Engine shaking and almost shutting down when accelerating

I test drove a 2016 Chevy Traverse the other day and was not happy with
the acceleration at high speed. I pressed the pedal to the floor and not only
did the transmission not respond, but the engine almost went into limp
mode. I was told by the used car dealer that when the RPM gets up around
30 the car is designed to do that. On the interstate rapid pick up is not
critical, but if I am on a two lane highway and start to pass and need to get
by the other fast, I need that pickup