Driving Sports

With the body of Hummer cold and in the ground, at least as a GM brand, GMC is back to its dominant position as the General’s tough truck and SUV division. The new 2010 GMC Terrain is a assertion of that dominance, taking its visual cues from the soon-to-be-Chinese Hummer like a warrior wearing a fallen foe’s armor.

The Terrain is the GMC version of the Chevy Equinox crossover utility vehicle, and shares chassis, engine, drivetrain and suspension. The Equinox and Terrain are also related to the Cadillac SRX ­by their common “Theta” chassis platform.

So what’s different about the GMC? Mostly visual and touch factors. GMC gifts their vehicles with a more businesslike luxury feeling, as opposed to Cadillac’s luxury with bling and Chevy’s economy styling.

The most striking thing about the 2010 Terrain is the exterior styling. The first impression is that GMC is conserving some of the Hummer DNA with the large square box flares around the wheel wells and the defiant blocky front end. Not quite the Tonka truck look that defined Hummer, but definitely a family resemblance. Contrast that to the Cadillac’s sporty CTS-derived lines and the Chevy’s friendlier traditional look, and you  have a true choice of bodywork within the GM Theta family.

Inside, the GMC looks nice. The surfaces are plastic, but nice plastic in black and grey and silver tones, with nicely executed controls that don’t feel cheap. In the Cadillac, there was more wood-tone and shiny, and the Chevy is definitely the economy version.

But here’s the thing – the GMC doesn’t cost that much more than the Chevy. Base price on the Equinox is $22,615 and the Terrain starts at $24,250. Base price on the Cadillac is $33,330, for comparison.

The thing that makes the Terrain (and the Equinox) very cool is the new Ecotec engine. This is a 2.4-liter four cylinder engine with direct fuel injection. All automakers are going to direct injection because of its advantages in fuel economy and emissions control. Although the numbers aren’t striking at 182 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque, the four cylinder Terrain moves out like a V6 and delivers 22/32 city/highway MPG. And if you want the V6, there’s a 3.0-liter engine with 264 horses and 222 pound-feet of torque, at 17/25 MPG.

The Terrain drives well. It has that heavy, planted feel, and offers the driver the “command seating position” that SUV drivers prize. The suspension is firm but compliant, and the seats are comfortable.

I have to single out the seat heat in the Terrain for special praise. Those seats get seriously hot when you crank up the dial. I like that, especially the week after Ground Hog Day in the Pacific Northwest.

The bottom line on the GMC Terrain is just this: Take a look at it from the outside. Do you like it? If so, you’re going to like driving it and you’ll probably like the way the interior is laid out.  With pricing from $24,000 to $31,000, it’s an inexpensive and fully-featured CUV.