5 Reasons To Buy The GMC Terrain, And 5 Reasons Not To
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The GMC Terrain crossover SUV (CUV) initially launched for the 2010 model year, giving GMC an entry in the then-nascent compact crossover space. The first-gen model was somewhat of a tweener between a compact and midsize models. It performed very well, attracting many a new customer to GM’s Big Red brand. The success of the first-gen model resulted in the introduction of the all-new second-generation Terrain for the 2018 model year, this time as as a new compact model with a brand-new design, a more refined cabin, and new technology features as well. As a compact CUV, the GMC Terrain is in a highly competitive segment, which means it needs to bring the heat to stay at the forefront. But does it? To answer that question, we spent the last 1,000 miles with the Terrain and have listed five reasons to buy the GMC Terrain, and five reasons not to.
5 Reasons To Buy The GMC Terrain
1. A Unique And Premium Look
Let’s face it – looks matter, and luckily, the GMC Terrain has the aesthetics needed to turn heads. No chance you’ll be fading into the background with this one. The second-generation model brought with it “the next chapter of GMC design,” offering up bolder styling cues, a slick-looking fascia, and a cool “floating roof” rear C-pillar. Match it all to a set of bright aluminum wheels, and the GMC Terrain is sitting pretty.
2. Quick And Nimble Handling
Most crossovers handle like mud. Not so with the GMC Terrain. Thanks to the GM D2XX platform, which incorporates both a lighter weight and higher torsional rigidity than the preceding first-generation’s architecture, the GMC Terrain now feels much more lively behind the wheel. It’s not a sports car, nor does it aim to be one. Even so, it’s a joy to drive on a daily basis, without any fuss, but with just the right amount of pleasantness and driver involvement behind the wheel.
3. Impressive NVH
As part of its premium positioning, the GMC Terrain interior also offers very low NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels, creating a more pleasant experience for the driver and passengers. Chalk it up to a well-insulated cabin, the standard standard active noise cancellation feature, and solid dampening from the chassis and engine mounts.
4. Great Infotainment System
Having the latest and greatest features is a must in the crossover space, and the GMC Terrain delivers thanks to highlights like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth for phone and audio, and an available OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot. Running it all is GMC’s latest eight-inch infotainment screen that is bright and responsive. Rear seat entertainment is optional.
5. Great Storage
Finding spots for all the things is important in CUV, and the GMC Terrain provides on that front with loads of storage throughout the cabin, including “shelves” on the doors and in front of the front passenger. In back, there’s nearly 30 cubic-feet of cargo space, plus 63.3 cubic-feet with the rear seats folded. Passenger room is solid as well, ensuring optimal comfort on quick runs as much as on road trips.
5 Reasons Not To Buy The GMC Terrain
1. Upper Trim Is Expensive, Lower Trims Could Be Better
Finding the right balance between cost and features can be tricky with the GMC Terrain. The upper trim levels can get very pricey very quickly, what with the 2020 GMC Denali starting at $38,300 and quickly rising much higher as options are added. Meanwhile, the base trim doesn’t quite live up to GMC’s premium claim, with chintzy-feeling interior trim and wheels. Both offer subpar equipment for their respective price points. The true sweet spot is somewhere in the middle.
2. Really Wide Turning Radius
Most folks like compact CUVs for the vehicles’ combination of practicality and maneuverability. And while the GMC Terrain does feel lively on the move, the crossover’s wide turning radius (18.7 to 20.8 feet) makes it feel a bit unwieldy in tight city driving situations, like when making a U-Turn.
3. Premium Gas Recommended
When equipped with the optional turbocharged 2.0L LTG I-4 engine option, premium fuel is a must for the car to actually deliver its full power potential and refinement. Otherwise, the powerplant just doesn’t feel as good as it should.
4. Materials Out Of Step With Pricing Higher In Range
Dropping some serious coin on a premium automobile means the cabin should reflect the high price. Unfortunately, that’s simply not the case with higher trim levels of the GMC Terrain such as the SLT and Denali, with hard plastics found throughout. But as an added bonus, at least the front passenger seat folds flat, making carrying long items a breeze.
5. Build Location
For some buyers, where a car is built is a big deal. The desire to support American workers is especially pronounced these days, and the fact that the GMC Terrain is constructed at the GM San Luis Potosi factory by GM Mexico could be considered a big strike against the vehicle. That said, there are those to whom the build location doesn’t matter, and this second contingent typically makes up the overwhelming majority of the car-buying population.
How about you, dear reader? Are there any big reasons to buy (or not to buy) the GMC Terrain that we neglected to mention? Post them in the comments section and let us know. And don’t forget to subscribe to GM Authority for more GMC Terrain news, GMC news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
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Woowee! So much negativity. I simply would like to mention that I’ve been a loyal GM owner since my 1st car in 1992. I had me a 1983 Chevy Malibu wagon, with a Buick 3.8L V6. As a graduation gift, I got a 63 Impala 4 door hardtop. When I returned from my overseas duty station, I picked up a 89 Pontiac Sunbird. May not have been the fastest, greatest car, however, That car played a monstrous role in saving my obliterated drunk butt when I rolled it across 4 lanes on a state highway less than 1 mile from my home.
Several years later, I met my future wife, we got a 94 Cavalier, then graduated to an 02 Malibu, then after our first daughter was born, went on the path of the minivan–2004 Chevy Venture. I never owned a vehicle that broke 200k miles before. Maybe they weren’t trouble free, but because I didn’t mind rolling up my sleeves and getting dirty, I thought of it as no big deal. Then, as we became more financially stable, we were able to afford a nearly new Cruze and brand new 2016 Traverse. 100k pain free miles on my Cruze. Now, I happily drive a 2016 Malibu LTZ Limited with over 147k miles and my wife loves the 2018 Traverse. Biggest non-secret is following the factory’s preventive maintenance recommendations. We are blessed!
Also built in Canada
Ingersoll Ontario!!!!
WHY when I give you thumbs it shows then goes right away but I can give a thumbs down on other reviews and it shows not one thumbs-up has worked for me to stay. I am older than you I can tell but I have been a Loyal GM lover since my first GM it was a 1960 F85/Cutlass that was the second car I bought my first car I was 15 and bought an MG from an older man who said the transmission was shot I paid him cash for it of course… back in 1975 you didn’t run to the bank to borrow all the time you saved for what you wanted LOL I worked all through school bought my first house while in high school paid 1/2 cash down and no I did not come from a well to do family. my 50 cents a week allowance IF I was lucky enough to get went right in the bank. I worked hard I’d drag the lawnmower for blocks even 1/2 way across town and then you got $5 a yard if you were lucky. I would LOVE to see a kid today do that ROFLMAO. My favorite car I got in high school also and that was a 72 Cutlass Supreme Convertible LOL I just looked up the value OMG those were the days it now is worth more than today’s new cars LOL and is 5 times the car. But the gas milage would kill you today LOL but I loved the big ole GM’s
We purchased our 2019 Terrain Denali this Spring. Drove it 400 miles over the first weekend and the ride was horrible, noisy and stiff. At 60mph we couldn’t hear to carry on normal conversation. Different road surfaces all created different loud cabin noise. Handkook tires were factory installed. We went back to our West Chester, PA dealer to have him remove and install Michlein or Bridgestone that other Terrain’s in stock had. After a couple of weeks they said they couldn’t help. Not even on a shared price break! This vehicle is #10 purchased from this dealer. Disapointed to say the least. Two different Handkook dealers said they would not have installed their tires on a Terrain!! Our Michlein dealer also said they would not install the Handkook tires on our vehicle. $900 for the Michlein’s now provides the great performance we now injoy on the ’19 Terrain.
The underpowered 1.5T and strange 2 MPG drop compared to the Equinox with the same engine and older 6 speed automatic are hardly noteworthy and the larger tired versions are loud on the highway. I was frankly more impressed with a friends 2019 Hyundai Tuscan with the 2.4 for thousands less even though I hate CUV’s.
I also noticed for 2020 the 2.0T vanishes as an option for the mid trim level SLE which means in order to get the power option you now have to spend several thousand more on the SLT, a cute way to maximize profits.
Terrains are also built at the Cami plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. Yes, unfortunately, there are some from Mexico.
But, all you have to do is open the door and check.
It’s imperative that this comment is here as you only mentioned mexico in your article.
I bought a 2011 Terrain v6 OK it had 165K on it and it ran and drove like it was new. I had it for a full day before I bought it I thought $3500 out the door was a good deal as I am on disability and thought this is probably the nicest vehicle I will ever be able to buy again. I worked in GM sales and was one heck of an honest salesperson, I was the salesman of the month almost every month but made barely over my base pay. The sales manager didn’t like me as I was hired by one of the dealerships higher up managers. The owner had 6 dealerships I worked at one of the smaller ones and did better in sales than some of his bigger dealerships. I quit to never getting the commission I should have for any sale I made even when I should have gotten a huge commission I would get base. So I quit. This was right before the housing market crash. I started to train to be a mortgage broker until I saw what they were doing to people. I quit that job fast I said I had to be able to sleep at night. I got a phone call to my amazement from the service mgr. He asked me if I wanted to come to be a service writer as he had a guy that was there for years and he was going to retire. He said he loved my strong work ethic. I would be the only one in the winter who would be outside cleaning cars all day long. I said well I did that so I was able to get the people as they pulled in to look around instead of the “girls” who were afraid of the cold and would sit at their desks. I took the job. I totally loved my job as a service writer. I was the top writer for all 6 stores every month and we were one of the smallest stores. I went on to be a service manager. I have to say the vehicles lasted much longer back then than they do today. I seen newer GM’s that are so rusted I am amazed. Now I would go out of my way and could do more when a service manager than a writer but WOW I could not believe it. I had driven the 2011 Terrain for a full day I knew it needed tires and front rotors tuned. I am now on disability due to my first back surgery leaving me crippled. I am pending my 3rd one now this time to have discs replace and both knees need to be replaced. So I brought it home and didn’t drive it until I was able to get the tires on and I bought new rotors “Good ones” and the good brake pads that don’t leave the black dust on your wheels. I had the tires put on and rotors, and pads. I went to pick it up and it stalled when I went to pull out of the place that did the repairs. I WON’T go back to them again. But that is a whole different story. I thought well maybe I will run some Sea Foam through the gas system and see what happens. It did seem to make a difference so I was happy but that was only for a day LOL. It got worse so I took it back to where I bought it a local well only GM dealership in town and they wanted $5800 to repair it. So I said what about making a trade on another vehicle since I put new good touring tires on it and front breaks and rotors maybe they would give me what I paid for it anyhow… Ha Ha Ha… they said they would only give me $1000.00 trade I came home and called GM as they do have what is called Good Will Warranty. They offered to split the bill with me they paid $3500.00 on the repair. So now if the dealership did all that they said I basically have a rebuilt engine. I do need to check the oil to see how that is I have not gone anywhere other than to the store and back. I did make a trip about 100 miles round trip to get a mobility scooter someone gave to me free after I asked about it on Craigslist. I think they felt bad after hearing my story of having to dish out so much money that was basically all I had left in my savings. in the Terrain and a lady God bless her soul, she said if they gave you the scooter let me give you the hauler. LOL, now that was sweet. The people told me the scooter had new tires new batteries and was like new. it looked that way but the guy ran down the drive and had it up on the carrier as soon as I got the ramp down. I am glad they gave it to me as by the time I got home the tires were flat on it and it won’t take a charge. I said OMG I have the worst luck in the world. I did my research on the Terrain way too late though. I PRAY it lasts me. I see what they sell for on the lots with this many miles on it and am amazed at what people pay but then again the lots can get people with poor credit financing. I have been a lifetime GM person I learned a lot and can’t say I am proud of GM for some of the things they do. I had moved my mother in to take care of her 11yrs ago to keep my sister from putting her in a home. She thought my mother had money and tried to scam her out of it haha hs my father worked for GM for years and retired from there before they filed for bankruptcy. I help her out as GM did the retirees dirty when the filed for bankruptcy. They cut their pension in half and put them on a different medical plan than they were on with the regular GM employees. OMG, it’s WORSE than medicare/Medicaid combined. I help her as much as I can but she did want to buy a new car as she didn’t want to worry about having something that needed to be repaired all the time I said well not sure about GM and since they did the retries so dirty she was not overly thrilled about a GM product STUPID me I said well Subaru seems to have awesome reviews. I went into Finance with her as I know that is where the dealerships today make their money with the internet there is not much competition out there on cars anymore. A fool older than myself and I am 60 was texting and never looked up and pulled out in front of me I was taking apart to have a mechanic put on my Buick. Like that car, she got first new so I could drive her to the Drs. and do some errands for her. it was a Lincoln MKZ that was already a year old but never sold on the lot I explained the floor plan to her that dealerships get after the end of the year whats left on the lot they have to pay for and own and are no longer considered new since they are titled to the dealership then. Plus they have to pay tax on them as long as they are on the lot, so she would get a good deal one it. But the warranty does not start until they are sold to an individual, OMG that car I will say was a sharp-looking car but GM has them hands down for quality I mean even a Chevy Cruze were built better. Which she did like but as I stated she was still stinging from the way GM did my father dirty when they filed bankruptcy. How a company that pays their upper mgt hundreds of thousands of dollars can be so rotten to the people who broke their backs making the cars is so unreal. I was amazed how the Lincoln crumbled for me going 45mph and hitting a trailer the guy was pulling but I had no idea he was going to pull out I kept my eye at him and he never looked up and I slammed on the brakes or it would have been worse, of course, he had a brother in law who got his ticket reduced to a nonmoving no points fine. So I could not get enough to pay the medical bills let alone my two front teeth knocked out by the airbag blowing my hand into my mouth breaking my hand and knocking out 2 teeth. So I take her just to look at a Subaru as I told her lets to go to Huebners here in Ohio as they also sold GM and I had dealt with them often in sales, doing dealer trades and getting parts off them for our good service customers who wanted the vehicle fast so they could go on a vacation or something. I said it’s a small town and they are so nice to let’s go there but you can look as we drive through here since we were going right past the Boardman Subaru dealership. I told her I had a bad feeling about them and wanted to go to the Huebners.No she could not wait, She has a stubborn streak in her LOL I told her The finance guy kept doing his best to sell her an ext. warranty. I said mom your last car had 1250miles on it and you had it 3 yrs until I totaled it.The finance mgr came down to almost the basic powertrain warranty for the 10yr 100K miles I said that is not a bad deal plus it was transferable which a lot are not. I said ok now that is a good deal. I figured if she could not afford the payments or something happened down the road I would take over the payments. Or is she passed she was going to leave me the car knowing I could never buy anything decent again I can’t even get my military benefits… OMG Subaru is JUNK anymore, maybe they are good for safety ratings but that is it. I felt safe driving it home as it was a really bad ice and snow storm that day… The last one of the year and people all over were in ditches and accidents everywhere. I could not even get the Legacy to fishtail or slide at all I was very impressed with it in the snow. LOL, now my car was down again so I did drive hers a bit that following winter and every time I would get in the battery was dead. They said that is normal and put a bigger battery in it saying Subaru puts cheap batteries in their vehicles. I thought ok every car mfg has their own weaknesses LOL but after that, there was no difference it was still dead all the time. I took it in several times for that and when I would wash it if I got water on the driver’s door then it would lock and unlock even if the key fob was way out of range. The service writer first tried to BS me and I explained don’t play me that way I don’t like it I did your job and was ALWAYS 100% honest with my customers’ I was the same when I was in sales that is why I had a line of people every Sat and Sunday that would not deal with anyone else and wait forever if I was already with a customer. This service girl and guys were NUTS they would not know the truth if it hit them in the face. I told her I was a service writer and mgr and I know cars and service soI don’t like being lied to at all. We did have the vehicle into service multiple times for the electrical problems that never got fixed and had it serviced now the car is still low miles under 10K the warranty is up and of course the battery is dead. The neighbors were having a tree taken down I had to move it and here in one weeks time chipmunks had gotten under there and ripped out the heat shield under the hood. I said well we will have the warranty give it towed and get it fixed LOL they hung up on me every time I mentioned Boardman Subaru and an extended warranty. Finally, I called Subaru roadside assistance and said I wanted to speak to someone about a warranty that was the first time I got to speak to someone and explain she purchased it That Subaru of America had even called us 6 months after we purchased it and I said to him I was in with her and she bought the gold plus plan 10yrs 100K miles bumper to bumper basically factory warranty minus wear parts. They said no she didn’t it was not until I mentioned writing the Attorney General and told them yes I got the right email that I got from AARP all the other times I had written them about something I never got any response but I had my identity when Equifax had their data breach. Then they all a sudden said oh she has the basic powertrain warranty that would tow her 15 miles. I said no #1 I said if she is going to need to replace anything on the powertrain in that length of time then we need to find a different car. I said the Gold plus is nice but she should never need that for all the more it will be driven and I put most of the miles on it going to my Drs in Pittsburgh and feel bad but my car just kept breaking one thing after another OK it was a GM but it was not driven much and sat for years. The guy asked for my email to send me an unsigned extended warranty. I said this is NOT a binding warranty I knew that from working in warranty a contract has to be signed by the buyer and seller of the warranty or its just paper. Oh, my gasket blew. I called Subaru of America and of course, I was put on hold for hours every call. I did an online chat with the roadside assistance people and they agreed that the ext. warranty unsigned was not of any use to anyone LOL she stated she would send a message to Subaru of America to call me. I said OK but please make sure that it is after 12 noon or they will not get ahold of me. Now you know the guy calls early in the morning when I said I was not going to be home. he left a number and extension to get in touch I had to listen to it 6 times just to get it written down he spoke so fast it was unreal I could barely understand the message and number and 6 digit ext. I called and left a message then a few hours later not hearing back I called again. and then again leaving messages finally he calls back 3 days later after I called the dealership and spoke to the finance guy who wrote the deal. he literally laughed at me on the phone. I did not know I had so many gaskets that could blow LOL. He said he would never just write ext warranty and a price on the deal sheat. I told him to pull the sales jacket he said he sure would and call me back by 5 pm that evening. of course, no call back so I called and left Charles at Subaru of America a message that I had tried all I can take to fix this thievery by the dealership and would get in touch with the Attorney General as they had their chance and I would put it out there everywhere what they did to an elderly lady I sat there and did not know that he wrote it that way I just told her what to not do as they can load up the back end of a deal on a car more than anyone has an idea, so I wanted to make sure what she did was not be ripped off that way. but he did to top it off Subaru of America asked me to send in all the deal paperwork. I said what??? you should have all that or be able to get that from the dealership much easier than me running making and paying for copies and mail them in. I knew then that they could not find the deal jacket. So to stop this babbling I would say GM is not as bad as some of you make them out to be. YES, I do agree that the Equinox and Terrain issues should of recall NOT TSB (Technical Service Bulletin). That is how GM got out of fixing all the cars and most people pay for those themselves That is a dirty pull but I will still buy GM over others. It’s a total shame foreign car companies make more cars in the USA than American Mfg do… I must say some Politicians don’t care about people and jobs in America. Of course, car mfg will get away with what they can anymore… We the common people of the US elect people to represent us and all they do is to fill their pockets and nothing to help us out. W have one President who has cared if Americans work and that would be Trump. like me or not for saying that but it is 100% true. All the other Presidents sold us out long ago.
Bye for now D1Chevyman!
long winded ???
I own a 2016 Terrain SLE. What I’m most annoyed about is when the back windows are opened there is sever wind /air buffering to the point that it makes the car shake. The wind has a pulsating affect. It almost feels that the air pressure in my ears uncomfortable. My question is does anyone notice the same problem with their cars? What makes the pulsating affect?
I have a 2015 Terrain with 119888 miles on it. I have had no issues with it. As for no power, I had it over 90mph just this morning. It will get up and go.