2023 Chevrolet Traverse

The family three-row crossover segment is at least as competitive as the battle among five-passenger crossovers. The either seven- or eight-seat Chevy Traverse (choose second-row captain’s chairs or a bench) saw a major refresh in 2022 and carries over to 2023 with minimal changes. It retains its ultra-smooth 3.6-liter V6, big shape and good balance between competent handling and a smooth ride. Plus, its interior volume is near the top of the class. 

No, it’s not going to thrill you, but driving this crossover doesn’t feel like piloting some massive land yacht, either. From the quiet cabin to the step-free drivetrain, there’s a reward in the sheer solidity of the machine. The challenge, however, is that the higher grades get expensive. A la carte options are minimal, and some rivals come with far more tech, safety and infotainment content. There are five grades and a $20,000 price spread from top to bottom. The base LS starts at $35,915; the LT Cloth is $38,440, the LT Leather is $42,085, the Sporty RS jumps to $46,885, the Premier $49,050 and the top-level High Country is $53,345. Adding all-wheel drive runs $2,000 to $2600 depending on the trim level. (All prices include a $1395 destination fee but no manufacturer discounts that may be available.) 

The Traverse competes against its crosstown rival, the Ford Explorer (which offers more than one powertrain, including a hybrid), Toyota’s Highlander, which can also be had with a hybrid powertrain, and the Kia Telluride. The Telluride has become a benchmark of sorts for the segment, largely because the interior looks more business-class upscale rather than the coach chintzy. The Traverse is also a sibling of GMC’s Acadia, but the Chevy stretches out over an 8.4-inch longer wheelbase (and 205.9-inch overall length) to venture into Jeep Grand Cherokee L and Dodge Durango territory.

Still, that size is the Traverse’s ace in the hole: it offers best-in-segment rear-seat legroom as well as excellent cargo capacity. That is, however, about to change. Honda’s new 2023 Pilot gets a lot larger, and Toyota is bringing the Grand Highlander to market in mid-2023, which should offer significantly better cargo and third-row space than the current standard Highlander. The Volkswagen Atlas is also on the jumbo end of the room spectrum in this group, but it costs more, especially if you add a V6.

The Traverse is roomier than the Highlander, Explorer and Telluride without becoming a handful to drive. Speaking of which, while there are rivals to the Chevy that are more suitable for off-road duty, like the Grand Cherokee L (and even the Ford Explorer is fire-road capable), that’s not the Traverse’s prime objective. In fact, it’s probably the least off-road aspirational crossover SUV in the segment. To be fair, the bulk of rigs that live in the family crossover segment are not rock crawlers.

The right way to think about the Traverse? It’s an easy-driving, roomy family car, an SUV that’s closer to a Minivan than an off-road adventurer but comes with less social stigma. Don’t spend more thinking that’ll gussy it up. A nearly-fully loaded $59,540 High Country AWD won’t magic itself into a Mercedes. Simply put, spend burger money, not steak money, and you’re getting excellent value.

Performance 11/15

Chevrolet Traverse engineers clearly did their homework when pairing up the 310 horsepower 3.6-liter V6 with the nine-speed automatic transmission. Shift points are barely perceptible. And while we’ve hankered for sports-car-style paddle shifters in all manner of vehicles with automatics that clunk here and thump there, such a thought never enters your brain at the helm of the Traverse. (If, say, you’re trailering or driving in snow and really need a quicker toggle, use the gear selector switch set into the side of the center console selector.)

You also have to fist-bump Chevy for creating an incredibly quiet powertrain. At idle and on the highway, the V6 displays zero harshness and the start-stop system that saves gas in heavy traffic works just as seamlessly as the gearbox. If Kia’s Telluride is the beauty queen of this class, the Traverse drives like the genius nerd quietly penciling out every formula on the chalkboard.

Chevy perfectly calibrates the suspension, too, erasing any fuss from road crinkles and potholes. The ride’s poised, making this cockpit an ideal place for spending hours (probably too many) chauffeuring kids to soccer practice, band practice and all those other practices. 

Fuel Economy: 9/15

The front-wheel drive Traverse nets 21 mpg combined, 18 city and 27 highway. Adding all-wheel drive takes a small toll, reducing fuel economy to 20 mpg combined, 17 city and 25 highway. 

Unfortunately, the Traverse really gets outclassed by rivals that manage especially better city mileage. The non-hybrid Highlander is significantly more efficient at 25 mpg combined, 22 city and 29 highway (AWD takes one mpg per measure). The Kia Telluride comes in at 23 mpg combined, 20 city and  26 highway and the most efficient non-hybrid Ford Explorer is the rear-drive turbo four-cylinder, which returns 25 mpg combined, 21 city and 28 highway. AWD versions of both vehicles and fancier Explorer trims subtract one or two mpg in each metric. The V6 hybrid Explorer has more power, but only increases fuel efficiency to a best of 27 mpg combined, 27 city and 25 highway. 

If fuel use is a big concern, you should be looking at Toyota’s Highlander Hybrid, which offers truly superior fuel economy—36 mpg combined, 36 city and 35 highway, to be precise—but at starting price at a few grand more than non-hybridized Highlanders. 

Again the larger 2023 Honda Pilot is waiting in the wings, but the EPA has yet to issue figures for the new version. That said, the 2022 guise hit better-than-average gas economy in this segment.  

Safety & Driver Assistance Tech: 8/15

While Chevy does include a number of standard safety features in its Safety Assist package, including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian detection, lane departure warning and automatic high beams, adding blind spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert requires upgrading from the $35,915 base LS trim to the LT at $38,440, including the $1,395 destination fee. Adaptive cruise control isn’t available at that price jump either, and until you hit $42,135 and the LT Leather rung, buyers cannot get this feature. 

That’s a bummer, since all of these are standard features on the Kia Telluride LX at $37,025. 

The 2023 Traverse gets a “Good” overall score from IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) for crash worthiness and four out of five stars from NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The Kia Telluride tops it in safety, earning a Top Safety Pick + from IIHS and 5/5 stars from NHTSA. The Ford Explorer is a Top Safety Pick +, and so is the Toyota Highlander.

Comfort & Room: 13/15

The Traverse is big. A top reason to want one is that in both seven- and eight-seat configuration, every passenger seat feels roomy and  third-row comfort is excellent, which isn’t always the case in the segment. It’s got 38.4 inches of second row legroom and 33.5 inches of third row legroom. The Highlander comes in a 38 and just 27.7 inches and The Telluride  offers more second-row room at 42.2 inches, but takes that at the expense of the third row leaving only 31.4.  

Bottom line: if using the third row on a daily basis is a requirement, the Traverse is your prime contender.  

The rest of the Traverse’s cabin is extra roomy, too; second row seats slide and the seat backs tilt, and with 10 cupholders, several of which also happen to be oversized, you’ve got no shortage of slots to park an American-sized water bottle. Up front, there’s stowage in the armrest and a big bin beneath the center stack, and with cubbies throughout the cabin, the Traverse was clearly designed by Americans for American space needs. 

Infotainment: 10/15

With wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and Wi-Fi available (but with the inevitable upcharge), Chevy’s at least in the game with its vs. rivals, and we do like that Chevy’s system still retains hard buttons for radio/entertainment tuning and a physical knob for volume operation. Chevy put a lot of functions into the touchscreen, but the icons and layout are fairly intuitive, and the redundant driver infotainment controls on the steering wheel mean you can keep your eyes on the road and adjust sound sources without (pardon us) skipping a beat.

Six USBs, two for each row, also earn bonus points, but Telluride offers navigation gratis (you’ve got to spring for the $47,835 RS trim to get that on the Traverse), and the Kia’s 12.3-inch touchscreen makes the 7-inch standard unit on the Chevy feel pretty ancient. Speaking of which, for an additional $1,500, parents can add dual second-row flat screens (and headphones) to the aft quarters of the Kia, even the base model, which isn’t an option with the Chevy at any tier, even the $53,395 High Country.

The six-speaker sound system is fine in the Traverse, but to get the 10-speaker Bose setup requires jumping, again, to the RS model or above—which, to be fair, is exactly the game Kia, Toyota, et al play.

Cargo Space & Storage: 14/15

Every tier of Traverse comes standard with a storage bin behind the third row. This ultra-handy box is perfect for standing up three bags of groceries and not having them spill their contents across the back of your Traverse. Why this isn’t a default for every wagon/hatchback, we have no idea, but it’s great that it comes with this Chevy.

Flip the third row of seats forward and you’ve got 57.8 cubic feet of cargo room, more than doubling the 23 cubic feet with it in place. The Telluride offers 46 and 21 respective cubes, the Explorer 49.9 and 20.8 and the Highlander 48.4 and 16 cubes). There are 98.2 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded, ten more than any of the aforementioned trio of competitors. Those who need the most room should consider the new 2023 Honda Pilot, which carves out an impressive 113.6 cubic feet of capacity.

Accessing the Traverse’s cargo room is easy thanks to the easy two-step process required to fold the second row, whether it’s the 60/40 bench or captain’s chairs.  

Style & Design: 7/10

The Traverse is prettier on the outside than the inside. Chevy’s wisely not trying to pretend they’re making a brawny off-roader, and while some brands really stake their claim on such pretensions, Chevy knows 99% of three-row SUV buyers aren’t driving dirt roads, let alone rock crawling. Acknowledging this freed Chevy designers to take a cleaner, less chiseled approach and the result is a fluid, even attractive creature that isn’t quite as pretty on the inside.

Climb aboard the hot-selling Telluride, and the material grade feels substantially higher. Arguably neither the Toyota Highlander nor Ford Explorer gain substantial ground on the Chevy, but that Kia—and its kissing cousin Hyundai Palisade—both play to a near-luxury audience. Like both of those brands, Chevy wants $40-$50,000 or more when you step up to top-grade RS, Premier and High Country tiers, but unfortunately even then the cabin material quality cannot match what those brands bring to the party.

Which Chevy Traverse is the Best Value?

The $35,915 (prices include the $1,395 destination fee) FWD Chevy Traverse LS is doubtless where you’re getting the best ROI. Even adding all-wheel drive only bumps the price to $37,915. Because the LT cloth brings in blind-spot detection and rear cross traffic alert, features we like to have in bigger vehicles like this, it’s tempting at $38,440. The trouble is that if you want AWD the price jumps by $3,750 to $42,190.  You can get an AWD Kia Telluride, plus features the Chevy isn’t offering such as adaptive cruise control, for $39,025. 

In fact, the $39,590 AWD Telluride S gets heated front seats, too, but you can’t even buy that function (which you can find on a lot of cars that sell in the $20-$30,000 range) in any Traverse below the $42,190 LT Cloth version. 

Basically, the cheaper Traverse models delivers more room for your money. The more creature comforts you add on, the less the Traverse makes sense. But those who genuinely need plenty of interior real estate are advised to go for a Traverse (and restrain your desire for added baubles) or wait and cross-shop it against the forthcoming bigger 2023 Honda Pilot. We like the way the Traverse drives, how quiet it is, and the great powertrain, but it’s less competitive the more you want to make it into something it’s not.

How much does The Chevrolet Traverse cost to insure?

The Chevrolet Traverse is about average among its competitors in terms of insurance costs. According to our data, a typical 30-year-old female driver with a clean record can expect an average annual premium of $1,900 up to $2,206 for the top High Country trim, though this averages all 50 states. That compares to an average $2,100 for the Ford Explorer, $1,999 for the Kia Telluride and $2,194 for the Toyota Highlander. Visit our car insurance calculator to get a more accurate picture of your potential insurance expenses.