With the new 2010 GMC Terrain, the automaker hopes to go after soft-roaders like the Ford Edge and Hyundai Santa Fe.
Is General Motors breaking new ground or covering old territory with the launch of its new, 2010 GMC Terrain? The public will get a chance to find out at the upcoming New York Auto Show, but readers of TheDetroitBureau.com will get a sneak peek well before the spotlights start shining at the Big Apple’s Jacob Javits Center.
If the look triggers a sense of déjà vu, it’s not only because of the familiar GMC logo and three-tier grille. The new Terrain shares the same platform and most of its underpinnings with the current Chevrolet Equinox. And it would have had a sibling SUV offering in Pontiac showrooms – in the form of the next-generation Torrent – had GM not decided to eliminate all trucks from the Pontiac line-up as part of its ongoing corporate restructuring.
Lest we leave you with the sense that the 2010 GMC Terrain is nothing but badge engineering, know that the upscale truck brand has taken a number of steps to distinguish its new offering from the more mainstream Equinox. Though the basic wagon/SUV shape is similar, the GMC Terrain has a distinctly more rugged, off-road-ready appearance, with a decidedly upright nose and boldly flared fenders. It’s much more macho in appearance than the distinctly soft-roaders it will go up against, like Ford’s Edge and the Hyundai Santa Fe.
Terrain is offered with a power-operated hatch and it can be set to open only part-way, should you have a small garage.
The interior, of the five-passenger ute, meanwhile, is a bit more up-market, with a more refined and well-executed feel than Equinox.
Two engines will be offered, including a 2.4-liter I-4. GMC has put a significant amount of effort into quieting down the new Terrain, in general, and the smaller engine, in particular. One of the nice touches is an active noise cancellation system, which operates very much like the headphones you see people wearing on long flights. In a nutshell, the system captures the booming inherent in an inline-four engine and replays the same sound out of phase, effectively canceling both out.
The direct injection engine is expected to earn a federal fuel economy rating of mpg on the highway, and the new Eco mode will help boost mileage even more by lowering the speed that the automatic transmission’s torque convertor locks up. Also helping improve efficiency is a new electronic power steering system. Rack, rather than column-mounted, it should also improve steering feel compared to many other EPS systems now on the market.
The 2010 GMC Terrain will be offered with either a 30 mpg I-4, shown here, or a bigger, tow-ready V-6.
For heftier towing needs, or just those with a taste for performance, the 2010 GMC Terrain will also be available with a 3.0-liter direct-injected V-6 making 264-horsepower. Both engines are mated to a six-speed automatic.
The new SUV, meanwhile, has been given a four-wheel-independent system shared with Equinox.
Look for the 2010 GMC Terrain to debut by late Summer, with a price-tag somewhere in the low to mid-$20,000 range.