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There was a time when owning a Chevy Suburban or Tahoe or a Ford Expedition or Lincoln Navigator put you on the A-list.

The machine meant you had prestige, image and lots of dough.

Bigger was better and biggest was best.

The Japanese recognized that and scrambled to bring out the Nissan Armada, Infiniti QX56 and Toyota Sequoia.

The media criticized Chrysler Group for not having a huge sport-ute. Things calmed down after Chrysler introduced the Commander, a mini-behemoth derived from a stretched Jeep Grand Cherokee.

It wasn’t a gargantuan, but it sucked gas, so it was welcomed into the club.

But things change with time and gas prices so the automakers have turned to crossovers to give consumers a less energy-consuming alternative.

Crossovers offer what folks found attractive in SUVs, the all-season on- or off-road security of four-wheel- or all-wheel-drive, but the ride and handling, and better yet, fuel economy of a car.

With a crossover, you can perform two tasks big SUVs had trouble with–passing a pump and parking in the lot, any lot.

General Motors is coming out with a trio of crossovers built off a new front-/all-wheel-drive platform–the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave. The GMC and Saturn are on sale now, Enclave arrives in the second quarter. Look for a Chevrolet version soon though GM won’t confirm or deny.

Crossovers come in FWD or AWD but only with a V-6.

We tested the 2007 AWD Acadia, which went on sale last month.

“It’s bringing in people we haven’t seen before,” said John Larson, general manager of Buick-Pontiac-GMC, referring to folks moving out of mid- and full-size SUVs.

With most Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealers channeled into a single store, it means many will offer Acadia and Enclave. This seems to defeat the purpose of consolidation.

“About 70 percent of our volume comes from channel dealers. Having Acadia and Enclave in the same store isn’t a problem, considering crossovers are the fastest-growing segment in the industry. The problem would be not having them,” Larson said.

Acadia is stylish. It’s long to hold three rows of seats and wide to hold folks comfortably in those seats. The crossover designation fits well because it doesn’t look like a minivan or sport-ute, but something that combines the best of both in terms of people and package hauling and AWD security.

Acadia’s three rows of seats handle the large family or small family with guests. There’s a nice chunk of cargo room behind the third row. And the cargo floor lifts to reveal a hiding compartment.

There’s a power plug in the cargo hold as well as radio controls so you can listen to your favorite tunes while loading or unloading groceries or spending a day at the beach.

Third-row seats offer surprisingly ample head, leg, arm and knee room. The third row doesn’t have to be solely where you sentence the most unruly kids.

Second-row seats offer even more head, leg, arm and knee room. And to make it easy to get from second to third, just flip the lever along the side of the second-row seats and the bottoms lift as the seats slide forward to create a wide aisle.

The seats slide forward or backward, depending on where you need more knee room–in the second or third row.

Acadia is powered by a 3.6-liter, 275-horsepower V-6 with a 6-speed automatic transmission rated at 17 m.p.g. city/24 highway with AWD, 18/26 with FWD. Not enough for an economy-car rating but better than an SUV.

The V-6 responds quickly, making Acadia no slouch moving off the line or into the passing lane. Limber and nimble.

There’s low step-in height so no need for running boards. The suspension is more like a car’s than a truck’s. Not luxury sedan smooth but forgiving enough so you don’t have lots of jarring and jostling. Little lean in corners and turns. Quick steering response and a nice, tight turning radius.

Other nice touches include a power liftgate activated by pressing the key fob or the button in the instrument panel. And the armrest between driver and passenger slides back to expose large coin/cell phone holders. Remove the holders and create a massive stowage container. Probably large enough for a purse.

If you want to make the cabin feel more spacious, you can get dual skyscape sunroofs ($1,300): a small power sunroof over driver and passenger, a larger skylight over second-row occupants. Both come with sunshades.

Though 18-inch all-season radials are standard, 19-inchers with ultrabright aluminum wheels are a $1,295 option. The wheelwell openings are small by design to minimize the air that passes between body and tire to reduce fuel-robbing drag as well as road noise in the cabin. Acadia engineers used thicker door glass and flat-blade windshield wipers to reduce wind and road noise filtering in as well.

In addition to standard stability control with traction control for surefooted motoring in corners and turns, Acadia came with full-time AWD that determines the amount of torque sent to front and rear wheels based on vehicle speed as well as road surface. And stability control adds roll mitigation control.

One gripe: The outside mirrors have a decorative five-side design, fashionable while limiting visibility.

Base price of the test vehicle was $37,370. Standard equipment includes rear park assist to beep if something is behind when backing up, remote start, side-curtain air bags and OnStar emergency communication system with turn-by-turn directions. There’s also a heated windshield fluid system, heated power sideview mirrors, heated front seats, power driver/passenger seats, AM/FM stereo with CD and MP3 players, power windows and locks, and XM satellite radio with three months’ free service.

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2007 GMC Acadia SLT2 AWD

Price as tested: $44,725*

THE STICKER

$37,370 Base

$2,145 Touch-screen navigation system

$1,300 Dual sunroof

$1,295 19-inch bright aluminum wheels

$1,295 DVD entertainment system with two sets of headphones

$425 Trailer package with heavy-duty cooling system and hitch

$395 Premium paint

$350 Head-up display

$150 Cargo area audio controls

*Add $735 for freight.

THE NUMBERS

Wheelbase: 118.9 inches

Length: 201.1 inches

Engine: 3.6-liter, 275-h.p. V-6

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

City: 17 m.p.g.

Highway: 24 m.p.g.

PLUSES

An alternative to mid- or full-size SUVs as well as minivans that delivers AWD security and far better mileage.

Three rows of seats.

MINUSES

High-priced (and profit) options.

Will SUV buyers make the switch?