2025 GMC Terrain Taps Truck Style But It's The Inside That's Special

If you take a look at the list of the top most sold cars in the U.S., you will notice a peculiar pattern. In the 2023 list, for example, the top three spots are taken by large, gas-guzzling trucks like the Ford F Series trucks, the Chevrolet Silverado, and the Ram Pickup. Given that the cumulative sales figures of these vehicles go well past the million mark, these vehicles are — quite literally — flying off showrooms across the U.S. Interestingly, despite the sheer dominance of these full-sized pickup trucks in the U.S. manufacturers haven't entirely given up trying their luck with other product segments.

Take General Motors, for example, which has been paying attention to the crossover/compact SUV segment for several years. By the dawn of the 2010s, this focus resulted in the arrival of vehicles like the GMC Terrain and the Chevrolet Equinox. These vehicles have had reasonable success in the U.S. In the case of the GMC Terrain, since its 2010 introduction, it has been through two generations of cars and a series of product updates. After the second-generation GMC Terrain landed in 2017, the Terrain received only a single design refresh in 2022.

Two years on, General Motors has finally taken covers off 2025 GMC Terrain with a bunch of much needed design and feature upgrades.

While the basic silhouette of the 2025 GMC Terrain bears a resemblance to one of its predecessors, the design aspects of the vehicle appear to have taken a generational leap. Apart from much-needed aesthetic changes and feature additions, the 2025 GMC Terrain is also loaded with tech.

The previous generation GMC Terrain was not a bad-looking car, but then it wouldn't have won a beauty pageant either. For the 2025 edition of the vehicle, the first major visual change is the redesigned front grille, which is essentially a scaled-down version of the GMC Canyon. The car looks more "muscular" than before — helped in part by a raised hood.

Despite these external and internal changes, what remains unchanged on the 2025 GMC Terrain is its engine. The company has retained GM's good old 1.5L Turbocharged engine for the 2025 Terrain, making 175 horsepower and 203 lb-ft of torque. The 2025 GMC Terrain is also loaded with safety and driver assistance features as well, and all 2025 models get features like Enhanced Automatic Emergency Braking, Front Pedestrian and Bicyclist Braking, Intersection Automatic Emergency Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Braking, Reverse Automatic Braking, Side Bicyclist Alert, and Blind Zone Steering Assist.

Once inside the vehicle, it would be difficult to miss the large 15-inch diagonal infotainment system screen. The driver also gets a smaller display of their own, which GMC terms a "driver information center."

GMC has confirmed that the 2025 GMC Terrain will be offered in three trim options: The entry-level trim — Elevation — will be the first of these to go on sale later this year. This trim gets all the features that are part of the standard equipment, and also gets 17-inch wheels as standard. The other two trims of the vehicle include the AT4 and Denali. Both of these latter variants will only reach consumers as the 2026 GMC Terrain, despite going on sale in 2025.

The AT4 trim of the GMC Terrain is directed at adventure seekers and those who wouldn't mind taking a compact SUV down the dirt road. For such use cases, GMC has equipped the 2025 GMC Terrain with features like selectable terrain modes, adjustable lift height, a metal body protection field, and AWD with Hill Descent Control. GMC has thrown in front recovery hooks to the package as well.

As for the Denali trim, when launched in 2025, this one will end up becoming the most feature-loaded GMC Terrain. This trim gets creature comforts like front and rear heated seats, larger 19-inch wheels, all-wheel drive, and hill descent control. While GMC is yet to announce the prices for the 2025 GMC Terrain, we don't expect the updated model to be significantly more expensive than the outgoing 2024 models of the car.