What is it?
2010 GMC Terrain
What's special about it?
As has proven invaluable in our careers thus far, we blame the interns.
How else does one explain the fact that Pontiac received a version of GM's current-generation small crossover, but GMC did not? Surely, a confused intern delivered the thing to Pontiac by accident. "Well, there are, like, sooo many brands," Intern would have said. "How am I supposed to know?"
This has all been rectified with the death of the Pontiac Torrent and the creation of the 2010 GMC Terrain, which is being introduced at the New York auto show this April. Of course, the mechanical clone of the Chevrolet Equinox needn't feel any obligation to engender Pontiac-style excitement. Although it's probably going to be expected to be of a high — one might even say "professional" — grade.
So yeah, it's a Chevy Equinox with a self-consciously GMC-style body on top. But where the Equinox cribbed from the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class for its surprisingly upscale look, the Terrain has lifted from decidedly less stylish sources. The exaggerated, rectangular wheel flares call to mind the sad Jeep Compass. The rear end is a pastiche of Buick Rendezvous and Toyota Sienna.
All this GMC-ness is pulled around by one of two available powertrains, both of which carry impressive specifications. First is the direct-injection 2.4-liter inline-4 that produces an estimated 182 horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque. When bolted to the standard six-speed automatic and transmitting power only to the front wheels, GMC estimates the Terrain will return 21 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. Yes, the Chevy Equinox does the same. The optional all-wheel-drive system brings fuel economy figures down to 20 mpg city/27 mpg highway.
GM expended no small amount of effort to reach the magical figure of 30 mpg. Every model with a four-cylinder engine uses electric power steering. The inline-4 (but not the V6) also features a cockpit-mounted "eco" button that initiates a more conservative control strategy for the powertrain and also lowers the torque converter lock-up speed to 1,125 rpm. And compared to an all-wheel-drive model, a front-wheel-drive model has a taller final-drive ratio. All this is good for about a 1-mpg improvement in fuel economy.
Unfortunately, the lower speed at which the torque converter locks up makes the whole vehicle resonate with booming noises. To counteract this, GM has added an active noise system to detect the boom and send sound waves through the audio system's speakers to counteract it. Yes, just like your Bose noise-canceling headphones.
GMC reckons that about 40 percent of people will opt instead for the direct-injection 3.0-liter V6 that delivers 264 hp and 222 lb-ft of torque. Like the four-banger, the V6 version carries a six-speed automatic and will be offered either in standard front-drive or optional all-wheel-drive configurations. Fuel economy for the V6 version is 18 mpg city/25 mpg highway for the front-driver and 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway for the all-wheel-drive model.
If it helps you get a handle on where the GMC Terrain sits in the market, consider that it's closer in size to the Ford Edge than the Ford Escape. GMC has simply tried to cover both ends of the market by offering one dimensionally large entrant but with a base four-cylinder motor as well as a V6. Other expected competitors are legion and include the Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-7 and Nissan Murano, and possibly others that we can't think of at the moment.
The 2010 GMC Terrain goes on sale in the late summer.
Inside Line says: Truly, the GMC of small crossovers. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
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