Spy Shots: GMC Terrain

[Intrepidation]

Judging by the looks of this prototype, plans for a GMC version of General Motors' updated Theta platform are almost ready for prime-time.

Essentially the replacement for the Pontiac Torrent, this cladded-up GMC Terrain prototype reveals a masculine, blocky exterior with good differentiation between it and the forthcoming Chevrolet Equinox successor. A large, quadrangular shield grille stands proud while the blocky bumperette-style outcroppings in the corners give the crossover a bluff looking front end in a bid to reinforce GMC's image as a truck brand. In profile, the crossover has strong, squared-off wheel arches and flares that alleviate its otherwise slab sides, and the rear tailgate area cribs its cues from the SUV playbook, including an upright rear window, matte lower cladding and large, high-set taillamps.

Like its platform-mate from Chevrolet, we expect to see the Terrain debut with a 2.4-liter Ecotec direct-injection four-cylinder (good for 182 horsepower and an EPA-pending fuel economy rating of 21 city miles-per-gallon city and 30 on the highway ), as well as a 3.0-liter direct-injection six-cylinder good for 255 hp and estimated 18/25 mpg.

Our spies at KGP Photography note that the Chicago Auto Show has been a common unveiling point for GMC in the past, and judging by the finished look of this tester, a rollout in The City of Big Shoulders seems quite likely.

Source: Autoblog

[GMTruckGuy74]

Thanks for posting this DF... I've been waiting very patiently for more news on the Terrain. So far I'm liking what I'm seeing, and this one is the more upscale version (notice the chrome door handles, mirror caps, and the chrome rims <which I'm liking a lot>). I also like the fender flares that are noticeable in these shots (hopefully they're not just part of the camo package). And I'm hoping that more un-camo'ed shots start showing up soon. I don't know if my patience can wait much longer until the Chicago show arrives (20-21 more days to the media preview)!!

[ZL-1]

GM seems to be doing an excellent job of differentiating the Thetas and the TEs

[BigPontiac]

I wonder if those blind spot mirrors are tacked on or built into the mirrors...

[GMTruckGuy74]

I wonder if those blind spot mirrors are tacked on or built into the mirrors...

I was wondering the same thing, and was going to post about that, but after making my initial post the site went down!! I also see "Sierra" in the headlights, and maybe more cues from it and the Acadia in it's design too. Also, I'm getting a GMC Graphyte design vibe from the frontend. Here's the Graphyte, in case anyone else sees it too:

I wonder what other design cues were used from this concept??

[Satty]

Thats not the Graphyte, its a Corvette. That place doesn't allow hotlinking.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Thats not the Graphyte, its a Corvette. That place doesn't allow hotlinking.

Sorry about that. Hopefully the new pic remains.

[Brougham-Holiday]

I dont understand why GM builds another SUV yet the compact cars are still more then a year away.

[regfootball]

nice GMC escape

[Croc]

Looks good!

[Oracle of Delphi]

Looks too blocky for my taste, I prefer the Chevy version with the more rounded lines.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I dont understand why GM builds another SUV yet the compact cars are still more then a year away.

Well, remember that the GMC Envoy has left to make way for the roomier and better MGP-achiever Acadia, and Pontiac is "losing" the Torrent and GMC is "gaining" the Terrain in its place. So the Terrain takes the place of both the Torrent and the Envoy.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Looks too blocky for my taste, I prefer the Chevy version with the more rounded lines.

While I like the new 2010 Equinox, I prefer my trucks (and 'trucklets') to have more of a truckier shape to them - or as you call it, "blocky". Though the Terrain will be a soft-roader, I don't want it to look any less of a truck.

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

Its a front or all-wheel-drive, mid-size car underneath! Plain and simple....not a bad looking crossover though, somewhat shrunken Acadia, except probably with beyond-pathetic cargo room when compared to Acadia (par to the class, that is, obviously they are different size classes-as in Acadia trumps Flex; Highlander/RX and Pilot/MDX eat Terrain/Equinox/SRX)-what's the valid excuse here?

Terrain looks good, but I must ask, what's the point? (And to replace the Pontiac Torrent doesn't count....)

[enzl]

Its a front or all-wheel-drive, mid-size car underneath! Plain and simple....not a bad looking crossover though, somewhat shrunken Acadia, except probably with beyond-pathetic cargo room when compared to Acadia (par to the class, that is, obviously they are different size classes-as in Acadia trumps Flex; Highlander/RX and Pilot/MDX eat Terrain/Equinox/SRX)-what's the valid excuse here?

Terrain looks good, but I must ask, what's the point? (And to replace the Pontiac Torrent doesn't count....)

Why start to have a logical explanation now? The geniuses in management & the board are waiting for Chapter 7 so they can make tell-all book deals!

Delay CTS coupe, develop unnecessary CUV that's 10 years late to market. Yep, that's the ticket!

[Robert Hall]

Why start to have a logical explanation now? The geniuses in management & the board are waiting for Chapter 7 so they can make tell-all book deals!

Delay CTS coupe, develop unnecessary CUV that's 10 years late to market. Yep, that's the ticket!

Yeah, in '10, GM will have 4 midsize CUVs...but they have 4 dealer bodies (Chevy,BPG, Saturn, Cadillac) to keep happy...

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Basic: Equinox

Mid lux: Terrain

Luxury: SRX

It's as simple as 1.2.3... And it perfectly follows the new core brand strategy. And so what? GM has 4 trucks on a platform... Big Deal. Just think, had GM kept Hummer, the HX would've been on this platform too.

(Saturn doesn't need the Vue and the 9-4X, if Saab sticks around, needs to focus on something drastically different than the SRX. Say, efficiency or performance)

Edited January 28, 2009 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[smk4565]

Hooray, another SUV, because GM doesn't have enough of them already and SUVs are the hot market right now.

[Robert Hall]

Hooray, another SUV, because GM doesn't have enough of them already and SUVs are the hot market right now.

Yeah, well GM always seems to be few years behind the trends. Midsize CUVs were a big niche a couple years ago.

Edited January 28, 2009 by moltar

[Croc]

Yeah, well GM always seems to be few years behind the trends. Midsize CUVs were a big niche a couple years ago.

I wouldn't want to place bets on GM actually marketing these new Thetas as "midsized" instead of "large compact."

[Drew Dowdell]

Equinox - Basic

Terrain - Mid-Lux Domestic

Vue - Mid-Lux we'll pretend it's not a domestic since our neighbors/parents/colleagues/home owners association/MotorTrend would disapprove

SRX - Lux

[smk4565]

I wouldn't want to place bets on GM actually marketing these new Thetas as "midsized" instead of "large compact."

They are midsized, they are bigger than an Edge, Highlander or RX350 which are considered midsize.

[2chevs]

That's impossible since the current Vue is smaller than the last gen. and the last gen. is a lot smaller than the Edge and Highlander. Also, GM would never make their new SUV's the size of the Highlander, mainly because they have four that size already (Lambda?).

[Robert Hall]

That's impossible since the current Vue is smaller than the last gen. and the last gen. is a lot smaller than the Edge and Highlander. Also, GM would never make their new SUV's the size of the Highlander, mainly because they have four that size already (Lambda?).

The full-size Lambdas are much bigger than the Highlander... the Vue is about the size of my '00 Grand Cherokee IIRC (180-181"). Kind of small midsize to large compact. The '09 Highlander is 188", the current Equinox is about 190", the new one may be larger. Lambdas are all around 200".

I think the new Equinox, Vue and SRX are going to be on a longer wheelbase than the Vue, a bit bigger.

Edited January 28, 2009 by moltar

[pow]

Why don't they call it the Envoy? That was a GMC that seemed to have good brand recognition. Changing nameplates too often not only requires more advertising money, but it affects residuals as well. Who would want to drive a discontinued brand (e.g., Torrent)?

[Robert Hall]

Why don't they call it the Envoy? That was a GMC that seemed to have good brand recognition. Changing nameplates too often not only requires more advertising money, but it affects residuals as well. Who would want to drive a discontinued brand (e.g., Torrent)?

Probably so it will have it's own identity...it's a totally different vehicle than the Envoy.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Basic: Equinox

Mid lux: Terrain

Luxury: SRX

It's as simple as 1.2.3... And it perfectly follows the new core brand strategy. And so what? GM has 4 trucks on a platform... Big Deal. Just think, had GM kept Hummer, the HX would've been on this platform too.

(Saturn doesn't need the Vue and the 9-4X, if Saab sticks around, needs to focus on something drastically different than the SRX. Say, efficiency or performance)

FOG's got it right... a CUV for every buyer. As much as I think the Equinox is nice, I prefer the boxier styling of the Terrain more (that's because I like trucks more than cars), so I wouldn't look at the Chevy and the Cadillac will more than likely be out of my price range.

And depending on when you grew up, the CUV is the prefered family "truckster" of the day and age. '50s-'70s it was the station wagon, '80s-'90s it was the mini-van, the first half of this decade was the SUV, and now with MPG concerns, the CUV is in the limelight for the second half. Case in point, my sister (38 years old), who has two kids and is very much a "soccer mom", will NEVER buy a minivan. She's leased a Grand Cherokees, a Nissan Pathfinder, a GMC Envoy XL, and now a Honda Pilot. In two/three years when she goes to replace the Honda, I bet you dollars to doughnuts it will be for another CUV. As many of the posters here think GM is late to the game with these cute-ute's, you have to realize all they're doing is updating the current ones that arrived on the market - 2001 ('02 VUE), 2003 ('04 Equinox), and 2004 ('05 Torrent). Those product cylces have ended and it's time to update them as required by the consumer. As for the SRX, the current one wasn't cutting it in the marketplace (trust me I like it a lot, but it was styled too much like a station wagon for many people's tastes). The new SRX will fit in better in the marketplace (think MDX, RX350, MkX, etc. - even if those are slightly larger or smaller than the SRX). While we enthusiasts might not like it replacing the current SRX, let's see what the consumers who want to and do buy it say.

[smk4565]

Vue is 180 inches long, but a rather portly 4300+ pounds with the V6 and awd, it is actually slightly heavier than the current SRX with awd and V6.

Edge is 186, Highlander 188 as Moltar pointed out. The new Nox is around 189, new SRX around 190, so the 9-4x and Terrain should be that size. This group of theta crossovers are midsize, Lambdas are full size and GMT900 full size. So GM will have 5 mid-size suvs (counting H3), and 8 full size SUVs (counting the Escalade trio as 1, Tahoe/Suburban/Avalanche as 1, and Yukon and XL as 1). It is full size suv overkill.

[Robert Hall]

Vue is 180 inches long, but a rather portly 4300+ pounds with the V6 and awd, it is actually slightly heavier than the current SRX with awd and V6.

Edge is 186, Highlander 188 as Moltar pointed out. The new Nox is around 189, new SRX around 190, so the 9-4x and Terrain should be that size. This group of theta crossovers are midsize, Lambdas are full size and GMT900 full size. So GM will have 5 mid-size suvs (counting H3), and 8 full size SUVs (counting the Escalade trio as 1, Tahoe/Suburban/Avalanche as 1, and Yukon and XL as 1). It is full size suv overkill.

Well, it's a mix of FWD car-based unibody midsize and fullsize CUVs with BOF truck based models -1 midsize SUV (H3) and the fullsize traditional SUVs (Tahoe, H2, Yukon, etc). They did get rid of most of the BOF midsize SUVs (GMT360s) and the minivans, so the CUVs are taking their place..

And nothing really in the compact CUV or SUV market...

Edited January 28, 2009 by moltar

[smk4565]

They lack a minivan also, and some people just need a van since they have more space than an SUV does. More customers for Honda I guess.

[GMTruckGuy74]

They lack a minivan also, and some people just need a van since they have more space than an SUV does. More customers for Honda I guess.

+1 - I agree completely.

The wife suggested to me that I should buy a minivan this year when my AURA lease is up, but I told her GM doesn't make one. She then suggested that I should look outside of GM for one, but I told her I'm too much of a big fan of the GM Kool-Aid to do that.

Though, GM should have made a minivan off of the Lambda or TE platforms for those that don't want or need a SUV or CUV.

[2chevs]

Sorry, didn't realize the sizes were so different. So these CUV's are meant to go against the Edge and Highlander, but what about the Venza and Murano and CUV's smaller than that, these CUV's sizes are confusing haha.

[Robert Hall]

Sorry, didn't realize the sizes were so different. So these CUV's are meant to go against the Edge and Highlander, but what about the Venza and Murano and CUV's smaller than that, these CUV's sizes are confusing haha.

Well, the Venza is more of a Camry wagon than a CUV... the Murano is in the same category as the Highlander, I would think. GM doesn't really have anything to match up against the smallest ones like the Rav-4, CRV, and whatever Hyundai and Kia have in that class...(those are smaller than the Vue, I think).

[smk4565]

Well, the Venza is more of a Camry wagon than a CUV... the Murano is in the same category as the Highlander, I would think. GM doesn't really have anything to match up against the smallest ones like the Rav-4, CRV, and whatever Hyundai and Kia have in that class...(those are smaller than the Vue, I think).

They have the awesome and rugged HHR.

[pow]

Well, the Terrain and Equinox, while similar in length to midsizers like the Highlander, are quite narrow. They don't have a third row, and the cargo area is compromised by rear strut towers. Many in the segment have space-efficient double-wishbone rear suspension instead.

The CR-V is 10" shorter than the Terrain/Equinox, but it has greater interior volume and cargo volume, more front/rear legroom, shoulder room, and hiproom. In terms of interior roominess, engine availability, and likely pricing, this will compete against compact SUVs, just like the old Equinox does.

[Chris_Doane]

Our spies at KGP Photography note that the Chicago Auto Show has been a common unveiling point for GMC in the past, and judging by the finished look of this tester, a rollout in The City of Big Shoulders seems quite likely.

Then again...

[GMTruckGuy74]

What???

I was looking forward to seeing pictures of it this time next week from the Chicago media days

[Chris_Doane]

Uhm....think about something else?

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

They have the awesome and rugged HHR.

What's wrong with the HHR? It's unique, sells well and is efficient...

(Can we seriously ban this guy now)

[GMTruckGuy74]

I love the styling of the HHR, but it's too small for my tastes. I was hoping for the Terrain, but I guess now I'll have to cross that off my shopping list too (or at least when GM has the balls to announce its cancellation).

[Chris_Doane]

Ehh...no one said it was dead. You just have to think about something else for a few extra months.

[Z-06]

Ehh...no one said it was dead. You just have to think about something else for a few extra months.

NY or LA autoshow?

[GMTruckGuy74]

Ehh...no one said it was dead. You just have to think about something else for a few extra months.

Sorry I jumped the gun there... had a bad day and misunderstood your post. I'm still disappointed by the death of the Denali XT (concept) becoming a production model, and with the thought of losing the Terrain too, it just made me mad.

As for waiting, I'm a patient guy so a couple of extra months (assuming it's debut will be in NYC) won't kill me. Of course if the NYC show is its debut, all the better because that's the "major" car show I go to :wink:

[cire]

Well, it's a mix of FWD car-based unibody midsize and fullsize CUVs with BOF truck based models -1 midsize SUV (H3) and the fullsize traditional SUVs (Tahoe, H2, Yukon, etc). They did get rid of most of the BOF midsize SUVs (GMT360s) and the minivans, so the CUVs are taking their place..

And nothing really in the compact CUV or SUV market...

Maybe GM is planning on the Orlando (Chevrolet) and next gen Zafira (possibly assigned to Buick) to serve as compact CUV products, although they belong more to the MPV segment than the CUV segment. I would really like to see GM develop something smaller and lighter than the current Captiva/Antara/Vue on the SWB Theta platform to fit under the next gen Equinox and upcoming Terrain. I think many people consider the current Vue to be in the same size class as the Equinox and Torrent although its smaller and sits on a shorter wheelbase. Maybe the next gen Captiva will experience a slight downsizing to better fit the compact CUV class.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Sorry I jumped the gun there... had a bad day and misunderstood your post. I'm still disappointed by the death of the Denali XT (concept) becoming a production model, and with the thought of losing the Terrain too, it just made me mad.

As for waiting, I'm a patient guy so a couple of extra months (assuming it's debut will be in NYC) won't kill me. Of course if the NYC show is its debut, all the better because that's the "major" car show I go to :wink:

I told you way back when, not to expect the Denali XT (concept). But CD is correct, all things come to those who wait, well almost all that is ...

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

GM is scared like a little b*tch, so it's not going to introduce "another SUV?!?!? *GASP*" that the yuppies can whine about while it's submitting it's plan to Congress.

So sad, that this corporation seems to have left it's balls back in 1999.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Well, depending on how much weight you want to put on what auto show "product specialists" say, the GMC PS rep I spoke to in reference to the Terrain yesterday at the Philly Auto Show told me that the Terrain will debut at the NYIAS in April and go on sale late summer/early fall, compared to the mid-summer on-sale date of the 2010 Chevy Equinox.

I was impressed with the new 2010 Equinox, however I think I'll like the boxier styling (and apparent Sierra-inspired headlight design) of the Terrain better. The color on the Equinox displayed, Merlot Jewel Metallic, was very impressive and hopefully a sign that GM is investing in richer colors for their new models (something I've always felt that GM lagged behind in).

[Chris_Doane]

A few new pics:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_li...c_terrain_spied

[Oracle of Delphi]

I still prefer the Chevy version ...

[Blake Noble]

But CD is correct, all things come to those who wait, well almost all that is ...

(Right before Camino mows you down with Project Mothertruck.)