Chevrolet kept details surrounding the sportier 2018 Traverse RS locked up following its mention at the crossover’s debut in 2017, but the brand finally placed a price on the vehicle. On Wednesday, Chevy announced the 2018 Traverse RS will start at $43,095, which includes destination.
Previously, a report sourced unofficial pricing and pegged the full-size, sporty CUV to start at $42,995, which was near spot on. For the money, the RS trim will subtract the base 3.6-liter V6 engine and add a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder mill. The engine does not produce more power, but makes more torque—257 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque with the four-cylinder turbo compared to 310 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque with the V6.
The EPA estimates fuel economy ratings of 20 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. Strangely enough, the highway figure is actually worse than the 3.6-liter V6 engine, which returns an EPA-estimated 27 mpg.
The RS trim includes a boatload of standard equipment for the price, however. Niceties include HID headlights, a suite of active safety features, an eight-inch infotainment screen, heated front seats, tri-zone climate control and a power liftgate.
On the styling front, the sporty RS trim adds a black grille, black window trim, black roof rails and black bowtie emblems, and 20-inch aluminum wheels featuring a Dark Android finish.
Buyers should see the Traverse RS at dealership lots at present. For more insight, check out the GM Authority review of the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse.
Comments
Correct me if I am wrong, but it not boast slightly better city mileage? 21\22 mpg city?
Nonetheless, this is a head scratcher for sure. It will be interesting to see if this have any performance advantage over the standard mill, which I don’t see.
Ugh another rebadged “sporty” car with no real sport nor power from GM.
It should be more sporting feel as the eco turbo has a larger and flatter torque curve.
Not sure it will be any faster but it will feel faster.
I am not sure this is the right platform for a sport version. If I were to focus on performance the short wheel base Blazer with AWD would be where I look.
Should have a boosted 6. A turbo 4 in a car this size (and price) is dumb especially when it barely pretty much matches the base v6.
turbo 4 keeps the price down as it was designed for the Pontiac solistic. it is a cheaper engine allowing for the vehicle to focus on more “track oriented” feel. They saved 1000$ on the engine probably to reinvest into suspension. Also here is the real benefit. The smaller engine probably weighs 100lbs less to help the weight distribution, something critical in a performance oriented car. The nice thing with turbos is you can chip them as well. Test of the ford ecoboost mustang show that it can be chipped to almost 400lbs of torque. Exspect owners who are serious about performance to get 380tq and 320 Hp out of this traverse after a tune up. This is a smart move, as was the LS7 in the Z28 as it allowed the Z28 to compete in unmodded motor drag heats yet was a platform that already had loads of bolt on chargers.
General Motors’ LTG 2.0L DOHC-4v 4-cyl turbo is a fantastic engine; but it wasn’t designed in mind to haul something as large as the Chevy Traverse and this is why gas mileage suffers as it makes you wonder whether mileage would suffer greatly if the Traverse borrowed Cadillac’s 400 hp LGW 3.0L DOHC-4v V6 Twin Turbo.
The Turbo is about feel of the torque and mpg.
A TT V6 would cost more mpg and add more price.
Odds are it will be stuck with start stop too.
The pure fact that is is NOT available in AWD is absurd..
I feel like 8/10 Traverses I sell are AWD.
Its a family vehicle and people like AWD to feel more safe with changing road conditions.
Also, at least for me, the 2.0T still is not enough in my 16 Malibu Premier.
So I’m not sure how putting it in a vehicle that weighs 33% more is a good idea.
Over a V6TT already… PLEASE
offer* my bad
The added torque and no AWD is a major mistake.
Everyone seems to be forgetting the RS is simply a sporty appearance package, and not a performance one.
With a curb weight that is over 4300 LBS in basic FWD trim the added weight of the RS model with the massive 20″ rubber and the extra goodies would probably put weight near 4500 ball park. That is nearly 1200 more than the Malibu turbo which uses the same basic engine and transmission minus some torque. Therefore I’m pegging 0-60 times in the mid 7 second range for this. Still this engine does leave room for the tuners but MPG will suffer with this motor.
the LF3 3.6L Twin Turbo V6 with 464 hp and 445 lb-ft of torque would be more interesting for an SS Traverse with the same suspension kit of the Colorado and Z/28.
Honestly, the vehicle in Chevy’s lineup that should have the RS package as an option is the Malibu.
The RS appearance package would help attract some of the previous Pontiac customers that may have been into the G6/Grand AM.