2023 Acadia Interior

While the GMC Acadia is still a handsome crossover, at least from the outside, the interior has not received the same degree of attention from the designers, so it's starting to look somewhat outdated. A wrapped steering wheel on the upper trims has been made standard, and forms part of extensive use of good-quality materials. The simpler styling may appeal to buyers who like no-frills class. You will need to upgrade to get access to some of the more desirable features like power-adjustable seats or leather upholstery, but the controls for all the standard tech, of which there is plenty, are laid out for ease of access. Part of the reason for this is that the infotainment screen is moderately sized, and the console isn't overly cluttered. More tech-savvy buyers may not be impressed by this, though.

2023 Acadia Interior Photos

Seating and Interior Space

With three rows of seats within the cabin, there is space for a maximum of seven passengers in the base SL. Or at least, there is seating for seven; space is another matter. The first two rows are where you want to be if you're any bigger than a pre-teen. Adults should preferably be seated up front, but they can fit in the second row if they aren't too tall. But once you reach the third row, legroom is reduced to around 30 or so inches - varying slightly by trim - and the roof slopes down, too. This means that only small children should ever be placed back there. However, since standard cargo capacity is quite meager, it may be best to leave the rear-most seats folded down.

All the trims by default trade out the second-row bench for a pair of captain's chairs, reducing overall seating capacity to six. However, you are given the option to stick with seven seats at no extra cost, depending on your needs. With the third row folded down, the cabin feels a lot more spacious, but those in the rearmost seats still aren't going to be rejoicing. Four-way manual front seats are the norm on the base trim, but this upgrades to an eight-way power driver's seat with a memory function and heated front seats on the other trims; only the flagship Denali gets standard eight-way power adjustment for the passenger seat too. Heated outboard second-row seats are optional from SLT upwards and standard on Denali.

2023 GMC Acadia Interior Dimensions:

Interior Colors and Materials

The base trim level of the new Acadia doesn't quite live up to the expectations that its price tag engenders. The SLE is dressed up in premium cloth upholstery, offered in Jet Black or Cocoa/Light Ash Gray. The more rugged AT4 sticks with the same base upholstery but offers it in black only and allows you to upgrade to perforated Jet Black leather for $1,000. The SLT and Denali get the leather right off the bat, but while the SLT gets the same color palette as the SLE, the Denali trades Cocoa/Light Ash Gray for Dark Galvanized/Light Shale. Even the lower-tier trims sport classy wooden veneer inlays with chrome, justifying the Acadia classification as more than just a budget family hauler. The SUV also boasts higher-quality construction with fewer hard plastics than we are used to seeing from the brand, but again, it's not the most upscale cabin for the price.

2023 Acadia Trunk and Cargo Space

Crossovers are prized for their practicality, combining plenty of passenger room with loads of cargo space. However, those with three rows of seats often sacrifice the latter in favor of the former. Thus, the Acadia presents buyers with only 12.8 cubic feet of trunk space behind the rear-most seats. This might be enough for a few grocery bags, but there'll never be enough room for much luggage, and definitely not for that of seven occupants. Whenever you aren't hauling around a soccer team, it would make more sense to keep the third row folded down, which gives you access to a more practical 41.7 cubic feet. This should be enough for a camping trip for the whole family. On the rare occasion that you need to do some real heavy lifting, folding both the second and third rows grants access to 79 cubic feet. In any configuration, the GMC SUV falls quite far behind its chief competitors in the USA, such as the Kia Telluride or Chevrolet Traverse.

At least it's less disappointing in terms of in-cabin storage. Each row of seats gets its own set of cupholders, which is good because the unusually shaped door pockets may not be able to store enough water bottles to keep everyone hydrated. If you have anything larger than some keys or a small mobile device, you would better off using the glovebox or center armrest cubby for storage. The center console includes a rear storage drawer but this isn't offered when the AT4 is specced in the available five-seater configuration.

2023 GMC Acadia Trunk and Cargo Space Photos

2023 Acadia Infotainment and Features

Features

The Acadia is starting to look a little dated inside, and that extends to its list of features. Nevertheless, GMC has done a pretty good job of keeping it modern, especially in terms of safety features. Along with premium cloth upholstery, the SLE is outfitted with four-way manual front seats, tri-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry and ignition, cruise control, and a 4.2-inch driver information display. As mentioned, the safety suite is even more comprehensive this year, with eight airbags, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, following distance indicator, a rearview camera, front and rear park assist, and a teen driver system all standard, even on the base model.

The SLT also upgrades to perforated leather upholstery and adds an eight-way power driver's seat, along with heating for the front seats, remote engine start, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, a universal home remote, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror. The AT4 shares the SLT's interior appointments, except for the leather upholstery. The top-of-the-range Denali adds heating to the rear outboard seats, too, along with an automatic heated steering wheel, driver's seat memory functions, ventilated front seats, an eight-way power front passenger seat, a larger eight-inch driver display, an electrically adjustable steering wheel, and a head-up display.

Infotainment

The Acadia makes use of a slightly smaller infotainment touchscreen than most of its competition. However, the eight-inch display comes programmed with plenty of features, including AM/FM Radio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, SiriusXM, and a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot. The SLE trim comes with a six-speaker sound system. The SLT adds navigation and a premium eight-speaker Bose audio setup. From the get-go, five USB ports are spread around the cabin, but the SLT adds a 120-volt outlet, and the Denali a wireless charging pad. If you want to spoil your back-seat passengers, you can opt for the rear-seat entertainment setup which equips two eight-inch screens at the back, two sets of wireless headphones, and more.