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Used 2012 GMC Acadia Denali SUV Review

Consumer reviews

Read what other owners think about the 2012 GMC Acadia Denali SUV.

5 star(16%)
4 star(16%)
3 star(33%)
2 star(16%)
1 star(19%)
3.0 out of 5 stars
6 reviews

Most helpful consumer reviews

4 out of 5 stars

I Love My Acadia Denali. Maintain yours!

GM Dave, Schertz, TX, 02/20/2020
2012 GMC Acadia Denali 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 6A)
I bought my 2012 GMC Acadia Denali at the end of 2012 brand new at a year-end close-out price and a military discount on top of that. Through the years (it is now Feb 2020), I've replaced the tires, the windshield, and repaired some minor body damage & a broken Left Hand rear side mirror (caused solely by me paying attention to the camera view and NOT the mirrors). Now, for the … engine, transmission, AC, and everything under the hood, it has been FLAWLESS, I mean literally, ZERO repairs. BUT, I am a stickler for maintenance. I learned a lot in High School Shop and in the military. All scheduled maintenance / oil changes are is done ON TIME or AHEAD OF TIME by me, the dealer, or a trusted shop that uses B&G products. I did however, have to get replaced a rear-seat AC / radio control console because it had a short which cause the Right Rear Speakers to got on-and-off. The whole repair, because of looking for it and trial & error, cost $211.00 at my local Cavender Cadillac dealer in the SA area. It did take them almost two weeks, but the SUV is as good as new and runs like new still after 8 years. I replaced the original battery at 6 years at my local auto parts store and it has a 5 year warranty. My wife has a 2014 Buick Encore. It has had two engine repairs (faulty head gasket and a PCV), one full Infotainement / radio replacement, a replaced water pump, and on it's 3rd battery. (Wife's fault on that one). All of this was done under warranty - except 3rd battery. Now, lets hope all goes well for the next 6 years. Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance... I have many more lengthy vacation road trips planned for my family. I trust my GMC (maybe a little more than my Buick. Oh, I only buy my vehicles NEW. I never buy used because I do NOT know who maintained it, their driving habits, did they let their teen drive it (let's face it, I was a teen once and drove one way for my parents and entirely differently when I was with friends.) My neighbors have offered me good money for my cars because they see me do the tire rotations, oil changes, frequently wash & wax, etc. checking the tire pressures even on the spare on the underside, armor all, and YES, I even keep the engine virtually spotless just like the inside. YES, this car still looks like I drove off the lot - inside and out!! :-)
1 out of 5 stars

2012 Acadia Catastrophic Engine Failure at 70,000

parnellacadia, Kenmore, WA, 11/06/2018
2012 GMC Acadia Denali 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 6A)
Apparently there have been a number of GMC engine that don't last more than 70,000 miles. This one was purchased new in 2012, and only had 70,000 miles, but was past the 100,000 mile/3 year warranty. A spring broke inside the engine, sending a rod through the cylinder, and required a brand new engine at the tune of $10,000 from an outside mechanic. I could never afford to have this … kind of repair at a GMC dealer. When I call the dealer who sold the car, he said I should have taken it to his deal, and therefore he would take no responsibility, even though I have pictures of the engine showing up clean as a whistle, filled with broken parts. My mechanic had never seen anything like it in all the years he has worked with engines, even race car engines. It indeed was a catastrophic event, especially as I had to come up with $10,000 to purchase a new engine. I then contacted GMC corporate Customer Service, and talked to a call center in the Philippines, and then finally was able to get a call back from someone who called herself "as far as you can get with GMC." She is an executive liaison with GMC. She offered me $1,500 and I replied that wasn't even close to being enough. She then said I have 14 days to decide if I wanted that offer or not. After paying $10,000 for a new engine, I cannot afford to hire an attorney to play hard ball with GMC. So I would NOT recommend this car to anyone, because even though GMC is following the letter of the law, they are not following the law of decency, ethics, and moral law. I feel totally let down by this company, and will NEVER go back!
3 out of 5 stars

A/C problems - and we live in Texas!

KAM, Dripping Springs, TX, 11/15/2016
2012 GMC Acadia Denali 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 6A)
We have 40K miles on this car and have needed A/C repair three times. Thank goodness we purchased the extended warranty. Oh and don't bother trying to update the navigation system - dealership had to order it from the mother ship and then wiped out all our saved locations during the 2-hour upload and now it malfunctions frequently. :(
3.38 out of 5 stars

Buyers Remorse

jerrim, Cypress, TX, 02/29/2012
2012 GMC Acadia Denali 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 6A)
When it was time to trade in our minivan, I began looking at crossovers. It appeared that the Acadia could not be beat for features, styling, and gas mileage. It did not take long for me to have buyers remorse. It has not come close to meeting the advertised mpg. I do the majority of my driving in the city and only get between 12-14 mpg! I have never gotten above 17.5 mpg on a highway … roadtrip. This car has much less cargo space than my minivan and no storage room in the front other than the passenger seat for a purse, book, etc. The nav system has been unreliable. It looks pretty but does not meet the needs of our family. It has less than 10,000 miles and I'm ready to trade it in.

Edmunds Summary Review of the 2012 GMC Acadia Denali SUV

Pros & Cons

  • Pro:Compliant ride
  • Pro:seating for up to eight passengers
  • Pro:adult-friendly third-row seat
  • Pro:massive cargo area
  • Pro:top safety scores.
  • Con:Large size hampers maneuverability
  • Con:some minor interior annoyances
  • Con:compromised rear visibility.


Full Edmunds Review: 2012 GMC Acadia SUV

What’s new

Other than receiving some minor feature changes, the GMC Acadia carries over unchanged for 2012.

Edmunds says

Like almost identical models from Buick and Chevy, the three-row 2012 GMC Acadia offers a winning combination of comfort, features, cargo space and performance in a utility-style package.

Vehicle overview

The family hauler has changed a lot over the years, with wagons making way for minivans and then truck-based SUVs. Today, crossovers have combined the attributes of minivans and SUVs and then adopted the visual cues of the wagon. One of the best of these modern family haulers is the 2012 GMC Acadia, a large crossover that boasts a refined ride and an enormous cabin that can fit up to eight adults.

The Acadia's carlike unibody architecture means it's lighter and more space-efficient than heavier, trucklike SUVs like the GMC Yukon. As such, the Acadia offers more passenger and cargo space than its GMC stable mate, along with a more pleasant driving experience, better maneuverability, higher fuel economy and more secure handling. The Acadia is roomier than other competing large crossovers as well.

It's important to note that the 2012 GMC Acadia is one of three GM vehicles with this body style and a 288-horsepower V6. The Buick Enclave and Chevy Traverse differ in styling, interior design, some feature availability and the quality of some cabin materials, reinforcing Buick's luxury identity and Chevrolet's plain-spoken utility, while the GMC promotes its truck heritage. Mechanically, these vehicles are essentially identical. When it comes to picking one, the decision really comes down to style, price and which dealer treats you best.

Still, you'd be wise to check out the more athletic Mazda CX-9 or our top choice, the well-rounded Ford Flex. The Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango don't offer quite as much interior space as any of the above models, but each is certainly desirable in its own right. All these choices may make your search for a family hauler a little tougher, but with crossovers like the GMC Acadia around, at least it's hard to go wrong.

2012 GMC Acadia models

The 2012 GMC Acadia is a large crossover SUV offered in five trims: base SL, SLE, SLT-1, SLT-2 and Denali. An eight-passenger seating configuration with the second-row bench seat is standard on the base SL and optional on the rest, which get a standard seven-passenger configuration with second-row captain's chairs.

The Acadia SL comes standard with 18-inch wheels, automatic headlights, foglights, privacy glass, keyless entry, cruise control, rear air-conditioning, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, OnStar emergency telematics and a six-speaker sound system with a CD player, satellite radio and an auxiliary audio jack. The Preferred package adds remote ignition, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and Bluetooth.

The Acadia SLE gets the Preferred package standard, plus a power liftgate, rear parking sensors, an eight-way power driver seat, a two-way power passenger seat (manual recline), an auto-dimming rearview mirror and a rearview camera.

The SLT-1 adds 19-inch wheels, upgraded steering, heated mirrors with turn signal repeaters and integrated blind-spot mirrors, tri-zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery in the first and second rows (third row vinyl), heated front seats, an enhanced trip computer, rear seat audio controls and a 10-speaker Bose sound system with an iPod/USB audio interface. The SLT-2 includes power-folding mirrors, driver memory functions, a four-way power passenger seat and access to additional options. These include ventilated front seats and the Technology package, which adds xenon headlights, a head-up display and cargo area audio controls.

The Denali includes all of the SLT-2's optional items, plus unique styling flourishes inside and out, 20-inch chrome-clad wheels, increased sound deadening, a wood-trim steering wheel and a panoramic sunroof.

That sunroof is optional on all other Acadias except the base SL. The same goes for the rear-seat entertainment system, which includes a Bose surround-sound audio system. The SLT trims and the Denali can also be equipped with a navigation system, which includes real-time traffic and a touchscreen interface.

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Performance & mpg

Every 2012 GMC Acadia is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 that produces 288 hp and 270 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic and front-wheel drive are standard, but all-wheel drive is optional.

In Edmunds performance testing of a mechanically identical front-wheel-drive Chevy Traverse, it took 8.2 seconds to go from zero to 60 mph. According to EPA estimates, a front-drive Acadia will return 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway and 19 mpg combined. Opting for all-wheel drive drops this to 16/23/19.

Safety

Antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control, front seat side-impact airbags and side curtain airbags for all three rows are all standard on the 2012 GMC Acadia. Also standard is one year of GM's OnStar service, including turn-by-turn navigation and hands-free phone connectivity.

In Edmunds brake testing, an Acadia with 18-inch wheels and tires came to a stop in 135 feet. The Ford Flex and Mazda CX-9 perform better. Opting for 20-inch wheels and tires brings the Acadia closer to those competitors with a 130-foot stop.

In government crash tests, the Acadia earned a top five-star rating for overall performance, with four out of five stars being given for front-impact protection and five stars for side-impact protection.

The Acadia also aced the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests, where it earned the highest rating of "Good" in both the frontal-offset and side-impact tests.

Driving

Like the other large crossovers from General Motors, the 2012 GMC Acadia delivers a nice balance between secure handling and a comfortable ride. Even so, you're always reminded that this is a large, heavy vehicle (it weighs nearly 5,000 pounds with all-wheel drive), and it feels a little more cumbersome than other large crossovers on the market. Still, compared to the truck-based GMC Yukon, the Acadia is a much nicer and easier vehicle to drive. We have no complaints about the 288-hp V6, as it provides willing acceleration in almost all situations and achieves pretty good fuel economy.

Interior

Inside the spacious cabin, the 2012 Acadia has an attractive layout, with a two-tone color scheme highlighted by accents of chrome trim (the Denali also includes wood-grain accents). Unfortunately, this trim is prone to reflect the sun into the eyes of the driver and front-seat passenger. Two other downsides include small and indistinct buttons for the audio and climate controls, and outward visibility that's more compromised than that of other competing vehicles. But in general, build quality is strong and the materials used in the Acadia are a bit better than those in its Chevy Traverse sibling.

Depending on the configuration chosen, the Acadia seats either seven passengers (with second-row captain's chairs) or eight passengers (with a split-folding second-row bench seat) in three rows. The first- and second-row seats are quite comfortable and supportive, and the split-folding third-row seat -- which is often a kids-only zone in traditional SUVs -- can accommodate adults in reasonable comfort.

Maximum cargo capacity is enormous at 117 cubic feet with the second- and third-row seats folded down. Even with all three rows of seating in use, there are a useful 24 cubic feet of luggage space. In total, the Acadia is a far more practical vehicle for people and cargo than the bigger GMC Yukon.

Edmunds Insurance Estimator

The Edmunds TCO® estimated monthly insurance payment for a 2012 GMC Acadia in Ohio is:

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