2011 GMC Terrain Review

The 2011 GMC Terrain.

As easy as it is to take potshots at badge engineering (taking one vehicle, putting a different grille, taillights and nameplate on it and calling it something else), think about what it must be like to be a corporate cousin of a big volume brand like Chevrolet. You need product or your brand won't survive, and the fact, even prior to the great recession and Carpocalypse, is that the bucks aren't there to build unique vehicles for each brand. Platform sharing...and the more blatant badge engineering...are the only way to go.



That's GMC's lot in life and has been for decades. They finesse it by positioning themselves as more upscale...a good play for Acadia, Yukon and Yukon XL..a mixed bag when it comes to Sierra pickups, and for the Terrain? Well, it's gotta be a tough sell.  Or so you'd think. The Terrain actually sells mid-pack among 12 compact crossovers (the other 11 being the Ford Escape, Chevrolet Equinox, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4, Subaru Forester, Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-7).

The 2011 GMC Terrain rear view.

Not that there's anything wrong with the Terrain. It's just that in the small crossover segment, there's only so much you can do to differentiate it from its sister under the skin, the Chevrolet Equinox.

GMC sent us a loaded Terrain SLT-2 AWD (all wheel drive). $31,650 base price, and after $6,435 worth of cargo management packages, navigation, audio system upgrades, swapping the 2.4 liter 4-cylinder for the 3.0 liter V6, the rear seat entertainment system, 19-inch wheels and trailering equipment, the bottom line (with $810 destination charge) was $38,895.

That's $2,010 more than the similarly equipped 2010 model we tested last year, and also a couple grand less than loading up a 2011 Equinox in similar fashion would cost you.

The 2011 GMC Terrain interior.

And there's the trouble. It really is an Equinox. Is the GMC nameplate or the blockier, arguably more masculine stying of the Terrain worth $2,000?  For a few thousand people a month, the answer is yes.


2011 GMC Terrain AWD SLT-2

Base price: $31,650.

As tested:   $38,895.

Likes: Room, comfort.

Dislikes: High price as tested, low-ish gas mileage.

EPA estimates: 16 mpg city/22 mpg highway.

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2011 Chevrolet Equinox Review

The 2011 Chevrolet Equinox.

The same knee-jerk that put drivers into SUVs last decade is taking a lot of them out, and in a lot of cases that's an over-reaction, too. The answer for many isn't "no SUV", it's a smarter, right-sized SUV, which in most cases means a crossover.

It's been a while since we've done a review of a Chevrolet Equinox, so we borrowed one from Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix for a week.

Chevy's done a great job of covering a wide price range with the Equinox, which is its smallest crossover. The base model (LS) starts at $22,995 in front-wheel drive. There are three trim levels up from there (1LT, 2LT and LTZ) and all four are also available in all-wheel drive.

Ours was the front-wheel drive LTZ. Base price $28,570. That'll get you the 2.4 liter 4-cylinder ECOTEC engine with 182 horsepower hooked up to a 6-speed automatic transmission and some nice EPA fuel economy estimates: 22 city/32 highway. Also on the standard goodies list: Four wheel anti-lock disc brakes, Stabilitrak, remote keyless entry, OnStar, a rear-view camera, Ultrasonic parking assist, programmable power lifgate, heated power outside mirrors, 17-inch aluminum sheels, fog lamps, projector beam headlamps, and and exterior chrome package.

Inside, the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox is comfortable and, in LTZ trim, loaded.

The standard equipment list for the interior is pretty long, too: Leather appointed seats with heated front buckets, 8-way power memory driver's seat and memory mirrors, sliding and reclining rear seats, automatic climate control, cargo net, cover and cross rails, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, cruise control, AM/FM/SiriusXM/CD 8-speaker Pioneer audio system, Bluetooth, outside temperature and compass, self-dimming rear view mirror and leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls.

Again, that's all part of the deal at $28,570. Not bad. In fact, very good. Good enough, in fact, that ours added only two options: 19-inch chrome-clad aluminum wheels ($1,250) and the 3.0 liter V6 engine ($1,500).

Rear view of the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. Fender bulges and 19-inch wheels suggest performance.

About the engine...it's a big step up in power...to 264 horses. It's great. But it's also never going to get you anywhere near the mileage of the standard four. In fact, in 60% city street and 40% urban freeway driving, we averaged 16.5 miles per gallon (the EPA estimates 17 city/24 highway for the V6). If your driving includes mountain passes, that may be a trade worth making. If, on the other hand, you're mostly doing city-street commuting, seriously consider sticking with the ECOTEC four. 

With the V6, the Equinox's bottom line was $32,130. Stick with the four and stick with the stock 17-inch wheels, and she'd come in at $29,380.

Chevy says the Equinox's prime competition is the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V and the Ford Escape, all three well into their product cycle. The Equinox is by far the freshest of the four and should be on your  list.

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Chevrolet Equinox Review

And the award for "most improved" goes to.....

No, I'm not kidding. The past four years of the Chevy Equinox couldn't have been blander (quick..can you really picture one?). It was dead on arrival and buried by every new small SUV or crossover that came along since.

But this....if they'd had 535 of these to put in the Capitol parking lot a year ago, Congress would have passed a GM bailout bill so fast it would have made your head swim. There would have been no bankruptcy.


Yes...it's that good. So good, in fact, that I'd cross-shop it against the Mazda CX-7. And if you've read that review, you know that's saying something.

Pick the Chevy over the Mazda and you give up the sporting feel, but you gain room and a more commanding view of the road, thanks to the more traditional architecture of the Equinox.

Base price? $23,360...with most of the same standard equipment as the Mazda. The rest (apart from a sunroof) is made up for in options that, on our tester, only ran the bottom line up to $24,600. And here's what you get to sit in:



Not two years ago, I would have bet you that GM couldn't pull off an interior like that in this class and price of vehicle. Then, I'd have won.

And speaking of winning, the Equinox actually takes the CX-7 on fuel economy...thanks to a six-speed automatic paired with a just-right four....the EPA says 22 city/30 highway.

This is a vehicle that deserves your attention and consideration. And the new GM needs to make everything they do from here on out as good as this.

UPDATE: Just finished a week in the top-of-the-line LTZ model. Base price jumps to $28,045, but with so much standard equipment (power liftgate, 17" aluminum wheels, rearview camera embedded in the mirror, leather, automatic climate control, a Pioneer premium audio system) that GM was able to ship this one to us option-free. So with destination charges, the tab ends up at $28,790....$4,190 more than the lightly equipped base model above.

And the EPA has revised its estimates upward...it's now 22 city/32 highway. In my mix of city street and freeway driving, I saw 25.

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Ford Sweeps North American Car & Truck Of The Year

(11JAN10) Detroit, Mich. Mark Fields, Executive Vice President, Ford Motor Company, accepts the NACTOY Car and Truck awards. This is the third time in NACTOY's history both awards have gone to one OEM.

For only the third time in 17 years, a single manufacturer has swept the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards (announced today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit).

The winner? Ford, for its Transit Connect van and Ford Fusion Hybrid (we reviewed the mechanically identical Mercury Milan Hybrid).

The Transit Connect was competing with the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback for North American Truck of the Year (The Outback? A truck? Station wagon, sure...but truck?). The Fusion was up against the all new Volkswagen Golf and GTI and the Buick LaCrosse.

                                                                      
Keep your interior looking brand new with Ford F150 seat covers.

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