2025 Chevrolet Traverse Review and Test Drive

Great on paper and in the back seats. Not great from behind the wheel.

James Riswick | 

Apr 22, 2025 | 7 min read

James Riswick

The 2025 Chevrolet Traverse is enormous. Tall people could fit in all three rows, and there's likely enough space behind the third row for everyone to bring along a bag. It is also quite stylish and boasts state-of-the-art tech. There's a lot to like … until you drive it. The off-road-oriented Z71 trim I tested may have heightened the drivability issues.

The 2025 Traverse lineup starts with the base LT trim level and forks off in three directions from there. The Z71 has rugged looks and mechanical enhancements for off-roading. The High Country — new for 2025 — adds a luxurious look and feel. And the RS has sportier styling and comes fully loaded. Prices range from the low $40,000s to the high $50,000s, including the destination charge to ship the SUV to your dealer from the Lansing, Michigan, factory.

I tested the Traverse Z71 on and off the road in the Southern California suburbs. My test vehicle included a panoramic sunroof, the Driver Confidence package, and the Enhanced Driving package, equipping the SUV with a Super Cruise hands-free driver-assistance system. Those options brought the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $55,900, including the destination charge. Chevrolet provided this vehicle for review.

James Riswick

Is the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse a Good SUV?

On one hand, the Traverse does a better job transporting a full load of people and their stuff than most other midsize, three-row family crossovers. Its infotainment system is also impressive. On the other hand, the Traverse Z71 I tested was slow, cumbersome, and unpleasant to drive.

James Riswick

The 2025 Traverse Has a Large Cabin

With its big, blocky grille and chiseled lines, the 2025 Traverse makes a more memorable visual statement than its predecessors. The Z71 takes this vibe even further with blacked-out trim, a trucklike bumper with tow hooks, and off-road tires. It looks pretty cool.

One design element, the triangular pillars that jut above the rear tires, aren't as cool once you climb into the third row. Occupants are left staring at a huge plastic wall with most of the small third-row window glass behind their heads.

Otherwise it's a positive experience for passengers. Chevrolet mounts the third row relatively high off the floor, providing sufficient support for even a 6-foot-3-inch person such as myself. I also had enough legroom with the second row moved forward just a hair, and I could fit three fingers between my head and the roof. Roof-mounted air vents in the third row are another great feature.

James Riswick

In terms of storage, the main cupholders were big enough to accommodate a wine-bottle-sized water bottle. A second pair behind the flip-up console lid is meant to serve second-row occupants.

Storage for larger items makes this Traverse a leader in the three-row crossover segment. I could also fit more luggage behind the Traverse's third row (eight bags) than I could in Chevy's full-size Tahoe. Only minivans and the extended-length Suburban have swallowed more bags with all rows raised. The Traverse's overwhelming girth is a part of this, but so is a huge underfloor storage area that expands the space.

James Riswick

State-of-the-Art Infotainment and Safety Tech

Unlike many new vehicles, every Traverse trim level has a top-of-the-line infotainment system. The 17.7-inch touchscreen that stretches beyond the usual rectangular confines has colorful and crisp graphics. So does the 11.0-inch digital instrument panel that has multiple layout options.

The touchscreen is simple to use, there's a volume knob, and there are physical climate controls.

The navigation system features Google Maps, and Google Assistant voice controls do a tremendous job of summoning directions or other Google-related functions. However, unlike most voice-control systems, it couldn't select a specific SiriusXM satellite radio channel. If you prefer to use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity, both are standard in the Traverse.

James Riswick

Regarding safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the 2025 Traverse the highest five-star ratings for overall, frontal, and side crash protection and a four-star rollover rating.

To help prevent a crash, the Traverse's package of driver-assistance systems includes forward and reverse emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and steering intervention for the blind-spot monitoring system. I found the lane-keeping system a little intrusive at times, but otherwise the features worked as intended without false alarms.

Adaptive cruise control is standard, but my Z71 test vehicle's optional Super Cruise hands-free highway driving assistant's ability to drive in a convincingly human manner was impressive.

James Riswick

The Traverse Z71 Is Not a Good Vehicle to Drive

Simply put, driving the Traverse Z71 is unpleasant. The steering is heavy at low speeds and when turning into a corner, making the SUV a chore to drive around town and in parking lots. As speeds rise, the steering becomes too numb on-center.

The Z71's all-terrain tires most likely contribute to the lack of steering precision regardless of speed. Those tires also hamper the ride. Imagine the difference between jogging in running shoes versus work boots — it's similar between all-season and all-terrain tires. Impacts are harsher and felt more acutely throughout the cabin.

The powertrain is another sore spot. On paper, it seems terrific: a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque. In practice, it sounds like a blender.

James Riswick

There's lots of noise and little thrust when you accelerate from a stop or merge onto the highway. Once up to speed, every throttle input beyond simply maintaining momentum is met with a gear change and engine roar. Moreover, unless you mash the gas, the Traverse just feels slow. Selecting Sport mode slightly improves the sluggish throttle response, but the steering gets even heavier.

Mashing the gas may reduce fuel economy, but after 178 miles, I averaged 20.8 mpg. The Traverse EPA-estimated gas mileage for all-wheel-drive (AWD) is 19/24/21 mpg in city/highway/combined driving, so my observed number meets expectations.

Within the Traverse lineup, the Z71 has a different AWD system from other trims that splits power not only between the front and rear wheels, as you might expect, but also between each rear wheel. That extra capability aids traction in poor weather conditions and when driving off-road. Otherwise, the AWD found on other Traverse models only functions after the driver turns it on. That may work for fuel economy, but it is something for potential owners to consider.

Other off-road enhancements include unique dampers with hydraulic rebound control for particularly nasty bumps. Ground clearance increases by an inch, but that equates to only 7.8 inches — the Honda Pilot TrailSport, Kia Telluride X-Pro, and every Subaru Ascent offer more. The Traverse's long wheelbase isn't great for the breakover angle, either.

James Riswick

The Z71 also has Off-Road and Terrain drive modes, and the Terrain mode provides simulated low-range gearing for particularly tricky surfaces. To test that, as well as the AWD system and off-road tires, I pointed the Traverse onto a hard-packed dirt trail that included some small gullies and a steep hill.

The minimal ground clearance and breakover angle caused me to scrape the bottom when slowly turning down a gully that I initially didn't think twice about tackling — but I certainly did thereafter!

Up the hill, I could feel the various systems distributing power and the tires clawing for traction while the engine struggled to move the Traverse upward. When using the low range, I had my foot to the floor, and there were times when I thought the grade might stop the Traverse in its tracks. I made it to the top eventually, and low range on the way down was more helpful. A second pass with regular gearing in Terrain mode was less dramatic, but the Traverse still did not like doing this.

Ultimately, I see the Z71's off-road enhancements as useful only in limited circumstances. It simply didn't give me the confidence to tackle the more severe terrain in the area. Considering how much the Z71 trim's tires negatively affect the on-road driving experience, the meager addition of off-road capability might be hard to justify.

James Riswick

It's possible that other versions of the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse would leave a better impression than the Z71. I can't blame the tires for everything, though. As competitive as this big Chevy may seem, given its space, specs, style, and features, driving it was such a chore that the experience overshadowed its many positive attributes.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

James Riswick

James Riswick has been testing cars and writing about them for more than 20 years. He was the senior reviews editor for Autoblog and previously served multiple editor roles at Edmunds. He has also contributed to Autotrader, Car and Driver, Hagerty, J.D. Power, and Autoguide Magazine. He has been interested in cars forever; his mom took him to the Toronto Auto Show when he was 18 months old and he has attended at least one every year since (OK, except in 2020). When he's not testing the latest cars, he has a babied 1998 BMW Z3 in James Bond blue, a 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 Wagon, and a 2023 Kia Niro EV.