GMC Thinks Design Is The Major Differentiator Between 2018 Terrain And Equinox
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Design is an ever important aspect of a vehicle and can be a selling point all its own. Cars that don’t look great normally don’t get a second glance.
GMC thinks the design of the 2018 Terrain will play the biggest factor in differentiating the compact crossover from its platform mate, the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. To be fair, the outgoing Terrain doesn’t quite look like the Equinox either, but careful consideration was taken to ensure the 2018 Terrain shared nothing with the 2018 Equinox.
“We wanted something that is very stunning — bold, confident, and poised. We also knew we needed to compliment that with the interior. Some of the premium materials are unique to the Terrain: the aluminum components and soft-touch areas. The mode switch and the electronic precision switch (push-button transmission) are also unique,” GMC Terrain Chief Engineer Mark Cieslak told Automobile.
“The basic foundation — the architecture — is the same for both vehicles but, as the styling evolved, we started diverging a little from the Equinox. The back structure is different. As such, the Terrain is a little heavier, and it carries its own, unique calibrations.”
While the wrapper may be unique, GMC is using the Equinox’s powertrain playbook. The 2018 GMC Terrain will arrive with the same trio of turbocharged four-cylinder engines in 1.5-liter, 2.0-liter and 1.6-liter diesel forms.
All we can say is we’re glad the days of “badge engineering” are long, long gone for GM brands.
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This is excellent! An important factor in keeping GMC products more distinct from their Chevy twin! There’s always been something about this badge that made it better looking than the Chevrolet counterpart. Brings back fond memories of my Dad’s ’89 GMC Jimmy SLE. He was a Chevy man most of his life, but for the first time he chose the GMC model over the Chevy twin because of the look! My cousin also bought a 2013 GMC Acadia Denali over the comparably equipped Traverse LTZ simply for the look; despite the $5000 premium!
But I still yearn for the day that GMC’s will be both stylistically different and engineered differently from Chevrolet trucks and SUVs! It’ll make them so much more special and more firmly establish the brand! The fact that they’ve calibrated the suspension differently is a step in the right direction!
Now they just really have to work on the Silverado/Sierra and Tahoe/Yukon Interior
If both the GMC Terrain and the Chevy Equinox are based on the new D2XX platform, same with the Chevy Volt, why doesn’t GM produce EREV versions of both CUVs?
The do it’s called a bolt
Except bolt is based on subcompact platform
Will it be subject to the 20% Trump import tax since it will be built in Mexico?
The roof rails are exactly the same on both vehicles.
I see a lot of XC90 and CX-5 in this design, which is a good thing! Haven’t seen it in person but I like what I see in live shots.
I can’t help but wonder how handsome it would have been without the trendy pinched rear greenhouse.