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 Nissan Armada Review

The 2011 Nissan Armada.  A huge SUV in a changing automotive world.

It's always good to remember when reading (or writing) an auto review that of all the resources manufacturers have at their disposal, a crystal ball is not one of them. Work begins on the next generation of vehicles sometimes before the first hits the showroom floor, and designs and dimensions get locked in early. When the game changes, often the player has to remain the same.

That's pretty much the story of the Nissan Armada. It was designed when full-size SUVs like the Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition, Toyota Sequoia and GMC Yukon could do no wrong in the marketplace.

And then everything changed.

As a result, the Nissan Armada feels a bit like a time machine, something of a different age (though its competitors listed above are in exactly the same boat).

The 2011 Nissan Armada. Room for 8 people and 28 gallons of gas.

Speaking of boats, my dad would have called something this big a "boat". But Nissan named this the Armada, which means "whole fleet of boats". It's really not significantly larger than any full-size SUV we've reviewed, but the packaging makes it feel like it is. It's long, wide and tall, seats 8, weighs 5,346 pounds (without the 8 people) and has a 317-horsepower 5.6 liter V8 to move all that.

All things considered, the engine does a good job moving the weight at a reasonable pace and the handling isn't bad, either. Not sporting, but not bad. That's most likely thanks to rack and pinion steering, 4-wheel independent suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS are an important part of the package...helping stop the kind of momentum that an Armada at speed has.

With a 5-speed automatic transmission and 634 pounds shy of three tons to move, however, gas mileage is not part of the good news. The EPA says 12 city/18 highway, and what we saw in our week at the wheel tells us that's probably about right. You'll get decent range out of a tank because it's a big tank...28 gallons. But at $3.50 a gallon, re-filling an empty tank will set you back $98.

2011 Nissan Armada: The view from the deck.

The Nissan Armada we drove was the SL 4X4, middle of the three trim levels (SV, SL and Platinum). At $2,450 above the SV 4X4's MSRP of $44,090, it adds some fairly serious towing capability (9,000 pounds), leather-appointed seats, 20-inch aluminum alloy wheels replace the SV's 18-inchers, plus fog lamps, heated front seats, a chrome grille, roof rack, power liftgate, side molding inserts and exhaust finisher, a rear-view camera, an upgrade to a Bose audio system with SiriusXM Satellite Radio, keyless entry, Bluetooth, a four-way power front passenger seat and a power flat-folding third row seat.

That strikes us as a fair deal. And if you want to go full-boat (sorry), the Platinum 4X4 will take $7,250 more of your money than the SL and add navigation, DVD, sonar, a moonroof and a bunch more goodies. But that's $53,790.

The Nissan Armada SL we had strikes me as the best choice at an MSRP of $45,640 and an as-tested sticker of $46,810 ($950 delivery charges and only one option...floor and cargo mats for $220).

But should you choose the Armada? Well, if you need a full-size four-wheel-drive SUV (and many folks truly do), yes. The fact is that the entire segment is made up of fully mature vehicles, closing in on either a major re-freshening, re-design or re-think. At this stage, the Nissan Armada isn't really any less advanced than the others. Choosing between them is really a matter of personal taste.

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6 Million GM Light-Duty Trucks Under Fed Investigation: Rusty Brakes

The feds say they've had 110 complaints, 37 confirmed by dealer inspections. Full details from Automotive News (free registration required).

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The Taxpayer-Funded $1,000 A Month Auto Lease

Your tax dollars at work. Politico has found that at least 10 members of Congress are paying $1,000 a month or more to lease cars.

Not limos...not armored SUVs....just car cars.

I'm sure, shopping around, you and I could find better deals than $1,628 a month for a GMC Yukon...or $1,279 a month on a Chevy Malibu. But not our elected officials.

Politico has the story here.

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