And all Traverse vehicles use a six-speed automatic transmission and require only unleaded regular gasoline.

I liked the steep first gear of the transmission in the test vehicle. It provided good get up and go. But I felt and noticed far too many shift points as I drove, so the transmission activity did not seem refined or as smooth as it could be.

Filling the 22-gallon gas tank cost an eyebrow-raising $75-plus.

And at 4,925 pounds, the test Traverse felt like the heavy vehicle it was. I noticed how the weight would shift from one side to another as I went around curves and turns.

Even while the Traverse — with standard traction control and electronic stability control — was gripping the pavement, passengers were feeling the vehicle lean to one side or another.

There also was a good amount of unsprung weight — in other words, a sense of unsettled mass at the four wheels as they rolled over road bumps.

Still, the steering response was noteworthy.

The interior of the test vehicle had well-arranged controls and good-sized buttons and knobs, just like those in its sister vehicles at GMC, Buick and Saturn. But in the Traverse, a couple pieces of the hard plastic trim weren’t quite aligned.

Front seats are especially wide, generous and provide good comfort for large-sized passengers.

The second row seat of the Traverse included a Smart Slide feature that helped clear the way for people who want to get to the third row. At 33.2 inches, legroom way back there is more than what’s in the Pilot and Highlander.

All safety items, including six air bags, are standard, and the Traverse earned a top, five-out-of-five-star safety rating from the federal government in frontal and side crash testing.

But I advise getting the rearview monitor because it’s difficult for a driver to see what’s going on at the back of the Traverse. This monitor does not substitute for a driver looking back there, but it provides extra help.