A few years ago General Motors officials acknowledged (not like they had a choice) that the interiors of many of its vehicles need to be upgraded, banishing cheap-looking plastic and bargain-basement cloth.

That effort shows in the Acadia. Indeed, the interior had a handsome and upscale look in the fancy SLT2 model we drove.

Meanwhile, GM did not lose track of basic functionality. The heating and cooling controls are easy to find and use. The instruments are legible, not lost in some fussy attempt at a complex design.

Big cupholders and a deep bin between the front seats are a plus but the storage pockets on the side doors are too narrow for any meaningful storage.

The front seats are wide and comfortable and a tilt and telescoping steering wheel makes it easy for drivers tall and short to get comfortable. As with an SUV the driver sits high with a good look down the road. But visibility to the rear isn't great, requiring care when backing up. An optional feature to ease that problem is an ultrasonic rear park assist system that can detect objects out of the driver's line of sight.

The standard seating arrangement is for seven, which includes two captain's chairs in the second row (with three people in the third row and two in the front seats). Those who want eight-passenger capacity get a split, bench seat for the second row that accommodates three.

GM says the second row has a maximum of 36.9 inches of leg room, which is comparable to the Pilot and Explorer. To provide a little more flexibility the Acadia's second row slides fore and aft a total of four inches. Its 36.9 inches of legroom is measured with the seat roughly in the middle of the four inches, GM says. With the second row in the rearward-most position a six-foot adult can be comfortable in the driver's seat and another six-foot adult can be seated directly behind without being cramped.

Getting to the third row involves using what GM calls a Smart Slide feature. It is a handle that is designed to move the second row up and out of the way.

On the model we tried, which was an early Acadia built by GM for testing and not quite ready for sale to the public, the handle was balky. A GM spokeswoman said that problem will be solved on the models headed to dealerships in December. Nevertheless, it would be a good thing to check at the dealership before making a purchase.

As in most vehicles the third row is best suited for small children. But here is the fine print when GMC says the Acadia is a seven or eight-passenger vehicle: GM assumes three people are sitting in the third row which has about nine inches less hip room than the second row. Putting three people back there will be a tight fit even for small children.

The Acadia really triumphs in cargo capacity, according to manufacturers' measurements. It has almost 20 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row, more than the trunk space of a mid-size sedan. That compares to almost 16 cubic feet for the Pilot and almost 14 cubic feet for the Explorer. (Typically automakers make those calculations filling the space to the roof, blocking the rearward view.) A small plastic-lined bin below the floor of the Acadia's cargo compartment is perfect for carrying messy stuff.

The third row folds down easily and a strap is used to pull it back up. It is not an upper-body workout but does require some effort. With that third row folded down the Acadia's cargo-carrying advantage continues with almost 69 cubic feet of space. That compares to about 44 cubic feet for the Explorer and almost 48 cubic feet for the Pilot. One nice feature is that lowering the second or third rows on the Acadia does not require removing the head restraints. When the second and third rows are folded the cargo area is almost flat.