When I met my husband in 2011, I was cruising around in my E36 M3. I loved my BMW and I swore I’d always drive German and that I’d always drive manual.

Ha. Ha. Ha. My new car isn’t German. It’s not a stick. But it’s totally awesome.

Previously I had a VW Golf Sportswagen. Cruising around in the Golf wasn’t my favorite thing. It was a manual, which might have been it’s only redeeming quality. But for being so big, it was really small inside. We had no space for gym bags, diaper bags, and backpacks. The kids were always kicking my seat, I got meh gas mileage, and it was slow. I kept saying that the car was fine. “It’s fine. This is fine.”

Finally, it wasn’t fine-enough anymore and we made the decision to upgrade. Now I’m cruising around in a total Mom Car… and truthfully, I love it. We updgraded to a 2019 GMC Acadia earlier this month.

Reasons We Choose The GMC Acadia

  • Not too big, not too small – We had test drove a few of the other popular SUVs on the market and the Tahoe just felt so big to me. I wasn’t in need of a boat, I just needed some breathing room. A mid-size SUV, or a crossover, was right for us.
  • The third row – We don’t have any family locally, so when our folks visit, it was always super annoying having to caravan anywhere that we went to (out to dinner, downtown, etc). It’s also nice knowing that as our boys get older that we will have the space to carry friends around to play dates and sporting events. Plus the third row lays completely flat so when we aren’t using it, it has plenty of room for groceries of that massive double stroller and we don’t have to store them in the garage.
  • CarPlay – The VW had the CarPlay feature, and truthfully, after having it, it would be hard to go back to a car without it *coughFORDcough*. It’s super handy to plug the phone in and have super-easy hands free music, texting, and maps.
  • Dual Climate Control – For whatever reason, my Russian husband hates being cold. (He’s adapted wayyy to well to the desert). So I’m usually wanting cool air blowing on my feet all summer long and he hates it. So dual climate control was a win for us.
  • No Fancy Stuff – Truthfully. I didn’t want a bunch of extra stuff that will break. I didn’t want a tv screen for the kiddos and I wanted an actual dipstick to check my own oil.
  • EOY Incentives – This wasn’t why we chose the Acadia so to speak, but it’s why we went with 2019. We were originally looking at used models, but the EOY incentives on the new ones actually made the new models a bit cheaper than the 2017 / 2018 models. Plus, we got a $700 Costco cash card… and who doesn’t love Costco?!
  • The Backseat Windows Roll All The Way Down – This wasn’t a win for me, but it was a total win for our four year old. He loves having the entire window down and pretending he’s a puppy in the breeze.

Other Cars We Looked At

  • Ford Explorer – This car just didn’t feel and nice to us, personally. I know a ton of people have these and LOVE them. But it felt a bit more uncomfortable, no CarPlay, and the third row wasn’t as spacious.
  • Tahoe / Yukon – Love these still, and maybe someday but the price point was a bit high for us and the size wasn’t something that I was excited about having to park.
  • Chevy Traverse – The price point was also a bit higher on these, and we didn’t feel like there was a big enough difference to justify the price jump

Things I Wish The GMC Acadia Had

  • Seat Heaters – Yeah, yeah, I know we live in Arizona. But I love the seat heaters and miss them dearly. Send help.

All in all, the GMC Acadia is an excellent family car. We’ve been pleased with the extra space, and I’ve been averaging 24 MPG or so around town, which isn’t far off from what I was getting in the VW. For families with three kiddos, this might be a bit tight, but for our family of four – it’s perfect! The buying experience with GMC was great, and I’m hoping to service continues to be.