Sacramento, California – GMC calls
the 2018 Terrain Denali its "premium compact SUV," but boy, you
wouldn't know if by looking at it.
My tester, the
all-wheel-drive version, just looked big and imposing, probably helped along by
a wide, expansive, aggressive-looking grille that radiated bigness.
Ah, but
driving it, things felt just right -- no big vehicle sway. The Terrain Denali was quiet and smooth on
the freeways, and it was surprisingly agile in gridlocked downtown traffic.
Power comes
from a remarkably responsive and efficient 2-liter turbo-4 rated at 252
horsepower. That power plant scooted the
SUV along briskly when asked, and long hill climbs really presented no
challenge to the engine whatsoever.
Impressive.
Fuel mileage
comes in at 21 miles per gallon in the city and 26 mpg on the highway, pretty
fair numbers for an SUV in this segment.
The nine-speed
automatic transmission functioned seamlessly.
GMC touts the
2018 redesign, and for good reason.
Upgrades to
the doors, the interior seating and the instrument panel create a comfortable,
attractive atmosphere. An expanded
center console with pass-through storage underneath is a nice touch. Flat-folding seats are a snap to use, and
when all are folded, a generous 81 cubic feet of cargo space is created. That will carry a few groceries.
A solid
lineup of safety features is part of the package. Technology helps you pass, park and avoid car
contact at all angles.
I'm often
asked why anyone would want to spend around $40,000 on a sport-utility vehicle,
and it's a fair question.
Yet driving in
this improved-for-2018 product, I'm convinced that it has enough in it to more
than justify the check you write. That's
particularly true on the safety front as GMC has pretty much loaded the whole
technology store into this vehicle.
You can't put
a price on safety. And in this vehicle,
safety is first.
All in all,
I'd give this GMC sport-ute a solid "A" grade.
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