2018 GMC Terrain a stylish way to chew up rural Valley roads
Click here to see full page design: Nov2017-Auto
When you are running late to a leadership retreat in western Union County, it’s best to do so in a 2018 GMC Terrain.
Few crossovers can slice up the windy rural roads and numerous bends of Route 235 through Glen Iron like the Terrain — shaving down the in-dash GPS estimated time of arrival with each well-handled curve.
And few can do it with as much style.
The 2018 version is completely redesigned, losing three inches in length and 400 pounds from the previous generation of Terrains without sacrificing more than a inch of headspace or leg room. With the redesign, the Terrain adopts a much more engaging appearance with revised grille designs, quote-shaped headlights and a floating roof.
The optional skyscape sunroof with power sunshade was one of my family’s favorite features — the panoramic glass sunroof welcomed in plenty of light and gave the kids an extra vantage point to observe the outside world. It’s a $1,495 add-on, but definitely worth the cost for those who enjoy the outdoors.
Another option that added to the overall driving experience was a 2.0-liter Turbo 4-cylinder engine — when combined with the lighter redesign of the 2018 Terrain, gave the crossover plenty of pep along all sorts of rural Valley roads while maintaining an impressive fuel efficiency for an all-wheel drive vehicle. The review vehicle was rated upwards of 26 miles per gallon in highway driving, although I averaged that on nearby back roads.
One feature that took some getting used to was the lack of a traditional gearshift. Instead, drivers engage the standard automatic transmission with a series of buttons located below the dashboard LCD display.
Above the shift buttons sits a new infotainment system that acts a lot like a smartphone, with scrolling capability and pinch-and-zoom maps. By rearranging the main map screen, GMC made it easier to access important functions such as the option to cancel the current route or change the volume of the voice turn-by-turn directions.
The Terrain comes in four different trim levels, starting with the base SL model that offers a limited options menu, followed by the more option-rich SLE, a comfort and design-based SLT and the near-luxury class Denali trim model.
Despite the 2018 version of the Terrain’s smaller dimensions, the cargo space is impressive. Levers in the trunk make easy work of folding the rear seats flat and the front passenger seat can also be maneuvered to accommodate 63.5 cubic feet of storage.
The Terrain does come with an optional towing package, with the 2.0-liter engine handling a maximum towing capacity of 3,500 pounds. The Terrain is one of the only options in the crowded crossover market to offer an optional diesel engine.
Overall, the Terrain offers plenty of possibilities in a compact crossover that checks all the appropriate boxes for comfort, performance and handling — the perfect combination for those who tend to procrastinate and need to make up for lost time on the Valley’s windy grid of rural roadways.