Rugged Good Looks and a Lot of Style with GMC Terrain

As the car makers at GM have often been known for the 2014 is one more fantastic truck-like vehicle in an SUV form. Offering plenty of power and control the Terrain is a great size for most buyers looking for an SUV to take care of business.   With excellent towing capacity depending on the powertrain selected the Terrain offers everything an owner would want from the ability to get supplies to the jobsite to the weekend pull-behind toys for fun in the sun.

Coming in for 2014 as one of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Award Winner’s for Top Safety Pick Plus in the Mid-Sized SUV Class the Terrain offers peace of mind knowing they occupants will be as safe as possible in the event of a collision. Very few changes were made for the 2014 model but they do include adding 17 and 18-inch wheels as standard on specific trim levels as well as the option to have the vehicle painted in Silver Sky Metallic.

Stepping into the Terrain offers the occupants a surprisingly quiet ride in a vehicle that so closely resembles a pickup truck that the expectation is of a ride filled with road noise. This quiet ride is achieved through the use of laminated glass, active noise-cancelling technologies, and triple-sealed doors to resemble the feel of a luxury ride instead of a truck. Offering a well-engineered steering and suspension this SUV rides like a medium-sized car instead of a truck. Offering excellent steering response and a road soaking ride the vehicle rides smooth and easy taking corners and quick steering changes like a champ. The two different engines available at GMC Mobile AL offer plenty of power to fulfill all needs of any owner from passing, reaching speeds, and towing. The only real knock on the Terrain is the lack of off road ability, but most shoppers looking for a vehicle in this class are not heading far from the pavement so that still shouldn’t turn many away at all.

The first of the two engines available is a very well designed 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine offering 182 horsepower and 172 lb.-ft. of torque. This engine is offered on the base model, the SLE, SLT, and Denali and has smartly been set up with direct fuel injection with helps with both the power quotient and fuel efficiency. When matched up with the six-speed automatic transmission this version will offer the owner a 22 city/32 hwy mpg in front-wheel drive (FWD), 15 city/22 hwy mpg when using the E85 fuel in FWD, 20 city/29 hwy mpg for the all-wheel drive (AWD), and 14 city/20 hwy mpg for the E85 in AWD. This powertrain is more than capable for regular driving and even performs well on the highway, but if regular towing, heavy loads and a lot of hills are in the regular driving routine the larger engine should be the choice made.

The bigger engine offered for the Terrain is a 3.6-liter V6 offered on the SLE-2, SLT, and Denali bringing in 301 horsepower and 272 lb.-ft. of torque. Also set up with direct fuel injection, when paired with the six-speed automatic transmission this pairing brings in 17 city/24 hwy mpg in FWD, 13 city/22 hwy mpg for E85 in FWD, 16 city/23 hwy mpg in AWD, and 12 city/17 hwy for E85 in AWD. Even with the drop in fuel efficiency the added benefit of more power and towing capabilities more than make up for this loss of fuel mileage.

Towing capacities can be a huge consideration when looking for an SUV and the Terrain offers more than adequate capabilities for towing. When set up with the 2.4-liter engine in FWD the towing capacity is set at 4,960 pounds and when substituted in with the AWD increases to 5,070 pounds certainly enough to get the toys to the beach or lake or bring back a respectable load for a weekend of yard improvement. For the workhorse of the bunch, the 3.6-liter engine, the towing capacity starts at 5,200 pounds for the FWD setup and increases to 5,300 pounds for the AWD, which is more than enough for most jobsite towing and allows plenty of power to get everything where it needs to go.

Offering satin metal trimmings, two-toned leather, an eight-way power passenger seat and some excellent mahogany wood accents the inside seems more like a luxury SUV than a utilitarian workhorse. Offering a glowing red backlight gives a unique look and makes all the instruments easy to find at night with even the USB port being lit up. With plenty of room for adults in all seats the SUV is comfortable and roomy on the inside. Overall the interior of the Terrain offers a lot to please owners and passengers with function and style.

From the outside the Terrain maintains a strong stance with the classic look of a truck from front to back. Even offering squared-off fender flares the SUV shows up as rugged, tough, and angry, ready to get the job don and move on to some playtime. Offering a few well-placed chrome accents on the outside, the Terrain is a gorgeous vehicle to look at from just about every angle and when fitted with the optional 19-inch wheels has a superior stance that means business.

After talking up the entire vehicle the expectation would be a long list of standard features and that is just what this SUV has. Starting with 17-inch wheels, a rearview camera, and a color touch-screen audio system with USB port, Bluetooth connectivity, XM Satellite Radio, OnStar, six airbags, a sliding rear seat, and Active Noise Cancellation to give the quiet ride. With those entire features standard it’s a wonder this SUV didn’t enter into the luxury category, but in reality it’s still a base model SUV from GM, it simply has a nice array of features to enjoy.

The optional features list is just as long as the standard ones allowing an owner to create an SUV that matches their personality. Optional features include 19-inch alloy wheels, a second-row entertainment system with two screen, a color touch-screen navigation system powered by IntelliLink, a ten gigabyte hard drive, a Pioneer premium audio system, a programmable rear lift gate, a Lane Departure Warning System, a Forward Collision Alert System, a Side Blind Zone Alert System, and a Rear Cross Traffic Alert System. With all those added safety features it really isn’t any surprise this vehicle won the IIHS award.

At the starting price after seeing all the included gear the Terrain is a steal at $27,000 for the base SLE1 model with the SLT1 starting just over $30,000 which is a really good buy for the increased list of features. Opting for AWD will at $1,750 to the price no matter which trim level is chosen and the price can easily end up over $35,000 with all the boxes checked, but even at that price the Terrain is a fantastic buy.

Wining the IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus award and offering any owner a massive amount of features and benefits along with real towing power and a smooth and quiet ride, the 2014 GMC Terrain is a magnificent vehicle for anyone to buy. When in the market for a great SUV and no desire to move up to the lumbering size of a full-size model, shopper should really consider the Terrain as the best choice and option on the market.