BROWSE CAR REVIEWS BY:
MAKE
MODEL
Click on a car body type for search results.
 |
 |
| SUVs (two rows) | SUVs (three rows) |
 |
 |
| Crossover | Minivans |
 |
 |
| Sedan | Hybrids |
 |
 |
| Wagons/Hatchbacks | Just for Fun |
2010 GMC Terrain Helps GM Woo Moms
Sep 24 2009 by Sherrice Gilsbach
When I first spied the new GMC Terrain at the New York auto show in April, I thought, “Another SUV, GM? Really?” Now that I’ve spent some time with the Terrain, I realize that there’s plenty to like about this crossover SUV.
Built to fill the void in GMC’s midsize crossover segment, the Terrain, which is GMC’s version of the much-lauded Chevrolet Equinox, is expected to be as successful with buyers as the GMC Acadia crossover has been. “When you think GMC you think two things: big and trucks,” said Susan Docherty, general manager of Buick and GMC. The Acadia brought new buyers to GM; 50 percent of those new buyers were female and many were first-time GM buyers, Docherty said. Now I get it. GMC wants a piece of the mommy business.
While it may take a while to get used to the Terrain’s boxy wheel wells, there are several features I liked about this crossover. For starters, it has an incredibly quiet, comfortable ride. I drove both the four-cylinder and V-6 models and found each of them to have plenty of power. I loved pushing the four-cylinder, which gets an EPA-estimated 22/32 mpg city/highway, into “Eco” mode for even better fuel economy.
For the family, I loved the sliding second row with eight inches of wiggle room from front to back. Are you toting infants and toddlers? Pull the bench forward to make the kids easier to reach from the front seat. If you’ve got teens or adults in the backseat, push the second row back for ample legroom.
The Terrain also offers an entertainment system that can be found in the Buick LaCrosse and Equinox. For $1,295, you get two seatback-mounted DVD monitors that are capable of playing two separate movies or a movie and a video game at the same time. Or, you can hook up the gaming system and have a two-player game showing on both screens. Just think of all the backseat arguments this feature could end.
With a starting price of $24,250, GMC hopes customers will look at its list of standard features and jump on in. It has a standard backup camera, OnStar and a programmable liftgate to help shorter drivers close that hatch. I can’t wait to try out this newbie for an extended MotherProof.com test drive with the entire family. Stay tuned…
