2009 GMC Acadia SLT Package $6,990

For 2009 the GMC Acadia gets a more powerful engine, Bluetooth connectivity, real-time traffic updates for the navigation system, available heated and cooled seats and a reshuffling of option packages. As high fuel prices have prompted folks to be more realistic about their vehicle purchases, the sales of large truck-based SUVs have dropped while those of more space- and fuel-efficient crossovers, such as the 2009 GMC Acadia, have risen. Crazy as it sounds, Americans are finally realizing that perhaps they don't need something that can pull a house and handle the Rubicon trail. For the more common tasks of shuttling the kids around, hauling 48-count toilet paper boxes from Costco and negotiating winter driving conditions, the Acadia is just about perfect. Along with its corporate cousins, the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and Saturn Outlook, the GMC Acadia has a unibody architecture (as opposed to heavier body-on-frame) which allows better handling, interior packaging and crashworthiness. The Acadia also has a powerful V6 engine and can be had in either front- or all-wheel-drive versions. What makes the Acadia especially attractive is its optimal use of space. Yes, it's large, about the same size as a Yukon, but it provides a more accommodating third-row seat along with a serious amount of cargo space. And yet, in spite of the Acadia's generous proportions and the fact that it gets a more powerful (288 horsepower) engine this year, this big SUV (in front-drive form) posts respectable fuel mileage figures of 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway and 19 mpg combined. All things considered, the 2009 GMC Acadia is an easy family vehicle for us to recommend. Thanks to its well-rounded nature and handsome design, it has been the best-selling model of the GM cousins thus far.