Going Pro in the GMC Acadia; and The Real Meaning of Denali
Carissa Rogers
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Am I the only one who has no idea what GMC stands for, or what GMC means when they call a truck or SUV a Denali? And, that there’s more than one?
In case I’m not alone…
GMC is Professional Grade
And yes, this mom needs that! Well, sometimes. Professional grade means sturdy and powerful so it’s up to the job contractors might put it through hauling around heavy tools or towing equipment. And it’s up to the needs of professional designers, landscapers, decorators and others who need lots of storage in an SUV or need to be able to haul finds from antique stores, nurseries or yard sales (that’s me; keep reading!).
There are several levels any of the GMC cars and trucks might have. The ‘Denali’ trim level is the highest level. Whether we are talking about the Sierra truck or the GMC Acadia family car— Denali indicates: the uber cool ‘Heads up Display’, power tilt & telescopic steering wheel, leather seats and leather wrapped/mahogany wood trim, navigation console with audio controls and reverse back up camera, DVD player, heated and cooled seats and generally a level of awesomeness not found in the lower trim levels of the same vehicle.
Well there you go. I thought ‘Denali’ was a larger SUV, something like the Yukon. WRONG.
There is a whole line of Denali level trucks and SUVs from GMC.
Three are pictured here:
Driving an Acadia with Denali Trim Level
GMC invited me along with five DIY bloggers to travel down the 127Sale (AKA World’s Longest Yard Sale). 5 States in 5 Days, filling a Habitat for Humanity home with our thrifty finds, all of us in Acadia Denalis. And now we all KNOW what I mean when I say Denali… we were traveling in the top-of-the-line Acadia with more cargo room than most larger SUVs! In 90 degree heat, those cooled seats were divine!This is a workhorse of a vehicle with luxury to impress professional DIY moms (and ALL moms!). We had power to handle hills while packed with heavy dressers, mirrors, shelves and headboards—yet light enough on its feet to perform in heavy yard sale traffic!
Check out this video of the interior of the Acadia Denali:
The traffic along route 127 gets messy and crowded. Having a reverse camera meant we had no problem backing into tight spots and never worried about accidentally backing over an antique rocking chair!
The talented designer Kristen Grove of Simply Grove was my road trip partnerHow did we fit a WHOLE house into our 3 Acadias (and 2 Sierras)? With tetris-style precision and plenty of cargo space, that’s how!
But what did I REALLY think of the Acadia with the Denali Trim level?
- The center bucket seats make kids happy because they aren’t climbing over each other to get to the third row.
- All the extra features like XM radio, DVD player, gorgeous interiors and power seats/mirrors/windows… EVERYTHING—even the lift gate, make this a luxury dream for a busy mom to drive.
- I especially liked that the front end of the vehicle is short enough to see over, making parking in tight spots easy.
- It’s not as high up as say… a mini-van, but it’s higher than most sedans on the road.
- With all this gear it was very easy to fold the center and rear seats making a flat cargo space for that one oversized yard sale find you can’t live without!
Seriously people, an amazing vehicle.
- I have to work hard to come up with any negatives about the Acadia Denali (besides giving it back after the road trip!). As a front seat passenger I would love to see a compass indicator in large letters in the central console. You have to crane your neck over to the driver’s side to see which direction the car is headed. There is a compass pointer in the navigation window, but it’s like doing math in your head… I just want to see the letters S, E, N or W cuz I’m probably in a hurry to figure out where I am. I don’t want to do direction math in my head!
- Maybe I’m just more comfortable with my cell phone’s GPS system, but I find the in-vehicle navigation step-by-step and directions cumbersome to use. Both getting your destination loaded into it and then following the instructions. I think it would be amazing if vehicles would start running the GPS navigation app straight from your phone? They can run Pandora from your phone, right? Although the voice activation does work very well. We used the OnStar option several times, and it worked OK. But more than once it took longer than navigating my phone’s GPS.
Connecting a phone with a cord can be awkward; Bluetooth is a better way to go.
- Which reminds me… normally I don’t take the time to pair my phone with a car I’m going to have it for such a short time. But the GMC system is very user friendly and fast to connect your phone and get down the road! If you have an iPhone simply plugging into the USB port on top of the dashboard will allow it to play your music. However having a cord sticking out of the dashboard like that got in the way; conecting by Bluetooth eliminates this.
Sticker Price: Standard $47.9K
I think the price of the Acadia Denali is worth talking about. You are basically getting the power of a truck and the space a professional needs with the family in mind. The luxury upgrades are impressive and well thought out.
- 23 MPG on the highway
- 116 cu.ft. Cargo
- AWD
- Trailer Hitch
- Tri-Zone Climate Control
- OnStar
- AC/DC Plug-in
- Power Rear Liftgate
For this level of luxury in an American Made professional grade “Denali Trim Level”, this is a great price.
DISCLOSURE: A giant thank you goes out to GMC for inviting me along the Hidden Treasure Adventure. We road tripped from Detroit to Atlanta along Route 127 for the World’s Longest Yard Sale! We collected the items to fill a Habitat for Humanity home and surprised a very lucky family. My expenses during this trip were covered by GMC, however my thoughts and experien