This review originally published in the December 2009 edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin' News published out of Folsom, California--mg
It wasn’t all that long ago that the sport-utility vehicle world revolved around this standard: Bigger is better.
C’mon, you probably bought or at least looked at an SUV the approximate size of a duplex sometime in the past 10 years, or certainly at the close of the 1990s. So what if it averaged only 8 miles to the gallon? It could carry most of your living room on a long road trip, right?
Times have changed, and one of the latest poster boys in the practical-size crossover SUV market is the all-new-for-2010 GMC Terrain.
Here’s General Motors’ own take on the Terrain, straight from the lips of Susan Docherty, vice president of Buick-GMC: "The new Terrain brings GMC’s history of innovation and engineering excellence into a smaller, fuel-efficient package for today’s buyer.”
So, there you have it. Makes you wonder why it took GM and others so long to figure out that an SUV of moderate size and admirable fuel mileage would appeal to U.S. consumers. Apparently, it took a major recession to get the point across.
Well, now that we’ve gotten smarter, let’s take a look at the Terrain.
My weeklong tester was the front-drive SLT-2 version, the second-most-expensive of eight trim levels, starting at $29,250. When I first saw that sticker, I felt it was too much for a crossover vehicle. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that I was wrong.
The test vehicle was stuffed with standard features, some of which you expect to see on SUVs wearing Mercedes-Benz and Lexus labels. A massive list of safety devices set my mouth agape, and the standard interior goodies kept my jaw locked in the open position. The hot list included a rearview camera system, a tilt/slide sunroof, leather-appointed seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, eight-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support, automatic climate control, premium Pioneer audio system and on and on and on.
The starting fare of $29,250 was looking better and better. My Terrain was juiced up with nearly $5,000 more of extras, including a 40-gig hard drive, a navigation system with audio aids and a rear-seat entertainment system. Frankly, I would have been happy without all the extras, especially the nav system that sometimes told me there was a serious traffic jam up the road. Problem was, I was getting the audio warning about five minutes after I was in said traffic jam. Nice try, but maybe GM engineers need to head back to the drawing board on that one.
On the roll, the Terrain was a smooth, quiet piece of work. Steering was responsive, and the six-speed automatic transmission offered few complaints as I put it through its paces on city streets, interstates, twisty country roads and lower Sierra Nevada climbs.
Climbing was a struggle with the 2.4-liter four-banger registering complaints on steep inclines. Likewise, don’t expect to get lost merging into freeway traffic with the 182-horsepower engine. The good news on the power plant: federal fuel mileage ratings of 22 miles per gallon in the city and 32 mpg on the highway.
A comfortable interior seats five full-size adults comfortably. Cargo-carrying configurations can be carried out in a snap. Controls are easy to use from the cockpit.
Biggest surprise: I couldn’t believe the number of people who ran up to the vehicle when I parked it. It was the same everywhere I went: “What is that? … It’s so cool … Can I see the inside? … Where can I get one?”
Holy cow! You’d think people had never seen a crossover before. I suppose the fact that my tester was wearing Batmobile-like Onyx Black paint helped enhance the exterior look. Likewise, the front end of the Terrain is a chrome-fest, seemingly prepared to chew up the occasional Honda Civic that gets in the way. Customizers might want to jack up the back end of the Terrain to add even more intimidation. Otherwise, it’s pretty cool right from the factory.
GM has taken its lumps this year, but the new Terrain should help the automaker’s public standing. A feature-loaded, sane-sized SUV that gets good gas mileage buys a lot of goodwill these days.
C’mon, you probably bought or at least looked at an SUV the approximate size of a duplex sometime in the past 10 years, or certainly at the close of the 1990s. So what if it averaged only 8 miles to the gallon? It could carry most of your living room on a long road trip, right?
Times have changed, and one of the latest poster boys in the practical-size crossover SUV market is the all-new-for-2010 GMC Terrain.
Here’s General Motors’ own take on the Terrain, straight from the lips of Susan Docherty, vice president of Buick-GMC: "The new Terrain brings GMC’s history of innovation and engineering excellence into a smaller, fuel-efficient package for today’s buyer.”
So, there you have it. Makes you wonder why it took GM and others so long to figure out that an SUV of moderate size and admirable fuel mileage would appeal to U.S. consumers. Apparently, it took a major recession to get the point across.
Well, now that we’ve gotten smarter, let’s take a look at the Terrain.
My weeklong tester was the front-drive SLT-2 version, the second-most-expensive of eight trim levels, starting at $29,250. When I first saw that sticker, I felt it was too much for a crossover vehicle. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that I was wrong.
The test vehicle was stuffed with standard features, some of which you expect to see on SUVs wearing Mercedes-Benz and Lexus labels. A massive list of safety devices set my mouth agape, and the standard interior goodies kept my jaw locked in the open position. The hot list included a rearview camera system, a tilt/slide sunroof, leather-appointed seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, eight-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support, automatic climate control, premium Pioneer audio system and on and on and on.
The starting fare of $29,250 was looking better and better. My Terrain was juiced up with nearly $5,000 more of extras, including a 40-gig hard drive, a navigation system with audio aids and a rear-seat entertainment system. Frankly, I would have been happy without all the extras, especially the nav system that sometimes told me there was a serious traffic jam up the road. Problem was, I was getting the audio warning about five minutes after I was in said traffic jam. Nice try, but maybe GM engineers need to head back to the drawing board on that one.
On the roll, the Terrain was a smooth, quiet piece of work. Steering was responsive, and the six-speed automatic transmission offered few complaints as I put it through its paces on city streets, interstates, twisty country roads and lower Sierra Nevada climbs.
Climbing was a struggle with the 2.4-liter four-banger registering complaints on steep inclines. Likewise, don’t expect to get lost merging into freeway traffic with the 182-horsepower engine. The good news on the power plant: federal fuel mileage ratings of 22 miles per gallon in the city and 32 mpg on the highway.
A comfortable interior seats five full-size adults comfortably. Cargo-carrying configurations can be carried out in a snap. Controls are easy to use from the cockpit.
Biggest surprise: I couldn’t believe the number of people who ran up to the vehicle when I parked it. It was the same everywhere I went: “What is that? … It’s so cool … Can I see the inside? … Where can I get one?”
Holy cow! You’d think people had never seen a crossover before. I suppose the fact that my tester was wearing Batmobile-like Onyx Black paint helped enhance the exterior look. Likewise, the front end of the Terrain is a chrome-fest, seemingly prepared to chew up the occasional Honda Civic that gets in the way. Customizers might want to jack up the back end of the Terrain to add even more intimidation. Otherwise, it’s pretty cool right from the factory.
GM has taken its lumps this year, but the new Terrain should help the automaker’s public standing. A feature-loaded, sane-sized SUV that gets good gas mileage buys a lot of goodwill these days.
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