Family-friendly, spacious, quiet, and reasonably quick, this eight-passenger mini-‘ute admirably fills the niche between a honkin’-size SUV and the effective, but, let’s face it, punch-less minivan. Heck, with 116 cubic feet of seat-down cargo space, the Traverse boasts more capacity than most SUVs or minivans! As a bonus, it has a hefty 24 cubic feet of grocery/luggage space behind the third-row seat. Add in plenty of standard gizmos and goodies, better-than-adequate V6 power, and nearly sedan-like ride comfort, and this crossover seems destined to win hearts over! Our 2011 Traverse LT1 eight-passenger midsize crossover mirrors its front-wheel-drive contemporary in everything except drivetrain. As can be intuited, this capable eight-passenger crossover is delivered with full-time all-wheel-drive traction, managed by a center-mounted, limited-slip mechanical differential. Though perhaps not quite as quick off the line as its front-wheel-drive sibling, the LT1 AWD is worth its weight in tire chains on snowy streets. This 2011 Traverse is powered by a 3.6-liter, variable-valve-timed V6 under the management of its standard six-speed auto-manual transmission. This duo puts out 281 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque, enough to tow 5,200 pounds of trailer, when properly equipped. Mileage, meantime, is estimated at 16/23 mpg. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the Traverse five stars across the board in front and side impact testing, as well as four stars for both FWD and AWD trims in rollover tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) also weighs in with equally high scores for front and side impact protection. What are you waiting for? Print this page and call us NOW for your personalized test drive towards ownership!