Is the 2025 Chevy Traverse the best family SUV for under $45K?

With a starting price of $40,600, the 2025 Chevy Traverse is a family-ready SUV with three-row seating and enough space for eight passengers. While Chevrolet may have nixed third-party smartphone connectivity software in its EVs, the Chevy Traverse keeps the good times rolling with a tech-friendly infotainment system.

That, along with plenty of interior space for the whole family, may make the 2025 Chevy Traverse the best family SUV for under $45,000.

Chevy changes trim levels and price figures for the 2025 model

The 2025 Chevy Traverse comes with a handful of major changes over the previous model, and it’s a pretty mixed bag overall. For starters, last year’s base LS trim is gone, making the LT the new entry model, resulting in a $2,900 increase from the 2024 model. On the bright side, the High Country trim returns, and brings with it a handful of packages.

While the Trailering package comes standard on the LT trim, the LT and Z71 trims say sayonara to the Driver Confidence package. On top of that, Chevrolet has nixed the free three-year OnStar Remote Access perk.

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The 2025 Chevrolet Traverse offers best-in-class cargo volume

While the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse has a fairly standard exterior design for a three-row family SUV, the interior is where it truly shines. Practicality is the name of the game with standard seating for up to seven passengers, including second-row captain’s chairs and a roomy third-row bench.

For those in need of more space, switching out the captain’s chairs for a second-row bench is available at no extra cost, bringing total seating to eight. Folding down both the second and third-row seats opens up a vast 98 cu ft. of cargo space, more than 10 cu ft. more than in the Ford Explorer and Kia Telluride.

Convenience-focused technology is standard on the Traverse

A 17.7-inch touchscreen display comes standard across the Traverse’s trim line, topping the Ford Explorer’s 13.2-inch and Jeep Grand Cherokee’s 8.4-inch displays. Falling in line with the rest of its segment, wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and wireless charging are included as well. 

While a hands-free power liftgate is available at an extra cost in most competitors, it comes standard in the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse. Most notably, the Ford Explorer lacks a comparable option altogether. Thanks to the now-standard Trailering package, the new Traverse also includes a hitch view on the camera system and can tow up to 5,000 lbs.

The new Chevy Traverse comes with over 300 horsepower from its four-cylinder

Much like its closest competitors, the 2025 Chevy Traverse comes powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the need for automakers to meet efficiency standards rises. Front-wheel drive comes standard on all trim levels except for the Z71, which includes standard all-wheel drive. Opting for AWD on any other Traverse trim will cost you an extra $2,000.

The Traverse’s 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission and puts out328 horsepower and 326 lb-ft of torque. That output tops the 2025 Ford Explorer’s 300 horsepower and Toyota Highlander’s 265 horsepower with relative ease.

When it comes to efficiency, the family-sized Traverse’s turbo four and standard automatic stop/start tech mean improved efficiency over the outgoing 2024 model. When equipped with FWD, the 2025 Traverse is rated for an EPA-estimated 20 city and 27 highway mpg. With AWD, it sees efficiency drop to 19 city and 24 highway mpg.

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The 2025 Chevy Traverse comes loaded with safety features

When you’re talking about family, safety as a topic is almost always a given. The 2025 Chevy Traverse has the right idea in both intention and execution, with plenty of modern safety systems listed as standard on the spec sheet. Some of the Chevy Traverse’s standard safety systems include forward collision alert, rear cross-traffic braking, rear park assist, reverse automatic braking, and lane keep assist with lane departure warning

As you move up trim levels though, the Chevrolet Traverse quickly surpasses our $45,000 budget. The Z71 offers the same safety systems as the base model with new safety features added only in the High Country trim, which comes in at just shy of $53,600. The top-spec Traverse RS trim, starting at $55,400, offers an identical suite of safety systems as the High Country.

If you really want hands-free driving, you can get GM’s Super Cruise for an additional $3,935 on the LT and Z71 trims. It comes standard on the High Country and RS models. Note that you will still need to pay close attention to the road while Super Cruise is active, and it may not work on all roadways.

Final thoughts

The 2025 Chevy Traverse offers quite a few useful features for its sub-$45,000 price tag. While the three-row family SUV might have some cheap plastic, it’s still a solid choice for families on a budget. Thankfully, Chevrolet hasn’t chosen to cut third-party smartphone connectivity software, like Apple CarPlay, from the 2025 Traverse. Hopefully, they stay the course in that respect.

The hands-free power liftgate, dubbed AutoSense Power Liftgate by Chevy, is one standard feature in particular that stands out to me as a parent. Toyota’s lack of a standard hands-free liftgate has always irked me, especially since ordering through a dealer is a hassle. While I personally don’t need seating for seven (unless we’re counting dogs), if I did, the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse would definitely be on my drive-before-I-buy list.

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