. Really impressive. I did an informal 0-100km/h dash test to clock around 8.5 seconds. Suffice to say its pretty quick for its size.

The Traverse was exceptionally quiet while cruising on the highway at between 100 and 120km/h, with the tacho needle hovering around 2,000rpm. That is, it still has plenty of grunt for quick overtaking if required.

Nipping up Jebel Hafeet, it left lighter cars panting. It doesn't make you break into sweat either. Driving it is absolutely no strain.

A long wheelbase of 3,019mm and wide tracks gives the Traverse a low centre of gravity, which equals a stable, smooth ride. Handling and cornering is a breeze.

The well-tuned suspension system contributes a lot to its quiet performance on most roads. The NVH (noise, harshness and vibration) levels are also reduced due to the isolated mounting points.

Safety first

Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS are standard on all models. The Traverse also features the StabiliTrak electronic stability control system with rollover mitigation technology, a sophisticated traction control system and a tyre-pressure monitoring system as standard.

Considering its size and the restricted rear view from the driver's seat, a rear-view camera system is obviously a must. In some models it comes with a navigation system. Other models have this feature via a 3.5-inch screen inside the auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

The Traverse is equipped with six standard air bags: two dual-stage frontal air bags, for the driver and front passenger, two seat-mounted pelvic-thorax side-impact air bags in the front row and two head-curtain side-impact air bags that cover all three seating rows.

The Traverse also features GM's rollover sensing system, which can activate the head curtain side-impact air bags and safety belt pretensioners if sensors determine a rollover is imminent. Dual front-seat anchor and retractor safety belt pretensioners are also part of the Traverse's standard safety equipment.

The Traverse also comes with a standard rear child security locking system, lower anchors and tethers for children (LATCH) to attach child safety seats in the rear easily.

Additional active safety features include dynamic rear proportioning (DRP), hydraulic brake boost (HBB) and panic brake assist (PBA). DRP is said to increase front to rear brake balance by getting the rear brake ready for quick braking based on driving conditions and vehicle loading. Meanwhile, HBB amplifies the hydraulic brake force to reduce stopping distance. PBA helps by adding or maintaining brake pressure even if the driver unconsciously or involuntarily backs off braking during a panic or emergency situation.

Complementing interiors

All this and the driving pluses would all come to nought if the interiors were not up to the mark. The Traverse, however, has an interior to match.

The dual-cockpit design complements the sweeping curve of the dashboard - very pleasing to the eye. The large gauges are easy to read, with bright displays. The controls are ergonomic. It has two panaromic powered sun roofs, power-folding outside mirrors, a power liftgate, as well as heated and cooled front seats. Storage cubby holes abound.

Interestingly, while the music system is fine (the variant I drove even had a DVD system with monitors for rear passengers), there is no USB slot or iPod connectivity. These are standards in most cars now.

However, it does score in the seat configuration department. The interior can be configured for seven or eight adults, including two front bucket seats, a 60/40-split second-row bench for three passengers - or two second-row captain's chairs for two passengers - and a 60/40-split third-row bench seat.

This third-row can accommodate two adults while also providing storage space behind. When the second and third rows are folded down flat, the cargo space createdis enormous.

If transporting a large family in relative comfort, and reasonably fast is the requirement, then the Traverse could be your choice. Price? Dh124,000 for the base version.