2016 GMC Terrain
There are currently lots of fresh players in the white-hot compact-crossover segment. The GMC Terrain, however, is not one of them, having changed little since its debut in 2009 as the smallest of the truck brand’s “Professional Grade” vehicles. While we expect a more compact and efficient redesign to appear within the next year or so, the current Terrain—and its Chevrolet Equinox platform-mate—soldiers into its seventh year of production well past its sell-by date.
Despite some minor updates, the 2016 Terrain largely remains the same as the model that finished sixth in an eight-vehicle comparison test back in 2010. The range stretched for 2013 when the top-end Denali model was added to the lineup, and an optional 301-hp 3.6-liter V-6 ($1500) was added at the same time. Front-wheel drive and a wheezy 182-hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder remain standard, and you can opt for all-wheel drive for an additional $1750.
Move Along Now
Our test vehicle’s performance at the track was respectable but not enjoyable. The dash to 60 mph takes 6.3 seconds, with the quarter-mile passing in 14.9 seconds at 94 mph—comparable to the times we’ve recorded from more luxurious compact crossovers from Germany. The GMC’s V-6, however, is coarse and unpleasant in day-to-day driving, with a torque peak that arrives relatively high in the rev range (272 lb-ft at 4800 rpm), which necessitates significant throttle work to get moving. This is not the same sonorous and heavily re-engineered 3.6-liter in the new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro V-6. The Terrain’s standard six-speed automatic adds to the racket as it fumbles for the correct ratio and holds onto gears way too long before upshifting. Fuel economy also was disappointing: Our observed figure of 16 mpg in mixed driving was 1-mpg lower than that of the last Chevrolet Tahoe 4x4 we tested.
