Chevy Traverse gets first off-road trim, more tech on 2024 model

LANSING, Mich. — Chevrolet is loading the next-generation Traverse crossover with its first-ever off-road trim, more standard safety features and larger touchscreens.

The 2024 Traverse, scheduled to go on sale early next year, has an updated design and a new engine with more horsepower and torque, General Motors said Monday. The redesigned three-row crossover will come in four trims — LS, LT, RS and, for the first time, the off-road Z71.

GM did not disclose pricing while revealing the third-generation Traverse at the mid-Michigan plant that will assemble it, though executives said the crossover will be competitive in its segment. The 2023 Traverse starts at $35,915 with shipping.

"Our new Traverse is designed and engineered to act and look more like an SUV," Scott Bell, vice president of global Chevrolet, said in a statement. "Led by the all-new Z71, the 2024 Traverse builds on the success of its predecessor and will undoubtedly enable us to be in more customer driveways."

Last redesigned for the 2018 model year, the Traverse gets a new 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which GM estimates will produce 315 hp and 317 pound-feet of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is available.

The outgoing model has a 3.6-liter V-6 and nine-speed transmission for 310 hp and 266 pound-feet of torque.

GM in January 2022 announced a $510 million investment in its two Lansing-area assembly plants in Michigan, including to build the next generation of the Traverse and Buick Enclave at the Lansing Delta Township plant.

The segment is “very important to General Motors, and it’s very important to Chevrolet,” Rory Harvey, GM’s new president of North America, said Monday at an event to reveal the Traverse.

Harvey said the Lansing plant has built 1.65 million Traverses since the vehicle debuted in 2009. Between the anticipated demand for the Traverse, as well as the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia that will share a platform, GM expects to be able to add a third shift at the factory next year, Harvey said. The plant has not operated a third shift since 2017.

“We think that this is going to sell significant volumes,” he said. “We've already got positive momentum and we see that momentum continuing. So we think that we're going to have enough demand out there in the marketplace to be able to fulfill three shifts.”

The Traverse is an important model in the growing large crossover segment. Since the current generation arrived, it has faced new competition from the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride crossovers and redesigns of the top-selling Toyota Highlander and Ford Explorer.

U.S. sales of the Traverse rose 55 percent to 68,681 in the first half of the year, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center. That compares with 113,423 Highlanders, down 3.4 percent, and 104,423 Explorers, up 1.5 percent.

Chevy hopes the Z71 trim will help the Traverse take on the segment's top sellers. The new trim brings a slate of off-road features to the Traverse, including an additional inch of ground clearance, improved stability and handling, 18-inch wheels and all-terrain tires, a unique front fascia, an aluminum skid plate, red tow hooks, a twin-clutch all-wheel-drive system to help with traction and a terrain mode.

The Traverse gets a more rugged, truck-like exterior. The RS trim will include animated lighting that interacts with an enabled key as its owner approaches the vehicle, Chevrolet said, along with 22-inch high-gloss aluminum wheels in black, RS-specific badging inside and out, blackout accents and unique interior design features.

EVs will take on a sleeker, more aerodynamic appearance, which gives designers “permission on the ICE vehicles to make them a little bit more truck-like,” Bell told Automotive News on Monday.

“The truckiness of the industry just continues to grow,” Bell said, adding that the Traverse’s more rugged styling cues and crossover-like handling can appeal to both male and female buyers. Bell said the Traverse skews heavily toward women, and Chevy anticipates that adding the Z71 trim to the Traverse could help increase interest among men.

“I think we're going to just build off of things that we've done with Colorado and Silverado and even Tahoe,” he said. “It's a natural place for us to go. And it's a subbrand that has a lot of equity, and I think it's going to do great things for this brand, based on the initial reaction I'm getting.”

On the inside, Chevy said the 17.7-inch diagonal touchscreen is more than twice as big as the largest screen offered in the outgoing Traverse. The Traverse includes an 11-inch diagonal driver information center and has available wireless phone charging and Wi-Fi.

Different trims and configurations seat either seven or eight people, and the Traverse has cargo capacity of 97.6 cubic feet when the second- and third-row seats are folded down, which Chevy said is best in class.

GM has added standard safety features to the Traverse, including its Chevy Safety Assist package that includes automatic emergency braking, forward-collision alert and lane-keep assist with lane-departure warning. Rear park assist, adaptive cruise control and rear pedestrian alert also are on the full lineup after being included only on some versions of the 2023 model.

GM's Super Cruise hands-free driver-assist technology will be available.