General Motors applied a number of updates to the 2020 GMC Acadia, including a freshened exterior appearance with a new grille, new C-shaped LED headlights and a new rear fascia with different taillights.
Lighting elements are one of the main things that manufactures choose to update on mid-cycle face lifts. The idea behind a refresh like this is to provide the customer with appealing, up-to-date technology and features whilst not having to change major aspects of the vehicle.
A Motor1 article recently highlighted one aspect of the face lifted 2020 GMC Acadia and referenced a tweet that expressed some dismay that GMC had applied new taillights to the Acadia without changing the sheet metal of the rear three-quarter panel or rear lift gate. Anyone familiar with practices regarding mid-cycle refreshes won’t be surprised to see this – by applying new taillights and leaving the same old metal, GM gives the customer a new functional piece (more up-to-date taillights) while leaving something they likely won’t even notice (the rear sheet metal) to save on costs. The purpose of these refreshes, remember, is to make the vehicle more appealing to the customer, not apply major changes to the product.
If you look at the taillights of the new 2020 GMC Acadia and think “something is a little off”, you’d be correct. Turns out, they didn’t want to change the body panel design underneath the D-pillar or the tailgate. Bean counters should never be designers. pic.twitter.com/295xafSEI4
— Matthew A. Longtin (@matthew_longtin) September 6, 2019
The c-shaped taillights are joined by new c-shaped headlights in the 2020 GMC Acadia, along with a larger and more prominent grille. The most notable change is the addition of the Acadia AT4 off-road model, however, which adds a black chrome-accented grille, black mirror caps, black roof rails, model specific 17-inch wheels wrapped in Continental Terrain Contact all-terrain tires and standard twin-clutch all-wheel drive system. Larger 20-inch wheels are also available at cost. GM’s 2.0-liter LTG engine also joins the engine lineup for 2020, appearing alongside the the entry-level 2.5-liter LCV four-cylinder and range-topping 3.6-liter LGX V6.
The 2020 Acadia will also be offered in variety exterior colors including Carbon Black Metallic, Satin Steel Metallic, Red Quartz Tintcoat, Ebony Twilight Metallic, Summit White, White Frost Metallic, Quicksilver Metallic, Smokey Quartz Metallic, Dark Sky Metallic and Red Mohgany Metallic.
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Comments
That’s why it’s called a mid cycle refresh, not supposed to be a major change! I think it looks great .
Oh since its a mid cycle refresh its ok that it looks bad? Got it
tail lights look like crap how much to redesign a new gate. should have stuck with the old body.much better and more room
Ram called and they want their headlights back!
Its also time to give up on the big grill designs, its not coming back.
As Matt said above, it’s just a mid-cycle refresh. They aren’t going to spend very much to completely redo large pieces of sheet metal. Take, for instance, the 2013 Enclave. They changed the taillight design but not the overall shape, and they kept the liftgate largely the same. A mid-cycle update is only supposed to spruce things up a bit.
Going for that Ford Explorer look i see…. looks terrible.
The problem isn’t changing the sheetmetal, its about creating an attractive taillight…That didn’t happen…
I do wish this was a worthy Grand Cherokee competitor.
It’s not. It’s a minivan with an ugly “pretend truck” front end, pizza-cutter wheels, a massive front overhang, and a stance so low that you’d think all four shocks were blown.
It is not a Cherokee competitor. It sacrifices off road where few go for better ride and handling. It is more a utility vehicle/passenger vehicle vs off road. That is what most buyers use it for.