What's the difference?
If the Acadia had an accent it would be a southern drawl because this big seven-seat SUV is built in Tennessee, USA, and wears a GMC badge when it’s at home.
In Australia of course it wears a Holden one and comes straight from the factory in right-hand drive. So how does it suit Aussie conditions? Does it even know the importance of a sausage on a piece of bread bought outside a hardware store on a Saturday?
All this and more was learnt when the entry grade LT front-wheel drive came to live with my family.
The first two things any new starter who arrives in the design department of Jeep’s headquarters in Ohio is told are, 1) The bathrooms are here and, 2) Don’t change the Wrangler.
Okay, I made that up, but it’s probably not far from the truth, because the Wrangler isn’t just iconic for Jeep, but iconic for the entire car world in a similar way to the Porsche 911 and the Ford Mustang.
The Jeep Wrangler is the equivalent of a Hollywood superstar - the Clint Eastwood of the car world - with its design that stretches all the way back to the iconic little off-roader purpose-built for the US Army in World War II.
So, how do you make changes without changing the recipe? Well, the Wrangler has been updated and we went to the Aussie launch to see what’s changed.
The Holden Acadia is a proper seven-seater SUV in that it will fit adults in the third row without turning your friends into enemies. It’s also practical and well fitted out with storage places and utilities such as USB ports.
I was particularly impressed with the advanced safety equipment on-board even at this entry LT level. Yes, it’s a V6 petrol and it’s not the most fuel-efficient SUV, but our time with it showed that with cylinder deactivation and the stop-start system it might not be as thirsty as you’d think.
The changes to this updated Jeep Wrangler are small but meaningful. The inclusion of airbags, the updated media screen, and a feisty engine which suits the plucky nature of this off-roader make it a better Wrangler than ever.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.