GMC Canyon AT4X
The AT4X package elevates (literally) the midsize Canyon pickup to the thin ranks of vehicles equally competent on pavement and off—if you can climb up into it. This color is Volcanic Red Tintcoat over an Obsidian Rush interior.
When it comes to listing the Canyon AT4X’s combination of comfort, convenience and on- and off-road features, it would be difficult to improve on this GMC-supplied graphic, so we include it here. The cockpit is also unusually attractive for a truck.
The AT4X package elevates (literally) the midsize Canyon pickup to the thin ranks of vehicles equally competent on pavement and off—if you can climb up into it. This color is Volcanic Red Tintcoat over an Obsidian Rush interior.
When it comes to listing the Canyon AT4X’s combination of comfort, convenience and on- and off-road features, it would be difficult to improve on this GMC-supplied graphic, so we include it here. The cockpit is also unusually attractive for a truck.
If the midsize Canyon is GMC’s Goldilocks pickup (it is) and the Denali is the deluxe Goldilocks pickup (also true), then the AT4X is Goldilocks after she’s been to the gym. This doesn’t mean that the AT4X is more powerful than the Denali; all five versions of the Canyon share the same 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine, turbocharged to 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque, and 8-speed automatic transmission. If you’ve got something that works, why change it?
That’s more than adequate power, but the athleticism comes from the AT4X’s off-road stance and suspension, which make this pickup feel like a Slinky bounding down the road—coiled and ready to leap, or at least clamber over, tall obstacles. The truck has 9.6 inches of clearance (two inches more than a standard Canyon) and, for stability, an extra 3.5 inches of track, the distance between its wheels. GMC has even pushed the front axle forward slightly, which reduces the overhang so the front tires get a better bite. Also, don’t forget that the Canyon is a mid-size pickup, which all by itself makes it more off-road-capable than its great big Sierra and Silverado cousins.
The extra lift, however, makes the AT4X hard to get into, at least for anyone over the age of 50 or shorter than 5”10”. Don’t look for running boards here; they’d get crunched off-road. There are, instead, heavy-duty skid plates under the engine, the transfer case and the rocker panels.
All this protection is necessary because the AT4X is a serious boondocker. The driveline has a two-speed transfer case, front and rear electronic locking differentials and five selectable modes: Twirl the knob to choose between Baja (for high-speed off-road driving), Terrain (for off-road crawling), Off-Road (for everything else, apparently), Normal (for pavement) and Tow/Haul settings. Drivers can also call up an Off-Road Performance Display on the computer screen, for real-time information about g-force, pitch, roll and altitude.
The rest of the Canyon AT4X package includes a Multimatic suspension with chambered shock absorbers to control fluid flow and provide appropriate damping for both normal road use and “extended wheel travel and high-impact compression events.” And, finally, the truck rides on 33-inch Mud Terrain tires.
Naturally, all this capability comes at a price. Two prices, really: 19 miles per gallon on pavement; and, on our sample, a sticker price of $58,640. That’s nearly five grand more than the upmarket Canyon Denali we drove last month—but consider that here GMC has done an impressive job of wringing two very different yet equally capable vehicles out of one platform.
Next week: Honda Civic Type R
