Chevy Traverse a pretty decent crossover SUV

— -- Badge engineering:Ironic term for creating a "new" vehicle by putting a different badge on a similar vehicle, rather than by extensive (and costly) reengineering.

Despite General Motors' pledge to knock it off, GM's Chevrolet Traverse crossover SUV, on sale last month, is the latest example of this practice. It is similar to, and could rob sales from, GM's GMC Acadia (Test Drive, Dec. 21, 2006), Saturn Outlook (May 4, 2007) and Buick Enclave (Sept. 14, 2007). What's next? A Cadillac Cribber?

Derision notwithstanding, let's be clear: Traverse is basically a good crossover SUV. It hardly could be otherwise as a near-clone of the others, which are quite good. But two Traverse testers had flaws not seen in the others.

The first tester, a front-wheel-drive LT, had misaligned interior trim and a tailgate-open warning light that stayed on 15-20 seconds after it closed. The second, a high-end LTZ all-wheel-drive, was built after all teething problems were solved, Chevy says. It had properly aligned trim and a proper tailgate warning, but was noisier, less comfortable and shifted worse.

The others are built in Lansing, Mich. Traverse is built at the old Saturn plant at Spring Hill, Tenn. — the only vehicle built there.

Related Stories

SCOTUS appears divided on Jan. 6 charges case

• Apr 16, 12:59 PM

Kansas women ID'd as 2 dead bodies in Oklahoma

• Apr 16, 7:46 PM

OJ Simpson dies at 76

• Apr 11, 6:32 PM

LTZ's engine noise was especially troubling, because the FWD tester was luxuriously quiet, both its engine and all-around. The LTZ had dual exhaust and, thus, a bit more power, but the whining and groaning up front had nothing to do with exhausts. Chevy's baffled.

LTZ's leather seats felt as if they had too much lumbar bulge, even fully retracted. LTZ seats have tubes built in for a cooling feature, but were designed to feel just like the non-cooled leathers in LT, Chevy says, scratching its head on that one, too.

LTZ's transmission, the six-speed automatic used in all Traverse and similar crossovers, might have needed more miles to adapt to driver preferences, Chevy says. Let's hope it's that simple. Otherwise the transmission's stumbles and jerks and inconsistencies are a deal-breaker.