The Chevrolet Traverse is a full-size crossover SUV with three rows of seats, built since the 2009 model year. It replaced two quite different vehicles at once: the body-on-frame TrailBlazer and the Uplander minivan.
Chevrolet Traverse at a glance
| Production | since the 2009 model year |
|---|---|
| Class | Full-size crossover SUV, three rows |
| First-generation platform | GM Lambda, shared with the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave |
| Second-generation platform | C1XX, shared with the Cadillac XT6 |
| Replaced | Chevrolet TrailBlazer and Chevrolet Uplander |
| Second generation | in showrooms from mid-2017 |
| Position from 2019 | above the new mid-size Chevrolet Blazer |
| Name origin | a 2003 concept car at the Detroit auto show |
History of the Chevrolet Traverse
The Traverse name was first used on a concept car at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but that show car gave way when the Chevrolet Equinox was launched for the 2005 model year. The production Traverse arrived for 2009 as a full-size crossover with three rows of seats, built on the Lambda platform shared with the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave.
The Traverse was the successor to two different vehicles: the body-on-frame TrailBlazer SUV and the Uplander minivan. It represented a shift in the market, as buyers abandoned truck-based SUVs and minivans in favour of car-like crossovers that offered similar space. The second generation debuted in showrooms in the middle of 2017 on the C1XX platform, which it also shares with the Cadillac XT6.
From the 2019 model year the Traverse was positioned above the new mid-size Chevrolet Blazer, as part of plans to expand the SUV range with models at every size. It remains the largest crossover in the Chevrolet range, sitting above the Equinox and Blazer, and it carries the role the Suburban once held for families who want three rows without the bulk of a truck-based SUV.
Design and features
- Three rows: full-size crossover practicality for seven or eight passengers.
- Shared platforms: Lambda with the Acadia and Enclave, C1XX with the Cadillac XT6.
- Two replacements in one: took the place of both the TrailBlazer and the Uplander.
- Positioned above the Blazer: from 2019 the largest crossover in the Chevrolet range.
Chevrolet Traverse versions
- First generation (2009–2017): the Lambda-platform car.
- Second generation (from 2018): the C1XX-platform car.
- 2003 concept: the show car that first used the Traverse name.
The Traverse replaced the Chevrolet Trailblazer and the Chevrolet Uplander and sits above the Chevrolet Equinox in the range.
Video: 2013 Chevrolet Traverse review
Video by Camerons Car Reviews on YouTube.
Sources
- Chevrolet Traverse, English Wikipedia: introduction, platforms, predecessors, positioning
