The 2012 GMC Acadia Denali: My New Favorite

Okay, wow.

As you know, I have had the good fortune to test-drive many General Motors vehicles on an extended (one week) basis, for the purpose of providing my “I’m a busy blogger, writer, show producer, event planner, exercise enthusiast, reality tv-watcher, beagle owner, wife, and mom just to name a few” opinion about them. I have enjoyed them all. The Chevy Cruze (especially when it smelled like the paczkis I bought that one time, leading me to beg GM’s Connie Burke to beg Chevrolet to invent a “baked goods feature”) was a favorite. The Chevy Sonic, in all its cuteness, was a big hit with me AND my teenagers. The Chevy Tahoe was a great vehicle for picking up cases of my hot-off-the-presses book from my publisher. And now, the 2012 GMC Acadia Denali.

Sigh.

Another favorite.

The first thing I liked about it was the color. I mean, THAT is my favorite color. Red is a power color, a passion color, a confidence color for me. (yeah yeah: it’s an angry color too–but not too often, for me anyway.) Before I bought my black Pontiac G6 (the car I currently drive), I drove a red sedan for two years and before that I drove a red minivan for (I think) nearly ten years. The only reason I bought a black car is because I wanted to change to something a little more neutral and I would say that black is my second favorite color when it comes to cars. Now? I want to go back to red. Really.

So you can bet that I was squealing for joy when the nice guys that work at the magical place where GM stores its fleet of vehicles in the Chicagoland area drove up in that beauty.

Okay, but it’s never a good idea to judge a book by its cover. So I opened the door and climbed in. Actually, I DIDN’T climb in, and that’s what I love. Getting into this crossover vehicle wasn’t like hiking my leg up and climbing up into a truck. It was much easier than that.

Some of my favorite features:

1. The smooth ride. Really. It was comfortable and I felt like I was gliding along the roads. Overstatement? Only to be helpful to you, so you can imagine it. I loved the way it drove.

2. The Bluetooth. I paired my phone immediately and the hands-free calling was great for me in the days leading up to #BBSummit12, when I had to be on the phone constantly. I loved how, when I made a call, the radio volume went down automatically and the fan powered down too, to cut down on noise.

3. The Power Rear Liftgate. Coming out of the grocery store, it was great to press the button on the remote that made the liftgate open up so I could start tossing my cookies in there immediately. Well, you know what I mean. Cookies. Really. Grocery bags full of them. There is also the choice of opening the liftgate by using the button on the door OR the button on the dash.

4. Swanky miscellaneous convenience items. My life was made more delightful by the backup camera, the navigation system, the XM radio service (gotta love listening to stand-up comedy, Broadway tunes, and other assorted genres I don’t normally hear in my car), the comfy leather seats, and the GENEROUS cargo space in back.

Something I had very mixed feelings about was the Head Up Display. It’s actually a really cool safety feature that, well…let me just let HER explain it:

So in THEORY this is a great thing. You can keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. My brain likes that. My eyes, however, don’t. During the daytime I had a hard time focusing when I adjusted my gaze between what was ahead of me outside and the numbers projected on my windshield. Full disclosure: my eye doctor has been telling me each and every year for the last seven years that if I use proper lighting when reading, I might be able to put off getting glasses for just. one. more. year.

So maybe I’m not the best person to judge the Head Up Display.

I tried it after dark and it was a little more comfortable for me. In the end though, I turned it off. Kudos to GMC for giving me that option!

I took the vehicle with me to #BBSummit12 and we had it parked in the valet spot outside the lobby so attendees could go check it out. I must admit that I felt a little jealous and protective when they were all tweeting how much they liked MY car, but at the same time was glad they could all take a peek. In the end, the car went home with me. For a couple more days, anyway.

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Connie, THIS one’s my favorite so far!

Disclosure: The fine folks at GMC kindly let me drive the beautiful 2012 GMC Acadia Denali for one week, with no expectation of my doing anything for them other than enjoy it. All content and opinions are mine, obviously.