Not many carmakers are building their cars lighter than before. Cadillac, Land Rover and now GMC can boast this feat. GMC's guinea pig is the new Acadia, a car that was well over 4 large (4,656 pounds, to be exact) in 2016. The new version gets reworked and lightened to the tune of 3,956 pounds, a whopping drop of 700 pounds -- or the equivalent of about two Chicago Bear's Defensive Lineman Refrigerator Perrys. That's saying something. 

We caught sight of the new CUV at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, and it was one seriously good looking vehicle. The lines are tauter, smoother, and the car is leaner in just about every way. It easily qualifies as GMC's best looking vehicle in its entire lineup. Here are important details about the new car (including a price drop). 

  • The overall exterior dimensions are smaller. It's shorter by 7.2 inches with a 6.4-inch reduction in wheelbase. It's also 3.5 inches narrower, and the ride height has dropped by a big 3.9 inches. 
  • It now houses up to seven passengers, depending on configuration -- rather than mashing eight into the interior.
  • Third-row seats fold flat and with the second row in the down position, overall cargo space improves by 9 cubic feet to 79. 
  • A new 2.5-liter 4-cylinder adds a second engine, netting 22 city/28 highway and stop/start for front-wheel drive versions.
  • The updated 3.6-liter V6 provides a healthy 310 hp, an increase of 19 over the outgoing model. 
  • Safety features are now robust with three types of automatic braking systems, 360-degree vision cameras, automatic high beam control, a safety alert seat, and a follow distance indicator.
  • The price drops by $1,905 to $29,995 for the base model. 

2017 GMC Acadia

2017 GMC Acadia Interior