2026 GMC Terrain AT4 First Drive: Snazzier, but No Smoother or Swifter
The General updated its heart-of-market compact SUVs this year, ratcheting up the differentiation between the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain admirably. The Chevy impressed us enough to win a finalist berth in our 2025 SUV of the Year contest, but ever since then this duo has struck us as coming up slightly uncompetitive on performance and powertrain refinement relative to the leaders in the segment. Now the GMC Terrain lineup is getting its more upscale and off-road-enthusiastic AT4 variant. Might this newfound capability and panache help elevate the Terrain from its current number 13 spot in our Ultimate Car Rankings?
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What AT4 Includes
Red front recovery/tow hooks now represent table stakes for all GMC AT4 offerings, but the level of terrain-tackling hardware from there back is tailored to different products' likely use cases. This smallest, least Rubicon-ambitious model contents itself with a standard on-demand all-wheel drive system, a steel powertrain skidplate, 17-inch all-terrain tires, an off-road-oriented suspension damper tuning, and a 'Terrain' drive mode that is unique to AT4 models. What does it do? It slows the throttle response and under 30 mph it mimics an EV's one-pedal drive mode. This makes it easier to creep up over and down off of an obstacle.
Will AT4 Vault Terrain Up in our Rankings?
Not to the top. The Terrain's new design looks great and doesn't resemble the Equinox at all, inside or out. The features loading is also quite impressive. The weak point is precisely what kept the Equinox RS AWD off our SUVOTY podium—a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain that struggles to whisk nearly two tons of compact SUV up to speed. What's worse, during such a drag-strip run the transmission seems to slur shifts, like it's waiting to ensure the next gear is fully engaged and prepared for the onslaught of full-throttle torque in the next gear. The whole thing sounds like it's complaining in the process. Now, granted, most folks seldom explore that 80–100-percent region of the throttle travel. But when those occasions crop up, a driver doesn't want to feel like their vehicle is breaking a serious sweat.
Ride and Handling?
The AT4 comes exclusively with 17-inch rims wearing all-terrain tires. Our test car sported General Grabber A/Ts with a generous 235/65 sidewall that provided ample cushioning on Detroit's scabrous streets. But what the taller sidewalls giveth in comfort, the open tread blocks taketh away in noise. Mild singing can be heard at 40 mph, and the tires remain audible over wind and powertrain sounds at highway speeds. The Grabbers felt pretty squirmy when bending into a cloverleaf off-ramp from highway speeds, too, and the fronts outright squealed when we took a right turn onto a city street before fully slowing. Buyers who wear out a set of these A/Ts before ever having explored a fire road would be wise to replace them with quieter, equally comfy, better performing tires with a street compound and tread.
Is the AT4 Worth It?
Our limited initial drive opportunity didn't afford a chance to bang the skid plates off any rocks or assess the Generals' propensity for grabbing muddy or rocky inclines, but the AT4 certainly looks the business with glossy black wheel-lip and lower-body cladding, and the lone (predominantly black) interior color choice includes 'storm gray' cloth over CoreTec faux leather featuring AT4 logos stitched on the headrests plus mahogany stitching and piping. Dual-zone automatic climate controls, hill-descent control, animated headlamp illumination, Rainsense wipers, and a power driver seat are standard features you don't get on Elevation. It's a decent amount of kit for $39,995—just $3,355 more than an Elevation AWD model (or a $3,100 bump over the Equinox RS AWD). But we can't help thinking a Nissan Rogue Rock Creek offers similar off-road capabilities with more power and performance for $3–$4,000 less.
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