Head restraints, pricing, and a seemingly impossible-to-find bench seat - what’s going on with the 2024 Chevrolet Traverse?

Chevrolet’s latest release has made waves in the car world (and on the Car Mom Facebook group) for being an excellent family vehicle, but also a lot of controversy surrounding it.

After seeing it at the New York Auto Show and hearing a lot of questions from you all, I can’t wait to dive in and really break down what’s going on with the 2024 Traverse.

If you’re new here - welcome! I’m Kelly the Car Mom and as a mom of almost four (if you missed the life update click here), CPST, and a huge car fan, I want to discuss all the controversy surrounding the 2024 Chevrolet Traverse because all the noise aside, this is a stellar family vehicle.

For a full tour of the 2024 Chevy Traverse:

2024 Chevrolet Traverse Head Restraint

Let’s start with the biggest controversy of all - the second row middle seat head restraint. What I should really say is the lack of this head restraint because when you try to build a Traverse, it’s not there.

If you don’t know, head restraints are absolutely essential to ensuring the safety of the passenger while driving. In simple terms, you cannot have anyone in a seat without a head restraint. While you don’t need them for car seats, this lack of a head restraint makes the second row middle seat useless.

The biggest kicker of all is how Chevy’s third row middle seat has a head restraint, so it’s been difficult tell if the second row’s missing restraint is a mistake or deliberate choice.

So… does the 2024 Chevrolet Traverse have a second row middle seat head restraint?

Yes. Chevrolet made an announcement that the missing second row head restraint was a mistake on their part and it’s now corrected on their website customization tools.

Chevrolet did personally reach out to me and were very upfront in admitting the error, correcting their mistake, and thanking me (and the Car Mom Facebook group) for bringing it to their attention.

So what happened? I think with AI becoming more apparent in the car world, the digital rendering of the car was put on their website incorrectly. While mistakes happen, the safety of passengers always needs to be double checked.

2024 Chevrolet Traverse Bench Seat

To go along with why so many people were confused about the middle seat head restraint, Chevy is only offering the bench seat in its base trim (SL) model. This is one of my all-time biggest frustrations with manufacturers because it blocks a lot of families from features they may want.

What this means for the average buyer interested in the 2024 Chevrolet Traverse is they will be on an almost impossible mission to find the SL model with the bench seat.

Why? Dealerships will not order it. Instead, they will prioritize higher (more expensive) trims in most cases.

2024 Chevrolet Traverse Pricing

Other than the confusion around the middle head restraint in the second row, the other piece of controversy surrounding the 2024 Chevy Traverse is pricing. As soon as Chevrolet released the MSRP of the new line up, the bump in price to each trim level received a lot of attention.

The starting MSRP for the base trim level (SL) Traverse is: $39,495, which is a $3,500 increase from the outgoing 2023 model’s starting price. While to some this price jump doesn’t feel too crazy, it will be very difficult to find this base level model - dealerships just won’t order it. Instead, they’ll lean towards the more premium trims, with the most expensive topping out at $55,500 MSRP.

Yes, this price is really expensive, but Chevrolet is not doing anything different from the rest of the car industry. Kia, Hyundai, and every other manufacturer follows the same strategy. Plus, it’s about $5,000 than the Toyota Grand Highlander (it’s direct competing vehicle).

What are you actually getting for the additional $3,500?

For this bump in price, you will be getting a 17.7 inch touchscreen display and a turbo charged 4-cylinder engine with 315 horsepower. Yes, $3,500 extra is frustrating, but not uncommon to see manufacturers do when they roll out new features for the year. For example, when the Honda Pilot released their 2023 newer model, it had an almost $4,000 price increase.

Remember, the 2024 Chevy Traverse is bigger than other midsize SUVS so naturally it’s going to be more expensive. We are living in a world where cars continuously bump up in price year after year, plus American-made cars always have a larger price tag attached.

My question is, once every SUV has a bigger screen and all the same tech, when are the prices going to plateau?

I’m not trying to pick on the new Chevy Traverse alone, but this is a prime example of a quality family vehicle having a really expensive price tag attached.

I’d love to see more strategies like Volkswagen implemented, where rearranging Atlas trim levels produced a way more affordable family vehicle to consider.

2024 Chevrolet Traverse Controversy: My Final Thoughts

Despite all the pricing and head restraint controversy, this is such a good family vehicle I cannot wait to test out. When Lizz and I went to the New York Auto Show, everyone was freaking out about its new features and overall quality.

I don’t want to put a car in the running too early, but the 2024 Chevrolet Traverse is a prime candidate for the Car Mom of the Year Award. Seriously, it’s that good. The only thing I would change is letting a bench seat be available on more trim levels.

Are you interested in the 2024 Chevy Traverse, despite all of its controversy? Let me know in the comments! And to keep up with the latest family car buying news, check out my recent posts:

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