The Elephant
GMC has long combined ruggedness and elegance to good effect — consider the Sierra pickup and Acadia crossover, for example. But the Terrain is one odd duck. GM says it shares just a few body panels with the Equinox; I wish it shared more. The Equinox has similar lines to Chevy's larger Traverse, but the Terrain looks little like the Traverse's GMC sibling — and arguably GM's best-looking crossover — the Acadia. The Terrain's styling feels ham-handed and forced. When I heard GMC would build an Equinox twin, I hoped to see a scaled-down Acadia. Color me disappointed.
Perhaps I'm being too harsh. A friend said he didn't find the Terrain nearly as overdone as I did. Senior editor David Thomas, who lives in the Chicago suburbs, took the Terrain home over a weekend and noted that in such environs it looked much more at home. "Besides the huge gaps under the square wheel wells," Thomas said, "I thought it was one good-looking truck when it was in my driveway. The huge grille looks much better in person, and in dark colors the Terrain can be quite striking. I can see it definitely turning on the truck crowd."
Contrast that to multimedia editor Eric Rossi, who likened the Terrain to a modern-day Pontiac Aztek. Now that's harsh.
See also:
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means “always expect the unexpected.” The first step in driving defensively is to wear the safety belt. See Safety Belts on page 3‑12.
• Assume that other road users (pe ...
Reporting Safety Defects to General Motors
In addition to notifying NHTSA (or Transport Canada) in a situation like this, please notify General Motors.
Call 1-800-GMC-8782 (1-800-462-8782), or write:
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Different Size Tires and Wheels
If wheels or tires are installed that are a different size than the original equipment wheels and tires, vehicle performance, including its braking, ride and handling characteristics, stability, and r ...