by Cheryl Eldridge and wire reports
The 2015 GMC Canyon Crew Cab is definitely one that was built with class. Not only did the engineers put a lot of tough work and thought in the new GMC, it is a plus when it comes to family trips and hauling. It’s also noted as one fuel efficient truck.
Last week’s tester was fairly new with only 260 miles on the dash. The exterior and interior drew a lot of attention from passersby and stood tall in the road among other GMCs.
After a brief absence, General Motors re-enters the midsize pickup segment with the 2015 GMC Canyon. GMC ended midsize pickup production with the 2012 Canyon, ceding the field to the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier (Ford ended U.S. production of its Ranger midsize pickup in 2011). But even before its end, the Canyon was saddled with an inefficient powertrain and subpar interior, and never seriously contested the Tacoma’s supremacy in the segment.
With the redesigned full-size Sierra’s success, GMC has timing on its side for the Canyon launch. The midsize pickup should benefit from the Sierra’s spotlight without being perceived as a junior model. A large three-bar grille design, set inside an equally massive front fascia with LED-trimmed headlights, retains the family look in a smaller, modern workhorse package.
The Canyon will be available as an extended cab with a 6-foot bed, or as a crew cab in 5- and 6-foot bed lengths.
Base, SLE and SLT trims will be offered (the SLE is available with the off-road-oriented All-Terrain package) with either two- or four-wheel drive. The base 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine is rated at 200 horsepower and 191 pound-feet of torque, enough for light duty around town and off-road. For bigger payloads and bigger toys, there’s a 3.6-liter V6 good for a 305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque. A 2.8-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder is scheduled for the 2016 model year.
A six-speed automatic transmission is standard, enhanced with automatic grade braking and a tow/haul mode. Select rear-wheel-drive extended-cab models can be ordered with a six-speed manual transmission. A properly equipped Canyon is rated for towing up to 7,000 pounds, more than the current Tacoma.
Unique features include an automatic mode on four-wheel-drive models that engages four-wheel-drive only when needed. There is also a step integrated into the rear bumper and the optional “EZ Lift-and-Lower” tailgate, which makes for one-handed closing and no-bang opening of the tailgate. An added plus is the front passenger assist steps.
The new Canyon’s cabin is a nicer place to sit and drive. Materials quality appears as good as anything in the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan, for example. The Canyon also offers 4G LTE cellular connectivity, making the truck a Wi-Fi hotspot, while the latest GMC IntelliLink infotainment system enables gesture recognition and “natural” voice recognition. A rearview camera comes standard, while optional safety features include forward-collision alert, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control. The Canyon also has big buttons and a large eight inch color touch w/intellink load with XM radio and other amenities. It was nice to drive a truck with a large screen while using its Navigation system. Oh by the way, the rearview camera was amazing.
Gas mileage for the Canyon was 26 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway and sticker price is $39,090.
Until next week, drive safe and buckle up, it’s the law.
