Six Things to Love About The Chevy Traverse
Wheelchair Accessibility is Just the Beginning
A few years ago I was *this close* to buying the Traverse, but my son, who uses a wheelchair, just did not have the strength at that time to make the transfer from his wheelchair to the car. When we had the chance to test drive the Traverse for a week in Florida, I was nervous about that and we worked on simulating the transfer in physical therapy for a few weeks prior to the trip. I need not have worried. His gigantic arms are more than strong enough now and the Traverse easily accommodated us.
Now that we know Carter can make the transfer with someone else loading his chair into the car…what else?
Six Things We Loved About the Chevy Traverse
- It’s Got Style. I love the body of this car. It looks less like a minivan and more like a sports sedan. The crystal red color of the one I test drove was fun and I loved the way it made me feel, like I wasn’t driving a “grocery getter”.
- It’s Got Pick Up. This little baby has some get up and go with 288 horses under the hood making driving it fun and less of a mom chore. I like the way having that power feels under the pedals.
- It’s Got Room. The Traverse seats up to 8 people and has a Smart Slide feature that makes getting into that third row a little easier. With the third row down in this car we were able to fit 6 overstuffed suitcases and a non-folding wheelchair. That’s pretty impressive.
- It Will Keep You Charged Up. The back seat has an electrical outlet that I was able to plug my iPad charger in, keeping my iPhone charged quicker than any adapter could. If you have the typical charger, the cord is long enough to reach the front seat just fine. It was great for my son’s DS charger as well. I was surprised this Traverse did not have a USB port so having the regular outlet really saved me.
- It Keeps You In Touch. One of the first things you notice when you get in the Traverse is the huge 6.5 inch color touchscreen MyLink display. At first it is pretty intimidating but within a few minutes of playing with it I had the Bluetooth hooked up to my iPhone, the satellite radio going and the navigator all set.
- It Makes You Feel Safe. Hands down one of my favorite things about a Chevy is the ability to have OnStar integrated into the car. I love OnStar so much that it was the number one consideration in our car choice for my 16 year old. In addition, this car feels heavy and solid. It has available all wheel drive which is important in places like Denver, where I live. Side curtain airbags and rearview cameras added to my feeling that we were safe and sound driving an unfamiliar car across Florida last week.
My family really enjoyed our week in the Traverse. It was stylish, fun, and comfortable. My boys are all over 6’3” and none of the three had issues with head or leg room. There is a seat height difference of about 10 inches that needs to be considered for any mobility challenged passengers. My son, who is a full-time wheelchair user, had very little difficulty transferring into the Traverse. The Chevy Traverse is a car I would buy without hesitation if we were in the market, and absolutely in crystal red.
Disclosure: Chevrolet provided the Traverse for this test drive; opinions here are all my own. The Traverse we drove retails for about $40,000; the base model price starts at about $31,000.
Categorized:Car Reviews
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