I think GM blew it on the re-design. Don't get me wrong. The Lambdas needed updating. But they still sold (and sell in the case of the Traverse and Enclave) based on one major competitive advantage: Size. They were roomier than anything in the class. They offered more cargo room and a third row that was relatively comfortable and had three seatbelts. The new Acadia takes that advantage and throws it out the window. They shrunk the car and gave up one of the seats in the third row. They did this in the name of fuel efficiency and they probably also noticed that most of the competitors were smaller. Fine. But people bought the Lambdas because of the cargo/passenger capacity. Now that advantage is gone and they have to compete against the rest of the field based on drive, handling, features, price, quality, etc. Poor choice GM.
I sold my CX-9 this spring. I couldn't find an old one with the features I wanted and wasn't sure about being an early adopter given the new powertrain, etc. I shopped around and went with the Durango. I like the Durango a lot. In some ways, its better than the Mazda but it's a much less engaging drive. The old CX-9 (and the new one is supposedly even better) was the best driver in the class. The Durango actually handles fairly well but there is absolutely zero steering feel. This makes it much less satisfying to drive.
