The 2025 Chevrolet Traverse High Country AWD Proves Bigger Is Better

Motor Trend

2 days ago

Pros Big enough for the whole family plus friends
Easy-to-use infotainment setup
Useful and trustworthy hands-free driving Cons Slower than the old V-6 model
Loud, gravelly engine note
Plasticky interior and flat seats
There's no such thing as a vehicle that's too big when you have kids. The little nuggets basically come into the world with a tiny house's worth of stuff—stroller, portable crib, car seat, highchair, play gym—that turns every road trip into a traveling circus.
And where there's one kid, it's usually not long before more show up. Siblings, friends, friends of siblings, and siblings of friends, all with their own literal and figurative baggage that a parent-turned-semiprofessional-chauffeur must see to. Heaven help you if your kids (and their friends) take an interest in hockey or the upright bass.
There must be some hockey dads and orchestra moms behind the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse, because when it came time to redesign the three-row crossover for 2024,the designers and engineers took what was already one of the largest vehicles in the segment and stretched it longer, wider, and taller. The resulting roadgoing dirigible feels every bit as cavernous as the full-size Chevy Tahoe that it undercuts by some $18,000.
A Traverse is not a Tahoe, of course, for many reasons but perhaps most significantly the engine. While Tahoes are typically powered by V-8s, the Traverse's recent refresh traded a trusty old V-6 for a turbocharged four-cylinder that's not exactly an upgrade. So where does the redesign net out? We ran the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse High Country AWD through our testing regimen then piled kids into the back seats for subjective evaluations to answer that question. All the Toys for Big Girls and Boys
At $57,295 to start, the Traverse High Country AWD is neither cheap nor expensive, landing at a price that's fair given the long list of features. The interior taps into America's love of huge televisions with a 17.7-inch infotainment screen placed high on the dash and close to the driver, making it appear larger than it is. It runs software that feels intuitive and familiar from the first tap thanks to native Google Maps integration and the ability to download apps like Spotify and Waze directly to the vehicle.
Remember, too, that GM's crusade against Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is only being carried out by/on its EVs, so Traverse buyers still have the option to mirror their phones if they prefer. We also appreciate that, while the designers easily could have done away with physical climate controls, they kept a few critical knobs and buttons, successfully capturing a minimalist look without compromising easy-to-use functionality.
A 10-speaker Bose sound system delivers clear, crisp audio with help from an active noise cancellation system that quiets engine drone at cruising speeds. Some 600,000 miles of highways and two-lane roads can be handled by GM's excellent Super Cruise driver assistance system, leaving the driver's hands free for opening snacks, blindly grasping for dropped toys in the second row, or clapping along to 'If You're Happy and You Know It.'
And pretty much everything inside the cabin has been electrified. There's a power tilt-and-telescope heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated power-adjustable front seats, plus heated second-row captain's chairs and a three-seat third row that can all be dropped at the touch of a couple buttons in the cargo hold. The only thing obviously missing from our $58,290 test vehicle was a panoramic sunroof, a $1,500 option. The Luxury of Space
While the equipment list checks nearly all the expected boxes, nothing about the Traverse cabin is particularly luxurious. The plastics feel plasticky, the faux carbon-fiber trim is a non sequitur in a vehicle named High Country, and an abundance of black makes for a dour ambiance. The optional light gray seats would likely go a long way toward brightening the cockpit. In any color, all seven seats are flat and firm. They're comfortable enough in day-to-day use, but more sculpting would certainly help make road trips more tolerable.
What it lacks in opulence, the Traverse makes up in sheer space. The second-row captain's chairs elevate passengers high enough to peer over the front seats and out the windshield while the tall roofline leaves ample headroom even for a 6-foot-3 adult.
Second-row passengers can stay cool and connected thanks to USB-C ports, a 120-volt household outlet, and climate controls for the rear zone. Parents will appreciate the easy-to-access child-seat anchors and the one-touch tilt-and-slide action that grants passage to the third row even with a car seat installed.
That mechanical ballet opens a wide passage for clambering into the third row, where the width and height of the Traverse once again pay off. The third-row seat cushion sits nice and high relative to the floor, providing a natural seating position even for adults. Outboard passengers get a cupholder and USB-C port plus an overhead climate vent, but there's some evidence of cost-cutting. The third row doesn't have child-seat anchors, and the armrests are unapologetically hard.
Even with all seats occupied, there's a generous 22.9 cubic feet of cargo space—nearly as much as you get in a Tahoe—plus room to swallow large duffel bags in an underfloor bin. Total cargo volume grows to 97.6 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded, which is about 10 cubes more than you'll get in competitors such as the Ford Explorer and the Jeep Grand Cherokee L. Only the Toyota Grand Highlander comes close to matching that. Going Backward While Going Forward
Pop the hood, and the new turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four fills out the engine bay and Chevy's spec sheet like a much larger engine. With 328 hp and 326 lb-ft of torque, it's the strongest standard engine among three-row crossovers and an improvement of 18 horses and 60 lb-ft relative to the naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V-6 that powered the previous Traverse. It also nudges combined fuel economy from 20 to 21 mpg.
But what looks like a win-win on paper is actually a lose-lose when it comes to the subjective driving experience and objective performance. At the test track, the Traverse moseyed from 0 to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds, 0.8 second slower than a 2019 Chevy Traverse RS AWD. The bulk of that gap opens up below 30 mph, as the four-cylinder labors to build turbo boost and put an extra 279 pounds into motion.
Under acceleration, the engine grumbles like a teenager told to put the phone down and clean their room, and the more you ask of it, the louder it complains. Happily, the ruckus calms down when cruising in town or on the highway, but it takes a bunch of revs to move the 4,820-pound Traverse through traffic. Any stop-and-go action or passing maneuver will involve a noisy visit to the upper reaches of the tachometer.
Thankfully, the eight-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly and relatively quickly. Weirdly, though, Chevy still requires the human driver to punch a button to switch between front- and all-wheel drive, a bizarre bit of nonautomation in the age of artificial intelligence. At least the computer remembers your last setting every time you restart the vehicle.
No one buys a Traverse to carve through the twisties, but maybe they should. The Traverse's steering, brakes, body control, and handling are all better than they need to be for a family hauler. The ride quality is also excellent considering the High Country sits on 22-inch wheels with low-profile tires, although there's always a sense that it could be even better if Chevy's designers would just allow its top trims to have normal-size wheels. What Parents Need
The 2025 Chevy Traverse, which starts at $42,195 for the base front-wheel-drive version, gets a lot right just by virtue of its size. On top of a spacious third row and ample cargo space, High Country models take some stress out of parenting with extensive comfort features and excellent infotainment and driver assistance tech.
We imagine most buyers won't mind a slightly slower Traverse, either, especially as a sub-eight-second 0–60 time isn't exactly slow. But what overstimulated, sleep-deprived parent needs more grating noise in their lives? If the Traverse did its part to bring parents closer to the peace and quiet they fantasize about, it'd have everything a three-row crossover buyer needs.