We just bought a Chevy Traverse LTZ. It comes with a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Can't really beat that and it there was much room for discounting compared to the explorer or highlander. The Lamda platform GM SUV's are also a little bigger than all the competition, so you can pack more stuff in the back and still have room for 4-7 people. I personally hate all GM products except for a few of the new caddys, but you really can't beat the size/feature/price ratio. We loved the options and ride of the new highlander, but they were not offering any discounts so when you include safety features like a blindspot sensor and collision avoidance, you are talking about the limited model and spending 47 grand for a toyota. No thank you. At that price there are a ton more options out there
I also loved the explorer, but the same thing, to equip it with saftey features and back seat video system you are pushing 47 grand and like Toyota that warranty is only 60,000 miles. The other plus is with the towing package it can tow 5500 pounds.
We did have some problems with it though. It could not be driven off the lot until they fixed a couple recall issues related to seat belts and they had to wait a week for parts. Then when we did drive it off the lot there was a vibration in the steering wheel at highway speed. After 3 sets of tires and 3 months the vibration stopped, but GM service departments are horrible. It looks to completely be a defect with the tires so I can't blame GM for it as much as I would like too. It seemed to affect the other Lambda top trim levels that have the 20 inch wheels. There are a few threads on internet message boards about it. They only offer Bridgestones at that size so you are stuck with only this tire and I don't personally like it. the 20 inch rims look real nice though.
I also think the interior is a bit dated across all of the lambdas, I don't understand the price difference between them as they all offer the same dated interiors, with the buick looking a little better, but still stuck in the 90's.
I did love the Highlander the best all around but it was only moderately larger than the kia. I am overall happy with the chevy purchase, though it has done nothing to change my opinion of GM products/quality in general. Since we were so crunched for space in the Kia, we really like the extra room it offers, the warranty, and most important the price.
