Chevrolet Traverse review: the roomiest way to seat seven, if you can live without the old V6's simplicity
3.9/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
The new Traverse is the roomiest genuinely usable three-row SUV in this price bracket sold in Bahrain — the third row fits adults for real, not just children on short trips, and the 848-litre boot behind it still swallows a family's luggage for a Saudi road trip. The turbocharged four brings real performance to the RS and High Country grades, but it is a meaningful step up in maintenance seriousness from the old naturally aspirated V6: oil quality, cooling-system upkeep and turbo-specific servicing all matter more here, especially through Bahrain's summer. Buy the Traverse for the space and don't skip a service interval.
Pros
- 328 hp turbo-four gives genuine highway and overtaking urgency the old V6 lacked
- Third row genuinely fits adults, not just children on short trips
- 848-litre boot behind the third row beats most rivals' full cargo hold
- 8-speed automatic avoids the gear-hunting of earlier GM SUV transmissions
Cons
- Turbo engine demands more attentive oil and cooling maintenance in summer heat than the old V6
- Wide, long body makes older Manama multi-storey parking a real chore
- All-wheel drive is a paid option, not standard
- Fuel consumption under load is higher than the smaller displacement suggests on paper
Chevrolet rebuilt the Traverse around a smaller, more powerful engine for this generation — a 2.5-litre turbocharged four making 328 hp on RS and High Country trims, up meaningfully on the old 3.6-litre V6's output while pulling from a smaller, thirstier-under-load displacement. Paired with an eight-speed automatic, it moves the Traverse's near-2.1-tonne body with genuine urgency, something the old V6 could never quite claim in this size of SUV.
The reason to want a Traverse over most three-row rivals is still the packaging: a 3,097 mm wheelbase translates into a third row that adults can sit in for a real journey, not just a short school run, and the 848-litre boot behind that row is bigger than most rivals' entire cargo hold with the third row folded.
What the turbo-four means for Bahrain owners
Moving from a big naturally aspirated V6 to a smaller turbocharged four is a genuine change in what the car asks of its owner. Turbo cooling and oil quality matter more in 45°C ambient temperatures, and skipping intervals has a faster and more expensive downside than it did on the old six-cylinder. GM's Bahrain dealer network handles this fine on schedule, but this is not a car to run past its service light and hope for the best.
On the road and at the causeway
At speed on the Saudi causeway, the extra torque over the old V6 is obvious in overtaking, and the eight-speed automatic keeps the engine in its useful band without the hunting that plagued some earlier GM SUV gearboxes. Around Manama, the size is the honest trade-off — this is a wide, long vehicle, and multi-storey parking in the older part of the city takes planning. All-wheel drive is worth the option cost for anyone doing regular desert-adjacent driving; the front-drive version is competent on tarmac but has no real off-tarmac ambition.