Mother Proof's view

All the characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip resemble people I know. The character I can identify most in my own household, in the form of my daughter, is Pigpen. She wears just about every meal she eats and stains clothing faster than you can say “color-safe bleach.” The mess that whirls around her is much like the cloud of dirt that surrounds Pigpen.

The GMC Acadia arrived during a week when my daughter was in rare form. Maybe it was the fact that there were only a few days left in school, or maybe it’s just that summer has arrived and she’s outside all the time, but she needs to be washed every five hours or so to give the illusion that she’s not one of the Lost Boys from “Peter Pan.”

The first “feature” I noticed in the GMC Acadia were two big gutters in the floor. They extend from the back of the front seats to the front of the third row. I suddenly felt myself getting dizzy contemplating what, in my world, could be primarily giant crumb collectors. Turns out these tracks facilitate a new GMC feature called SmartSlide seating. With this feature, the second-row seat cushions flip up and the seats slide forward against the front seats,. making climbing into the third row possible in all but the tiniest of miniskirts. This flip-and-slide action is supposed to happen with the one-handed tug of a whiz-bang lever on the side of the second-row seat. Well, whiz-bang: yes; one-handed: no. Plus, this feature is rendered useless if there are car or booster seats installed in the second row-unless removing a child safety seat just to move the SmartSlide sounds fun to you.

As predicted, within minutes of picking up my daughter from school, the crumb fest began. By the time we arrived at home, I could see chunks of French bread from her lunchbox deep inside the crevice under her feet.

After getting over the shock of needing to keep my daughter completely snack-free in this car, I did become aware of a multitude of other features in the Acadia that almost made me forget about the tracks. Hands down, my kids’ favorite feature was the giant glass roof that extends over the second- and third-row passengers. With a touch of a button, a retractable shade moves back to reveal the big blue sky, and the kids asked me to show it off every time someone new looked at the car.

Another impressive, kid-friendly feature was the sliding center console between the front seats. The top portion of the console slides back toward the rear seats to reveal additional storage for my necessities, but it also moves the rear seat stereo closer to my kids. My smallest kiddo can reach the controls from his booster seat without unbuckling, to the utter incredulity of his sister, who has had exclusive rights in the reaching department for quite some time now. Fantastic dual use.

The navigation system provided 3D graphics rather than the flat bird’s-eye view most in-dash car systems offer-pretty useless in the grand scheme of things, but much more visually appealing nonetheless. Another visually appealing option was the heads-up display. It projected speed and other useful information at eye level on the windshield, so I never had to take my eyes off the road to see if I was breaking the law. Even turn-by-turn directions could be projected onto the windshield, and rocking out to the XM Satellite Radio could continue without the annoyance of the cheery navigation lady’s interruptions.

The Acadia really has just about every feature you could possibly want, plus some you’ve never imagined. For instance, there’s a plastic pad to the left of the brake pedal-a “dead pedal” that in most cars is a somewhat uncomfortable place to rest your foot if you wear high heels. Well, the interior designers of the GMC Acadia thought about this tiny detail and placed a notch at the bottom of the plastic that will accommodate all but the chunkiest of heels.

Despite the giant grunge-collecting tracks in the floor, Pigpen and I really enjoyed our week in the GMC Acadia. The vehicle is feature-packed and generously sized, and drives much less like a truck than GMC’s previous SUV offerings.

*For more information on the GMC Acadia and its safety features, visit Cars.com.

LET’S TALK NUMBERS

Latch Connectors: 2

Seating Capacity (includes driver): 7 – 8

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT

Storage Compartments (Puny, Fair, Ample, Galore): Galore

Cargo/Trunk Space (Puny, Fair, Ample, Galore): Ample – Galore

SENSE AND STYLE

Family Friendly (Not Really, Fair, Great, Excellent): Excellent

Fun Factor (None, Some, Good Times, Groove On): Good Times

Specs

Base price: $37,370

Price as tested: $37,370

Engine: 275-hp, 3.6-liter V-6

Fuel: 17/24 mpg

Length: 200.7″

Width: 72.8″

Ground Clearance: 7.4″

Turning Radius: 20.2′

Cargo space: 19.7/68.9/116.9 cu. ft.

NHTSA Crash-Test Ratings

Frontal Impact

Driver’s side: 5 Stars

Passenger’s side: 5 Stars

Side Impact

Front occupant: 5 Stars

Rear occupant: 5 Stars

Rollover resistance: 4 Stars