The 2018 Chevy Traverse has had a makeover and now it is truly the perfect family vehicle Photo: Sara LaFountain
Families need space, convenience, and safety. The 2018 Traverse delivers.
Parents need a car that feels like home. When we step away from the comforts of home we want to still feel at ease, safe, and entertained. Driving the 2018 Traverse felt like we put 4 wheels onto our living room and drove to explore Grand Rapids, Michigan. The upgrades to the Traverse are numerous and your neighbors will be jealous when you are rolling out in style and silence.
Your car is an extension of your family. We have five children and one of the biggest fights we hear is, “I want to sit in the front!” While driving the newest Traverse we never had a fight for the front seat. The middle and back row were both so spacious that the kids did not care where they sat. There were also charging ports for them and even video/audio inputs to plug in a game console. With the optional WiFi running, they were perfectly happy watching videos, texting their friends and playing games while we were driving. It was pleasant and peaceful for everyone. When have you ever had a long car ride like that?
As a longtime Traverse owner, I was so impressed with all the improvements that Chevrolet made to this model. The Traverse is the perfect vehicle for those parents who just cannot get on the minivan bandwagon. There is plenty of room for your family and all their belongings. Everyone will ride comfortably and quietly as you go to school or take a road trip.
The 2018 Chevrolet Traverse has been upgraded and is ready to be your home away from home.
The 2018 Chevrolet Traverse has hidden storage behind the 8-inch touchscreen. Photo by Chevrolet.
Who should buy this car
- Families, especially those who drive with 5 or more passengers
- Taller passengers
- Drivers who care about passenger comfort and convenience
- Buyers who want the most advanced safety and entertainment features
- Parents that want to drive a family car with some attitude that is NOT a minivan
What it costs
- L Trim starts at $30,875 MSRP
- LS Trim starts at $32,995 MSRP
- LT Trim starts at $35,495 – $42,095 MSRP
- Premier Trim starts at $45,395 MSRP (Redline Edition option)
- High Country Trim starts at $52,995 MSRP
The rear view camera mirror has a real camera on it that gives added safety to the driver. Photo: Sara LaFountain
Love the rear view camera!
One of the best features on the 2018 Chevy Traverse is the rear view camera. With a flick of the mirror, you can see a live video feed from the rear camera of the car. The image is crisp, clear and gives you a much better view of what is happening behind you. One of the not so obvious benefits of this feature is that it eliminates almost all of your blind spots. You can see so much better both behind you and also the back sides of the car. This helped me numerous times when changing lanes on the highway and made me feel confident that there was no one in the lane I was moving into. With this feature you do not feel like you are driving a large vehicle because you can see smaller cars in your blind spot.
The second row with the smart slide technology allows easy access to the third row in the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. Photo: Sara LaFountain
Easy Third Row Access with Smart Slide
As with some other vehicles, Chevrolet has improved the way you can move the 2nd-row seats to access the 3rd row. The Smart Slide second-row seat on the passenger side can be moved and angled forward, allowing easy access to the passengers heading to the third-row seats.
The best part for parents with forward facing car seats is that the seat can move forward with an empty car seat still attached. This is a huge improvement and parents with young children know what a timesaver this is. My teens loved the easy access to the back row and the amount of space that allowed you to get into the back row also increased. The wheelbase on the 2018 Chevy Traverse is 2 inches longer than the older models and you can really feel the extra space in the second and third rows. One other note for those with car seats, you can safely secure and tether THREE car seats in the third row.
Learn more about car seat safety here.
All the Safety Technology You Need
The Traverse is one of the safest vehicles I have ever driven. Chevrolet included a number of new safety features that will keep you safe on every trip:
- Forward Collision Alert: This notifies you when you are getting too close to the vehicle in front of you. You receive a series of loud beeps as well as a visual signal which appears directly in front of you. If you become distracted while driving, this could keep you from getting into an accident.
- Side Blind Zone Alert: This alerts you in your side mirrors of a car that might be in your blind spot. I found this incredibly helpful when changing lanes on the highway.
- Lane Departure Warning: This feature really changed my driving on open roads when I was using the adaptive cruise control. It monitors whether you are staying in your lane and when you start to veer over the line, it both nudged the steering wheel a bit and also made a few loud signals. When I combined this feature with the adaptive cruise control (which allowed me to determine the distance between my car and the vehicle in front of me), I was able to sit back and drive while feeling that we were both safe and in control of the vehicle.
- Headlights: Driving this vehicle at night helped us to (literally) see how well the headlights worked. It sounds like a little thing, but it made a big difference to us while driving at night on dark roads in the country and on the highway. The intellibeams automatically turn on high beams when needed and also turn them off when a vehicle is approaching.
Extra storage is available in the trunk of the car, big enough to hold two suitcases. Photo by Chevrolet
Plenty of Seats and Storage
Seating is available for up to 8 passengers. The hidden underfloor storage is so spacious in the 2018 model that I was able to put two suitcases there. The 2018 model has the best-in-class passenger volume and also max cargo room at 98.5 cubic feet (2,789 liters) which really makes a huge difference when you carry a lot of gear with you. I never even needed to fold down all the back seats to get all our suitcases into the car.
Need something smaller? Check out the 2018 Chevy Equinox.
The center console is perfect for holding a large purse, 6 pack of water, or even your electronics.
Center Console Modeled After the Popular Chevy Tahoe
The center console area is just like the one found in the popular Chevy Tahoe. It is so well designed and holds so much more than the older models. I was even able to put my big purse in it. It can easily hold a 6 pack of water, snacks, electronics, and more. The large center console area was nicely padded and made a very comfortable place for the front seat passengers to rest their arms. Having a good armrest is the key to comfort on a long car ride.
The available Wifi hotspot allows up to five devices to connect. Be prepared for very quiet car rides. Photo: Sara LaFountain
The 4G LTE Wi-Fi from OnStar is a Sanity Saver on Long Car Rides
With the 4G LTE Wi-Fi, my kids did homework on their computers and watched movies. The hotspot allows up to 5 devices to be connected at once. There is even a standard electrical outlet where I plugged in my computer. Staying fully charged and using the Wi-Fi while on a long trip felt like the ultimate in luxury. In the front dashboard, the Chevy Mylink display was easy to read and connected with ease to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The Traverse looked and felt just like my living room, kids watching movies or doing homework, sitting comfortably and quietly with their headphones on.
The 2018 Chevy Traverse has been updated with better safety, comfort, and convenience Photo: Sara LaFountain
What we loved:
- Extremely comfortable seating and smooth ride
- Heated and cooled front seats
- Smart Slide seating for middle rows, no need to move a front facing carseat
- Rear trunk auto opening with foot
- Rear camera view in rearview mirror on demand
- Built-in 4G LTE WiFi to keep us all connected
- Tons of space for your stuff
- Center console with lots of space and very comfortable place to rest your arm
- 22 cup holders, plenty for everyone
- Pedestal seating in the third row gives a better view and is more comfortable
The 2018 Chevy Traverse is stylish and beautiful. The silhouettes are more formal and the designers of this vehicle were excited to share with me some of the upgrades that were made. A Tahoe is bigger than a Traverse so it can tow, but many of the well-loved Tahoe qualities are sprinkled through the Traverse. The same capabilities of a truck are included in this full-size SUV. This spacious vehicle is perfect for families who want the ultimate vehicle. There is a great sense of security because of the solid structural forms in this car.
What you should know:
- EPA Estimated fuel economy is 20 city/26 highway
- Apple Car Play/Android Auto worked seamlessly
- The 8-inch touchscreen hides a secret compartment with a USB charging port behind it
- This car is perfect for those bigger families who do not want a minivan
- Seating options are available for 7 or 8 passengers
Read more about the Chevy Tahoe here.
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I love all the storage, especially the hidden storage behind the touchscreen. And the exterior color – love it! This is definitely the perfect family car. I must have heated/cooled seats, so it’s a winner in that department as well. Awesome car!
Isn’t that hidden compartment awesome? I can see people charging their phones back there so they are not distracted while driving!
From your photos this looks like an all around great family car. Loaded with everything a family would need leg room, top line communication equipment, good gas mileage.
The 2018 Traverse is really a perfect family vehicle. Not many cars can keep a large family happy and comfortable on a long road trip.
This does look like an amazing car. We’ll need a new one soon. I’m amazed at how CLEAN it is. It reminds me I should probably clean mine out. :/
Take the 2018 Traverse on a test drive and you will not want to consider any other cars!
My mother-in-law has a Chevy Traverse and loves it! I borrowed it when my own car was getting some repairs and it was a great ride.
The newest model of the Traverse (2018) is so much better than the previous models. You should take a test drive when you are in the market for a new car.
This car looks spacious and really nice for the family to go on a road trip somewhere 2-3 hours away from home. I absolutely love the hidden storage there in front!
The hidden storage in between the two front seats was one of my favorite features of our Tahoe. I am so glad that they added this feature to the Traverse.
That car has a lot of storage! It looks like a really neat car. I love how you can hide your junk behind the screen in the front. I’ve never seen that before, but I love it
Isn’t that hidden compartment the best? We loved this feature. No one would know it was there!
Our car has a 3rd row and it’s a must for road trips. Helps minimize the whole “stop touching me” scenario. We rented a Chevy Traverse during a Summer road trip and it was so roomy with lots of trunk space too.
I agree! Three rows is so important for kids on a long trip. Happy to hear you liked your Traverse, this newer model is so amazing!
Now that is one gorgeous looking car, I have to admit I would love a new car and I would love it to have the back camera I tried a car with one in and really is an awesome feature.
The back camera worked great. The rearview mirror with the camera was a feature I now do not want to live without!
All that storage is just amazing. Much like a house, a car can never have too much storage space.
So true! Cars cannot have too much storage!
This looks like an amazing vehicle for family’s. We are looking to replace our current car in the Spring. I will have to take one for a test drive.
You must test drive the 2018 Traverse! You will fall in love with it, I am sure!
Those safety features are going to be amazing for big family trips. I’m liking all of the seating space and storage too.
There are very few cars where everyone can have a comfortable seat!
I love that this car has so much storage. The hidden storage behind the touch screen is so cool.
The hidden storage is so much fun! I have to tell you that was one of my favorite new features. I could charge my phone out of sight while I was driving.
That Chevy Traverse looks exactly like my dream car! I am hoping to upgrade my car for more room and tech gadget and this car definitely checks all the boxes on my checklist!
The 2018 Chevy Traverse is my dream car for sure! It has everything I need for a comfortable ride, plus all the safety features.
I’d personally call this a medium sized SUV but that aside I must say that the new Traverse looks nice. The underfloor storage sounds very nice.
The trunk did not have much space underneath in the previous models. This 2018 model greatly expanded the storage space in the back and it is awesome!
I love the water storage feature. This is a vehicle that is perfect especially when you have kids.
The 2018 Traverse has great improved the storage in between the two front seats! I think this improvement will be so important for parents who have lots of items they want to store there.
This really does look nice, and that shade of red is soooo pretty. If I decide to have a second kid (after this baby I’m currently baking haha) along with my step kids, I’m going to need a bigger car. We had to upgrade to a sedan this year (I was driving a tiny fiat haha!) but I’ll need an SUV or van if I go that route…
Sounds like a Traverse might be in your future! Take one for a test drive and you will be convinced for sure.
Sounds like a great family car! I so need one of those backup video cameras. I have a lot of driving-related anxiety, and backing up always freaks me out. It’s so bad that I’ll park in the furthest spot in no man’s land just so I can pull through!
I totally understand how you feel! You definitely would feel at ease with the incredible surround camera.
That really is such a great family car! I love the color too. The interior is so roomy it seems – that’s the most important part, especially with a big family, if you ask me!
Having enough space so that all the kids feel comfortable is crucial! Without enough space, everyone can be quite miserable.
Now THAT is my kind of car. It looks really sharp. I love the extra space in the trunk as well as the secret compartment behind the touchscreen!
The Traverse designers really created this model with a family in mind. The hidden storage behind the touchscreen is just brilliant. I bet other brands will be copying this concept next year.