{"id":32664,"date":"2024-05-06T16:02:06","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T20:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=32664"},"modified":"2024-05-06T16:02:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T20:02:06","slug":"payne-reborn-chevy-traverse-offers-a-multiverse-of-goodness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/payne-reborn-chevy-traverse-offers-a-multiverse-of-goodness","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Reborn Chevy Traverse offers a multiverse of goodness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Atlanta<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 It\u2019s time for another edition of Design Your Perfect Car. Today\u2019s feature: Chevrolet. OK. The perfect Chevy would be:<\/p>\n

1) A bargain like a Chevy Trax.<\/em><\/p>\n

2) Engaging performance like a Corvette.<\/em><\/p>\n

3) Off-road capable like a Colorado Z71\/Trail Boss\/ZR2.<\/em><\/p>\n

4) Tough like a Silverado pickup, dude.<\/em><\/p>\n

5) Capable of seating six comfortably like a Tahoe.<\/em><\/p>\n

6) Stuffed with cool self-driving tech like a Bolt.<\/em><\/p>\n

Your wish is granted. Say hello to the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
The 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 is comfortable on and off-road with its all-terrain tires and suspension lift. <\/em>Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Whaaaaat?<\/em>\u00a0The Traverse?!!! The vanilla Soccer Mom SUV that\u2019s been more miserly on standard features than Scrooge and had the face of … wait, what did it look like again? Yes, that Traverse.<\/p>\n

For its third generation, the remade Traverse has gotten its act together. Call it the Multiverse. The big ute has always clocked in for work with the biggest interior in class, but it had fallen behind competitors in value (love ya\u2019, Kia Telluride), style (oooh, that Ford Explorer is hot), interior design (Telluride again), and off-road chops (Explorer Timberline, Telluride X-Pro, Honda Pilot Trailsport, etc.).<\/p>\n

The off-road oversight was particularly galling for a brand that produces some of the best trucks on the planet. Buy a Chevy pickup Z71, Trail Boss or ZR2 off-road model and you\u2019ll want to take a detour to Holly Oaks ORV Park sandbox every day on your home from work to play.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n

The 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 comes standard with adaptive cruse control, blind-spot assist, even all-terrain tires. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So Traverse went to the gym and emerged with a toned, ZR1 off-road bod. Dude.<\/p>\n

Performance-verse.<\/strong>\u00a0In the wilds of northwest Georgia, I selected OFF-ROAD mode, turned off traction control and drifted the big ute through some grassy turns. Out on the flat, I buried the throttle and the buttery-smooth, eight-speed transmission swapped the right cogs to get into the meat of the best-in-class, 328-horse turbo-4 \u2014 yet another torque monster from the same blacksmiths that gave you gems like the 2.7-liter Silverado turbo-4 and the flat-plane crank Corvette V-8.<\/p>\n

Alas, Chevy hasn\u2019t complemented this grunt with a throaty exhaust growl. Pity. A good growl would also reinforce Traverse\u2019s tough truck bod, complete with Silverado-like, get-outta-my-way grille and muscled shoulders. Good riddance to the ol\u2019, vanilla, Malibu-inspired wardrobe.<\/p>\n

Truck-verse.<\/strong>\u00a0GM makes some of the best-engineered chassis in autodom and Traverse is no exception. Whether Camaro, Caddy sedan or Silverado, the General\u2019s models have always been fun to drive. Through rural Atlanta\u2019s twisties, the XL Traverse felt a size smaller. Now, Chevy ups the fun factor with a proper Z71 off-road package taken from its trucks: 32-inch Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires, underbody skid plates, red tow hooks, 1.2-inch lift, twin-clutch rear differential.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n

The bold, upright front end of the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The latter is a nifty tech that Michiganians will also appreciate in winter snow drifts. One tire stuck? The clutch packs will throw 100% torque to the other wheel to power you out.<\/p>\n

Bang!<\/em>\u00a0I smacked the front skid plate over a mogul and the big ute shrugged it off. Don\u2019t ford a stream with it (get yourself a Colorado ZR2 with a snorkel for that kind of hooliganism), but Z71 would be happy towing your family side-by-side to a trail head.<\/p>\n